Colossians 2:10
in Colossians 2And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and in him ye are made full, who is the head of all principality and power:
KJV
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
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This verse in Colossians 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThen when he says, and you have come to fulness in him, he shows the same thing by relating Christ to others. He is saying, in effect: You have received all things: "From his fulness have we all received" (Jn 1:16). We should note that …
This site's exposition
all the fullness of the Deity
on Colossians 2:9-10
The word for Deity is theotes, the divine nature in full, beside the weaker theiotes. In bodily form renders somatikos, the whole nature of God in a real human body.
This site's exposition
made complete in Christ
Adam Clarke notes that the Greek behind made complete is the verb of fullness, so the believers are filled in Christ. The philosophy of verse 8 is empty deception, and the fullness of verse 9 fills them. Nothing remains for angels or rules to supply.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Observe how in his accusing of the one he thrusts through the other, by first giving the solution, and then the objection. For such a solution is not suspected, and the hearer accepts it the rather, that the speaker is not making it his aim. For in that case indeed he would make a point of not coming off worsted, but in this, not so. "For in Him dwelleth," that is, for God dwelleth in Him. But that thou mayest not think Him enclosed, as in a body, he saith, "All the fullness of the Godhead bodily: and ye are made full in Him." Others say that he intends the Church filled by His Godhead, as he elsewhere saith, "of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. i. 23), and that the term "bodily" is here, as the body in the head. How is it then that he did not add, "which is the Church"? Some again say it is with reference to The Father, that he says that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him, but wrongly. First, because "to dwell," cannot strictly be said of God: next, because the "fullness" is not that which receives, for "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" (Ps. xxiv. 1); and again the Apostle, "until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." (Rom. xi. 25.) By "fullness" is meant "the whole." Then the word "bodily," what did it intend? "As in a head." But why does he say the same thing over again? "And ye are made full in Him." What then does it mean? That ye have nothing less than He. As it dwelt in Him, so also in you. For Paul is ever straining to bring us near to Christ; as when he says, "Hath raised us up with Him, and made us to sit with Him" (Eph. ii. 6): and, "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him" (2 Tim. ii. 12): and, "How shall He not also with Him freely give us all things" (Rom. viii. 32): and calling us "fellow-heirs." Then as for His dignity. And He "is the head of all principality and power." (Eph. iii. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
Here is what he said! You are in no way inferior to Him, since you too are filled with Divinity, but only "in Him," that is, through the flesh assumed by Christ (δια του προσλήμματος). For when our nature was united with God, we too …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
7 ), and the law was but a shadow of good things, and could never, by those sacrifices, make the comers thereunto perfect, Heb. x. But all the defects of it are made up in the gospel of Christ, by the complete sacrifice for sin and revelation of the will of God. Which is the head of all principality and power.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And ye are complete in him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And ye are complete in him - Και εστε εν αυτῳ πεπληρωμενοι· And, ye are filled with him. Our word complete quite destroys the connection subsisting in the apostle’s ideas. The philosophy of the world was empty, κενη, but there was a πληρωμα, or fullness, in Christ; the Colossians were empty - spoiled and deprived of every good, while following the empty philosophy and groundless traditions of Jewish and Gentile teachers; but since they had received Christ Jesus they were πεπληρωμενοι, filled with him.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He is full of the "fulness" itself; we, filled from Him. Paul implies, Therefore ye Colossians need no supplementary sources of grace, such as the false teachers dream of. Christ is "the Head of all rule and authority" (so the Greek), Eph 1:10;
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And ye are complete in him - Having no need, for the purposes of salvation, of any aid to be derived from the philosophy of the Greeks, or the traditions of the Jews. All that is necessary to secure your salvation is to be found in the Lord Jesus. There is a completion, or a filling up, in him, so as to leave nothing wanting. This is true in respect: (1) To the wisdom which is needful to guide us; (2) The atonement to be made for sin; (3) The merit by which a sinner can be justified; and, (4) The grace which is needful to sustain us in the trials, and to aid us in the duties, of life; compare the notes at 1Co 1:30. There is no necessity, therefore, that we should look to the aid of philosophy, as if there was a defect in the teachings of the Saviour; or to human strength, as if he were unable to save us; or to the merits of the saints, as if those of the Redeemer were not sufficient to meet all our wants. The sentiment advanced in this verse would overthrow the whole papal doctrine of the merits of the saints, and, of course, the whole doctrine of papal “indulgences.” Which is the head - See the notes at Eph 1:21-22.
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐστὲ | este | you are | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| πεπληρωμένοι, | pepleromenoi | completed, | G4137 → | 86 times |
| ὅς | hos | who | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κεφαλὴ | kephale | head | G2776 → | 75 times |
| πάσης | pases | of all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| ἀρχῆς | arches | rule | G746 → | 55 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐξουσίας· | exousias | authority; | G1849 → | 102 times |
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐστὲyou are
esteG1510 →2333 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
αὐτῷHim
autoG846 →5565 times
πεπληρωμένοι,completed,
pepleromenoiG4137 →86 times
ὅςwho
hosG3739 →1405 times
ἐστινis
estinG1510 →2333 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
κεφαλὴhead
kephaleG2776 →75 times
πάσηςof all
pasesG3956 →1235 times
ἀρχῆςrule
archesG746 →55 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐξουσίας·authority;
exousiasG1849 →102 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 3:19of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
it leads to
- Ephesians 1:23
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
- Colossians 2:9–10
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
- Colossians 1:10
so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
- 2 Corinthians 5:14
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.
- 1 John 4:9–14
This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
- Ephesians 1:23
Through
1 Peter 3:22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.
it leads to
- Hebrews 9:24
For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
- Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand…
- Hebrews 10:12
But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.
- Hebrews 9:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies27
- The Watchers' Secrets
- Christ Our Wisdom: Proverbs 8 and the Wisdom of God
- Circumcision of the Heart
- The Deity of Christ
- Demonology
- The Fall Feasts
Show the next 6 titles
About Colossians
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homilies on Colossians; John Chrysostom, Homily on Colossians 6; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Colossians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Colossians.