2:10a

And you have been made complete in Christ: The Berean Standard Bible used the word “fullness” in 2:9, where it referred to God’s nature. However, the meaning is not the same in this verse. Here it means “you are complete because you are united to Christ.” If someone trusts in Christ, he has all that he needs in order to be saved, so he does not need to listen to what false teachers say.

2:10b

who is the head over: This is a figure of speech that means “who rules over, who is chief over.” See the note on 1:18a.

every ruler and authority: When Paul used the words ruler and authority together in this way, he probably referred to all spirit beings, such as angels and demons. He used the same words in 1:16d. See the note there. You can translate this in one of two ways:

• In a general sense. For example:

every ruler and authority (Berean Standard Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Century Version, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible)

• In a way that refers specifically to spirits. (See 2:10 in the USB Handbook.). For example:

every spiritual ruler and authority (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation)

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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