There is a verse in Ephesians that I have read hundreds of times, but one day it stopped me in my tracks. I was skimming through chapter one, and suddenly I saw it clearly.
"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 all in all."
Ephesians 1:22-23The last phrase. The fullness of him who fills all in all.
I had always read past it. But this time I could not. Because Paul is not just saying Jesus is full of God. He is saying the church is the fullness of Christ. We are the body through whom Christ fills everything. We are the continuation of His presence on earth.
What Does "Fills All in All" Actually Mean?
Let me break this down. When Paul writes that Christ "fills all in all," he is using language of complete, total, nothing-left-out fullness.
Think about what fills a room. Light fills a room completely. Water fills a glass completely. Air fills your lungs completely. There is no empty space left.
Now apply that to Christ. He fills everything that exists. Every atom, every molecule, every corner of the universe. And then Paul adds something extraordinary: we are His fullness.
This is not poetic language. This is theological reality. The same Christ who fills the entire universe has chosen to live in you.
Paul uses the word pleroma here, which means completeness, fullness, the whole thing. We are not just part of Christ's body. We are His fullness.
This Changes Everything About Who You Are
When you understand this, you cannot look at yourself the same way again. You are not a half-empty vessel hoping to be filled someday. You are already full. You are already complete.
The apostle Paul puts it this way in Colossians:
"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."
Colossians 2:9And then, in the very next verse:
"And you have been given fullness in Christ."
Colossians 2:10Have been given. Past tense. Already. Not will be. Already have been.
You are not waiting to be filled. You are already full. The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you. The same wisdom that created the universe is in you. The same love that held creation together is in you.
Why We Do Not Feel Full
Now, here is the honest question. If we are already full, why do we feel so empty? Why do we struggle? Why do we feel lacking?
The answer is not that the fullness is not there. The answer is that we have not learned to access it. We are like someone living in a mansion who only uses the hallway closet.
The fullness is in you. It always has been. But learning to walk in it, to access it, to live from it, that is the journey of faith.
What Would Change?
If you truly believed that the same Christ who fills all things lives in you, what would change? How would you pray differently? How would you face tomorrow? You are not empty. You have never been empty. You are the fullness of Christ.
The Implication for Your Life
Here is what this means practically. When you face a impossible situation, you have the fullness of Christ in you. When you need wisdom, you have the fullness of Christ in you. When you feel weak, you have the fullness of Christ in you.
You do not need more of God. You have all of Him already. What you need is to learn to live from the place of fullness you already possess.
That is the mystery of the Christian life. We have everything. Now we learn to walk in it.
"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."
Colossians 2:6-7Father, thank you that I am already full in Christ. Help me to walk in the fullness you have given me. Teach me to access the treasure you have placed within me. I do not need more of you. I need to learn to live from what I already have. In Jesus Name, Amen.
With honesty and hope,
Claire