Colossians 2:10

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: AND - And therefore; And so. Greek order, 'Ye are in Him (in union with Him) filled full' of all you need (John 1:16). Believers receive of the divine unction flowing down from their Divine Head and High Priest (Psalms 133:2). He is full of the "fulness" itself; we, filled from Him. 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' [ archees (G746) kai (G2532) exousias (G1849)]...

10._And ye are complete in him. _He adds, that this perfect essence of Deity, which is in Christ, is profitable to us in this respect, that we are also perfect in him. “As to God’s dwelling wholly in Christ, it is in order that we, having obtained him, may posses in him an entire perfection.” Those, therefore, who do not rest satisfied with Christ alone, do injury to God in two ways, for besides detracting from the glory of God, by desiring something above his perfection, they are also ungrateful, inasmuch as they seek elsewhere what they already have in Christ. Paul, however, does not mean that the perfection of Christ is transfused into us, but that there are in him resources from which we may be filled, that nothing may be wanting to us. _Who is the head. _He has introduced this clause again on account of the angels, meaning that the angels, also, will be ours, if we have Christ. But...

8-17 There is a philosophy which rightly exercises our reasonable faculties; a study of the works of God, which leads us to the knowledge of God, and confirms our faith in him. But there is a philosophy which is vain and deceitful; and while it pleases men's fancies, hinders their faith: such are curious speculations about things above us, or no concern to us. Those who walk in the way of the world, are turned from following Christ. We have in Him the substance of all the shadows of the ceremonial law. All the defects of it are made up in the gospel of Christ, by his complete sacrifice for sin, and by the revelation of the will of God. To be complete, is to be furnished with all things necessary for salvation. By this one word "complete," is shown that we have in Christ whatever is required. "In him," not when we look to Christ, as though he were distant from us, but we are in him, when...

Verse 10. _AND YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM_] και εστε εν αυτω 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 _fulness_, 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. This is the true meaning of the word, and by this the connection and assemblage of ideas in the apostle's mind are preserved. No fanciful _completeness in Christ_, of a believer, while incomplete in himself, is either expressed or intended by St. Paul. It is too bad a doctrine to exist in the oracles of God. _THE HEAD OF ALL PRINCIPALITY_] See the notes on...

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 1 Corinthians 1:30

EXPOSITION COLOSSIANS 2:1 SECTION IV. THE APOSTLE'S CONCERN FOR THE COLOSSI. AN CHURCH. So far the contents of the letter have been of a general and preparatory character. New the writer begins to indicate the special purpose he has in view by declaring, in connection with his concern for the welfare of the Gentile Churches at large (Colossians 1:24), _the deep anxiety which he at present feels respecting the Colossian and neighbouring Churches._ COLOSSIANS 2:1...

AND YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM,.... Or "filled up", or "filled full" in him; that is, are perfect in him: saints are in Christ, and all fulness being in him, they are full too, of as much as they stand in need, and are capable of containing: for these words are not an exhortation to perfection, as the Arabic version reads then, be ye complete in him, like those in Genesis 17:1; but are an affirmation, asserting not what the saints shall be hereafter, or in heaven, but what they now are; not in themselves, for in themselves none are perfect, not even those who are truly sanctified; for though all grace is seminally implanted in them, and they have a perfection of parts, of all the parts of the new man, or new creature, and are perfect in comparison of what they sometimes were, and of profane persons and hypocrites, and with respect to weaker believers, yet none are absolutely perfect; the goo...

Colossians 2:1. _For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;_ Paul had not met these Colossian Christians, but he had heard of their faith, and hope, and love, and he so desired their good that he had a continual care for them in his heart. He carried that care to God in prayer, yet he still bore them in loving remembrance. They were always on his heart as a sick child is ever on the heart of its mother. Colossians 2:2. _That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ._ In whom are hid all the treasures of wi

II. COMPLETE IN HIM, IN WHOM ALL THE FULLNESS DWELLS CHAPTER 2 _ 1. The mystery of God (Colossians 2:1)_ 2. Complete in Christ (Colossians 2:9) 3. Exhortations and warnings (Colossians 2:16) Colossians 2:1 In view of the last verses of the preceding chapter we can understand his anxiety and the great conflict he had for the Colossians and for those living in nearby Laodicea, and for as many who had not seen his face in the flesh. He was deeply concerned about them after he heard of their danger of going into error. It was a spiritual conflict. He was greatly exercised in his th

AN URGENT WARNING AGAINST A DEGRADING THEOSOPHY. Let them not be led away by false reasonings, however persuasive. They must think of Paul, despite his bodily absence, as being with them in spirit (1 Corinthians 5:3 f.*), as a sharer of their joy, and a spectator of the ordered line and steadfast front of their loyalty to Christ. As, then, they received the Messiah, Jesus the Lord, so let them walk in Him, true to the instruction they received, rooted and built up in Him, strong in loyalty, overflowing in thanks-giving. Let them, even so, be on their guard against the very real danger that some person may make a prey of them by means of a philosophy which is mere empty deceit, based not upon Christ, but on human tradition and the doctrine of elemental spirits. The truth is that the entire fulness of the Godhead resides concretely embodied in Christ. To Him as head every rule and auth