Filled to overflow
And God placed all things under his 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. –Ephesians 1:22-23 (NIV)
As I read Ephesians, I’m struck with how often Paul mentions the idea of “filling” and “fullness” in regard to the church. Jesus wants to fill all creation with Himself, and intends to accomplish this by filling the church with Himself to the point that we overflow into every crack and crevice of His world. We are empowered by His Spirit to do that, but can only do so to the extent that we allow ourselves to be filled by Him and with Him.
So what does it look like for the body to be filled with Christ? Wherever the Spirit of Christ reigns, there is peace, joy, and love. I have most often seen that in play within churches and groups of Christians who are submitted to Christ and one another, living and giving as the Spirit leads without any false motives or competing agendas. It’s a beautiful thing, but it’s rare and often fleeting because we tend to allow selfishness or suspicion to creep in and muddy the water.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. –Ephesians 3:17b-19 (NIV)
I sometimes feel disappointed that we have fallen so short so often. I know it’s a process, but how slow and obstinate can we be? On the other hand, He never gives up. He demonstrates His faith in us with each new generation. I have often thought of spirituality as mostly a vertical relationship between God and me. But Paul repeatedly tells us here that Christ is working primarily through the collective influence of the body, which means the horizontal is every bit as important as the vertical.
That makes sense. A godly person shines a light into darkness. This is true and right. But when a group of God’s people are shining together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The witness of a church that loves one another and their community as Christ loves, in conjunction with being kind and decent people individually, is compelling stuff – people see this is from God.
He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. –Ephesians 4:10-13 (NIV)
Paul talks about “attaining to” the “whole measure of the fullness”. So we have not yet achieved, but are working in that direction. To get there, and so optimize our overflow, requires unity, knowledge of the Son, and maturity.
Jesus will return one day and complete the job of filling everything, reconciling all things to Himself, administering justice. What we have witnessed sporadically will become the abiding reality. Until then, we strive to be filled to overflow. Spirit, fill Your people. Move among the churches in ways we have not previously imagined. We need You. We need revival. Come to enable and receive the glory due You.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. –Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)