77 IS THE WORD OF GOD INCOMPLETE? this term in the letter has mainly focused on two issues: (a) whether the sense of the word is technical or non-technical; (b) whether the term is passive or active. The active meaning would indicate that the fullness fills some- thing, whereas the passive would point to a plenitude filled with something. to. plh,rwma generally carries a passive meaning in the NT 42. Both references in Colossians (1,19; 2,9) seem to designate the divine fullness. In 2,9 the objective genitive (th/j qeo,thtoj) con- firms the content of the fullness; but in 1,19 the semantic content of the word is not that clear. Despite the absence of the genitive, it is possible to explain the omission of mentioning the divinity as a rhetorical device to focus the reader’s attention on Christ’s media- tion and to underline his uniqueness among all creatures 43. The technical sense of plh,rwma refers to cosmic fullness, either the world filled with God, or God filled with the world in the way that this plenitude was understood by Stoicism44. The non-technical sense alludes to something indeterminate. P. Benoit suggested that such plenitude refers to the church, the divinity and even the cos- mos, including the fullness of God and of the church in Christ45 with both united in him. In this sense, he prefers the technical read- ing of the word. However, it is important to observe that Colossians (in particular 1,15-20) avoids merging ta. pa,nta and Christ, in order to keep the role of Christ as the unique mediator. This plenitude in Colossians, which dwells in Christ and which refers to God, is hard- ly identified with the church 46. cabulary of the letter. SCHENK, “Der Kolosserbrief in der neueren Forschung”, 3332. The related vocabulary in the letter certainly confirms the semantics of the fulfillment: the knowledge of the divine will needs full achievement. A few exceptions can be found in Mark 2,21 and 1 Cor 10,26 (cf. Ps 23,1), 42 referring to the fullness of something (for example, unshrunk cloth and the earth). J.M. GRANADOS ROJAS, La reconciliación en la Carta a los Efesios y 43 en la Carta a los Colosenses: estudio exegético de Ef 2,14-16 y Col 1,20.21- 23 (AnBib 170; Roma 2008) 152. DUPONT, Gnosis, 461-468. 44 P. BENOIT, “Corps, Tête et Plérôme dans les Épîtres de la Captivité”, 45 Exégèse et Théologie (Paris 1961) 139-145. See also J. ERNST, Pleroma und Pleroma Christi: Geschichte und Deutung eines Begriffs der paulinischen Antilegomena (BU; Regensburg 1970) 71-93. This is totally different from Ephesians’ interpretation of the plh,rwma. 46 See, for example, Eph 1,21-23. Further research on the links between the vo- cabulary of plhro,w and plh,rwma in Ephesians and Colossians remains to be done. See P. POKORNÝ, Colossians: A Commentary (Peabody MA 1991)100. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati