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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
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.16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
We should never consider the riches as the fullness. These two things are absolutely different. 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. God’s fullness is the overflow of His riches, and this overflow is God’s expression. God is abundantly rich. He is so rich that His riches overflow. This overflow is the expression of God. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 2, “The Fullness of God,” p. 144)
Today’s Reading
It is not easy to understand [John 1:16]. A teacher of the Greek language once said that grace upon grace can be compared to the waves of the sea, which roll in wave upon wave without interruption. In this verse 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. Hence, the grace that we receive is the fullness of grace. The Jews do not know the Lord Jesus, and they do not receive Him. They only have the Father but not the Son. Hence, the most that they can enjoy is the rich love of God. They cannot enjoy the fullness of the love of God as Christians can.Now we can understand John 1:16. This verse says that we have received “of His fullness,” not “of His riches.” Fullness, not riches, is used in this verse. This can be compared to water within a cup being the riches and to the water that overflows the cup being the fullness. The Lord Jesus is the overflow of God; the Son is the overflow of the Father. Here is an illustration. Before I was married in 1928, I was a bachelor. Even though I was young and strong, I did not have an “overflow.” Today, however, my eight children, their spouses, and my third generation add up to more than thirty people. This is my overflow. The riches are seen in the father, and the fullness is seen in the children.
In God the Father love is rich, light is rich, and grace is also rich, but we cannot see the fullness of these items in the Father. When the Son came and walked on the earth, people saw the overflow, something that surpassed the riches. Based on this light, when we read the record of the Lord Jesus in the four Gospels, we need to see that His life and walk were not merely rich in life, love, and power; His life and walk were the fullness of life, love, and power. When we describe the Father, we use the word rich. God is rich in this, and He is rich in that. However, when we describe the Son, we need to change rich to full. Christ is full of this, and He is full of that. The Lord is not only rich, but He is also full. The Lord Jesus is the fullness of God, and fullness is expression. Hymns, #501 says, “O glorious Christ, Savior mine, / Thou art truly radiance divine.” When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was full of grace, full of reality, full of light, and full of life. He was full of the attributes of God; He was full of all that God is. This is God’s manifestation, God’s expression.
We are now clear concerning the fullness of God dwelling in Christ bodily. In Christ is the fullness of God’s grace and reality, and we have all received of Christ’s fullness, and grace upon grace. This is like wave upon wave of grace coming upon us. This surely is fullness. The grace we receive from the Lord is the expression of God. Hence, the more grace we receive, the more we express God. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 2, “The Fullness of God,” pp. 163-164)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 2, “The Fullness of God,” chs. 1, 3; CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “Christ in His Excellency,” chs. 4-5