Is Jesus God?

Well the simple answer is yes.  The fullness of the godhead dwells in Jesus according to Col 2:9.  But what does this verse actually mean?  I will be teaching on the oneness of God at Heritage UPC in Bristol Connecticut this coming Wednesday.  As a part of the class I use this verse to support the oneness theological position so I figured I’d take a deeper look into what this verse means. The pericope of scripture this verse is taken from teaches against thinking of Christ as yet another man made philosophy. The nature of God is not merely a philosophical point to debate but necessary to live an abundant life in God.

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; Col 2:9 NKJV

οτι εν αυτω κατοικει παν το πληρωμα της θεοτητος σωματικως; Col 2:9 SNT

So we have the Greek of the 1550 Stephanus New Testament and the New King James Version above for comparison.  Let’s take a look at each of the key words in this verse.

Dwells: According to Thayer’s definition there are two definitions of κατοικει.
  1. to dwell, settle; metaphorically divine powers, influences, etc., are said to dwell in his soul, to pervade, prompt, govern it.
  2. to dwell in, inhabit; God is said to dwell in the temple, i.e. to be always present for worshippers.
Fullness: Thayer’s definitions for πληρωμα are now listed.
  1. that which is (has been) filled; a ship inasmuch as it is filled (i.e. manned) with sailors, rowers, and soldiers also in the NT, the body of believers, as that which is filled with the presence, power, agency, riches of God and of Christ.
  2. that which fills or with which a thing is filled; of those things which a ship is filled, freight and merchandise, sailors, oarsmen, soldiers also completeness or fulness of time.
  3. fulness, abundance.
  4. a fulfilling, keeping.
Godhead: Next we’ll define θεοτητος.
  1. deity; the state of being God, Godhead.
Bodily: Finally, the last word to flesh out is σωματικως.
  1. bodily, corporeally; of the exalted spiritual body, visible only to the inhabitants of heaven.
The state of being God completely filled the corporeal body of the man Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  God tabernacled or dwells in the body of Jesus Christ so completely as to fill every cell and every fiber of the body of Christ.  This is explained further in the gospel of John.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
In this pericope of scripture we have John describing the godhead (state of being God) as the mind (thought, idea, expression both verbal and non-verbal) of God in which He created the universe and everything we humans can see and that logos became flesh and tabernacled (dwelt, inhabited) in the corporeal body of Christ.
So we see that Jesus refers to simultaneously the body of Christ (including flesh, soul and spirit) as well as the Spirit of God (whom Moses, Abraham, and Adam communed with also known as the Father and whom we modern Apostolics commune with known as the Holy Ghost).
Jesus Christ is both completely man and completely deity.

Is Jesus God?
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