Monday, August 5, 2013

Fullness of Christ

Today I was reading Ephesians 4:11-13.

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Here God reveals that He wants His believers to manifest the qualities of His Son, Jesus Christ. And Christ’s fullness is the full expression of his divine and human perfection. I believe the fullness of Christ includes all of His qualities and attributes. Can believers really grow to Christ-likeness to the degree that it represent the fullness of Christ? I guess the word "measure" in the passage suggest that we can show the fullness of Christ to in a limited way.

Greek word (metron)
An apparently primary word; a measure (“metre”), literally or figuratively; by implication a limited portion (degree): - measure. 

Christ is God and man. We are His people but we are not God. We are His glory-bearers. Yes.
The question I asked myself was this:
How can I manifest God's divine qualities and attributes?

He is holy but I am sinful.
He is majestic but I am a beggar.
(and the list goes on)

How does these divine/kingly attributes be manifested through me?

Then something hit me - that every divine/kingly attribute ought to teach us how to respond in a way which glorifies him. This way we acknowledge that He has that attribute and ultimately that He is God.

His holiness should compel me to do something about my sins and with my heart (since only the pure in heart will see God). His majestic should compel me to submit to his reign in all areas of my life. It was something brought up by a thinking activity quite some time ago and I was reminded of this lesson once again.

An answer given in history to handle this question I encountered today.

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