The Fullness of Deity Bodily
—Colossians 2:9
Among the most fundamental doctrines in the Bible, and among the most denied by Bible teachers, is the divine nature or Godhood of Jesus. He called himself God. He was accused of blasphemy and thought worthy of death
"This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God" (John 5:18 ESV, cf John 10:22-39).
In this lesson we discuss three key words in statements made byf Paul about Jesus Christ...
Colossians 1:19
“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.”
Colossians 2:9
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
This teaching, that the fullness of divinity dwells in Jesus bodily, is a matter of much argument, because it means that Jesus, as the Son of God, is fully God. He dwells in a human body, now wonderfully glorified, making him also the Son of Man, fully human. Many find this hard to hear. Let's examine the matter.
1 His Fullness
The divine nature, the power and glory of God, dwells fully in the Father, fully in the Son, and fully in the Holy Spirit. This makes Jesus to be God, equal to, and one with, his Father (see John 1:1-3).
In both verses (Colossians 1:19, and 2:9), Paul uses the expression, "all the fullness". The "all" adds emphasis to the word "fullness" lest we think Jesus had but a portion of God’s divinity, glory, and authority. Jesus had "all" the fullness of God dwelling in him.
Even we receive all the fullness of God when it comes to grace and love, not just a portion. John says, "Of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace" (John 1:18). Paul exhorts us to "know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV).
This, by the way, does not mean we are equal to God or ever will be. However, in us who belong to Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells and "God does not give the Spirit by measure" but in fullness (John 3:34, Romans 8:9-11 NKJV).
2 His Deity
Jesus Christ our Lord has all the fullness of deity dwelling in him. Jesus does, however, subject himself to the Father. He honours the Father as greater than himself. He says, "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28).
Jesus is not only God s Son, he is also God s Servant (Matthew 12:18). This does not mean, however, that Jesus has less Godhood than his Father. The fullness of Godhood dwells in Jesus. His Sonship and Servanthood are aspects of both his divinity and his humanity.
3 His Body
Jesus has bodily form. The Father does not have bodily form, nor does the Holy Spirit. Jesus became flesh. (John 1:14 NKJV). He was crucified, raised, and his body was glorified. Through all this he never ceased to be God and fully so.
Perhaps someone will say that the church is Christ’s body, and he is its head. Indeed scripture says of Christ that God "...put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:22-23 NKJV).
In that passage the words "feet", "head", and "body" are metaphors. They do not stand for the body that saw birth in Bethlehem, death on the cross, resurrection and glory. Christ is the Head of the church, and the church is his body in the same sense that he is the Shepherd of the flock, the Cornerstone of the temple, the Bridegroom of the bride, and so forth.
Although the church is spoken of figuratively as the body of Christ, that doesn't lessen its importance, for Christ offered his body on the cross as the sacrifice that enabled the church to exist. "... Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25 NKJV).
The church consequently is the fullness of Christ and he is the fullness of the church.
Jesus will come again to gather and take to heaven all who are in his church whose bodies will be like his (1John 3:2). Lowly flesh and blood cannot inherit the eternal kingdom of God (1Corinthians 15:50), but it can be transformed into a glorious, eternal, body like that of Christ’s (Philippians 3:21 NKJV).