Fulness of God

He Pleased the Father

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

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Pleased The Father

Colossians 1:19-20

The argument of the Gnostics was that God could not become flesh. If God did become flesh it would make Him corrupt, thus there could be no salvation. This was the reckoning of the “Know-It-Alls”.

Paul’s argument is that God became flesh. God’s flesh is seen in the person of His Son. Not only that, but God chose that all the fulness of God should be in this One who was flesh and was holy, righteous, undefiled, perfect and obedient. Not only that, but that God, the Father, was pleased that His fulness dwell in Him.

I. FIRST, WE WILL LOOK AT THE THOUGHT; ‘FOR IT PLEASED THE FATHER’.

A. The Scriptures are very clear on the message of the sinfulness of mankind.
B. We are out of God’s glory, and that was the reason for our being created.
C. God, the Father, in His grace, mercy, knowledge, and wisdom sent us a Savior.

1. Everything about His Son pleased and pleases Him.
2. He endured a time of separation from the Father he had never known before,

“Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” Heb. 12:2b (KJV).

D. Paul not only mentions the Son’s pleasing the Father here, but once again in chapter two verse nine, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

II. SECOND, WE WILL LOOK AT WHAT IT MEANS THAT ‘ALL FULNESS DWELL IN JESUS.

A. Three times Paul mentions this to the Ephesian church

1. “Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Eph. 1:23;
2. “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Eph. 3:19;
3. “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” Eph. 4:13 (KJV).

B. When we talk of being full, what do we mean?
C. The Creator became the created in flesh, but was every bit God. From the top of His head, to the soles of His feet – GOD, YHWH.
D. We must rest in the Fulness of Christ if we are to be like Him.

III. THIRD, WE SEE THAT THE SON OF GOD HAS MADE PEACE BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” 1 Timothy 2:5

A. Within fallen humanity there is war between them and God.
B. If you will not trust God’s means of salvation; if you believe you are good enough to gain God’s favor; if you think your good deeds will out weigh the bad deeds you do; if you think any religion is just as good as another to get you to heaven, then the sad news is; you are still at war with God.
C. Jesus paid the price that we might have peace with God.

IV. FOURTH, WE COME TO THE MEANS BY WHICH JESUS ACCOMPLISHED SALVATION, RECONCILIATION, AND THAT IS THROUGH THE ‘BLOOD OF HIS CROSS’.

A. In thinking of the blood we ought to think of life.
B. When we speak of the “cross” or the “blood of His cross” we speak of a life that was given where their blood was shed.

1. . It has to do with a violent death.

C. Remembering Jesus as the Son of God; God is the offended Deity – offended by our sin – Jesus became our sin (2 Cor. 5:21), on the cross.
D. God was pleased, not only in the death of His Son, but He is the One who sentenced Him to death.

1. In Isaiah 53:10 Isaiah penned down, “Yet it PLEASED the LORD to bruise Him…”
2. How could the Father be pleased in the death of His Son?

a. He is the offering for sin.
b. He bore the sin of many.
c. Many would be justified.

V. FIFTH, BECAUSE JESUS PLEASED THE FATHER ALL THINGS ARE RECONCILED TO GOD.

A. When Adam chose to disobey, and ate the fruit which God had commanded him not to eat, sin came into the perfect creation, and all creation has been groaning ever since;

“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Romans 8:19-22 (KJV).

B. The whole creation will be reconciled to God, because of Jesus’s payment for sin.

1. There will be a change in the animals;

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:6-9;

“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.” Isaiah 65:25 (KJV).

2. There will be change in the earth and the solar system;

“ Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.” Isaiah 24:23;

“ Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.” Isaiah30:26;

“The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.” Isaiah 60:19-20 (KJV)

C. The curse of Genesis will be removed and all things reconciled.

1. That only means, that those who have fought, warred against, denied and hated God will stand before Him – not as an enemy, but God will be their just and holy and righteous Judge.

D. God became flesh in the person of His Son to redeem His creation. Beginning with man.

-Tim A. Blankenship

In the Shadow

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” Psalm 57:1 (KJV)

Once again David realizes his need for the mercy of God.  He is fleeing from king Saul.  He is not fleeing because he is only fearful.  He is fleeing, at least in part, because he fears he might end up needing to slay the king to save his own life.  He is avoiding the possibility.  For David to kill Saul, king of Israel, even for protecting his own life would be a sin against God.

We all need mercy, even in times of avoidance of what could happen.  Maybe that is why Jabez prayed “…keep me from evil…” (1 Chronicles 4:10).

David hid in caves.  Maybe he is hiding in a cave when he is praying this prayer; or shortly after leaving the cave.  David trust in the God.  The God [‘Elohiym]; the fulness of God.

As I read this Psalm I think of what Jesus said as He was preparing to leave the temple for the final time,

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Matthew 23:37 (KJV)

In the “shadow of Thy wings” is far better than anything our mind can imagine.  When we flee from what we fear where do we flee?  I choose to flee to Christ Jesus the fulness and the glory of God.

The Abundant Family of God

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Ephesians 3:14-21

It has been the will and the plan of God to bring all people into one body, but according to God’s good will; not man’s.  It seems that man has endeavored to come together as one more than once; the first time being at Babel; and look what happened.

God is holy, and all people cannot come to Him in their own merit due to sin.  God loves humanity, and is the offended Deity to whom a price must be paid, and that price is death; the death of every sinner.  Just as sin entered the world and the human race by one man [Adam] so too, by only one man can sin’s debt be paid, and that debt, which was owed to God, has been paid by the death of His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12-21).

In verses 1-13 of Ephesians 3 Paul has given explanation how that God has displayed His love and grace by the cross of Jesus and has opened the way for the Gentiles (all who are not Jewish).

NAMED FOR THE FATHER OF THE FAMILY (vv. 14-15).  In the first two chapters and the first thirteen verses of this chapter the apostle has dealt with the “mystery of the gospel”, by which the Jew and the Gentile become one through Jesus Christ.  We understand through the previous thirteen verses of this chapter that it has always been God’s plan to bring Jew and Gentile together into one body.  God is sovereign and works all things for his purpose, will and glory.

God the Father is the source of “Fatherhood”.  This is not a verse supporting the heresy of the “Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man”.  God is only the Father of all who have trusted Him through faith in Jesus Christ and the finished work of Christ – His death on the cross, His burial, and His bodily resurrection.  The “whole family in heaven and earth” can only refer to the “saints” both living and dead [bodies sleeping awaiting their day of resurrection].  We are of the family of God, because God in His grace has made it so; without our aid or efforts.

We are of the “Household of faith”, with the name given us by our Father.

BEING FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD (vv. 16-19).  When the lost man or woman comes to Jesus Christ they receive all of Jesus Christ that they will ever receive.  We are however, at times, very inept in practicing all the fulness of God we have been given.

God said through Zechariah the prophet;

“This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”  Zechariah 4:6 (KJV)

The Spirit of God is the person and source of our Fulness of God.  He is the catalyst of our fulness.  In this prayer Paul is asking these things from God for the Ephesians and us, “according to the riches of His glory…”

1.  “To be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man”;
2.  “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith”;
3.  “being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height…”;
4.  “to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge…”

It seems by the presence of these that would be having the fulness of God which Paul speaks of.

THE ABUNDANCE OF GOD’S POWER WORKING IN US (v. 20).  It seems as I am studying this I seem a bit unable to describe what this is dealing with.  God’s grace for salvation is more abundant than I can begin to imagine, and His grace for living is just as abundant, and when God says, that He will complete what He began (Philippians 1:6); that is part of that abundance.

God is far more able to do “Exceeding abundantly”, “far more abundantly”, “above and beyond” “all that we ask or think”, that we ought to know that anything God says we can rely on.

All of this accomplished “…according to the power that worketh in us…”.  The power working in us is limited, it seems, only by our faith at work.  Maybe I should say, “Limited only by our faith not working”.  If we are truly walking with God, in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit; then there is nothing that should stand in our way of fulfilling God’s will in our lives; and seeing God’s will accomplished in the lives of others.

We cannot muster up the power in ourselves.  It is through the Spirit of God in the child of God walking by faith in Jesus Christ.

THE CHURCH GIVING GLORY TO THE FATHER FOREVER (v. 21).  The purpose of all creation is to give glory to God, to praise and adore Him.

When sin has wrecked and mauled and destroyed a sinners life God gets no pleasure from his death (Ezekiel 18:32).  When that soul has been saved, set free from sin by God’s free gift of grace God glories in that child’s physical death (Psalm 116:15).  Why deos Scripture tell us this?  Because, it is God who has worked in that saved soul’s life to bring him to Himself.  It is God who works in you (Philippians 2:13) as a child of God to bring you to His glory.

Now, having siad that, it leads us to the Church.  The Church is the Bride of Jesus Christ.  He being “the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).  What glory it brings to God when finally the Church is brought as one into the eternal presence of God.  The Spirit habitating in the life center of every believer is the means  by which we glorify God.  The Holy Spirit is the power of the Church which brings every born again soul to God.  He is glorified because He sees the Church completed already seated with Jesus in heavenly places.

-Tim A. Blankenship