«  |  Home  |  Genealogy  |  Recovery  |  Bible Study  |  Will Power  |  Dictionaries  |  Simple Bible  |

What or Who dwells in Whom in Colossians 2:9?
Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 ¶ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Once again, we must identify the "God" of whom Paul speaks of in this passage. In verse 12, we see it was the God who raised Christ from the dead. What is His identity?
Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Galatians 1:1 "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)"
Of course, it was Christ's Father who raised Him from the dead. Look what else His Father did:
Hebrews 1:1 God... 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Here we see that Christ's Father is the Creator, Who created all things through His Son, Jesus - the Christ. Now, what is the name of Christ's Father, as identified in the Old Testament?
Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.
Exodus 20:11 for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is...
Nehemiah 9:6 Thou art Jehovah, even thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
There are many OT texts declaring Jehovah(Yahweh) as the Creator. Here are some: Genesis2:4; Exodus20:11; Nehemiah9:6; Isaiah37:16;45:18. So, now we can see that Jehovah created all things through His Son, Jesus the Christ and also raised Jesus from the dead. Jehovah is the name of the "God" whom Paul spoke of in the passage.
With that context, let's now consider our central verse of study: "For in [Christ] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." -Paul (Col2:9). There is often disagreement as to the meaning of that word "Godhead". So, I wonder if there might be a better word to use. As it turns out, many Bible translators have used different words:
New International Version: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
New Living Translation: For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
English Standard Version: For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
Berean Study Bible: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
Berean Literal Bible: For in Him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily.
New American Standard Bible: For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
New King James Version: For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
King James Bible: For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Christian Standard Bible: For the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ,
Contemporary English Version: God lives fully in Christ.
Good News Translation: For the full content of divine nature lives in Christ, in his humanity,
Holman Christian Standard Bible: For the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ,
International Standard Version: because all the essence of deity inhabits him in bodily form.
NET Bible: For in him all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form,
New Heart English Bible: For in him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
Aramaic Bible in Plain English: For all The Fullness of The Deity dwells in him bodily.
GOD'S WORD® Translation: All of God lives in Christ's body,
New American Standard 1977: For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
Jubilee Bible 2000: For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
King James 2000 Bible: For in him dwells all the fullness of the Deity bodily.
American King James Version: For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
American Standard Version: for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
Douay-Rheims Bible: For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead corporeally;
Darby Bible Translation: For in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;
English Revised Version: for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
Webster's Bible Translation: For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Weymouth New Testament: For it is in Christ that the fulness of God's nature dwells embodied, and in Him you are made complete,
World English Bible: For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
Young's Literal Translation: because in him doth tabernacle all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
Strong's Concordance: G2320: theotes (used only once in the NT)
theh-ot-ace; from 2316; divinity (abstr.):--godhead.
G2316: theos theh'-os of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with 3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:--X exceeding, God, god(-ly, -ward).
Young's Analytical Concordance: "Deity"
What, then, is the best translation for G2320, which is only used in Colossians 2:9?
Since Strong, Young, and Ellen White all lived in the 1800's, it may be helpful to look at Webster's Dictionary definition of "Deity" in 1828:
DEITY, noun
1. Godhead; divinity; the nature and essence of the Supreme Being; as, the deity of the Supreme Being is manifest in his works.
2. God; the Supreme Being, or infinite self-existing Spirit.
(I have omitted 2 additional definitions since they applied only to false gods)
As near as I can tell, Webster's definition encompasses all of the authoritative sources we have looked at. So what can we say then about our initial question: What or Who dwells in Whom in Colossians 2:9?
  1. "Whom"? We know from Col 2:8 that this is Christ.
  2. "Who" or "What"? From all the sources we've looked at, we can say that this is either Jehovah Himself or the nature of Jehovah -- His Deity/Divinity.
Whatever we call it, this is what lives(dwells) in Christ. Let's see if we can get some more clarity on the "Who" or "What", from Scripture(KJV):
JESUS SAID:
JOHN SAID: God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son(1Jn5:11)
JOHN THE BAPTIST SAID:
PAUL SAID:
I just love how Scripture explains itself so beautifully. Praise God!
Where else might "the fullness of the Godhead" dwell?
Ellen White says that, at Pentecost, Christ's apostles "received of the fullness of the Godhead and were fashioned in the likeness of the divine." AA 49.3
Paul says, in Ephesians 3: "11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:... 14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."