Math & Illusions: The Fullness of God & Octavio Ocampo’s Jesus Christ

His art is often classified as “surrealism.” He calls it “metamorphic.” Mexican artist Octavio Ocampo paints using illusions, inviting close dissection of each piece. Where at first a face might be seen, further examination reveals an entire scene which makes up the shapes and outlines of the face. (Are you inching closer to your screen?)

A classic example of Ocampo’s metamorphic style is his painting entitled Jesus Christ. Most will first see the face of Jesus, then, the scene that forms the face of Jesus is revealed by those on the road to Calvary.

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The top figure, a Roman soldier on his horse, oversees the impending execution. Other soldiers and Jewish citizens crowd together, forming Jesus’ hair. Simon of Cyrene is helping Jesus with his cross– the faces of Simon and Jesus form the eyes. Jesus’ beard is represented by the beam of the cross and the robes of Simon and Jesus.

What an incredible visual representation of the Fullness of God. As we contemplate the Fullness of God, we are reminded that the entirety and totality of God are best seen in Jesus Christ on the cross.

Flesh out of Dust

Plagues, water, quail and manna in the desert, storms calmed, water into wine, diseases healed, dead raised, demons dispossessed, and miracle births. We have a God who undoubtedly does miracles. But there is no greater miracle than the fullness of God dwelling bodily in the God-Man Christ Jesus.

After our first parents succumbed to the assaults of Satan, God knew he needed to fix the creation that his creatures had broken. He made flesh out of dust, then made flesh cover his Son. He took everything that is human – body and soul, eyes, ears, and all our members – and pulled them into God.

The God whom the universe cannot contain– contained himself within the womb of an unwed teenage mother. The God who deserves unending praise of saints and angels was crucified by those he came to save. When Jesus died on the cross, God died. We are saved by the blood of Jesus- but if Jesus was not human, he would not have blood. If Jesus was not God, we could not be saved by a dead Jew’s blood. The fullness of God dwells bodily in Christ.

The Athanasian Creeds summarizes: “Not by changing the deity into flesh, but by taking the humanity into God.”

The Equation We Cannot Balance

You can use math to try to explain humans and our relationship with God. We can look at our sin as either fullness or emptiness.

Full of anxiety, stress, and resentment = full of sin.

Empty of empathy, personal devotions, and prayer = empty of righteousness.

The Holy Spirit cuts away at your sinful nature. He subtracts your pride, impatience, apathy, disunity and general crabbiness all before you get your morning coffee. He cuts it away like an old, shabby piece of clothing and throws it away.

God has recorded all our lukewarm efforts, uncaring attitudes, unwillingness to change, and whatever else we try to get away with in life. He has written a record of our debt against him.

We can’t subtract this debt for ourselves. Nothing we do changes that record. It silently, eternally condemns us to hell for our violations.

So, God did it all.

God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:15

God picked up the record condemning us, and nailed it to the cross of his Son. Jesus’ bloodied back was pinned against that cross for six hours on Good Friday. Jesus shed his divinely human blood as punishment for our sins. When Jesus died, they took his body down to bury him, leaving the record pinned to the cross.

That record is now erased by the blood of God. Erased by the God whom the universe cannot contain– who contained himself with three nails on the cross.

Filled to the Limit

The Holy Spirit then clothes you with the white robe of your baptismal gown.

When you were buried with Christ in baptism. And in baptism you were also raised with him through the faith worked by the God who raised Christ from the dead.

Colossians 2:12

The Holy Spirit adds Christ’s righteousness to cover over your unrighteousness.

Now through your baptismal waters, you are given humility, patience, empathy, unity, faithfulness, joy and peace. Christ cuts away your sinful nature, then fills you up with his nature.

In his People’s Bible Commentary, Pastor Harlyn Kuschel offers this illustration:

“We see God in Christ as if a man were to hold all the world’s oceans in a single pitcher of water.”

When we are connected to Christian faith, we, too, are filled to the limit. We have all that we need for time and eternity, the fullness of every spiritual blessing.

The power of the Creator.

The love of the Savior.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The home of the King of heaven and earth. All this is ours!

Christ is sufficient. He is sufficient at subtracting our sins and adding his righteousness. Sufficient in cutting away our sin and filling us with baptismal waters. Sufficient in the classroom, the workplace, our homes and churches. Sufficient for our daily lives and our eternal salvation.

Christ is sufficient because all the fullness of God is on the cross. It is found in the face of Jesus Christ.