Paul points believers away from competing philosophies and back to Christ, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in him bodily and believers are complete in him.
Colossians 2:9 means that all the fullness of deity dwells bodily in Jesus Christ. God is not partially present in Christ; the one God is fully revealed and dwelling in him in genuine humanity.
Colossians 2:8 warns believers not to be carried away by philosophy, human tradition, or the rudiments of the world. Paul's answer is Christ: in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and verse 10 immediately says believers are complete in him.
Paul does not describe Jesus as containing one part of God or merely displaying divine qualities. The language is total: all the fullness of deity dwells in Christ bodily. The invisible God has made himself known in a real human life.
Colossians 1:19 says all fullness dwells in Christ. Jesus says the Father dwelling in him does the works in John 14:10. Paul likewise writes that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself in 2 Corinthians 5:19. Colossians 2:9 belongs to that same biblical pattern of God fully revealing himself in Christ.
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