In this message we will continue to consider Christ as the mystery of God.
In Colossians 2:9 Paul says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” The word dwells indicates that the fullness of the Godhead must be a person; the fullness of the Godhead is personified. The fullness of the Godhead dwells as a person in the incarnated Christ bodily, that is, in Christ with a human body. Hence, the word bodily in verse 9 points to the physical body that Christ put on in His humanity, indicating that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ as One who has a human body.
Before Christ’s incarnation, the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him as the eternal Word, but not bodily. From the time that Christ became incarnate, clothed with a human body, the fullness of the Godhead began to dwell in Him in a bodily way, and in His glorified body (Phil. 3:21) now and forever it dwells. The fact that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily means that it dwells in Him in a way that is both real and practical. Now that the fullness of the Godhead dwells as a divine person in Christ bodily, it is visible, touchable, and receivable.
The Colossians were under the influence of Gnosticism, which regards man’s physical body and the entire material world as evil. The Gnostics considered themselves to have the highest wisdom and knowledge, but they failed to realize that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily. In refuting the Gnostic philosophy, the apostle Paul told the Colossians that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily.
According to Colossians 2:9, Christ is the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead. Fullness here 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. The Godhead is expressed both in the old creation, the universe, and in the new creation, the church. We should note that in both 1:19 and 2:9 Paul uses the word all to describe fullness. All the fullness, all the expression, is in the old creation and in the new creation.
The Godhead in verse 9 refers to deity, which is different from the divine characteristics manifested by the created things (Rom. 1:20). This strongly indicates the deity of Christ. The fullness of the Godhead is versus the tradition of men and the elements of the world. The world’s tradition and elements simply cannot be compared with the fullness of the Godhead.
All the fullness of the Godhead in verse 9 refers not only to the entire Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—but also to all that the entire Triune God is, has, does, knows, can do, has done, has obtained, has accomplished, and has attained; all this fullness dwells in the Son bodily. The Divine Trinity is the fullness of the Godhead, and this fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ. Therefore, Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all embodied in Christ. The fullness of the Godhead is threefold: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father is rich, the Son is unlimited, and the Spirit is without measure. Because the Triune God is altogether embodied in Christ, outside of Christ there is no God, and outside of Christ we cannot find God or contact God. Christ is God’s dwelling place, God’s address, and God’s home. If we want God yet do not want Christ, we cannot have God. When we receive, experience, and enjoy Christ, we receive, experience, and enjoy the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
In Colossians 2:10 Paul continues, “You have been made full in Him, who is the Head of all rule and authority.” The Greek word translated have been made full is a verbal adjective based on the same root as the word translated fullness, a noun, in verse 9. We should understand the expression have been made full based upon the word fullness in verse 9. Because all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily, we have been made full in Him.
According to verse 10, the Christ in whom we have been made full is the Head of all rule and authority. On the one hand, Christ possesses all the fullness of the Godhead, for it dwells in Him bodily; on the other hand, this Christ, who is the Head of all rule and authority, is above all rule and authority, that is, above all the fallen angels occupying positions of power in the air in subordination to Satan (v. 15). Christ not only has the fullness of the Godhead but is also above all rule, authority, and power of Satan. We have been put into such a Christ and have been made full in Him.