From His fullness - Pleroma

From His fullness - Pleroma

Reference: Jn 1:16 - "For from His fullness (plērōma) we have all received, Grace upon Grace.

One of the great truths from the Bible is that Jesus has everything we need. Awareness, access, and alignment are the key elements to understanding this passage.

If I’m not aware of who God is and what He does for all of us, and that Jesus holds it all, then I won’t bother asking the right things at the right time, in right ways; I’ll end up wandering into unknown territory and uncertain paths. If I’m not aligned with Him through obedience, operating on His wavelength through praise and worship, then awareness alone isn’t useful—it’s like knowing something but not applying it from the right perspective. But if we are both aware and aligned, then access is granted and opened; it seems we won’t need to struggle to gain entry into the fullness and completeness of God’s nature revealed through Jesus Christ.

This isn’t transactional, like “do this and you’ll be paid or rewarded.” It’s more like He has a full treasure for us to align with and access so we can enjoy life to its fullest potential. All we need is to know and recognize Him through obedience to His commandments and seek Him with all our abilities. I hadn’t realized how hard it is to believe that we’ve already received the fullness—Grace upon grace, spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favour upon favour, gift upon gift.

Some of us realize it well but don’t go much further; others fully embrace that awareness by aligning with and accessing what Jesus has for us all—pointing Him out to others, praising Him together, preaching to millions, worshiping for hours, or writing journals, blogs, or books about such glorious experiences. No matter which category we fall into, let’s remember that our God has it all; as Paul says in Ephesians 4, God will supply all things according to His riches in Glory by Jesus Christ. 

Paul is not talking about provision from a limited fund, but according to the scale of God’s riches. That’s called Grace upon Grace, with each of us receiving it to fulfil our activities, tasks, and responsibilities. We don’t need to compete for this grace or envy others who seem to have something better. He knows, cares, sees, tracks, and protects us in unique ways—variance is the beauty, not competition. Thank God for what we’ve realized so far through our experiences by aligning with Him and accessing His resources to live a purpose-driven life in Him.

What is stopping us from enjoying that fullness? It’s our familiarity that kills curiosity, our busyness, underestimating the Grace given to us; starting the day focused on achieving instead of receiving; comparison, finding satisfaction in making things complex, spending time elsewhere without accountability; a performance-based approach to earn that grace, and the desire to run to Him yet choosing to run from Him.

Gracious Father, Apostle John wrote with complete confidence, inspired by the Holy Spirit, about the fullness we have all received—Grace upon grace. Help us to realize this and keep that awareness alive in our hearts. Enable us to align with You according to that awareness, not by the standards of the world but by Your Word. Let us enjoy the open-door access You have already granted in every part of our lives, leading us to fulfil our purpose and bring glory to Your Name. Guide us to encourage someone in this season to embrace the fullness You have prepared in advance. Thank You for this unshakable truth that inspires us to trust You more and keep our faith in Your promises. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Shabbat Shalom from Kent, London
In His Grip
Good weekend.