COMMENTARY ON EPHESIANS
LESSON NUMBER 17
Eph 1:22 " And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church, 23 Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all."
(Eph 1:22-23)
GOD'S PROVISION FOR THE CHURCH
INTRODUCTION
I want to again remind you of the remarkable references to Deity that are in this prayer - not to mention all of the preceding verses (1:1-14 - 32 references). In this prayer (15-23), there are 19 references. There are 51 references to Deity in the first chapter. Included in his prayer are "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ," "the Father of glory," "the hope of His calling," "His inheritance in the saints," ""exceeding greatness of His power," "the working of His mighty power," "He wrought in Christ," "He raised Him from the dead,"and set Him," "His own right," (He) hath put all things under His feet," "Head over all things," "His body," and "the fulness of Him." Considering that Paul is writing to promote maturity in the saints - growing up into Him in all things - it ought to be apparent that this is done by declaring and expounding the wonderful works of God, not the required works of men. It is not that the people are not told what they must do, or what they should retain, and the kind of life they should live. However, such instruction is consistently based upon what the Lord has done. That is the appointed vehicle through which instruction is made effective. Paul does not resort to philosophy, and even seems to avoid earthly parallels in his introductory remarks and prayer. In our time there has been such a distortion in teaching that these foundational matters are rarely considered. As a result, fulfilling the will of the Lord and spiritual growth are generally approached from the standpoint of routine, regulation, and procedure. As Peter well says, we have been redeemed from that kind of approach to spiritual life (1 Poet 1:18). By way of contrast, the just live by faith, and faith requires the declaration of unchanging realties. All such things are exclusively related to God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
ALL THINGS ARE UNDER JESUS' FEET
Eph 1:22a "And hath put all things under His feet . . ."
The subject is still God the Father, and "And what is "the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power" (Eph 1:19). In order for us to know what to expect from this power, He has affirmed that it was put on display, so to speak, "when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all . . . " (Eph 1:20-21).
We should not expect this kind of power to be required to resolve earthly problems, personal issues, and other mundane matters. If there is anything that can be accomplished by the wisdom, ingenuity, and extraordinary human effort, this power cannot and will not be employed. Knowing the greatness of this power has a great bearing on how we seek to use it. God has revealed enough about living by faith that we should not have to be taught extensively about these things. Spiritual life involves such things as being taught by Jesus (Eph 4:21), accessing God (Eph 3:12), wrestling against principalities and powers (Eph 6:12), casting down imaginations (2 Cor 10:3-4), going on to perfection (Heb 6:1), resisting the devil (James 4:7), and living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (Tit 2:12). We are expected to finish the race set before us (Heb 12:1-2), keep the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end (Heb 6:11), and have boldness in the day of judgment (1 John 4:17).
All of this, and more, requires the kind of power that is being described. That is why it is being declared. It is also why Satan seeks to divert our attention to our lives in the world rather than the life that is hid with Christ in God (Col 3:3).
THE PERFORMER OF THE DESCRIBED ACTION. The Subject of this sentence is "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory" (1:17a). He is the One who gives "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" (1:17b). It is "His calling," and "His inheritance in the saints" (1:18). It is the "exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward" (1:19a), and "His might power" (1:19b). It is "He" that raised Jesus "from the dead" (1:20a), and it is He that "set" Jesus at "His own hand in the heavenly places" (1:20b).
A great disservice has been done to the Christian community by a lack of stress upon "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 11:31). He is the One who sent Jesus (Gal 4:4), enthroned Him at His right hand (Eph 1:20), and will send Him back (Acts 3:20-21). It is He who has "sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts" (Gal 4:6). We have been reconciled to Him (Rom 5:10). He is the One who is glorified with "one mind and one mouth" (Rom 15:6). When the enemies of Jesus have been publicly made Christ's footstool, Jesus will give the Kingdom back to "God, even the Father" (1 Cor 15:24).
A proper understanding of salvation requires the perceived centrality of God the Father, with Jesus Christ as the solitary means of access to and reception by the Father. Where this perspective is missing, theological confusion is inevitable.
WHAT ARE "ALL THINGS." Other versions read, "everything," NIV and "is in charge of it all," MESSAGE Every other version uses the expression "all things."
On the practical level, this refers to everything and everyone that has potential influence over us - whether for good or evil. From the adversarial view, it would be "tribulation . . . distress . . . persecution . . . famine . . . nakedness . . . peril . . . sword . . . death . . . life . . . angels . . . principalities . . . powers . . . things present . . . things to come . . . height . . . depth . . . or any other creature" (Rom 8:35-39). Focusing on higher orders of life, it includes "angels and authorities and powers" that have been "made subject unto him" (1 Pet 3:22).
From the standpoint of favorable influences "all things" also include the holy angels, who worship Him, and whom He sends (Heb 1:6; Acts 12:11; Rev 1:1; 22:6,16).
Having exalted "the Man Christ Jesus," God has made the Son fully adequate to carry out everything involved in bringing the sons to glory. There is nothing nor no one who stands between the sons and the glory that is not knowingly and obediently subject to Jesus Christ. They all will yield to His will without question or any form of resistence.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF "UNDER HIS FEET?" This is an expression denoting absolute dominion (Psa 8:6). The epistle to the Hebrews states the case well: "For in that He put all in subjection under him, Ge left nothing that is not put under him" (Heb 2:8). Presently, this is fully realized in Christ Jesus (Heb 2:9). That is, everything is actually under His authority, which means there is no such thing as expressed and knowledgeable resistence of Jesus. Satan himself, all demons, and all principalities and powers yield to Jesus as soon as He speaks. This was confirmed during Jesus ministry, which introduced this kind of authority to men.
The fact that this subjection is not apparent by no means indicates that it is not real. Christ's present authority and ministry is not devoted to the overthrow of inimical powers. He already did that in the cross (Col 2:15; Heb 2:14). Now His authority is exhibited in His intercession, ministry to the saints, care of His people, and bringing them successfully to glory.
THE CAPACITY IN WHICH JESUS HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THE CHURCH
1:22b " . . . and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church.""
Our text is still revealing the working of God the Father. He sent Jesus (1 John 4:14), delivered Him up (Rom 8:32), raised Him from the dead (Acts 13:30), received Him into glory (1 Tim 3:16)), set Him at His own right hand (Eph 1:20), and put everything under His feet" (Eph 1:22). Now we read that He "gave Him" to be something.
WHO GAVE HIM TO BE? Other versions read, "gave Him as," NASB "appointed Him to be," NIV "made Him," NRSV "hath given Him," GENEVA and "placed Him." MONTGOMERY
Because there is "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Eph 4:6), no one can effectively contest His placements, or say to Him, "What have you done?" NIV (Dan 4:35). Although the heathen may rage against Divine appointments - particularly against the exaltation of Jesus - it is all in vain. God will laugh in derision at them (Psa 2:1-6), and proceed to do His will as though they did not even exist.
THE HEAD OVER ALL THINGS. Other versions read, "Head over everything," NIV "high over all," MRD "above all things," NJB "the supreme Head," LIVING "universal and supreme Head," WEYMOUTH "supreme Lord over all things." GNB
This is not a declaration of Jesus as a kind of Figurehead, nominal Head, or straw-man. It is not that this is what Jesus should be, but actually is not. The declaration of the Gospel is that "God hath made that same Jesus . . . both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). The cherubim and Seraphim know it, the angels know it. Satan knows it. The demons know it. Principalities and powers know it. It is only the blind among mankind that do not know it - and that has no bearing on the matter at all. Jesus now judges all things, and His judgment stands (John 5:22). If He commands someone to live, they do. If He commands someone to die, they do. If He commands Satan to depart, He does. If He commands angels to come, they do. If He makes a way of escape, it is effective. He is over circumstances, so that a powerful storm can destroy a ship, yet all of the people in it are saved (Acts 27:22,44). He can "command deliverances" (Psa 4:4), and they are always effective. The same power possessed by the Father has been conferred upon the Son, so that it may be said of Him now, "O LORD God of our fathers, art not Thou God in heaven? and rulest not Thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in Tine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand Thee?" (2 Chron 20:6). He now possesses "all power in heaven and in earth," and does so as a glorified Man (Matt 28:18).
TO THE CHURCH. Other versions read, "for the church," NIV "to the assembly," DARBY "over all the church," DOUAY "for the good of the church," GWN "to be Head of the church," MRD "gave him to the church as head," NET "Christ rules the church," MESSAGE and "the universal and supreme Head of the church [a leadership exercised throughout the church]." AMPLIFIED
Here some of the versions introduce confusion referring to Jesus being given as the Head of the church. Although He is the Head of the church, that is not the point being made by this text. The Authorized Version says God has given Him "to" the church. The idea is that God has given Him TO the church in the capacity of "Head over all things." Other versions read, "FOR the church," which is also a proper rendering. That is, He has been made the Head over all things for the benefit the church. He has not been given to the church as a potential king who presently exercises His authority only in the church itself. Such a thought is preposterous, and is unworthy of being entertained by the any believer.
An exalted Christ that is not the Head of everything is One that has not been exalted at all. The exaltation is not merely to manage the church - which He surely does - but to control its environment, its adversaries, its times, and its seasons. Jesus cannot bring us to glory unless He has authority over all that lies between us and the glory to which He is bringing us.
If this is not the case, what purpose is there in considering "the Apostle and High Priest of our profession" (Heb 3:1). Is this consideration only in order that we might know what we are to do? Or does the contemplation of Christ include the fact that nothing "shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:39). How is it possible to be "saved by hope" (Rom 8:24) if we have a Savior who is not presently over all, and under whose feet all of our enemies reside? How will we be able to maintain "the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" (Heb 3:6) if there is one of our foes who is not under Christ's feet?
Of course, before "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," He was already over all, being "in the form of God," and who "was God" (John 1:1). But at that time He was not "the Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph 1:15,17), or "Christ" (Eph 1:20). He had not yet entered the world, died, been raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, or set down on the right hand of God. All of that has now taken place because salvation had to be through a Man - "the Man Christ Jesus."
Now, however, God has given the church what it needs - a glorified Man who possesses all power in heaven and earth, and yet is able to empathize with us in the feeling of infirmity, or human weakness. He safely negotiated through trial, and He will enable us to do the same.
THE CHURCH IS CHRIST'S BODY AND HIS FULNESS
1:23 "Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all."
This is the exposition of the word "church." The Spirit does not move Paul to refer to it as an assembly, The thrust here is not the gathering of the people. This is not a reference to appearance, or what is perceived outwardly. All of those things are found in apostolic teaching about the church. However, when it comes to foundational matters, the church is to be seen from heaven's viewpoint in general, and from the standpoint of Christ in particular.
HIS BODY, Paul is the only writer of Scripture that refers to the church as Christ's "body" (Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 10:17; 12:12-20,22-25,27; Eph 1:23; 2:16; 3:6; 4:4,12,16; 5:23,30; Col 1:18; 2:19; 3:15) - 24 times! While Jesus is :the Head of the body" (Eph 5:23; Col 1:18; 2:19), that Headship is not the point of this text.
The "body" is the vehicle through which Christ works among men. So far as the earth is concerned "His body" is the appointed means through which He expresses Himself. This is where nourishment is ministered. It is where direction takes place. It is where comfort is ministered. It is where the knowledge of Himself and God the Father is possessed. This is what makes Christ accessible to men. So far as Divine activity upon the earth is concerned, Christ without the church is like a head without a body.
The body is singular, not plural. The "church" is not a compilation of bodies, but is "one body," possessing "one Spirit," and called in "one hope of" its "calling" (Eph 4:4). The picture being presented today is that of many bodies, not "one body." They can by no means be considered one unified whole - unless it is theoretically or philosophically. If this is a true assessment of the case, the modern church is a serious misrepresentation of what God is doing.
Within this body - the body of Christ - the Father determines the placement of every individual member. As it is written, "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him" (1 Cor 12:18). I understand this to be another way of saying they have been "given" to Christ (John 6:39; 17:7,9,11,24; Heb 2:13). Strictly speaking, God does not give the people to Christ individually, in isolation of all others, but does so by placing them in Christ"s body. By relation, they are his "brethren" and He is the elder Brother (Heb 2:11). They are the "children" and He is the One who has begotten and raises them (Heb 2:14). They are His "wife," and He is their Husband (Rev 19:7; 21:9). So far as tutelage is concerned, they are His disciples, and He is the Master, or Teacher (Lk 11:1). From the standpoint of productivity, they are "the branches" and He is the Vine (John 14:5). Viewed from the aspect of what is done, they are the "servants," and He is the Master, or Lord (Luke 6:40).
All of these relationships are fulfilled in "the body," and none of them is accomplished independently of "the body."
THE FULNESS OF HIM. Other versions read, "full measure of Him," BBE "full expression," CJB "completes Him," GWN "filled with Himself," LIVING "the totality of Christ," IE "completeness of Him," WEYMOUTH "filled with Him," ERV and "in which He speaks and acts." MESSAGE
If there is anything of Christ to be found in all of the world, it will be made available in the church. Christ does not pour out of His fulness into the government, or the domestic family, or any institution or organization separate from the church. He does not pour it forth into the entertainment or athletic world - even though men are fond of giving Jesus credit for their aptitude in these areas. It is true that natural aptitude comes from God, and is inherent in nature. But that is not the focus of Christ's government, or the gifts that He gives. This is a hard lesson for some to learn, but it is a necessary one. In Scripture, the administration of gifts is never disassociated from Jesus, and is never focused upon worldly life. Further, the gifts that Jesus gives are, strictly speaking, not learned attributes or the result of human disciples.
THAT FILLETH ALL IN ALL. Other versions read, "fills everything in every way," NIV "all things are made complete," BBE "fills all creation," CJB "who fills all things everywhere with himself," NLT and "fills the universe with Himself." WEYMOUTH
This is strictly related to the execution of God's eternal purpose, and is the direct result of Christ's redemptive work. Paul is not commenting on life in general, but is rather addressing matters having to do with the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. While the exalted Christ is omnipresent, I do not believe that is the point of this text. This has to do with Divine purpose.
Everything and everyone related to salvation is animated by the nature of Jesus Christ. This is especially true of the church itself, which is His body. His character and attributes saturate the whole of the church. Every gift is, in reality, an aspect of Christ's Person. He is to the individual components what the widow's bottle of oil was to the sorted vessels that filled her house (2 Kgs 4:8). Later Paul will mention growing up into Christ in all things (Eph 4:15). This has to do with tapping into Christ's fulness, which equips the various members of the body to be used by Him in the fulfillment of God's purpose. This is heaven's way of developing the aptitude that is required to carry out the will of the Lord, and edifying the body in the process.