because God saw good for all fullness to dwell in him,

(Col. 1:16-20) How is it that “God saw good for all fullness to dwell” in Christ Jesus? What is this “fullness” found in God’s Son?

The apostle himself clarifies the matter in saying later, “it is in him that all the fullness of the divine quality dwells bodily.” (Col. 2:9) The apostle John, too, contributes to our understanding when writing that “the Word [Jesus in his prehuman state] became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth. For we all received from out of his fullness, even undeserved kindness upon undeserved kindness. Because the Law was given through Moses, the undeserved kindness and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ.”​—John 1:14, 16, 17.

Yes, Jesus was so filled with the knowledge and the divine qualities of his Father, as well as so full of the fruitage of God’s spirit, that he could say that “he that has seen me has seen the Father also.” (John 14:9) But not only this. By making Jesus the means by which all His purposes are realized, the one in whom all the prophecies find their true meaning and significance, God has caused to be “carefully concealed in him . . . all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge.” (Col. 2:2, 3) Without learning all that God’s Word tells about this Son, we can never come to a full understanding of the Scriptures and their prophecies, of God’s will and purpose.

It is through Jesus that God’s promises took on definite form and substance; by his life course Jesus Christ was used to cause these promises to be, not just words, but reality. So truly “the fullness of the divine quality dwells bodily” in him. He was more than a symbol or type foreshadowing something eventually to come. He was not a shadow Messiah but the real thing. He was no shadow high priest. He was, in substance and fact, the true one prefigured. As the apostle says of the provisions of the Law covenant given through Moses, “those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.” (Col. 2:16, 17) Yes, ‘all fullness dwells in him’ also in that God has granted to his Son full power to carry through the divine purpose to completion. The resurrected Christ Jesus therefore could tell his disciples: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth.” (Matt. 28:18) He is made “the head of all government and authority” to rule as King in God’s new order of righteousness. (Col. 2:10) He is God’s “Chief Agent of life,” whose administration of the life benefits of his ransom sacrifice is the only God-provided way for any of us to gain life everlasting.​—Acts 3:15.

The apostle John, too, contributes to our understanding when writing that “the Word [Jesus in his prehuman state] became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth.