With this as the background, we need to see that Christ is the preeminent and all-inclusive One, the centrality and universality of God. The book of Colossians reveals that Christ is preeminent, that He has the first place in everything. Both in the first creation and in the new creation Christ occupies the first place. In 1:15 we are told that Christ is the “firstborn of all creation,” and in 1:18, that He is the “firstborn from among the dead.” The new creation of God is by resurrection. For Christ to be preeminent in the new creation means that He is the first in resurrection. He is the first both in creation and in resurrection. This means that He is the first in the old creation, the universe, and in the new creation, the church. The universe is the environment in which the church exists as the Body of Christ to express Christ in full. Christ is not only first in the church, the Body, but also first in the environment, the universe. This means that He is first in everything.
Colossians 1:19 says, “For in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” What is the fullness spoken of in this verse? Many would answer that it is the fullness of the Godhead. Although this is correct, here Paul does not modify the word fullness by a phrase such as “of the Godhead” or “of God.” He simply says that all the fullness was pleased, was happy, to dwell in Christ. There is something in this universe known as the fullness, and this fullness is pleased to dwell in the preeminent, all-inclusive Christ.
Many Christians fail to distinguish between the fullness and the riches. When they speak of the fullness of the Spirit, they mean the riches of the Spirit. In 1:19 fullness does not denote the riches of what God is, but the expression of those riches. All the expression of the rich being of God, both in creation and in the church, dwells in Christ. All creation and all the church are filled with Christ as such an expression of God’s riches. Such a fullness is pleased with this. This is pleasant to Christ.
Fullness here means expression. If something has no fullness, it cannot be expressed. But if a thing has fullness, it can be expressed. For example, if I have very little love, my love cannot be expressed. But if my love is full, the fullness of my love will be its expression. In the same principle, the fullness is the expression of all that God is.
In 1:19 Paul speaks of the fullness as the fullness, using no word to modify it. This indicates that he is speaking of the unique fullness. To modify the fullness in any way would imply that it is not unique. In order to preserve the uniqueness of the fullness, Paul did not use a modifier. Hence, the fullness here is simply the fullness.
The fullness, the expression of God, is a person. Many of the personal pronouns in the verses following 1:19 refer to the fullness as a person. This indicates that the fullness is the expression of God, even God Himself. In this fullness the Son is preeminent, for all the fullness is pleased to dwell in Him. Therefore, He must have the first place in the environment and in the church. He is the preeminent One.
He is also the all-inclusive One. Christ is the reality of all the positive things in the universe. If we know the Bible and God’s economy, we shall realize that Christ is the heavens, the earth, the sun, life, light, the star, trees, flowers, water, air, and food. The material things are pictures of what He is to us. Furthermore, Christ is all the divine attributes, such as power, holiness, righteousness, kindness, and love. He is also the human virtues, such as humility and patience. Moreover, He is the church and every member of the church, God’s building and every stone in the building. This means that Christ is you and me.
Some twist our words and falsely accuse us of teaching pantheism. Pantheism is the satanic belief that identifies God with the universe. This is devilish, and we repudiate it without reservation. But according to the revelation of the Bible, we must testify that Christ, the all-inclusive One, is the reality of all positive things. When we say that Christ is you and me, we do not mean that we are God or that we shall ever become God. Likewise, when we say that Christ is the real food (see John 6:55), we do not mean that physical food is God. Such a concept is not only absurd, but also satanic. Those who accuse us of teaching pantheism have never seen the all-inclusiveness of Christ.
As the all-inclusive One, Christ is the centrality and universality of God. This expression was first used by Brother Nee in 1934, at the third overcomer conference held in Shanghai. He pointed out from the book of Colossians that the all-inclusive Christ is the center and the circumference of God’s purpose. Christ is both the centrality and universality of God’s purpose. He is the hub and also the rim. In other words, Christ is all. Again I say that this is not pantheism. It is simply a statement of the fact that Christ is both the center and the circumference of God’s economy.
When I first heard Brother Nee speak of the centrality and universality of Christ, I was greatly surprised. Never before had I heard such a thing. From my experience in the years since 1934 I can testify that Christ truly is the center and the circumference, the centrality and universality of God’s economy. In God’s economy Christ is everything.
The saints in Colosse were wrong in turning to religion and philosophy. Such things are against God’s economy, where there is room only for Christ, the One who is all and in all.