I. Who is Jesus?
In Him dwells the fullness of God (see also Colossians 2:9).
Many scholars believe that part of the problem at Colosse was an early form of Gnosticism. The Gnostics taught that Jesus was a created being, one of many spiritual beings between man and God, each spiritual being or Aeon being at a different level depending upon their knowledge. The more knowledge, the higher up the spiritual being. They taught that the spirit was good but the flesh or body was bad, thus, they said, God, who was perfect goodness, would not and could not dwell in flesh. So they denied the incarnation.
Paul refutes this kind of teaching head on. He says that not only did Jesus reconcile us through the body of His flesh, but he states that in Jesus dwelt the fullness of God. Some of the false teachers, who denied the deity of Jesus said that Jesus was a normal mortal man and that God's Spirit only settled upon Him for a while. Paul says that the fullness of God (see 2:9) dwelt in Him bodily.
The word fullness is the Greek word from which we get our word "plentitude." It denotes the totality of divine powers and attributes that reside in Jesus.
The word dwell is interesting. It means to permanently reside. In other words these divine attributes that Jesus possessed were not temporary, as some were teaching, they were and are a part of who He was and is.
The Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ, God the Son, was born of a virgin, with a human body, and a sinless human nature and that in Him perfect humanity, like existed before the fall, and the totality of the divine nature coexist.
Remember, who Jesus is, is one of the most important issues we will ever face. If He is not who He says He is, then He could not do what He said He did, and if He did not do what He said He did then our faith is in vain.
Is it any wonder that the world is trying to redefine who Jesus is? You can see it on the Learning Channel or on Public Broadcasting, or in Time Magazine. There are numerous articles and shows trying to redefine Jesus. As Christians, not only must we know who Jesus is, we must know to the degree that we can explain it to others.
Jesus was completely God and completely human.