What does the word 'fullness' mean in Colossians 1:19?
In Colossians 1:19, 'fullness' means completeness—that which completes or adds to. The context suggests it could better be translated 'complement.' The completion of the Son is the body, the church, so all fullness dwelling in Him points to His completeness in the church, His body.
Les explains that the word 'fullness' in Colossians 1:19 could better be translated as 'complement,' meaning that which adds to or completes. He then asks what the completion of the Son is and answers that it is the body. He connects this to Ephesians 1:22-23, where Paul writes that God gave Christ to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, and notes that Paul always uses 'the church, which is his body' in unison. Thus, fullness means the completion of Christ through His body, the church.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;