9th September 2025

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians was a response to concerns brought to his attention by Epaphras, who had established the fledgling church at Colossae. In chapter two, Paul outlines two profound theological truths. First, that all the fullness of God lives in Jesus Christ in bodily form (v.9), and secondly, that in Christ believers have also been brought to fullness (v.10).

Let’s consider the significance of these two statements:

First, if ‘all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form’ in Jesus, then Jesus embodies all the fullness of God’s nature. It’s not just a part of God, there’s nothing missing. As Hebrews 1:3 (ESV) puts it, ‘He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature’. All the fullness of God lives in Jesus Christ; that’s why he said whoever “has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9 NIV). If we want to know what God is like in his fullness we look to Jesus. With him, we have access to everything we need to know about God. We don’t need to listen to other human ideas about God to find out what God is like. And as we get to know Jesus better, we’re also getting to know God better.

Second, if ‘in Christ you have been brought to fullness’, then we are made full and complete in him. The Passion Translation puts it this way: ‘And our own completeness is now found in him. We are completely filled with God as Christ’s fullness overflows within us.’ (v.10). If we’re filled with Christ’s fullness, then there shouldn’t be space for other things to be added – if the fuel tank is full, you don’t need to put anything else in. And this is Paul’s point to the Colossians in response to the concerns Epaphras highlighted. They didn’t need physical circumcision, ritual food laws, Sabbaths, New Moons, asceticism, angel worship, human tradition or anything else the social influencers of the time promoted. Neither did they need extra secret knowledge as the Gnostics suggested. They had everything they needed in Jesus Christ. And like the Colossians, we have fullness in Jesus too – we are made complete in him alone!

Local congregation:
Grace Communion Peterborough
Farcet Village Hall                             
Main Street
Farcet
Peterborough
PE7 3AN

Meeting time 
Sunday 11.00 am

Local congregational contact:
Richard Dempsey
Email:  richard.dempsey@btinternet.com
Local church website: GRACE COMMUNION CHURCH PETERBOROUGH – Landing Page

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church