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As the mystery of God, Christ is the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead—v. 9:
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All the fullness of the Godhead refers to the entire Godhead, the complete God—v. 9:
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The word Godhead refers to deity and strongly indicates the deity of Christ.
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Since 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—Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14.
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For Christ to be the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead means that the fullness of the Triune God dwells in Christ in a bodily form—Col. 2:9:
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This implies the physical body that Christ put on in His humanity, and it indicates that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ as the One who has a human body—John 1:14; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:14.
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Before His incarnation the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Christ as the eternal Word, but it did not dwell in Him bodily—John 1:1.
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After He 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.
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Fullness in Colossians 2:9 refers not to the riches of God but to the expression of the riches of God:
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The riches are the quantity of an object, whereas the fullness is the flowing out, the overflow, of the object to become the expression of the object.
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What dwells in Christ is not only the riches of the Godhead but also the expression of the riches of what God is:
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God’s fullness is the overflow of His riches, and this overflow is God’s expression.
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The fullness of the Godhead is the expression of the Godhead, the expression of what God is—v. 9.
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The Godhead is expressed both in the old creation, the universe, and in the new creation, the church—1:15, 18.
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When the Son of God was incarnated as a man, with Him was the fullness of God, and of this fullness we have all received—John 1:14, 16:
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In John 1:16 grace does not refer to the riches of grace but to the fullness of grace; the riches of grace are in God, but the fullness of grace is in Christ Jesus—Col. 2:9.
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The grace we receive is the fullness of grace; beginning from the time we are saved, we may receive grace upon grace.
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The phrase grace upon grace in John 1:16 can be compared to the rolling waves of the sea that come in wave upon wave without ceasing.
Morning Nourishment
Col. 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.
Phil. 3:21 Who will transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of His glory...
[In Colossians 2:9] 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 Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3569)
Today’s Reading
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 Colossians 2:9 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. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3570)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 1, “The Subjective Experience of the Indwelling Christ,” ch. 1; CWWL, 1983, vol. 1, “The Five Great Mysteries in the Bible,” ch. 3; CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Mysteries in God’s New Testament Economy,” ch. 1