Understanding the Fullness of God in Scripture

The concept of "fullness" in Scripture refers to various aspects of God's nature, Christ's being, and the Church's role, often conveying completeness, abundance, or the entirety of something ^[1]. The term appears in different contexts, such as the "fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4), which denotes the divinely appointed moment for the Messiah's appearance ^[1].

Regarding God's own being, the Scriptures describe His attributes as perfect and complete. For instance, God's wisdom is characterized as perfect, mighty, universal, infinite, unsearchable, and beyond human comprehension ^[2]. Similarly, His foreknowledge is an infinite attribute, though its full import is beyond human understanding ^[3]. The Bible itself, referred to as the "word of God" or "Holy Scriptures," is considered "perfect" and contains the whole mind and will of God, making the believer complete ^{[7, 10]}. This perfection is attributed to its divine inspiration, meaning it is "breathed into by God" and guided by Him to express His intended revelation ^[8]. Job 11:7 asks, "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?" ^[6], highlighting the incomprehensible nature of God's complete being.

The "fullness of God" is also directly linked to Christ. Colossians 2:9 states that "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" ^[1]. This means that the entire nature and attributes of God reside within Christ ^[1]. John 1:16 speaks of the "fullness of Christ" as a superabundance of grace with which He was filled ^[1]. This concept is crucial for understanding Christ's divine identity and His role as the complete revelation of God.

Furthermore, the Church is described as the "fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 1:23), implying that the Church makes Christ a complete and perfect head ^[1]. This does not suggest that Christ is incomplete without the Church, but rather that the Church, as His body, expresses His completeness in the world. Ephesians 4:13 speaks of believers growing "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" ^[4]. This indicates a process of spiritual maturity where believers collectively embody Christ's completeness.

Ephesians 3:19 further connects believers to the "fullness of God," praying "that ye may be filled with all fulness of God" ^[5]. This aspiration for believers to be filled with God's fullness is understood as a profound spiritual experience. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown interpret the "breadth, length, depth, and height" mentioned in Ephesians 3:18 as the full dimensions of the spiritual temple, corresponding to "the fulness of God" and "the fulness of Christ" ^[9]. This suggests that the Church, in its capacity, should reflect this divine fullness. Matthew Henry emphasizes that while God's glory is seen in creation, divine revelation through Scripture is even more vital for humanity's recovery from its fallen state, providing a path to understanding God's goodness and will ^[11].

Sources

Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Fulness — (1.) Of time (Gal. 4:4), the time appointed by God, and foretold by the prophets, when Messiah should appear. (2.) Of Christ (John 1:16), the superabundance of grace with which he was filled. (3.) Of the Godhead bodily dwelling in Christ (Col. 2:9), i.e., the whole nature and attributes of God are in Christ. (4.) Eph. 1:23, the church as the fulness of Christ, i.e., the church makes Christ a complete and perfect head.”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Wisdom of God, The — Is one of his attributes -- 1Sa 2:3; Job 9:4. Described as Perfect. -- Job 36:4; 37:16. Mighty. -- Job 36:5. Universal. -- Job 28:24; Da 2:22; Ac 15:18. Infinite. -- Ps 147:5; Ro 11:33. Unsearchable. -- Isa 40:28; Ro 11:33. Wonderful. -- Ps 139:6. Beyond human comprehension. -- Ps 139:6. Incomparable. -- Isa 44:7; Jer 10:7. Underived. -- Job 21:22; Isa 40:14. The gospel contains treasures of -- 1Co 2:7. Wisdom of saints is derived from -- Ezr 7:25. All human wisdom derived from -- Da 2:1. Saints ascribe to him -- Da 2:20. Exhibited in His works. ”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Foreknowledge of God — Acts 2:23; Rom. 8:29; 11:2; 1 Pet. 1:2), one of those high attributes essentially appertaining to him the full import of which we cannot comprehend. In the most absolute sense his knowledge is infinite (1 Sam. 23:9-13; Jer. 38:17-23; 42:9-22, Matt. 11:21, 23; Acts 15:18).”
King James Version “[KJV] Ephesians 4:13 — Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”
Ephesians “Ephesians 3:19 (Geneva1599) — And to knowe the loue of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled with all fulnesse of God.”
Job “Job 11:7 (Webster) — Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Scriptures, The — Given by inspiration of God -- 2Ti 3:16. Given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit -- Ac 1:16; Heb 3:7; 2Pe 1:21. Christ sanctioned, by appealing to them -- Mt 4:4; Mr 12:10; Joh 7:42. Christ taught out of -- Lu 24:27. Are called the Word. -- Jas 1:21-23; 1Pe 2:2. Word of God. -- Lu 11:28; Heb 4:12. Word of Christ. -- Col 3:16. Word of truth. -- Jas 1:18. Holy Scriptures. -- Ro 1:2; 2Ti 3:15. Scripture of truth. -- Da 10:21. Book. -- Ps 40:7; Re 22:19. Book of the Lord. -- Isa 34:16. Book of the law. -- Ne 8:3; Ga 3:10. Law of the Lord. -- Ps 1:2; Isa”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Inspiration — That extraordinary or supernatural divine influence vouchsafed to those who wrote the Holy Scriptures, rendering their writings infallible. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (R.V., "Every scripture inspired of God"), 2 Tim. 3:16. This is true of all the "sacred writings," not in the sense of their being works of genius or of supernatural insight, but as "theopneustic," i.e., "breathed into by God" in such a sense that the writers were supernaturally guided to express exactly what God intended them to express as a revelation of his mind and ”
Ephesians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ephesians 3:18: May be able--even still further. Greek, "May be fully able." breadth . . . length . . . depth . . . height--namely, the full dimensions of the spiritual temple, answering to "the fulness of God" (Eph 3:19), to which the Church, according to its capacity, ought to correspond (compare Eph 4:10, Eph 4:13) as to "the fulness of Christ." The "breadth" implies Christ's world-wide love, embracing all men: the "length," its being extended through all ages (Eph 3:21); the "depth," its profound wisdom which no creature can fathom (Rom 11:33); the "height," ”
Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 19:6: The law of the Lord is perfect,.... By which is meant, not the law of Moses, or the ten commandments, but the "doctrine" of the Lord; as the word "torah", signifies, even the whole word of God, as in Isa 8:20. All the Scriptures of truth, which are profitable for doctrine; for setting doctrine in a clear light, and for the vindication and establishment of it, and are the rule of doctrine both to preachers and hearers; and which are "perfect", contain the whole mind and will of God, both with respect to faith and practice; whereby the man of God is made perfect, and th”
Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 19:7: God's glory, (that is, his goodness to man) appears much in the works of creation, but much more in and by divine revelation. The holy scripture, as it is a rule both of our duty to God and of our expectation from him, is of much greater use and benefit to us than day or night, than the air we breathe in, or the light of the sun. The discoveries made of God by his works might have served if man had retained his integrity; but, to recover him out of his fallen state, another course must be taken; that must be done by the word of God. And here, 1. The psalmist gives”

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