Iron Man, the Wasp, the Hulk, Thor and Ant-Man, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye may not be known to some of you. But they have been labelled “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” and form the Avengers team of superheroes fighting evil since the 1960s. The team have a famous battle call of “Avengers Assemble!” as they fight super-humans, deities, aliens and many other dark powers.
What a wonderful leadership team!
This fantasy team join forces to become one powerful energy of strength. Not one of them can conquer alone, the team is needed.
Why am I mentioning The Avengers? I’m introducing you to Gnosticism (Gnostic is the Greek word for knowledge) which was a name given to a loosely organised religious and philosophical movement in the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C believing in a collection of religious ideas. It is still here in the 21st century in the school of thought that says the Divine is spread across a number of different deities: Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha etc all expressions of God.
The Apostle is countering Gnosticism in his usual remarkable way in this verse:
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Colossians 1 v 19)
Paul takes a word and redeems it. A word that his readers would instantly understand who he was referring to. ‘Fullness’ is ‘pleroma’. The gnostic false teachers were using this word constantly to speak of the sum total of all the divine power and attributes found in all the entities when brought together into one unit then represents a totality of divine nature, the pleroma. The Apostle, with one clever sentence, rubbishes this anti-Christ religious system by saying the whole of divine power, God, lives in Jesus. The pleroma of God, all the attributes of God are in Jesus. Is Jesus a prophet? A good man? To even ask those questions demean the one who is God in flesh and the pleroma of Him.
Paul is saying Jesus was and is totally God. It is not that he looks a bit like God. He is God to the fullest of what He can be seen as. He isn’t an assistant God, a watered-down version of God. He is God 100%.
Paul also uses the word ‘dwell’ which is actually the word used for a permanent dwelling. Throughout every generation and for all time, Jesus remains God.
He is and will be everything that God could possibly be.
Christ is my reward; And all of my devotion; Now there’s nothing in this world; That could ever satisfy
Through every trial; My soul will sing; No turning back; I’ve been set free
Christ is enough for me; Christ is enough for me; Everything I need is in You; Everything I need
Christ my all in all; The joy of my salvation; And this hope will never fail; Heaven is our home
Through every storm; My soul will sing; Jesus is here; To God be the glory
I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back; No turning back
The cross before me; The world behind me; No turning back; No turning back
(Myrnin/Morgan, Hillsong)
Do you feel life is unfair? Do you believe you are entitled to something more? Do you look at what others have and want it?
Remember Job? He lost his children, his livelihood, everything, even the respect from his wife.
What have you lost? If you lost everything will you still love Jesus? Is He enough?
If you never get married, if you never get that job, that house, those friends, that popularity, will you still love Jesus?
If He never answered another prayer of yours the way you want Him to, will you still love Him?
Is Jesus Christ still a good God? Or do you need to go somewhere else?
Paul tells us today that Christ is Enough!
Missions Paul 