Church Worship as a Journey to Heaven
What does the Holy Bible mean by fullness and by emptiness?
Q987 · Holy Worship and the Full Life
God created the human being in His image and according to His likeness (Gen. 1:27) and Adam and Eve found satiety in their Creator and heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden (Gen. 3:8). In the Garden of Eden, they were truly a new bride and groom in their royal palace, enjoying the constant presence of the Lord who was the secret of their joy and satiety. They experienced His love in everything around them and felt no emptiness, for all earthly creatures submitted to them and served them with joy.
But Adam and Eve turned their backs to God when they broke the divine commandment by their own free will, and sin overwhelmed their hearts and took control of them. They began to suffer from a void growing within them that the whole world could not satisfy.
The Word of God became flesh to save them and their descendants. He established His kingdom in the hearts of the faithful (Luke 17:21). He built a holy Church in the hearts of the faithful, sending His Holy Spirit to dwell in them (Rom. 8:11). Because of this, the life of spiritual fullness became a reality through the restoration of the image of God and the hope of the promise of heaven (Eph. 1:14), the declaration of the true inner glory, and continual growth day by day. This is what the thief experienced when he heard the divine voice say, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). This fullness is the work of the Holy Trinity that never ceases. Every day, we experience the fatherhood of the Father, our membership in the body of Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit working within us. This uninterrupted fullness is a free gift from God, that prepares us for participation with the heavenly orders in the life of the mystery of thanksgiving and praise.