Deuteronomy 7-9

Mark 11:19-33

“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the Word of God in its fullness…” —Colossians 1:25

Presenting the Word of God in its fullness is what it means to be a servant of the church. The pattern is that in being a servant of Jesus Christ, we are a servant of the church. To be a servant of the church, we are a servant of the gospel. And to be a servant of the gospel, we are to present the Word of God in its fullness.

This is not a fullness as in its vital content, which there is plenty of in Scripture, nor is it a fullness in the thoroughness or amount of documentation in the Bible. Paul is speaking of the fullness of the Word of God in the sense of its goal, its climax and its pinnacle. To preach the Word of God in its fullness is actually to crack open the mystery, which is “Christ in you.”

All of Scripture leads to Jesus Christ and is derived from Him. This is the criterion by which Scripture is to be understood in the experiential nature of what it means to be a Christian and to live the Christian life. It is all about “Christ in you,” which is why the disciples were never called followers of Jesus after Pentecost. Before Pentecost, “followers” was an appropriate description, because following Christ was all that was available to them. After Pentecost, it was no longer Christ among you, above you, around you or with you, but “Christ in you.” As Christians, we are not followers of Christ, but we are in Christ and Christ is in us.

So how do we live in the good of that? Paul writes, “He is the One we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:28-29). Jesus Christ is the message they proclaimed, and, in the face of persecution and

hardship, it was in the strength and energy of Christ they persevered. Life will often feel like trying to pick ourselves up by our boot straps, and we simply cannot do it. The apostles’ strategy was to present everyone living in complete dependence on Christ.

Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son....” The last days refer to the era between Christ’s ascension and His return to earth. We are in the last days, and in Jesus Christ, God has given us everything we need—the fullness of His Word in His Son to be lived in us, through us and for us.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus Christ so that we may live in His strength and energy. Keep me living every day in dependence on Him. Amen!