Jesus is the Fullness (Part III)

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, Colossians 1:19

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. John 1:16

It was the Father’s pleasure to send Jesus in fullness to change the course of our lives. The fullness of Christ gives us everything we need for the life God intended for us to live.  

The fullness of grace and truth in Jesus is powerful, but many in the body of Christ have not understood or appreciated the value of what He came to offer us. Hence, some churches struggle to know what to preach and how to reach people without compromising on either truth or grace  

Why is the body of Christ seem to be divided between those who proclaim the grace of God and those who hold on to the truth of the gospel? Below are a few reasons that have caused some churches to be in one camp or the other.

1. We live in a culture where education has become the idol of humanity. Therefore, much of our training is intellectual and heady, which leads people to operate from the natural perspective rather than spiritual. In this mode of operation, believers tap into their natural understanding and knowledge to solve spiritual problems. Spiritual things are only discerned spiritually and can only be addressed spiritually. Jesus declared himself to be the resurrection and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through him. Our plans, projects, and curriculum have no power on their own to bring about the change in people’s lives until such a time that people are exposed with the resurrection power of Jesus. If we rely on education or intellect as the means of transformation of humanity, we are going to be pressured to come up with more creative programs and seeker friendly messages to get people hooked on Jesus!

2. The ills of society cannot be fixed with our level of compassion for people. Compassion is critical in reaching people for it opens the door to deeper ministry, but on its own is powerless to bring lasting change.  Many believers try to reach people through the mercy and the love of God and miss addressing man’s sinful nature that has to be dealt with before the individuals begin the road to recovery. As a matter of fact, some churches are so compassionate that they tell people that God loves them and will be in relationship with them regardless of what they do and their lifestyle. First of al that is not the truth. The Lord expects us to repent and follow Him by denying ourselves. Secondly, the person may feel comfortable, but it will not transform them and free them from their bondages.

3.  Social justice has become a new ministey for some churches leading them to become weak and ineffective spiritually. There are important issues that should be addressed. However, when the church looks to government to fix societal issues, she is in danger of getting distracted and polluted. Social justice draws the church to align itself with certain politicians or a political party to ensure that their agenda moves forward. We are called to be in the world but not of the world. We cannot forget that political parties are secular entities that their main objective is to win elections and push forward their secular agenda. Their goal is not to serve God or to glorify God. They only happen to push for certain policies that we like or deem more Godly.

   We may agree with certain policies of a person or a political party, but when the church aligns itself with them, it looks as if the church is in agreement with all the views or policies of the politician or political party. As a result, it cannot speak truth on certain issues because it has to show wholehearted support and agreement with those that it politically supports. This pollutes and dilutes the church. The church will lose its saltiness when it desperately seeks a certain political agenda thereby compromising the gospel message. Whenever the church and government go to bed together, the end result is a weak church!

Not everyone liked or received what Jesus had to say. Our success is not going to come from the measure of being liked by the world or the size of our church membership. When we remain consistent with being filled with the fullness of Jesus’ truth and grace, we will be powerful to reach whosoever is ready to accept and receive Jesus and experience transformation in their lives.