Experiencing the Fullness of

God

Series Verses:Ephesians 3

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

Series Verses:Ephesians 3

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Series Verses:Ephesians 3

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

Series Verses:Ephesians 3

18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Series Verses:Ephesians 3

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

“Filled with all the Fullness of God”

“It’s not a one-time filling. It’s a constant refueling. Why? Because we have a constant need. There are always things in our life which are draining us, challenging us and wearing us down.”

Pastor Mark Roper

First PointPantheism is a

defective view of the “Fullness” of God.

Eastern Roots of Pantheism: Hinduism

Brahma is “an eternal, unchangeable, absolute being, the soul of all beings, who … willed to produce various beings from his own divine substance.

-- Laws of Menu

Eastern Roots of Pantheism: Taoism

There is a thing, formless yet complete. Before heaven and earth it existed. We do not know its name, but we call it Tao. It is the Mystery of Mysteries. (Lao Tzu)

Pantheism vs. Panentheism

Pantheism Panentheism

God is the tree/The tree is God

God is in the tree/God is beyond the tree

Pantheism Enters the West

•Proposition 5: Two separate substances cannot share the same attributes.

•Proposition 11: God has every actual and possible attribute.

•Proposition 14: Thus, no other substance can exist.

Benedict Spinoza

Pantheism Popularized in America

“I am nothing! I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God.” Ralph Waldo

Emerson

Scientific Pantheism

“I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.” –1928

Albert Einstein

Key Question

The Green Movement

New Age

Spirituality

Why is pantheism gaining in popularity in our culture?

WiccanPaganism

Jill Carattini on Pantheism

“In seeing all things divine, divinity itself is expelled from the

world entirely.”

Second PointGod is the one who fills the

universe, and Jesus is the bodily expression of God’s fullness.

Ephesians 1:22-23

22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Ephesians 4:10

10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.

The Image

Colossians 1:15 He is the image (εἰκών) of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

•εἰκών / ācōn = exact image•ὁμοίωμα / homoiōma = similar appearance.

The Creator

Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

•Notice that Jesus, in his role as creator, is distinct from creation, not one with creation.

The Preexistent Sustainer

Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

•He is before all things.•He actively sustains creation.

The FirstbornColossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

•Arian Heresy•Proper Understanding

The Fullness

19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Third PointAs we mature in Christ, we experience God’s fullness.

Ephesians 3:19

…and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 4:11-13

11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

Ephesians 4:11-13

13 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 5:18

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

πληρόω / play-ro-ō

1. Filled to the brim;

overflowing; to flood.

πληρόω / play-ro-ō

Often used of the wind billowing the sails of a

ship and providing

impetus to move the ship across

the water.

πληρόω / play-ro-ō

Also conveys the idea of

permeation as of salt’s

permeating meat in order to

flavor and preserve it.