Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Colossians 1:19

"For it was the good pleasure [of the Father] that in him should all the fulness dwell;" — Colossians 1:19 (ASV)

God has willed that in Christ “all fullness” should dwell. The word “fullness” (GK 4445) is one of the key words of this letter, but also one of the most difficult to interpret (cf. also 2:9; Ephesians 1:23; Ephesians 3:19; Ephesians 4:13; see comments on Col 1:9; Ephesians 2:9). The word seems to have been in current use by the false teachers, and was possibly employed by them for the totality of supernatural powers that they believed controlled people’s lives. But to Paul, the totality of divine powers and attributes exists only in Christ; nothing of deity is lacking in him (cf. 2:9 for a similar view).

According to the Colossian errorists, many spirit beings filled the space between God and the world as intermediaries, and any communication between God and the world had to pass through them. They probably included Christ among these supernatural powers, admitting that he was of heavenly origin and that God was in some sense present in him. He was, however, only one aspect of the divine nature and in himself was not sufficient for all the needs of humankind. Paul, in contrast, declares that Christ is not just one of many divine beings. He is the one and only Mediator between God and the world, and all, not part, of the attributes and activities of God are centered in him. “Dwell” (GK 2997) suggests permanent residence as opposed to temporary sojourn. Paul may be refuting a Colossian notion that the divine fullness had only a transient and incidental association with Christ. To Paul, it abides in him permanently.