… the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Summary: Making sense of Paul’s sentences can be a challenge. Today’s passage is one of those challenges. What is Paul talking about and what does he mean? The answer is found in a closer look at what Paul wrote.
To understand today’s passage we need to add the context for these words:
And God placed all things under his [Jesus’] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
There is a thing called “sentence diagraming” that I wish I understood better. Fortunately, there is a gizmo on the web that generates sentence diagrams automatically.*
This first sentence is a simple one; “See Spot run.” “VB” is the verb (base form), and “NN” is a noun. “NP” stands for “noun phrase,” “VP” is “verb phrase,” and “S” is for “simple declarative clause.”
So that is what a simple sentence looks like. What does Paul’s sentence look like? Let’s see:
Obviously, it is very complicated. Does anyone besides me think that it looks like a cross?
Hmmm…
Suffice it to say that Paul’s sentence is not simple. Let’s see if we can decode it another way.
And God placed all things under his [Jesus’] feet and appointed him [Jesus] to be head over everything for the church…
Okay. This first part is fairly straightforward. Let’s continue:
[the church] which is his body, the fullness of him …
This part is also simple. The church is the body of Jesus on earth. The “fullness of him” seems to be an expression that means all of Jesus. Not that the church contains Jesus as separate from God, but that the church contains all that Jesus has to offer here on earth.
… who fills everything in every way.
This last part is a bit tricky. The church, which is the fullness of Jesus, “fills everything.”
It sounds like Paul is saying that the body of Jesus fills the world.
Most translations stick to the same formulation that is used by the NIV. However, there are some interesting exceptions. The “Message” translation renders the passage this way:
“The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”
If I am understanding Paul correctly (and I humbly acknowledge that I could be wrong!), it sounds like Jesus wants to fill the entire world with his presence. It kinda sounds like the way this is supposed to happen is his church, you and me, are supposed to be the body of Christ in the world.
Does that sound right to you?
Application: If we are to be the body of Jesus here on earth, we have to behave like we are his people 24/7.
Food for Thought: How is filling “everything in every way” different than going to church on Sunday?
How is filling “everything in every way” different than going to church on Sunday?
…… first off I smiled and laughed. It did look like a cross.
Filling “everything in every way” could mean more than one thing or one day in your life. You should include Him in all aspects of your life. when you eat, sleep, wake up, drive in your car, meet new people, every day every chance your nudged by the Holy Spirit to do something ( sometimes shoved ). God wants that relationship with you every minute you have is a gift from our Lord. Did you thank Him yet today?
Tim,
I am glad for the smiles and laughter, brother! 🙂
And yes, we have a lot to be thankful for! Living our faith is much more than just talking about it.
How is filling “everything in every way” different than going to church on Sunday?
If it were a Venn diagram “everything in every way” would be the big circle, and “going to church on Sunday” would be a smaller circle inside the big circle. If your not careful you might get the two backwards. We receive from the Lord, and then we are able to give back to the Lord, and to others in love. That takes constant contact (prayer, scripture), understanding, and a heart willing to follow God’s will.
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Nicely put, Chris!
I guess I could say that it makes a lot of sense Venn you put it that way! 🙂
I still have nightmares and trauma from doing Greek sentence diagramming in seminary.
And yes, I personally agree with your assessment. We are His body and we are filled and empowered by the Spirit to be his hands and feet to glorify Him by spreading the gospel, doing good works in His name and bearing spiritual fruit. There is so much more than going to church. Church is where we go to get fed in order to feed others.
Wow!!
Brother Rich, anyone who can diagram a Greek sentence is right up there with brain surgeons in my book! 🙂
03-23-2023, How is filling “everything in every way” different than going to church on Sunday?
To fill everything in every way is to open every door to every room in our hearts and humbly give our Omnipresent God full access to every aspect of our lives. Give all to Him, and become His child as He teaches us His ways in every aspect of life. Seek to become a living example of Jesus Christ 24hours a day, 7 days a week. Our every need will be taken care of beyond anything we can imagine.
In the early Church, all believers would sell all they had and would share all things with others. They became a collection of people who had chosen to worship Christ by becoming poor in this world to become rich in the next. Persecutions and worldliness led to the end of this.
Acts 2:45, Acts 4:34
At the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 Roman Emperor Constantine and the Catholic Church established Sunday as a day of rest.
Today many believers set aside Sunday or Saturday as the day to worship, and they assemble together in various forms of worship and fellowship. Some will have a morning and evening service as well as a Wednesday evening service. What they do with the rest of their time is between them and the Lord.
Jesus has filled the entire world with His presence, there is nothing that exists without His approval. He has given all mankind an opportunity to become part of the body of Christ in this world, by the power of the Holy Spirit, His Convicting, Gift of Faith, Sealing, Interceding, Teaching.
John 14:26, 16:8-16, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1:13-14, Romans 8:26-27
Galatians 6:8
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
John 7:37-39 , By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.