John
1:7,15-16 – He came as a witness to
testify concerning that light, so that through him all
might believe…(John testified concerning him. He
cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes
after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received
grace in
place of grace already given.
Colossians 1:19-20 – 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.
Colossians 2:9-10 – 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.
Romans 3:22-24 – This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus
Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Application:
- · In ancient times the older person was given respect and regarded as greater than the younger.
- · John the Baptist’s singular ministry was to testify about Jesus.
- · “Fullness” was part of the technical vocabulary of some Gnostic philosophies. In these systems it meant the sum of the supernatural forces controlling the fate of people. For Paul “fullness” meant the totality of God with all His powers and attributes.
- · The declaration that the very essence of deity was present in totality in Jesus’ human body was a direct refutation of Gnostic teaching.
- · The central thought in justification is that, although people clearly and totally deserve to be declared guilty, God declares them righteous because of their trust in Christ. This is stated in several ways here: (1) “freely”, (2) “by His grace”, (3) “through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” and (4) “by faith”.
All Scripture verses taken from NIV
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