THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

When my daughter Rachel and I were studying science back in the days of our Spurgeon Academy Home School Academy, I remember that in one study we became very astonished. Science, especially real, hypothesis-oriented, scientific-method driven science, is full of wonder and discovery. Why were we astonished? The reason for our wide-eyes was the amazing truth behind, or should I say, underneath icebergs. Yes, icebergs!

For all that we can see of these frozen mountains, there is perhaps ten times as much submerged in the ocean. In fact, some icebergs are down in ocean depths as deep as 2,000 feet. That is a lot of ice! That is what fooled the crew of the H.M.S. Titanic on the fateful night in 1914. There is more ice under the water than above it.

It is this same principle that fools so many people regarding Jesus Christ. There is so much more to Him than meets the eye. In the letter to the Colossians, Paul the Apostle delights to expose the Christ, the hidden Christ, to our gaze. And oh, if we have eyes to see Him, how He can fill us with wonderment!

As I read through the letter to the Colossians, I was joyfully re-introduced to my Savior. In chapter one, we are informed that the Christ is the One Who reveals the Person of God to us. We cannot visually see God because God Himself is spirit and has not a body like men. But we can, others have, seen Jesus (1 John 1). Jesus, the Word who became human to enable Him to understand us experientially as we understand Him. God became a Man. Cults fight this Truth. Liberals scoff at this Truth. God’s people see His loving Persona in this Truth.

We are also shown the preexistent Christ, the One who forever existed before the dust of creation began to fly (1.17). And this Christ is the One who mediated the creation of the universe on behalf of the Father as the Holy Spirit hovered nearby. Amazing! SO much more than meets the eye. More in that He is the Head of the Church (1.18). More in that He has made peace on our behalf with His Father “by means of His blood on the cross” (1.20). More in that the Christ actually lives, abides, dwells in His people giving us assurance of our future in His heavenly presence forever.

Paul is not content to show us just the tip of the iceberg. Nor does he merely want to go just below the surface. By any means, Paul wants us to see the deep down immenseness of the Christ. The Deity personified! The Creator crucified! The Head of the Church glorified!

More than even this, the Christ is the reality of the shadows that lurked in the pages of the older testament. Sabbaths, ceremonies and certain of the Jewish holyday worship find their fulfillment and completion in Him (2.16-17).

And yet, more than even this, in the very depths of Who He is, what we are, and what all of His creation has become, “Christ is all that matters... (3.11). He is the living end of it all!

But there is one additional nuance, repeated because of the immensity of the Truth of it all. Repeated to underscore the indescribable value and worth of our race to God. And that is this: “He lives in all of us” (3.12b). And that is just the tip of the iceberg.