The Fullness of Christ

Ephesians 1: 15 23

Sometimes I think we dont pay enough attention to that first week of creation
described for us in the early chapters of Genesis. We kind of breeze by it, as if
were in a hurry to get past the wonder of the creation itself, and even the glory
of the man and the woman, created to bear the image of God and to rule over the
birds of the air and the fish of the sea and every creature that moves along the
ground, so we can get busy focusing on the sinfulness of our fallen condition.
But we need to focus more often on that creationon paradiseon Edenon
that garden that God created so that his people could live with him in the fullness
of joy and blessing, understanding who their creator was, and why he made
them.
So this morning, as we begin, I want to focus especially on that sixth day, when,
after he had made the living creatures according to their kinds: livestock,
creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals each according to its
kind, God said, Let us make humanity in our image, in our likeness, and let
them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over
all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.
Were told that on that day, God formed Adam from the dust of the ground,
inspired him with the breath of life, and the man he had formed became a living
being. But something wasnt quite finished in that moment, because in spite of
the fact that God had stepped back at the end of each day, looked at all that he
had made and pronounced it good; after causing all of the other creatures to pass
before Adam so that he might name them, when he looked at Adam, standing
there by himself, he said, It is not good It is not good for the man to be
alone
And we can only speculate about what it was like to awake and to be introduced
to his brideno dating rituals, no courtship here; just a match made in heaven so
to speak. And whether or not they were the pinnacle and ideal of humanity as
some have suggested, surely they were ideal for one another, this first man and
first woman. After all, God had said, I will make a helper suitable for [or
corresponding to] him. And let me reiterate, guys, that when God saw that it
was not good for man to be alone, he did not give the man a dog, or a truck. He
did not, seeing that it was not good for the man to be alone create the NHL;
rather, he made a womana helper corresponding to him.
And let me also point out before we move on that she was not created to be a
helpmate with all of the connotations of that lovely wordnot a helper as in,
an assistant to the man. It was not as if God saw that Adam, having so much
work to do out in the garden, was gonna need someone to pick up his
laundryjust think about it for a minute, youll get it in a whileAs a matter
of fact, the Hebrew word translated helper here is the very same word used in
the Psalms where David and others make statements like, God is my helper
so its clear that the word itself is not an indication in any sense of some kind of
superiority of the one helped over the one doing the helping.
So, God creates this magnificent and beautiful person to be counterpart to the
man. She is all that he is not, and vice versa. She completes him and makes
humanity whole and together in the fullness of their humanity they will bear and
perpetuate the image of God.
Adam seems to understand this instinctively, because immediately, when he sees
her he says not, Wow! or even, Cool! this is now the little woman, and she shall
pick up my socks and keep me warm at night. NO. He, in that moment when he
is introduced to his bride, says, This is me. This is now bone of my bones and
flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.
Which is to say, Everything else in the world is not like me. This onethis
womanshe is like me. Shes made from the same stuff, the same blood and
bone and breath.
You see, we often go to Genesis 2 to highlight the differences between male and
female, but the truth is, Genesis 2 exists to do exactly the opposite. Genesis 2
exists to highlight the fact that male and female alike are made from the same
stuff and bear together the image of God, and its important that we understand
all this, because Ephesians chapter 5 tells us that to some extent, all of this was
done in order to give us a sense of the relationshipthe correspondencethat
exists between God and his people, or, more specifically, between Christ and the
church.
Paul wrote: IN this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own
bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own
body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the churchfor we are
members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and
be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
See, there is a connectiona relationship if you preferand it is defined by
covenant, but the covenant itself defines a spiritual or a mystic union that exists

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not only between a man and a woman, but also between Christ and his bride, the
church. So we are the body of Christ, but we are also his bride, or more
accurately, we are his body because we are his bride. And watch the connections
that run back and forth here, because on one level Paul is talking about marriage
in the human sphere, but hes so caught up in the mystery that youd never know
it.
In verse 25, Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her
Then again in 28, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodiesafter
all, no one ever hated his own body, but he fees and cares for it, just as Christ
does the churchfor we are members of his body.
And then, that argument from the beginning of the world, For this reason a
man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will
become one flesh. This is a profound mysterybut I am talking about Christ
and the church.
Which ought to literally just blow us away.
I mean, we sort of get the whole marriage covenant/one flesh relationship as it
exists in time between a husband and wife, but do we even begin to grasp the
enormity of what Paul is saying here. In the same way that a man and a woman
become oneand what God has joined together no man may dividein that
same wayChrist is one with the church; we are bone of his bones and flesh of
his flesh. As with Adam and Eve, the church iswe arethe compliment; the
counterpart; the very body of Jesus Christ, the son of God and God the son.
Which explains that one little verse in our text this morning.
God place 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.
But do we understand that? Can we get our heads around the concept?
I think our immediate reaction is to think, It cannot be so! The church cannot
have that kind of correspondence and relationship to Christ. He is God and we
are not. He is sinless, and we, wellwe are not. Weve been told time and again
that its not about us. The church cannot be the fullness of him who fills
everything in every way.

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And in case you should be tempted to think that this is some kind of heretical
post-modern spin that Im bringing to this ancient text, listen to Calvin. The old
master writes,
The fullness of him that filleth all in all. This is the highest honour of the Church,
that, until He is united to us, the Son of God reckons himself in some measure
incomplete. what consolation is it for us to learn, that, not until we are along
with him, does he possess all his parts, or wish to be regarded as complete!
Hence, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, when the apostle discusses largely
the metaphor of a human body, he includes under the single name of Christ the
whole Church.
So this is not new or innovative. This is reformed and biblical theology at its best
and brightest. We arethe church ishis body, the fullness of him who fills
everything in every way. The very incredulity that we feel is the basis for Pauls
prayer at the end of chapter one. Having already told us that in Christ we have
redemption; in Christ we were adopted as Gods children; and in Christ we were
chosen and predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in
conformity with the purpose of his will; Paul goes on to pray that we would be
able to understand fully what this means.
He prays, as we saw a couple weeks ago, that we might know his incomparably
great power at work in those of us who believe. He prays that we would realize
that the same power that brought Jesus alive from the tomb and raised him up to
the right hand of God the Father almighty is already at work in us. We have been
raised up with himgiven life, eternal lifein Christ Jesus our Savior. And thats
not the promise of something to be delivered in the future, its a statement of the
reality which is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord right here and right now. In him, you
have life. In him you have the kind of life that makes physical death insignificant.
Thats why Jesus said, The one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do
you understand that? Will never die You have already been raised up with
Christ by the power of the one who works out everything in conformity with the
purpose of his will. Do you believe this? Paul prayed that you would; that you
would understand the kind of power that is at work in you through Christ Jesus.
He also prayed that we would know the hope to which we have been calledthe
riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. And you need to underline and
highlight that word riches because sometimes as Christians we begin to feel as
though we are making sacrifices for the sake of the kingdom; giving up all of the
good things and the pleasures of this world so that someday, in the sweet by and

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by we may inherit something which is hopefully better than what we have given
upand most of us have a hard time believing it. But Paul prays that the eyes of
our hearts may be enlightened; that is, that we may see with something other
than our physical sight, that we may perceive the riches which are ours already in
the graciousness and goodness and greatness of our God.
Again, Calvin writes,
Foolish men imagine that this language is absurdly hyperbolical; but godly
persons, who are engaged in daily struggleshave no difficulty in perceiving that
not a word is here used beyond what is perfectly just. As the importance of the
subject cannot be too strongly expressed, so our unbelief and ingratitude led Paul
to employ this glowing language. We never form adequate conceptions of the
treasure revealed to us in the gospel; or, if we do, we cannot persuade ourselves
that it is possible for us to do so, because we perceive nothing in us that
corresponds to it, but everything the reverse. Pauls object, therefore, was not
only to impress the Ephesians with a deep sense of the value of Divine grace, but
also to give them exalted views of the glory of Christs kingdom. That they might
not be cast down by a view of their own unworthiness, he exhorts them to
consider the power of God
And its all here in black and white, written down for us in the word of the gospel.
This is what God is doing in this world. He is reconciling all things to himself in
Christ Jesus his son. He has raised him up and seated him at his own right hand in
the spiritual realm, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and
every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to
come. And God place all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over
everything for the church Praise God from who all blessings flow. Our God
reigns. Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords, but wewe are his body.
We are his bride. We are the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. It
is the glory of Christ is to glorify his bride that we may be one with him; seated as
he is, even now, at the right hand of God.
And I dont want to overemphasize this, but I really dont think that I can. There
is a movement afoot in our time to devalue the church; to speak of it as a mere
man-made institution; to speak of it as if its completely disposable and we can
take it or leave it at our choice. The truth is, we can take it or leave it, but at our
peril. For the church is his body, the fullness of Christ. So you dont want to go
to church anymore? (It was the title of a best-selling book in the last year or
two.) OK, but understand, just as you cannot withdraw and remove yourself

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from the body of a person without withdrawing from the person himself, you
cannot withdraw from the body of Christ and then claim to have a personal
relationship with him. Christs relationship to his people is defined by a
covenantspecifically, by a marriage covenantthe church is his body because
the church is his bride and to have a relationship with Jesus requires that we be
part of his church.
Our reformed forefathers understood this. Thats why having defined the church
as a holy congregation and gather of true Christian believers, awaiting their
entire salvation in Jesus Christ being washed by his blood, and sanctified and
sealed by the Holy Spirit, the Belgic Confession goes on in Article 28 to say, We
believe that since this holy assembly and congregation is the gathering of those
who are saved and there is no salvation apart from it, no one ought to withdraw
from it, content to be by himself, regardless of his status or condition. But all
people are obliged to join and unite with it, keeping the unity of the church by
submitting to its instruction and discipline, by bending their necks under the yoke
of Jesus Christ, and by serving to build up one another according to the gifts God
has given them as members of each other in the same body.
Of course, we need to talk more about the relationship between the church as
the body of Christ and particular, local manifestations of that body, which we will
do, Lord willing, as we continue the study of this wonderful little letter. But in the
mean time, if you are ever tempted to be critical and judgmental; if you are
tempted to downplay the importance of the church or the honor of Christs
glorious bride; if you are tempted to withdraw, content to be by [yourself]; if
you are tempted to not discern the body of Christ in the gathering of his people;
then, please, stop and thinkremember and believe that the church is, for all of
its flaws and faults, sin and selfishness, the bride of Christ. And because we are
his bride, we are his bodybone of his bone; flesh of his fleshthe fullness of
him who fills everything in every way; the fullness of Christto God be the glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus, now and forevermore.