9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. (Colossians 2:9,10)
Thoughts: Paul is making a philosophical claim to counteract the weak and hollow philosophies of this world that do not provide substantive hope. The substance or fullness (pleroma) of the Deity- lives in Christ. If you want to see what God is like- look at Christ.
Paul is using a poetic device here. He contrasts the hollowness of this world to the fullness of Christ and then says that we are filled too. He doesn't explain what this fullness is. With what are we filled? The implication is we are filled with Christ and are in Christ now. This is not hollow, for the living God is living and not just made up. The living God gives us substantive hope beyond the grave and not just a wish for more life- with no basis. The God of love fills us with love and teaches us to love Him as well as neighbor and enemy. The living God fills us with faith so that we can believe and have courage. Faith, hope, and love is the trinity of things that fill us when we believe in Christ and not just invest in some hollow philosophy.
In college I studied philosophy. I studied the great philosophers of the west and also read the Koran and some Hindu philosophy. I found particularly, the Greek, Roman, and modern philosophers (which echo the Greek and Roman ideas) to be hollow shadows compared to the substantive claims and hope of Christ. Many of these were trying to find a reason for meaning and existence apart from God. The end result of this quest is the nihilism of Nietzsche or the angst of a Sartre or the "it doesn't matter" of post modernism. Life and behavior matters because there is a God of love who cares. This is substantive and fills us with faith hope and love.
Prayer: Help me Lord, to give up the hollow quest of finding meaning apart from you. Instead, help me to find fullness of life in you- the God of love.
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