I shall inquire what fullness of Christ is here intended
I shall inquire what fullness of Christ is here intended
Since the scriptures speak of more than one
First, There is the personal fullness of Christ, or the fullness of the deity, which is said by our apostle (Colossians 2:9), in this same epistle, to dwell in him; for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. There is no perfection essential to deity, but is in him; nor is there any the Father has, but he has likewise. Eternity is peculiar to the Godhead: Christ was not only before Abraham, but before Adam; yea, before any creature existed; he is the alpha and omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending; which is, and which was, and which is to come: (Revelation 1:8) he is from everlasting to everlasting. Omnipotence, or a power of doing all things, can only be predicated of God. The works of creation, providence, redemption, the resurrection of the dead, with other things, in which Christ has been concerned, loudly proclaim him to be the Almighty. Omniscience, another perfection of deity, my easily be observed in Jesus Christ; he needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man; (John 2:25) he is that living word of God, who is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do, or to whom we must give an account; (Hebrews 4:12, 13) who in a short time will make all the churches, yea, all the world know, that he it is which searcheth the reins and hearts. Omnipresence and immensity are proper to God, and are to be found in Christ Jesus, who is in heaven at the same time he was here on earth; which he could not be, if he was not the omnipresent God; any more than he could make good the promises he has made, that he will be with his people when they meet in his name, and with his ministers unto the end of the world; nor could he be present with the churches in all places, as he certainly is; nor fill all things, as he certainly does. Immutability only belongs to God: Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8) In short, independence and necessary existence, which are essential to Deity, are to be ascribed to him; for he is God of himself: Though as man and mediator, he has a life communicated to him from the Father; yet as God, he owes his being to none; it is not derived from another, he is over all, God blessed for ever; and must, therefore, be the true God and eternal life. If any perfection of Deity was wanting in him, the fullness, all the fullness of it could not be said to dwell in him, nor he be said, as he is, to be equal with God. Now some think that this is the fullness designed in our text, and read it, the fullness of the Godhead, which seems to be transcribed from another passage in this epistle already mentioned; and suppose that this suits well the apostle's design in proving the primacy and preeminence of Christ over all things: But it should be observed, that the fullness of the Deity possessed by the Son of God, does not depend on the Father's will and pleasure; nut is what, as such, he naturally and necessarily enjoys by a participation of the same undivided nature and essence of the Father and Spirit, and therefore cannot be the fullness here intended.
Secondly, There is a relative fullness which belongs to Christ, and is no other than his body the church, of which he is head, who is called the fullness of him that filleth all in all; (Ephesians 1:23) and for this reason, because she is filled by him. When all the elect are gathered, the fullness of the Gentiles brought in, and all Israel saved; when these are filled with all the gifts and grace of God designed for them, and are grown up to their just proportion in the body, and have attained to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; then will they strictly be, and may be truly called so. Some interpreters are of opinion, that this is the fullness here meant: But, though the Church dwells in Christ, and he in her, and that through the good will and pleasure of the Father; and though she is complete in Christ, and is said to be his fullness; yet, properly speaking, she is not so yet, at least in such sense as she will be: Nor is she ever said to be all fullness, as in the text, and therefore cannot be here intended.
Thirdly, There is a fullness of the fitness and abilities in Christ to discharge his work and office as mediator, which greatly lies in his being both God and man, or in the union of the two natures, divine and human, in one person. Hereby he becomes abundantly qualified to be the day's-man betwixt us, able to lay his hand upon us both; or in other words, to be the mediator between God and man; to be both a merciful and faithful high-priest, in things pertaining to God, and to make reconciliation for the sins of the people: (Job 9:33, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 2:17) For being man, he had somewhat to offer in sacrifice to God, and was thereby capable of making satisfaction in that nature which sinned, which the law and justice of God seem to have required, and also of conveying the blessings of grace procured by him to elect men; for which reason, he took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham. The holiness of Christ's human nature greatly fitted him to be an high-priest, advocate and intercessor, and very often an emphasis is put upon this in the sacred writings; as when he is said (John 3:5, Hebrews 9:14, 1 Peter 1:10) to take away sin, and in him is no sin, to offer up himself without spot to God, and we are said to be redeemed by the blood of Christ, as of a lamb without spot or blemish: And, indeed, such a redeemer is proper for us, such an advocate suit us, who is Jesus Christ the righteous: such an high-priest became us, is every way fit for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Being God as well as man, there is a sufficient virtue in all his actions and sufferings to answer what they were designed for; in his blood to cleanse fro all sin, in his righteousness to justify from it, and in his sacrifice to expiate and atone for it. Being the might God, he could travel in the greatness of his strength, draw nigh to God for us, offer up himself to God, bear our sins, and all the punishment due unto them, without failing or being discouraged; his own arm alone was capable of bringing salvation to himself and us; there is nothing wanting in him, to make him a complete Savior of the body, and head of the church. Now, this may be taken into the sense of our text, yet is not the whole of it: For,
Fourthly, There is dispensatory, communicative fullness, which is of the Father's good will and pleasure, put into the hands of Christ, to be distributed unto others: And this is principally designed here, and is,
A fullness of nature. Christ is the head of every man, and the head over all things to the church; God has appointed him heir of all things, even in nature: The light of nature is in him and from him; and he is the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world: (John 1:9) The things of nature are all with him, and at his disposal; the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; (Psalm 24:1) and he gives it to his chosen and special people in a peculiar manner: The blessings of nature are wisdom's left hand blessings, as those of grace are her right hand ones: The world, and they that dwell therein, are his, even the men of the world; the wicked part of the world are, in some sense, given unto him to be subservient to the ends of his mediatorial kingdom and glory. Ask of me, says the Father to him, (Psalm 2:8, 9) and I shall give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession; which cannot be understood of the chosen vessels of salvation; since it follows, Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
A fullness of grace. Christ is said to be full of grace and truth; (John 1:14, 16) and it is of this fullness that the believer receives, and grace for grace; a sort of a fullness out of it, all kind of grace, every measure, and every supply of it.
(1.) There is a fullness of the Spirit of grace, and of the gifts of the Spirit in Christ; For he is the Lamb in the midst of the throne, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God; (Revelation 5:6) not seven distinct personal subsistencies; but the phrase designs the one blessed Spirit of God, and the perfection of his gifts and grace, signified by the number seven, which, in the most enlarged sense, dwell in Christ; the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2) rest upon him; he is anointed with the oil of gladness, the holy Ghost, above his fellows, any of the sons of men, who are made partakers of his grace and glory; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure to him. (Psalm 45:7) All those extraordinary gifts of the holy Ghost, with which the apostles were filled on the day of Pentecost, were given from Christ, as the head of the church; who, when he ascended to heaven to fill all things, received gifts for men, and gave them to them, to qualify them for extraordinary work and service: And he has been in all ages since, more or less, bestowing gifts on men, to fit them for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of his body the church, and the residue of the spirit is with him.
(2.) There is a fullness of the blessings of grace in Christ. The covenant of grace is ordered in all things, as well as sure, it is full of all spiritual blessings. Now this covenant is made with Christ, it is in his hands, yea, he is the covenant itself; all the blessings of it are upon his head, and in the hands of our antitypical Joseph, even on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brethren; and therefore, if any are blessed with these blessings, they are blessed with them in heavenly places in Christ; And, indeed, in a very strange and surprising manner do they come from him to us, even through his being mad a curse for us; for he was made a curse for us, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through him: particularity, there is in Christ a fullness of justifying, pardoning, adopting, and sanctifying grace.
There is a fullness of justifying grace in him. One part of his work and office, as mediator, was to bring in everlasting righteousness; a righteousness answerable to all the demands of law and justice, which should answer for his people in a time to come, and to last for ever: such a righteousness he has wrought out and brought in, by which justice is satisfied, the law is magnified and made honourable, and with which God is well pleased: whence he is truly called, the Lord our righteousness and the Sun of righteousness and strength, (Jeremiah 23:6, Malachi 4:2) from whom alone we have our righteousness. Now this righteousness wrought out by the Son of God, is in him, and with him, as the author and subject of it; and to him are sensible souls directed, to him they look, and to him they apply for it; and every one for themselves say, as their faith grows up, surely, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: From him they receive this gift of righteousness, and with it an abundance of grace, as flow, an overflow of it. As it was freely wrought out for them, it is freely imputed to them, and bestowed upon them, without any consideration of their works; and is so full and large, that it is sufficient for the justification of all the elect, and that from all things, from which they could not be justified in any other way.
There is also a fullness of pardoning grace in Christ. The covenant of grace has largely and fully provided for the forgiveness of the sins of all the Lord's people. One considerable branch of it is, (Hebrews 8:12) I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember more. In consequence of this covenant, and the engagements of Christ in it, his blood has been shed for many, for the remission of sins. The issue of which is, that in him we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Matthew 24:28, Ephesians 1:7) which, as it is entirely free, the riches, the glory of grace and mercy are eminently displayed in it, so it is large and abundant, full and complete; for God, pursuant to the covenant of his grace, and looking upon the precious blood of his Son, forgives all the trespasses of his people, past, present, and to come: Through the man Christ Jesus is preached unto us, and bestowed upon us, the free and full forgiveness of our transgressions. This is the declaration of the gospel; and what makes it good news and glad tidings to sensible sinners, that whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
There is likewise a fullness of adopting grace in Christ. The blessing of the adoption of children springs originally from the love of the Father: Behold, says the apostle John, (1 John 3:1) what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be call the sons of God. Predestination to it is by, or through Jesus Christ: The enjoyment of it is greatly owing to the redemption which is in him, for he cam to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:5) The right, the privilege, the liberty of becoming the sons of God, is actually given forth from Christ, to them that receive him and believe in him; so that those who are the children of God, are openly and declaratively so by faith in Christ Jesus.
Add to this, that there is a fullness of sanctifying grace in Christ. The whole stock and fund of the saints holiness is in Christ's hands; he is their sanctification, as well as their righteousness; it is of his fullness they receive one sort of grace, as well as another: All the holiness is derived to them from Christ, which they are made partakers of in life, and which is made perfect in the hour of death; for without holiness, even perfect holiness, no man shall see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14) In the first work of conversion, a large measure of sanctifying grace is given forth from Christ; when the grace of our Lord is exceeding abundant, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:14) As he is the author and finisher of faith, he is the author and finisher of every other grace; every measure of it is owing to him, every supply of it is from him: There is a fullness of all grace in Christ, to supply all our wants, support our persons, and to carry us safely and comfortably through this wilderness: There is a fullness of light and life, of wisdom and knowledge, strength and ability, joy, peace, and comfort in him: all spiritual light is in him, and from him. As all that light which was scattered throughout the whole creation, was on the fourth day collected together, and out into that great luminary the sun, so all fullness of spiritual light dwells in Christ, the Sun of righteousness, from whom we receive all we have: which by degrees grows, increases, and shines more and more unto the perfect day: All spiritual life is in him, with him is the fountain of it; from him we have the living principle of grace, and by him it is maintained in us unto eternal life. In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and from him they are communicated to us. As in him is righteousness to justify us, so in him is strength to enable us to oppose every corruption, withstand every enemy, exercise every grace, and discharge every duty. Though we cannot do any thing of ourselves, and without him can do nothing; yet through him strengthening us we can do all things. In a word, there is a full fountain, and a solid foundation of all spiritual peace, joy and comfort in Christ: If there is any consolation to be had any where, it is in Christ; it arises from and is founded upon his person, blood, righteousness and sacrifice; in a view of which a believer is sometimes filled with joy unspeakable, and full of glory: For as the sufferings of Christ, those which we suffer for Christ, abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:5) There is a grace in Christ sufficient for us to bear us up under, and bear us through all the trials, exercises and afflictions of life; to make us fruitful in every good work: and to cause us to hold on and out unto the end. There is a fullness of fructifying and persevering grace in Christ.
(3.) There is a fullness of the promise of grace in Jesus. There are many exceeding great and precious promises, suited to the various cases and circumstances of the children of God. There never has been a case a believer has been in since the creation of the world, and I may venture to say, there never will be one to the end of it, but there is a promise given forth suitable to it. The covenant of grace is full of these promises; from thence they are transcribed into the gospel, and are spread all over the Bible; and what is best of all, all the promises of God are in Christ yea, and in him amen, to the glory of God by us; (2 Corinthians 1:20) they are all put into his hands for our use, and are all safe and secure in him, who will see to it, that they are actually and fully accomplished not only the grand promise of life, even of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began, is in Christ Jesus, but all other promises are in him likewise: So that whosoever are partakers of them, are partakers of them in him, by the gospel.
3. Besides the fullness of nature, and of grace, which is in Christ, there is also the fullness of glory, and of eternal life and happiness. God has not only out the grace of his people, but their glory also into the hands of Christ. Their portion, their inheritance, is reserved for them with him: where it is safe and secure. They are heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; so that their estate is sure unto them. As their life of grace, so their life of glory is hid with Christ in God; and when Christ who is their life shall appear, then shall appear with him in glory; which will greatly consist in being like Christ, and seeing him as he is. The saints will be like to Christ, both in body and soul. Their bodies which are redeemed by his blood, and are members of him, will be fashioned like unto his glorious body, in spirituality, immortality, incorruption, power and glory; and will shine forth like the sun, with brightness and lustre, in the kingdom of their Father. Their souls will be made like to Christ in knowledge and holiness, so far as creatures are capable of. They will then see him as he is; behold his mediatorial glory, view him for themselves, and not another; will be inexpressibly delighted with the excellencies of him, and always continue with him, and be in his presence; in whose presence is fullness of joy, and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore. Now all this is secured in Christ for the saints; all which they may expect; on this they may depend; for this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (1 John 5:11) Thus all fullness of nature, grace and glory, is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I proceed.