Read this story. This is what the kingdom of God looks like in the athletic arena.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

ESV Colossians 1:19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,...

ESV Colossians 2:9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,...

ESV Philippians 2:6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.


Fullness and emptiness. Opposites. Jesus was filled with God. Jesus in some way "emptied" himself of God. As the Son of God in human form, the fullness of God was his by nature. He did not have to seek it.

As sons of God, the fullness of God is ours by our new nature. We do not have to grasp for it, it has been given--"and you have been filled in him..." (Col. 3:10).

Why don't we feel full?
1. We don't believe that we are filled ("blessed... in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places... Eph. 1:3).
2. We don't value what God has filled us with as much as what the world promises to fill us with.
3. We grab rather than pour. Fullness is expressed and experienced counter-intuitively. It's by moving in the direction of emptying (i.e. giving) that we enjoy the feeling of fullness.

Paul prays for a community, displaying and enjoying the glory (fullness) of God for the sake of surrounding world.

As distressing as it may be to us introverts, the fullness of God is experienced in community. Throughout the passage we have been looking at, Paul uses the second person PLURAL to address his audience. Although I do believe that I can personally experience the fullness of God, Paul did not intend for the fullness of God to be the product of a "privatized spirituality." The glory that fills the temple Jesus is now building manifests itself in and through community. I should not think that I can disconnect from other believers, practice some type of private spiritual disciplines and expect that I am going to experience the fullness that Paul is talking about. It is the Spirit-filled interaction within the New Covenant ecclessia that develops and displays the New Covenant shekinah that Paul prays for.

Cravings don't call the shots.



God rather than gunk comes out when I get poked.



That is why I am attracted by the promise of the fullness of God.

I heard Randy Pausch of "The Last Lecture" fame say, "Don't tell people what to do. Tell them a story and they will figure out what to do."

As I have approached this topic, I have avoided looking for a method, i.e. "Seven Steps to Experiencing the Fullness of God". Instead, I have been drawn to the Story, the context if you will, in which experiencing the fullness of God becomes possible.

As I mentioned in the previous post, Paul alludes to Solomon's dedication of the original Temple built in Jerusalem. Solomon saw the completion of the Temple as evidence that God had been faithful to the promise He had made to his father David--


ESV 2 Chronicles 6:8 But the LORD said to David my father, 'Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 9 Nevertheless, it is not you who shall build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.'


I believe Paul saw Solomon as only a partial and typological fulfillment of that promise.


ESV Ephesians 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.


Paul writes as if Jesus is rebuilding the Temple, but this time the Temple is not made of carved stones, but redeemed humanity. And this time, the glory of God fills the Temple prior to completion. As a matter of fact the fullness of God is essential to the rebuilding process.


As I put the fullness of God in the context of Christ constructing a new habitation of God (where heaven intersects earth), and as I begin to align my life to that activity, experiencing the fullness of God becomes more than just a prospect.

FULLNESS OF GOD (cont.)
Ephesians 3:14-19

ESV 2 Chronicles 7:1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

ESV Ephesians 3:19...and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

What is "This reason" (v14) that caused Paul to bow and pray this prayer to the Father? It is the same reason referred into in verse 1 of the same passage. Paul does not get to what he was going to do "for this reason" in verses 2-13. Instead, he discusses his ministry to the Gentiles. In verse 14 he gets back to what he was about to say. I believe the reason that he prays this prayer is given in the last few verses of Ephesians chapter 2.


ESV Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

The temple imagery in this passage is obvious. So I think an appropriate reading of the text would be "Because you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God [holy temple], I bow my knees to the Father...that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Other phrases in 3:14-19 also invoke temple imagery--"according to the riches of His glory" and "the breadth and length and height and depth"(i.e. dimensions of the Temple and furnishings).

Paul's prayer reminds me of Solomon's prayer that is recorded in 2 Chronicles 6. But instead of fire and smoke being the manifestation of the glory of God, in the case of God's new temple, it is the "love of Christ that surpasses knowledge".

The filling is what really makes so many desserts. Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, Pop Tarts. You know. All those culinary masterpieces. The filling also can really ruin a dessert. I can't tell you how many times I have bitten into a filled donut only to regret it once my teeth pierced the sweet pastry and I got a taste of what was on the inside.

I have lately been focusing my attention on Ephesians 3:19b, "that you may be filled with all the fullness of God". To me, that is an awesome prospect. When I get poked, something delightful rather than disgusting could come out. Also, my life can be characterized more by contentment than craving.

For several weeks, I have been teaching on this topic, so in the next several blogs I will reiterate and expand on some of the insights that I have drawn from Ephesians 3:14-19--

ESV Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!

Jews all over the world every year end the Passover Seder with these words. Here two articles that give different Jewish perspectives on the practice.

http://www.shma.com/nov03/shimon_felix.htm

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Passover/TO_Pesach_Seder/Seder_Steps/Zion_SederMeaning3_643/NextYearJerusalem.htm

Our observance of the Lord's Supper is based on Jesus' activities during the Passover Seder on the night before He was crucified. By the time of Jesus, the Passover had not only commemorative value, but gave tangible expression to the hope that God would one day deliver the Jewish people from captivity and exile (even though that exile was taking place in their own land) through a new Moses, a new David, the Messiah.

When we take the Lord's Supper I have observed that we emphasize the commemorative aspect more than the expectant. Yes, Messiah has come. Sins are forgiven. The Spirit has been given. Bonds have been broken. New creation has begun. But there is still a not-yet component of our salvation. We still groan with all of creation. We wait for complete redemption of our bodies and the rest of creation. We still long for the time when we will eat in renewed bodies and in a renovated world.

NEXT YEAR IN NEW JERUSALEM!