Col 1:19 Greek help please

[Puritan Sailor]

NKJV
"It pleased the Father that in Him all the fulness should dwell,"

ESV

"For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,"


What does the Greek say? Textual variant? If the NKJV is right, what then does "fullness" mean?

 

[doulosChristou]

In the Greek text, neither "the Father" (NKJV) nor "of God" (ESV) are there.

Literally, "For in Him it pleased all the fullness to dwell" or "For in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell."

 

[kevin.carroll]

Originally posted by puritansailor
NKJV
"It pleased the Father that in Him all the fulness should dwell,"

ESV

"For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,"


What does the Greek say? Textual variant? If the NKJV is right, what then does "fullness" mean?

They both are being a little free with the text. The Greek reads:
o[ti evn auvtw/| euvdo,khsen pa/n to. plh,rwma katoikh/sai], literally, "because in him he was pleased all the fullness to dwell."

It's a phrase in an insanely long sentence that begins in verse 9. Both are interpreting.

[Edited on 4-7-2005 by kevin.carroll]

 

[lwadkins]

NAS Colossians 1:19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him,

ESV Colossians 1:19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

NET Colossians 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son

BNT Colossians 1:19 o[ti evn auvtw/| euvdo,khsen pa/n to. plh,rwma katoikh/sai

NET Notes (Col 1:19)

34 )tn The noun "God" does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of euvdo,khsen (eudokeÃ’sen).
35 )tn The Greek article to, (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., "his." BDAG 404 s.v. euvdoke,w 1 translates the phrase as "all the fullness willed to dwell in him" thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that "the fullness" dwells in a person (i.e., "in him") seems to argue for the translation "his fullness" where "his" refers to God.
36 )tn The aorist verb katoikh/sai (katoikeÃ’sai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as "begin to dwell, to take up residence." It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.
37 )tn Grk "him"; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[Edited on 4-7-2005 by lwadkins]

[Edited on 4-7-2005 by lwadkins]

 

[andreas]

(Greek NT - Textus Rec.) Colossians 1:19 oti en autw eudokhsen pan to plhrwma katoikhsai

oti---because
en autw----in him
eudokhsen----it pleased
pan to plhrwma---all the fullness
katoikhsai---to dwell

Because in Him it pleased all the fullness to dwell.

andreas.

 

[larryjf]

Some other translations take on the verse...

Young's Literal...
because in him it did please all the fulness to tabernacle,

Darby...
for in him all the fulness [of the Godhead] was pleased to dwell,

NAB...
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,

EMTV (majority text)...
for it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,

 

[Rich Barcellos]

If memory serves me correctly, commentators take "fullness" in one of two ways: 1) either it refers to what Col. 2:9 refers to (i.e., all the divine attributes; the plentitude of divinity; the ontoligical view); or 2) it refers to "the plentitude of life, of grace, of truth, of wisdom, of knowledge, of goodness, of mercy, of righteousness, of power" (Murray, Collected writings, II, 301); the fulness of "his redemtpive and mediatorial identity" (Ibid.) to carry out the task of redemption/reconciliation. This is the economic view. I prefer the latter for several reasons. First, Paul already established Christ's deity in vv. 15-17. Second, Paul shifts from ontology to redemptive/messianic economy in v. 18 (note especially "the first born from the dead"). Third, the word "for" or "because", hoti, connects v. 19 with v. 18. Thus, vv. 19-20 (notice the "kai" or "and" of v. 20) function as the two-fold basis or grounds upon which Paul made his previous assertion concerning Christ's preeminence over all things (v. 18b). Verses 19-20, then, are Christ's credentials for preeminence - messianic plentitude and cosmic reconciliation via the cross. Murray says, it is "referring to the investiture in virtue of which the preeminence is constituted" (Ibid.). Murray handles this text in Collected Writings, II, 300-302.