Topical Encyclopedia
The concept of "fullness" in the Bible encompasses a range of meanings, often signifying completeness, abundance, and the totality of God's presence and blessings. It is a term that appears in various contexts throughout Scripture, reflecting both physical and spiritual dimensions.
Old Testament UsageIn the Old Testament, "fullness" frequently refers to the abundance of the earth and God's provision. For example,
Psalm 24:1 declares, "The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein." Here, "fullness" denotes the entirety of creation, emphasizing God's sovereign ownership and the abundance of His creation.
The concept also appears in the context of blessings and prosperity. In
Deuteronomy 33:16 , Moses blesses Joseph with "the fullness of the earth and its bounty," highlighting the richness of God's provision for His people.
New Testament UsageIn the New Testament, "fullness" takes on a more profound theological significance, particularly in relation to Christ and the Church. The Apostle Paul frequently uses the term to describe the completeness found in Christ.
Colossians 1:19 states, "For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him," indicating that the totality of divine nature and power resides in Jesus Christ.
Furthermore,
Ephesians 1:22-23 speaks of the Church as "His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." This passage underscores the idea that the Church, as the body of Christ, is the manifestation of His fullness on earth, called to embody His presence and purpose.
Spiritual ImplicationsTheologically, "fullness" is associated with the believer's spiritual maturity and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 3:19 encourages believers to "know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." This verse suggests that experiencing the fullness of God involves a deep, intimate relationship with Christ, resulting in spiritual growth and transformation.
Additionally, the fullness of time is a significant eschatological concept.
Galatians 4:4 states, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law." This phrase indicates the perfect timing of God's redemptive plan through the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
Practical ApplicationFor believers, the concept of fullness serves as a reminder of the abundant life promised in Christ.
John 10:10 records Jesus saying, "I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness." This promise encourages Christians to seek a life enriched by the presence and power of God, characterized by spiritual abundance and fulfillment.
In summary, the biblical concept of "fullness" encompasses God's abundant provision, the complete revelation of His nature in Christ, and the spiritual maturity and abundance available to believers through a relationship with Him. It calls Christians to live in the richness of God's grace and to reflect His fullness in their lives and communities.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
n.) The state of being full, or of abounding; abundance; completeness.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
FULLNESSfool'-nes: The translation of pleroma, which is generally, but not invariably, rendered "fullness" in the New Testament. Etymologically, pleroma-which itself is derived from the verb pleroo, "I fill"-signifies "that which is or has been filled"; it also means "that which fills or with which a thing is filled"; then it signifies "fullness," "a fulfilling."
1. "Fullness" in the Gospels:
In the Gospels it occurs as follows:Matthew 9:16 andMark 2:21: in both of these passages it means "the fullness," that by which a gap or rent is filled up, when an old garment is repaired by a patch;Mark 6:43, `They took up fragments, the fullness of twelve baskets'; 8:20, `The fullness of how many baskets of fragments did ye take up?'John 1:16, `out of his fullness we all received.'
2. Its Use in the Pauline Epistles:
Elsewhere in the New Testament "fullness" is used by Paul alone, who employs it 12 t, in addition to the frequent use he makes of the verb "to fill." Of these 12, no fewer than 6 are in Ephesians and Colossians. The references are these:Romans 11:12, "If. their loss (is) the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?" The "fullness" of Israel here refers to their being, as a nation, received by God to a participation in all the benefits of Christ's salvation.Romans 11:25, "A hardening. hath befallen Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in."Romans 13:10, "Love. is the fulfillment (the fulfilling) of the law"; that is, love is not a partial fulfillment, by obedience to this or that commandment, but a complete filling up of what the law enjoins.Romans 15:29, "I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ."1 Corinthians 10:26, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof."Galatians 4:4, "when the fullness of the time came." The fullness of the time is that portion of time by which the longer antecedent period is completed.Ephesians 1:10, "unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times."Ephesians 1:23, "the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." The church is the fullness of Christ; the body of believers is filled with the presence, power, agency and riches of Christ.Ephesians 3:19, "that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God"-that ye may be wholly filled with God and with His presence and power and grace.Ephesians 4:13, "unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."Colossians 1:19, "In him should all the fullness dwell."Colossians 2:9, "In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (compareLuke 2:40, 52;Luke 4:1).
3. "Fullness" in Ephesians and Colossians:
"Fullness" in Ephesians and Colossians is used to present some of the most prominent thoughts in these epistles, sometimes referring to Christ, sometimes to the church and the individual Christian. Christ is Himself to "fulfill" all things in heaven and on earth (Ephesians 4:10 King James Version margin). We cannot separate "the fullness of Christ" in this passage (Ephesians 4:13) from the statement inEphesians 1:23, that the Christ is being fulfilled, and finds His fullness in the church. When all the saints have come to the unity which is their destined goal, or in other words, to the full-grown man, the Christ will have been fulfilled. Thus they will have together reached "the full measure of the maturity of the fullness of the Christ" (J. Armitage Robinson, Commentary on Ephesians, 183). The church and individual believers, have, by faith, the full possession of all that Christ has to impart-the grace and comfort and strength of Christ received by them now. CompareJohn 1:16; `In him ye are complete, are made full' (Colossians 2:10); that is, the fullness of moral, intellectual and spiritual perfection is communicated by Christ to all who are united to Him. "When as the result of the Holy Spirit's inward strengthening, Christ dwells in the heart, and His knowledge-surpassing love is known, the only limit to spiritual excellence is `to be filled unto all the fullness of God'!" (HDB, 735).
4. Its Use by the False Teachers at Colosse:
In the passages from Col, "the fullness" in Christ is contrasted with the mediating eons or angel-powers or spiritual manifestations supposed to be intermediate between God and the world. The false teachers at Colosse seem to have used "fullness," as a technical or semi-technical term, for the purpose of their philosophical or theosophical teaching, employing it to signify the entire series of angels or eons, which filled the space or interval between a holy God and a world of matter, which was conceived of as essentially and necessarily evil. Teaching of this sort was entirely derogatory to the person and work of Christ. In opposition, therefore, to the Colossian false teaching in regard to "the fullness," Paul shows what the facts really are, that in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
5. The Fullness in Christ:
The fullness of the Godhead is the totality of the Divine powers and attributes, all the wealth of the being and of the nature of God-eternal, infinite, unchangeable in existence, in knowledge, in wisdom, in power, in holiness, in goodness, in truth, in love. This is the fullness of the nature of God-life, light, love; and this has its permanent, its settled abode in Christ. All that is His own by right is His by His Father's good pleasure also. It was the Father's good pleasure that in Christ should all the fullness dwell.
Any limitation, therefore, of the meaning of "fullness," which would make the indwelling of the fullness of the Godhead in Christ a matter either of the future, or of the past only, is inconsistent with what is said of "the fullness" in Him, inColossians 1:19;Colossians 2:9. The reference in both passages is to the timeless and eternal communication of the fullness of the Godhead from the Father to the Son.
It was in a sense developed along the lines of the Colossian teaching regarding "the fullness," that the Gnostics afterward used the term.
SeeGNOSTICISM.
John Rutherfurd
Greek
4138. pleroma --fullness, a filling up...fullness, a filling up. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: pleroma Phonetic
Spelling: (play'-ro-mah) Short Definition:
fullness, fulfillment
...4148. ploutizo -- to make rich
... Cognate: 4148 (apparently from 4183 , "much in ") -- to (passive, "be enriched");
bringfullness (abundance, richness). See 4145 ()....
5545. chrisma -- an anointing, unction
... Cognate: 5545 (from 5548 , "anoint with oil") -- , referring to the ministry of
the , guiding the receptive believer intofullness of God's preferred-will (see...
5013. tapeinoo -- to make low, fig. to humble
... and . This as our all-in-all and prompts the gift of Hisfullness in us.
Word Origin from tapeinos Definition to make low, fig....
899. bathos -- depth
... Transliteration: bathos Phonetic Spelling: (bath'-os) Short Definition: depth, a
depth, a deep Definition: depth; deep water; met:fullness, immensity; an...
2320. theotes -- deity
... only in Col 2:9). 2320 ("fullness of deity") expresses God's " () , as
belonging to " (, 906). 2320 () focuses on Christ through...
4985. somatikos -- bodily
... 4985 (an adverb, derived from 4984 which is an adjective derived from 4983 , "body") --
(used only in Col 2:9). It refers to "Christ's of the ('fullness of God...
4103. pistos -- faithful, reliable
... Cognate: 4103 (an adjective, derived from 3982 , "persuaded") -- properly, faithful
(loyalty to faith; literally,fullness of faith); typically, of believing...
Strong's Hebrew
4393. melo --fullness, that which fills... 4392, 4393. melo or melo or melo. 4394 .
fullness, that which fills.
Transliteration: melo or melo or melo Phonetic Spelling: (mel-o') Short Definition:
...4395. meleah --fullness, full produce
... meleah. 4396 .fullness, full produce. Transliteration: meleah Phonetic Spelling:
(mel-ay-aw') Short Definition: produce.... first of ripe fruit,fullness....
7653. sibah --fullness
... sibah. 7654 .fullness. Transliteration: sibah Phonetic Spelling: (sib-aw') Short
Definition: fulness....fullness Feminine of saba'; satiety -- fulness....
7648. soba -- satiety, abundance
... Word Origin from saba Definition satiety, abundance NASB Word Usage abundance (1),
fill (1), full (2),fullness (1), fully satisfied (1), satisfied (1...
4390. male -- to be full, to fill
... ended (1), endowed (1), expired (1), fill (38), filled (78), filling (5), fills
(1), finished (1), fulfill (6), fulfilled (10), full (37),fullness (1), fully...
4392. male -- full
... well (1), what is full (1), who were full (1).fullness, fully. From male';
full (literally or figuratively) or filling (literally...
Library
"TheFullness of the Time"
... The DESIRE of AGES Chapter 3 "TheFullness of the Time". "When thefullness of the
time was come, God sent forth His Son, . .... Thefullness of the time had come....
Of the Perfect Man, that Is, Christ; and of his Body, that Is, the...
... Book XXII. Chapter 18."Of the Perfect Man, that Is, Christ; And of His Body,
that Is, The Church, Which is HisFullness. To understand...
But Now, if this is not Thought thatFullness of Regard that is...
... Address 73: But now, if this is not thought thatfullness of regard that
is due to? But now, if this is not thought thatfullness...
Whence Cyprian Himself Again Admonishes us with the Greatest...
... Book V. Chapter 18. " 24. Whence Cyprian himself again admonishes us
with the greatestfullness? "24. Whence Cyprian himself...
May one Know that He is Filled?
... know, that if you have, up to your light, fulfilled the conditions necessary to
the filling of the Holy Ghost, on praying and asking for theFullness, it is...
The Holy Spirit Forming Christ Within Us.
... what is the breadth and length, and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ
which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all thefullness of God...
The Crucifixion
... as if to hide those bleeding limbs from the foul eyes of men; and yet the noblest
sight, for in that death upon the cross shone out the utterfullness of all...
Preface
... The desire is of Him that it may lead to Him, thefullness and fulfillment
of that desire. Thatfullness is found in Jesus the Christ...
Spiritual Hunger Shall be Satisfied
... Thefullness in God is an infinitefullness.... Though God lets virtue go out of him,
yet he has never the less. Thefullness of the creature is limited....
Colossians ii. 6, 7
... Ver.9, 10. "For in Him dwelleth all thefullness of the Godhead bodily: and in Him
ye are made full, who is the head of all principality and power."....
Thesaurus
Fullness (31 Occurrences)... Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
FULLNESS. fool'-nes: The translation of pleroma, which
is generally, but not invariably, rendered "
fullness" in the New Testament.
...Contains (17 Occurrences)
... (WBS). 1 Chronicles 16:32 Let the sea roar, and itsfullness!... The earth is Yahweh's,
with itsfullness; the world, and those who dwell therein. (See NAS)....
Fills (20 Occurrences)
... (WEB DBY NAS). Ephesians 1:23 which is his body, thefullness of him who fills all
in all.... 1 Chronicles 16:32 Let the sea roar, and itsfullness!...
Unchangeableness (1 Occurrence)
... attribute which expresses the truth that in His nature and perfections, in His
knowledge, will and purpose, He always remains the same in thefullness of His...
Unchangeable (4 Occurrences)
... attribute which expresses the truth that in His nature and perfections, in His
knowledge, will and purpose, He always remains the same in thefullness of His...
Roar (53 Occurrences)
... 1 Chronicles 16:32 Let the sea roar, and itsfullness! Let the field exult,
and all that is therein!... Let the sea roar, and itsfullness!...
Godhead (5 Occurrences)
... It is theotes which occurs in Colossians 2:9. Here Paul declares that "all thefullness
of the Godhead" dwells in Christ "bodily." The phrase "fullness of the...
Satiety (12 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) The state of being satiated or glutted;fullness
of gratification, either of the appetite or of any sensual desire;fullness...
Blessing (357 Occurrences)
... the blessing of the Spirit in introducing the believer into "the heavenly places
in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3); a term expressing thefullness of blessing in...
Round (664 Occurrences)
... 40. (vt) To surround; to encircle; to encompass. 41. (vt) To bring tofullness or
completeness; to complete; hence, to bring to a fit conclusion. 42....
Resources
What does it mean that God sent Jesus in the “fullness of time”? Why did God send Jesus when He did? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the meaning of “grace upon grace” in John 1:16? | GotQuestions.orgWhy did God create the world / earth? | GotQuestions.orgFullness: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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