to think well of · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
him
αὐτῷautō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
should
κατοικῆσαιkatoikēsai
G2730
to house permanently · verb — aorist active infinitive
all
πᾶνpan
G3956
all · adjective — accusative singular neuter
fulness
πλήρωμαplērōma
G4138
repletion or completion · noun — accusative singular neuter
dwell
κατοικέωkatoikéō
G2730
to house permanently
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
John 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Ephesians 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Colossians 2:3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
John 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Ephesians 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Colossians 1:12–end
Here is a summary of the doctrine of the gospel concerning the great work of our redemption by Christ. It comes in here not as the matter of a sermon, but as the matter of a thanksgiving; for our salvation by Christ furnishes us with abundant matter of thanksgiving in every view of it: Giving thanks unto the Father, Col 1:12. He does not discourse of the work of redemption in the natural order of it; for then he would speak of the purchase of it first, and afterwards of the application of it. But here he inverts the order, because, in our sense and feeling of it, the application goes before the purchase. We first find the benefits of redemption in our hearts, and then are led by those stream…
Greek, "(God) was well pleased," &c.
in him--that is, in the Son (Mat 3:17).
all fulness--rather as Greek, "all the fulness," namely, of God, whatever divine excellence is in God the Father (Col 2:9; Eph 3:19; compare Joh 1:16; Joh 3:34). The Gnostics used the term "fulness," for the assemblage of emanations, or angelic powers, coming from God. The Spirit presciently by Paul warns the Church, that the true "fulness" dwells in Christ alone. This assigns the reason why Christ takes precedence of every creature (Col 1:15). For two reasons Christ is Lord of the Church: (1) Because the fulness of the divine attributes (Col 1:19) dwells in Him, and so He has the power to govern the universe; (…
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell - As the words, the Father are not in the text, some have translated the verse thus: For in him it seemed right that all fullness should dwell; that is, that the majesty, power, and goodness of God should be manifested in and by Christ Jesus, and thus by him the Father reconciles all things to himself. The πληρωμα, or fullness, must refer here to the Divine nature dwelling in the man Christ Jesus.
John Gill
The Church Fathers
In regard of His Godhead, therefore, the Son of God so hath His own glory, that the glory of Father and Son is one: He is not, therefore, inferior in splendour, for the glory is one, nor lower in Godhead, for the fulness of the Godhead is in Christ.
"For it was the good pleasure of the Father, that in Him should all the fullness dwell." Whatsoever things are of the Father, these he saith are of the Son also, and that with more of intensity, because that He both became "dead" for, and united Himself to us. He said, "Firstfruits," as of fruits. He said not "Resurrection," but "Firstfruits," showing that He hath sanctified us all, and offered us, as it were, a sacrifice. The term "fullness" some use of the Godhead, like as John said, "Of His fullness have all we received." That is, whatever was the Son, the whole Son dwelt there, not a sort of energy, but a Substance. He hath no cause to assign but the will of God: for this is the import of, "it was the good pleasure...in Him."
Because it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell. The fullness is in Him and remains; because He is always able to accomplish everything, so that nothing is excluded, that cannot be achieved through Him; so that He might create, and reform, and raise up what has fallen, and give life to what is dead. Hence He says: As the Father has life in Himself, so He has given the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26); and: As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wills. For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgment to the Son (Ibid., 21, 22). What could be more just than that, unless that he who has done all these things through him should give judgment, so that all the fullness of divinity might dwell in him by virtue of what we have said, that he has all power in himself; that is, he is perfect God; for whoever does not have all these things is not God.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Philippians, Epistle to — Was written by Paul during the two years when he was “in bonds” in Rome (Phil. 1:7-13), probably early in the year A.D. 62 or in the end of 61. The Philippians had sent Epaphroditus, their messenger,…
Preciousness Of Christ · As the source of all grace — As the source of all grace
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
on Colossians 1:19
For it pleased the Father,.... The phrase, "the Father", is not in the original text, but is rightly supplied; since he is expressly mentioned in the context, as he who makes the saints meet to be partakers of the heavenly glory; who deliver, them from the power and dominion of sin, and translates them into the kingdom of his dear Son; and who, by Christ, reconciles all things to himself, Colossians 1:12, and whose sovereign will and pleasure it is,
that in him should all fulness dwell: by which is meant, not the fulness of the deity, though it is read by some the fulness of the Godhead: which seems to be transcribed from Colossians 2:9; but though all the perfections of God are in Christ,…
Colossians 1:18-20
18. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence:
18. Et ipse est caput corporis Ecclesiae, ipse principium, primogenitus mortuis, ut sit in omnibus ipse primas tenens:
19. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
19. Quoniam in ipso placuit omnem plenitudinem inhabitare.
20. And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
20. Et per ipsum reconciliare omnia sibi, pacificando per sanguinem crucis eius, per ipsum, tam quae sunt s…
God in all his fullness emphasizes that God has chosen to reveal himself fully in Jesus Christ. Seeing Jesus and understanding him therefore means seeing and understanding God (see John 14:6-11). The false teachers seemed to be saying that Christians needed to look to other spiritual beings to find out more about God (see Col 1:16, 20). But Christ is sufficient for all our knowledge of God (cp. 2:8-9).
