Speaking of Christ, Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Can you explain the difference between fullness and riches? According to biblical usage, the significance of the word “fullness” surpasses that of the word “riches.” First we have the riches and then the fullness. We may say, therefore, that fullness surpasses riches. The fullness in Colossians 2:9 refers not to the riches of God but to the expression of the riches of God. What dwells in Christ is not only the riches of the Godhead but the expression of the riches of what God is.
What does “the fullness of the Godhead” refer to? Does it not refer to the entire Godhead, to the complete God? Yes, the fullness of the Godhead is the entire Godhead, including the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Since the Godhead comprises the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, how could we say that the fullness of the Godhead includes only God the Son and not God the Father and God the Spirit? This would not be logical. Because the Godhead comprises the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the fullness of the Godhead must be the fullness of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. As the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead, Christ is not only the Son of God but also the entire God.
We would emphasize the fact that the fullness of the complete Godhead dwells in Christ bodily. The Godhead includes the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and the fullness of the Godhead is the fullness of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The fact that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily means that the Triune God is fully embodied in Him. Apart from Christ as the embodiment of God, we cannot find God, because God is altogether embodied in Christ.
Hebrews 1:3 says that Christ is the effulgence of God’s glory and the express image of God’s substance. The effulgence of God’s glory is like the shining, or the brightness, of the light of the sun. Christ is the shining, the brightness, of the Father’s glory. The effulgence cannot be separated from the glory just as the shining of the sun cannot be separated from the rays of the sun, since the shining and the rays are one.
We may use an electric light as an illustration of the relationship between the effulgence and the glory. Light is the expression of electricity. Although electricity is a mystery, it is a reality. We can tell that electricity is in a certain room by the shining of the electric lights in that room. Light is the effulgence of the “glory” of electricity. In like manner, Christ is the effulgence of God’s glory.
Hebrews 1:3 says not only that Christ is the effulgence of God’s glory but also that He is the express image of God’s substance. The glory is the outward expression, and the substance is the inward essence. God has His essence as well as His appearance; He has His substance as well as His glory. We do not have adequate words to explain these matters. We can say only that our God is glorious and substantial. As far as His glory is concerned, Christ is the effulgence of this glory, and as far as God’s substance is concerned, Christ is the express image of this substance.
The express image of God’s substance is like the impress of a seal. Christ is the expression of what God the Father is. A seal has an image. When the seal is pressed upon paper, the paper bears the same express image as the seal bears. Suppose a seal has certain letters. When this seal is pressed on a piece of paper, the paper will bear the same image with the same letters as the seal. Christ is not only the effulgence of God’s glory; He is also the impress of God’s substance. Here we have the substance within and the expression without. The substance within is the source of the express image, and the expression without is the effulgence of God’s glory.
For Christ to be the effulgence of God’s glory and the express image of His substance means that He is God coming to us. When I put a seal on a piece of paper, the seal comes to the paper. Likewise, Christ as the impress, the express image, of God’s substance is God coming to us. Therefore, Christ is God reaching us, God coming to be one with us. The shining of the sun’s rays is the sun reaching us. If we remain in the sunshine for a period of time, some element of the sun will be transfused into us. This is an experience of the sun reaching us. Likewise, Christ, the Son of God, is God Himself reaching us and coming to us. We have a God who reaches us, a God who comes to us to save us and to dispense Himself into us.
Colossians 1:15 and 2 Corinthians 4:4 say that Christ is the “image of God.” God is invisible, but Christ is His image, expressing what He is. The image in Colossians 1:15 does not mean a physical form, but an expression of God’s being in all His attributes. This interpretation is confirmed by Colossians 3:10 and 2 Corinthians 3:18. As the image of God, Christ is the expression of God. If a person had no physical form or image, he could not be expressed. A person is expressed through his physical image. Although God is invisible, He is expressed through His image, which is His Son.
To say that Christ is the image of God implies that He is the very God, the Creator. When we see Christ, we see the expression of the invisible God, for He Himself is God. Therefore, Christ, the image of the invisible God, is actually God Himself expressed.