The
Epistle to the Colossians is a wonderful unveiling of the
fulness of God in Christ, while in the Epistle to the
Ephesians we see the church as the fulness of Him Who
fills all in all.
“In
Whom (in Christ) we have redemption through His blood,
even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the Image of the
invisible God, the Firstborn of every creature: for by
Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that
are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all
things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before
all things, and by Him all things consist. And He
is the Head of the body, the church: Who is the
beginning, the Firstborn from the dead; that in all
things He might have the pre-eminence. For it
pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell;
and, having made peace through the blood of His Cross, by
Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say,
whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Col.
1:14-20).
“For
in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily. And ye are complete in Him, Which is the
head of all principality and power: in Whom also ye are
circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in
putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ: buried with Him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of
the operation of God, Who hath raised Him from the dead” (Col.
2:9-12).
“Having
the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what
is the hope of His calling, what the riches of the glory
of His inheritance in the saints, And what is the
exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe,
according to that working of the strength of His might
Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the
dead, and made Him to set at His right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and
power, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come: and He put all things in subjection under His feet,
and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fulness of Him That filleth all in
all” (Ephesians 1:18-23; ASV).
It
is understandable that it is important for us to know the
fulness God has purposed for us, but we must not overlook
the other side of the coin, that God wants us to be His
fulness. Paul speaks of an inheritance of
Christ in the saints (Eph. 1:11,18). The Lord
has something in us that gives Him pleasure, that which
for Him is fulness. The question is just how this
will be perfected in us, and whether there are conditions
that have to be recognized and met if the fulness of
Jesus Christ is to be realized in us.
As
an example, in 2 Kings 2:1 and 2, we see how this
condition is completely fulfilled in Elisha:
“And
it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into
heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from
Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I
pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And
Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to
Bethel.”
Elisha
cannot be dissuaded or discouraged from being zealous,
but follows his master Elijah, until he becomes witness
of his wonderful ascension. This is what God must
have in us to build on. There must be in us
something of the zeal that inspired Elisha. God does
not look for strength in us. He does not look for a
certain ability. He simply looks for the willingness
to be led and filled by Him with the power of His
resurrection, through which the testimony of Jesus Christ
in us becomes a reality.
God
puts this zeal to the test. He must take us to the
point of realizing whether we are serious or not, whether
in regard to His fulness it is only a desire on our side,
maybe a big desire, but still only a desire, not a
willingness to pay any price.
Have
we noted that in the chapter mentioned it significantly
says: “Elijah went with Elisha”? This
shows us that the Lord goes with us when our hearts are
set on Him, and that He often waits a long time for us to
be ready to move on. Is it not so that He often says
to us: “This is My way. Are you ready to go
that way? Good—prove it.” If we are
truly ready and prove this by taking the first step, He
then goes with us and very soon we may walk with
Him. But the Lord does not urge us to move
on. He does not force us to go forward. He
waits until we are ready.
The
way that Elijah and Elisha walked together is very
meaningful. We speak to those whose eyes of their
hearts have been opened, who have received a glimpse of
spiritual things. What does it mean to see that the
starting point of the road was Gilgal?
We
know Gilgal. It is the place where the new
generation was circumcised; the place where the reproach
of Egypt was rolled away. What does this mean?
It
means the putting aside of a life in the flesh. Speaking
figuratively, it is about the separating work of the
Cross. Here all personal interests have come to an
end. Every personal standpoint, all holding fast to
the ‘I’ is finished.
If
it is a question of God and the things of God, there can
be no other starting point than Gilgal. Only where the
flesh has been judged and the old man put into the grave,
can God turn to us and make us co-workers in His plan.
This
is easier said than done. This sounds very ‘edifying’.
But it costs a lot. It costs that which we
are. It costs our life.
Now,
let us say again that it is not written for
nothing: “If any man would come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and
follow Me” (Luke 9:23; ASV). If
we want to be His instruments, if we want to be available
for Him, so that He can have His rights through us, then
let us come over to His side. Let us give up all our
rights. This is the first step towards heavenly
fulness.
What
do we understand by the reproach of Egypt? One can
talk about heavenly things, and yet still live and act in
the flesh. It is the reproach of the world that
justifiably shakes its head about many a ‘Christian’
who becomes a stumbling block when holy talk is not
followed by deeds. Gilgal means: the reality of heavenly
things. And for us too, there can be no testimony
without the reality of the life to which we are called to
testify.
We
should not be annoyed that we always come back to the
same starting point for all God’s work in
us. What is the point if we continue without having
laid a good foundation? The good foundation is
Christ. As long as we have not grown together with
the Crucified in the likeness of His dying, we can know
nothing of a life of resurrection. Where there has
been no resurrection, there may be some knowledge, but no
life. There may be some understanding, but no power.
Therefore, let us bear in mind that God’s starting
point is Gilgal. From Gilgal we may take the first
step towards godly fulness.