For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. Colossians 2:9-10

Science experiments help us understand seemingly abstract concepts in concrete ways. Most students love the moment their teacher transitions from a lecture to the lab because the creative experiment allows students to better understand the material from their textbooks and by applying real-life materials, objects, and processes to their newfound concepts. One science experiment that has always interested students is the surface tension of liquids. Water has a higher surface tension than other liquids due to its high polarity and the hydrogen bonds between molecules. The result is being able to add more water than what a container can hold, where the liquid forms a layer just above the top of the container. The container can have even more liquid than it was designed for. It is perfectly and completely full. This is the New Testament idea of fullness. The Greek word for fullness used throughout the New Testament is Pleroma, meaning something is completely and abundantly filled up.

When Pleroma is used in Scripture, the word is synonymous with the fullness and fulfillment of something. It helps us understand what is filled, what fills, and the fulfillment of something. It is both the fullness and completeness of something. Fullness appears in Colossians 1 and 2 and Galatians 4:4-7, and when taken together, we begin to grasp the idea about the fullness of God’s plan in redemptive history. We see the world’s need for a savior, the fullness of Jesus, and our fullness in Christ. First, God’s fullness dwelt in Jesus. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col. 1:19-20). We see that Jesus was both fully God and fully man (Col. 2:9). In Jesus’ deity, God’s fullness dwelt in Him, and in His humanity, He died on the cross to reconcile to Himself all things. Jesus was God in Pleroma (fulness) and fully man. This is known as the hypostatic union, an idea we will explore more in October. Next, In Galatians 4, Paul continues to discuss Jesus’ reconciling ministry and how, through His work, we are now God’s children. Jesus reconciled us to God and did so at the exact moment in redemptive history that God had always planned to do so. Paul writes, “when the time had fully come,” meaning that God sent his Son at the perfect time in history when the world was “pleroma,” or completely and fully ready according to God’s perfect and sovereign plan. Lastly, in Christ, we have also been brought to fullness. “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness” (Col. 2:9). In Christ, we have been brought to fullness. We have everything we need in Jesus.

Reformed theologian Charles Spurgeon says this about the fullness of Christ, “You will never know the fullness of Christ until you know the emptiness of everything but Christ.” To know this fullness available to you in Christ, we must remove everything that separates us from Him. Is that a habit or lifestyle choice? It might be a sin you are unwilling to repent and release. Think about the fullness of Christ, the emptiness of ourselves, and what we gain when we repent and run to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We can only be made full when we are first emptied. In Christ, we have been filled and made complete. The God who brought forth his plan to redeem the world and put his fullness in Jesus is the God who has made you full in Christ.