Jesus Is God (Colossians 2:9)
Asher Chee |The deity of Jesus Christ is most directly described in Colossians 2:9:
because in him dwells every fullness of the godness bodily.
The “him” here refers to “Christ” in the previous verse (v. 8). The Greek word theotēs (“godness”) refers to the quality of being God. Therefore, for “every fullness of the godness” to dwell in Christ Jesus, then it must mean that Jesus is truly God!
Misinterpretations
Modalism
Unfortunately, other translations of Colossians 2:9 have spawned some confusion regarding the Doctrine of the Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ. For example, the (N)KJV translates theotēs as “Godhead”:
Colossians 2:9, NKJV
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (Greek: theotēs) bodily.
Many people mistakenly take the word “Godhead” as referring to the Trinity or to the Father. Based on that misunderstanding, they misinterpret this verse as teaching that the entire Trinity dwells in Jesus, or that Jesus is actually the Father!
However, this cannot be the case, since throughout the Book of Colossians, the Apostle Paul makes a clear distinction of persons between Jesus and the Father:
- In 1:3, God is the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- In 1:15, Jesus is the “image of the invisible God.”
- In 3:1, Jesus is “sitting at the right of God.”
- In 3:17, we should “[do] all things in the name of the Lord Jesus thanking God the Father through him.”
As I have already pointed out, theotēs refers to the quality of being God; not God the Father himself, nor the Trinity.