Colossians 2:10

Since Jesus is the fullness of all that is God, believers have been made complete or made full of Him in our lives. The Greek word pleroo in the passive voice means to be made full or made complete. The word is in the perfect tense, thus meaning that it has been completed in the past. The image is that as a believer we are complete because of our relationship with Christ. In our union with Christ, we have all we need.[1] Therefore, the Colossian believers were told that they did not need anything from supplementary sources such as the false Gnostic teachers were telling them. 

Christ is the head (Greek kephale) of all rule (Greek arche) and authority (Greek exousia). The word arche literally means a beginning, and carries the connotation of that which is the active cause or origin, whether a person or thing.[2] The word exousia means the right to exercise power, or the power of rule and government.[3] Paul can be referring to the idea of spiritual principalities and powers as presented in the Scriptures. Christ is preeminent over all creation, including all the principalities and powers.[4]

The Colossian believers were being reminded that they did not need any outside or supplementary source of knowledge to understand how to live. They were completely filled with the Spirit of Christ and therefore should not be involved in the philosophies of the world around them. Christ is the Head, He is the source of life, and He, alone, is sovereign over life.

Prayer: Father, I come to You in humble adoration and praise. I worship Your Son Jesus, He is the head, the beginning and all that anyone would ever need. Fill me with His spirit, direct my thoughts, let me act only in accordance with His directions. I will seek to follow Him at every turn in my life. I have failed often, but it is my deepest desire to be an image of the Son to the world around me. Amen. 

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[1] See John 1:16. 

[2] W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1996). Page 58. 

[3] W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1996). Page 45. 

[4] See Bruce, F. F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Eerdman's Publishing Co, 1984. Pages 63 – 64; 102.