The Fullness of Christ
We all probably know someone who likes to go above and beyond when it comes to Christmas presents. In my family, it was my grandma. I am told she used to give us grandkids so many Christmas gifts each year, my parents finally had to tell her to just give one gift per child. I am the youngest in my family, so my recollections of this era are dim and fuzzy, perhaps even nonexistent, but I do remember what happened next: my grandma discovered gift bags.
Now, we’re not talking normal sized gift bags, either. No, my grandma took such delight in giving, she found the biggest gift bags that could be bought, then filled them to the brim with all kinds of exciting things. From then on, each child did receive “one” present—but it was a present full of presents!
Grandma’s gift bags are a good illustration of that first Christmas gift. Yes, Jesus came to die and rise again in payment for your sin and mine, but salvation from hell is just the beginning. It’s the gift bag, so to speak, full of blessing upon blessing. As John 1:16-17 says,
“And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
Grace and truth. Just think of the joy of knowing that God has promised His own help. No more are we burdened under the weight of a law we can never keep. In Christ, we have the Holy Spirit’s power to enable us to do right! As Galatians 5:16 puts it,
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
We have the Spirit of God—God Himself—living inside us, enabling us to do what is pleasing to our holy God. We have but to yield to the Spirit, and victory is ours! Perhaps this is what Jesus meant in Matthew 5 when He said,
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (v.6)
Christ’s gift of salvation doesn’t just give us a thirst for righteousness, it also gives us a guarantee that the thirst will be satisfied. Whether through the empowering of the Holy Spirit while here on earth, or through the sinlessness of our glorified bodies in heaven throughout eternity, we will have victory over sin.
Christ’s gift doesn’t just make righteousness possible, it gives us a sure and certain promise that our Spirit-led hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled.
Tracing this thought of the fulness of Christ given to us, I cannot help but think of Jesus’ words in John 15:11:
“These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
The “these things” at the beginning of the verse refers to what Jesus has just been teaching His disciples, truths about abiding in Christ and bearing fruit. This is grace and truth again: grace given when we yield to the truth of our dependence on Him, just like a branch needs the vine, so we, too, need Jesus.
But this truth and the grace extended to us for fruit bearing is not some dull lifeless thing. It is not a truth to be repeated over and over as mere words: it is a truth that brings joy!
I am reminded of a powerful illustration in the book Hind’s Feet on High Places. At one point, a flower is described, a small, fragile thing that had sprung up beneath a leak in a water pipe. There in the middle of a barren desert, this one tiny flower grew. When asked its name, the flower replies, “Behold me! My name is Acceptance-With-Joy.”
The little flower described was dependent on that leaky pipe for its very existence, but it had exactly what it needed to grow. That is like the way it is with us and God. His grace and truth are poured abundantly, unceasingly, unfailingly upon us, and when we accept our dependence on Him, He gives us in return His fulness. Truly, “Of His fulness we all have received, and grace for grace.” (John 1:16-17)
The Christmas season can be a time of intense busyness, stress, and emotions. There is a hurried, flurried buildup of trying to get everything done and everything ready, all while keeping everyone happy and buoyant through the Christmas season. It can be draining, and often leaves us feeling empty and weary, as if we’ve used up all we have until there is just no more.
This is why the fulness of Christ is such a powerful truth to remember in this last push towards Christmas Day. In Him, we have the source of perfect peace, everlasting strength (Isaiah 26:3-4) and, as we have already seen, grace and truth. His mercies and compassion are ever-new and never-failing (Lamentations 3:22-23) and wisdom. (James 1:5) All this and more are available to us as we abide in Christ.
So, as Christmas preparations and events whirl you ever forward, make sure your heart abides in Christ. Whatever it takes, make time to spend with Him, and then keep your heart in tune with the Holy Spirit throughout your day and see the difference the fulness of God makes even in the midst of a rushed and hurried season.
“I am the Vine, and ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5