Limitless Word
and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority;
Colossians 2:10 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power;
  • KJV And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
  • BSB And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
  • NKJV and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
  • NLT So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Believers are made complete in Christ, who rules over every power. Union with Christ supplies everything they need.

Overview

Because the fullness dwells in Christ, 'in him you are made full'—lacking nothing for salvation and life. Christ is 'the head of all principality and power,' supreme over every spiritual authority the false teachers might fear or venerate. Believers need seek no supplement beyond their union with the all-sufficient Lord.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Eph 3:19and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
  • Col 1:16–18For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.
  • 1 Pet 3:22who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.
  • Eph 1:20–23which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
  • 1 Cor 1:30–31Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
  • Phil 2:9–11Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
  • Heb 5:9Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation,
  • John 1:16From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.
  • Gal 3:26–29For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.
  • Eph 4:15–16but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, Christ;
  • Col 3:11where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
  • Rev 5:9–13They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Colossians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Colossians 2:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ColossiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.

How Colossians 2:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.