Ephesians 1:22

22. and hath put] Lit. and did put; at the great act of Enthronement after Resurrection. Cp. 1Co_15:27 &c., where we have explicit reference to Psa_110:1, and in a way which suggests here the interpretation that the subjection of all things was then accomplished in the earnest, but is not to be accomplished in final act till the “destruction of death.”—The phrase here carries the thought of Christ’s Lordship on from His relations to angels as their King to His attitude towards all opposition as its Conqueror.

and gave him] “Him” is emphatic by position; He and no other is the Head.

head] A word combining the idea of exaltation with that of the vital union necessary to an organism. The ascended Lord presides over His Church, but more—He is to it the constant Cause and mighty Source of spiritual vitality. “Because He lives, it lives also.” Its organization grows from Him, and refers to Him. Cp. 1Co_11:3; Col_1:18; Col_2:10; Col_2:19; and below, Eph_4:15, Eph_5:23. The idea, it will be seen, appears in this precise form (the Headship of the Body) only in Eph. and Col.; unless 1Co_12:21 is to be added.

over all things] I.e., immeasurably beyond anything else that can seem to claim headship; any fancied Power of quasi-philosophic systems.

the church] This great word appears here in its highest reference, the Company of human beings “called out” (as the word Ecclêsia implies) from the fallen world into vital union with the glorified Christ. The word occurs nine times in this Epistle (here, Eph_3:10; Eph_3:21 Eph_5:23-25; Eph_5:27; Eph_5:29; Eph_5:32) and always in the same high connexion. Cp. for parallels Col_1:18; Col_1:24; Heb_12:23; and, in a measure, Act_20:28; 1Co_15:9. As it stands here, the word rises above the level of visibility and external organization, and has to do supremely with direct spiritual relations between the Lord and the believing Company. In is, in fact, (see ch. 5), “the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife,” of the Revelation, only not as yet manifested in bridal splendour. It is “the called, justified, and glorified,” of Romans 8; “the Church of the Firstborn,” of Hebrews 12; “the royal priesthood, the people of possession,” of 1 Peter. All other meanings of the word Church are derived and modified from this, but this must not be modified by them. “The Church of Christ, which we properly term His body mystical, can be but one … a body mystical, because the mystery of their conjunction is removed altogether from sense. Whatsoever we read in Scripture concerning the endless love and saving mercy which God sheweth to His Church, the only proper subject thereof is this Church. Concerning this flock it is that our Lord and Saviour hath promised, ‘I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.’ They who are of this Society have such marks and notes of distinction from all others as are not objects unto our sense; only unto God who seeth their hearts … they are clear and manifest” (Hooker, Eccles. Polity, III. 1.) See further Appendix B.

which is his body] A metaphor which suggests not only vital union with the Head, but that the will of the Head is exercised through the members. They are His instruments.—A kindred but not identical use of the metaphor appears Rom_12:5; “members one of another;” and 1Co_10:17. For closer parallels cp. Col_1:24; Col_2:19; and below, Eph_2:16, Eph_4:4; Eph_4:12; Eph_4:16, Eph_5:23; Eph_5:30.

the fulness of him, &c.] This mysterious phrase has been much discussed. On the whole the inferences have taken one or other of two main lines. The word “fulness” (plerôma), has been (1) explained to mean the receptacle of fulness, or filled receptacle; the vehicle, so to speak, in which the resources of the grace of Christ manifest their greatness, and which is filled by them. Among other pleas for this view is the fact that in some schools of the Gnosticism which so soon followed the apostolic age the Plerôma was the recognized term for the home, or sphere, of the great Emanations (Æons) of the Absolute Being (Bythus), and in one theory, of the Absolute Being Itself also. The word has been (2) held to mean, in all doctrinal passages of the N. T., substantially, the ideal fulness, or totality, of Divine attributes or graces; as certainly in Col_2:9. Bp Lightfoot (Colossians, pp. 323–339) discusses the word in an exhaustive essay. He shews that Plerôma cannot naturally mean (as it has been taken to mean in some passages) the thing which fills a void. It is the filled condition of a thing, whether the thing be a rent to be mended, an idea to be realized, or a prophetic plan to be “fulfilled.” He shews further that the word had acquired a technical theological meaning in St Paul’s time, probably in the Palestinian schools of Jewish thought; a meaning connected especially with the eternally realized Ideal of Godhead; the Divine Fulness. This Fulness resides (by the Father’s will, yet necessarily,) in the Eternal Son (Col_1:19); and the Son, Incarnate, Sacrificed, and Risen, is so conjoined in spiritual Union to His regenerate Church that what is true of Him is true, within sacred limits, of her. As He without measure is the Fulfilment, or Ideal, of Divine Attributes, so she in measure is the Fulfilment, or Ideal, of Divine Graces; which are, we may venture to say, the Attributes in their reception and manifestation by the regenerate Church. She is the Body through which is realized the Will of the Head, the Fulfilment in which is realized the Grace of the Head.—It will be observed that the two interpretations of the word indicated in this note have an underlying connexion. See this curiously illustrated by Bp. Lightfoot (Colossians, pp. 331, &c.), from the history of Gnostic theories.

that filleth all in all] The reference is to the Son, Who is in view through the immediate context. His vital connexion with His true Church is such that it not only is the Receptacle of His Divine grace, but is actually pervaded everywhere by His spiritual omnipresence. The form (middle) of the verb suggests intensity and richness of action; a power which is indeed living and life-giving.

“All in all:”—in other words, He is the Cause of all the holiness that is in all His members; whatever in them is filled with grace, He fills it.—It seems needless to seek a remoter meaning, as, “filleth all things (the universe) with all things” (Alford).

The true Church, in its glorious Ideal, which is meanwhile its proper Reality, only not yet fully manifested, is thus presented in spiritual and eternal union with its exalted Head. The Apostle is now about to descend to the special instance of the bringing into it of its Ephesian members. Cp. Col_1:21, &c.

B. ST AUGUSTINE ON THE CHURCH. (Ch. Eph_1:22.)

He is describing with general approval Tichonius’ Book of the Seven Rules[42] (for the elucidation of Scripture mysteries), and writes thus (De Doctrinâ Christianâ, iii. 32):—“The second Rule is that concerning the Lord’s twofold Body (de Domini corpore bipartito). The phrase is unsuitable, for that is not really the Lord’s Body which will not be with Him eternally. He should have said, ‘concerning the Lord’s true and commingled Body,’ or ‘true and feigned Body,’ or the like; for not only eternally, but now, hypocrites are not to be described as being with Him, however they may seem (quamvis videantur) to be in His Church. This rule demands a watchful reader; for [often] the Scripture, turning from one party to speak to, or about, another, seems to be still speaking to, or about, the first, as if the two constituted one Body, by reason of their temporal commingling and their equal share in sacraments.”

[42] This book is extant. See Migne’s Patrologia Latina, Vol. xviii.

In allusion to this passage Bp Ridley writes (Works, Parker Society Ed., pp. 126–127):—“That Church, which is His Body, and of which Christ is the Head, standeth only of living stones and true Christians, not only outwardly in name and title, but inwardly in heart and in truth. But forasmuch as this Church … as touching the outward fellowship, is contained within that great house [2Ti_2:20] and hath, with the same, outward society of the sacraments and ministry of the word, many things are spoken of that universal Church (which St Augustine calleth the mingled Church) which cannot truly be understood but only of that purer part of the Church. So that the rule of Tyconius concerning the mingled Church may here well take place, &c.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph_1:22

And gave Him to be Head over all things to the Church.

The kingly office of Christ

In this scripture let these four things be seriously regarded.

1. The dignity and authority committed to Christ. He hath put all things under His feet; which implies full, ample, and absolute dominion in Him, and subjection in them over whom He reigns. This power is delegated to Him by the Father: for besides the essential, native, ingenite power and dominion over all, which He hath as God, and is common to every person in the Godhead (Psa_22:28), there is a mediatory dispensed authority, which is proper to Him as mediator, which He receives as the reward or fruit of His suffering (Php_2:8).

2. The subject recipient of this authority, which is Christ, and Christ primarily and only. He is the first receptacle of all authority and power. Whatever authority any creature is clothed with, is but ministerial and derivative, whether it be political or ecclesiastical. Christ is the only Lord (Jud_1:4). The fountain of all power.

3. The object of this authority, the whole creation; all things are put under His feet. He rules from sea to sea, even to the utmost bounds of Gods creation; Thou hast given Him power over all flesh (Joh_17:2). All creatures, rational and irrational, animate and inanimate, angels, devils, men, winds, seas, all obey Him.

4. And especially, take notice of the end for which He governs and rules the universal Empire. It is for the Church, i.e., for the advantage, comfort, and salvation of that; chosen remnant He died for. He purchased the Church; and that He might have the highest security that His blood should not be lost, God the Father hath put all things into His hand, to order and dispose all as He pleaseth. For the furtherance of that His design and end, as He bought the persons of some, so the services of all the rest; and that they might effectually serve the end they are designed to, Christ will order them all in a blessed subordination and subserviency thereunto. (J. Flavel.)

Christs sovereignty and its administration

That Jesus Christ hath a providential influence upon all the affairs of this world, is evident, both from Scripture assertions, and rational observations, made upon the actings of things here below. But my business, in this discourse, is not to prove that there is a providence, which none but atheists deny. I shall choose rather to show by what acts Jesus Christ administers this kingdom, and in what manner; and what use may be made thereof. First, He rules and orders the kingdom of providence, as follows.

1. He supports the world and all creatures in it by His power.

2. He permits and suffers the worst of creatures in His dominions to be and act as they do.

3. He powerfully restrains creatures by the bridle of providence, from the commission of those things to which their hearts are propense enough.

4. Jesus Christ limits the creatures in their acting, assigning them their boundaries and lines of liberty; to which they may, but beyond it cannot go.

5. The Lord Jesus providentially protects His people amidst a world of enemies and dangers.

6. He punishes the evil doers, and repays by providence, into their own lap, the mischief they do, or but intend to do, unto them that fear Him.

7. And lastly, He rewards by providence the services done to Him and His people. Out of this treasure of providence God repays oftentimes those that serve Him, and that with a hundredfold reward now in this life (Mat_19:29). This active, vigilant providence hath its eye upon all the wants, straits, and troubles of the creatures; but especially upon such as religion brings us unto. What huge volumes of experiences might the people of God write upon this subject! Secondly, We shall next inquire how Jesus Christ administers this providential kingdom. And here I must take notice of the means by which, and the manner in which He doth it. The means, or instruments He uses in the governing the providential kingdom (for He is not personally present with us Himself), are either angels or men; the angels are ministering creatures sent forth by Him for the good of them that shall be the heirs of salvation (Heb_1:14). Luther tells us they have two offices, to sing above, and watch beneath. These do us many invisible offices of love. They have dear and tender respects and love for the saints. To them, God, as it were, puts forth His children to nurse, and they are tenderly careful of them whilst they live, and bring them home in their arms to their Father when they die. And as angels, so men are the servants of providence; yea, bad men as well as good. Yea, there is not a creature in heaven, earth, or hell, but Jesus Christ can providentially use it, and serve His ends, and promote His designs by it.

But whatever the instrument be, Christ uses, of this we may be certain, that His providential working is holy, judicious, sovereign, profound, irresistible, harmonious, and to the saints peculiar.

1. It is holy. Though He permits, limits, orders, and overrules many unholy persons and actions, yet He still works like Himself, most holily and purely throughout.

2. Christs providential working is not only most pure and holy, but also most wise and judicious (Eze_1:20), The wheels are full of eyes. They are not moved by a blind impetus, but in deep counsel and wisdom. The most wise providence looks beyond us. It eyes the end, and suits all things thereto, and not to our fond desires.

3. The providence of Christ is most supreme and sovereign.

4. Providence is profound and inscrutable. The judgments of Christ are a great deep, and His footsteps are not known (Psa_36:6). There are hard texts in the works, as well as in the words of Christ. The wisest heads have been at a loss in interpreting some providences, (Jer_12:1-2; Job_21:7). The angels had the hands of a man under their wings (Eze_1:8), i.e., they wrought secretly and mysteriously.

5. Providence is irresistible in its design and motions; for all providences are but the fulfillings and accomplishments of Gods immutable decrees (Eph_1:11).

6. The providences of Christ are harmonious.

7. The providences of Christ work in a special and peculiar way, for the good of the saints.

Inferences:

1. See to whom you are beholden for your lives, liberties, comforts, and all that you enjoy in this world. Is it not Christ that orders all for you? He is, indeed, in heaven, out of your sight; but though you see Him not, He sees you, and takes care of all your concerns. When one told Silentiarius of a plot laid to take away his life, he answered, Si Deus mei curam non habet, quid vivo? If God take no care of me, how do I live? how have I escaped hitherto?

2. Hath God left the government of the whole world in the hands of Christ, and trusted Him over all? Then do you also leave all your particular concerns in the hands of Christ too, and know that the Infinite Wisdom and Love, which rules the world, manages everything that relates to you. It is in a good hand, and infinitely better than if it were in your own.

3. If Christ be Lord and King over the providential kingdom, and that for the good of His people, let none that are Christs henceforth stand in a slavish fear of creatures. It is a good note that Grotius hath upon my text; it is a marvellous consolation (saith he) that Christ hath so great an empire, and that He governs it for the good of His people, as a head consulting the good of the body. Our Head and Husband, is Lord general of all the hosts of heaven and earth; no creature can move hand or tongue without His leave or order; the power they have is given them from above (Joh_19:11-12). The serious consideration of this truth will make the feeblest spirit cease trembling, and set it a singing (Psa_47:7), The Lord is King of all the earth, sing ye praises with understanding: that is, (as some well paraphrase it) every one that hath understanding of this comfortable truth.

4. If the government of the world be in the hands of Christ, then our engaging and entitling of Christ to all our affairs and business, is the true and ready way to their success and prosperity.

5. Lastly, eye Christ in all the events of providence; see His hand in all that befalls you, whether it be evil or good. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein (Psa_111:2). (J. Flavel.)

Christ Head over all things to the Church

I. That the church is the object of preeminence in this world; its prosperity and completeness are the great purposes for which the world exists. The illustrious rank of this institution, the Church, may be judged of when you recollect that--

1. The Church is the realization of the highest Divine idea or thought respecting this world.

2. And then, another element in the Churchs magnificence, arises from the fact that the Church was brought into existence by the most remarkable and interesting means. There was a vast preparation for it, as if to direct the minds of all to this as a nobler work--a creation which stood higher than all the rest. The great design of the Church had existed in the eternal counsels of God, and then when it was to be completed, He sent his only Son into our world, who took upon Him our nature, bled, suffered, agonized, and died, that justice might be satisfied, and sinners return to God. He gave His life for those who were dead in trespasses and sins. Now, dear brethren, if you are to judge of the importance of an end by the means employed for its attainment, then what end can be so noble as this? Surely you must at once perceive that the Church takes a place of preeminence, which nothing can approach and nothing can rival. And then another fact which gives it so much interest is that--

3. It supplies a special manifestation of the Divine character and perfections. The unswerving rectitude of His government, the infinite purity of His character, the exhaustless fertility of His resources, the infinite wisdom of His mind, the exalted benevolence, the tender pity, the matchless mercy of Ills heart, are all illustrated. His moral attributes shine forth most conspicuously here. Still further, the Churchs preeminence consists in its being--

4. The source of the highest and purest blessing to the world. The Church is emphatically the light of the world. It is called the salt of the earth. It soars above everything else. It takes the highest position; and looking down in pity and love on all besides, seeks to raise them to a loftier elevation and to invest them with a holier character. It says to them, Come and join us, and in joining us you will be rendered pure and happy for time, and blessed to all eternity. This being the case, you cannot wonder at another feature in the Churchs elevation, and that is, that--

5. It is the object of special Divine love and complacency.

II. The subordination of all other things to the church. Christ is Head over all things to the Church evidently implying that these things are under the dominion of Christ for the good of the Church. Hence--

1. All things have been and still are working in aid of the Church.

2. The Church should use all things for its own progress and advantage. All inferior things are given for the use of man, and he is only required to employ them wisely and becomingly. So all things are intended to be subordinate to the service and welfare of the Church, and all that is demanded is, that the Church should use them in a prudent and Christian spirit.

III. The guarantee that is furnished for the attainment of this high end, in the universal supremacy of the Redeemer. He is Head over all things to the Church, and hence we need not doubt. For--

1. He has the ability and the authority to render all things subservient to the Church. When you remember what He has accomplished, you will feel that He is able also to accomplish this. Surely, you must conclude that the government is upon His shoulders, because He is Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

2. His love to the Church will secure this result. For His love to the Church was no common affection.

3. That the Saviours position, as Head over all things to the Church, and its consequent elevation, are the reward of His mediatorial work. Therefore God hath highly exalted Him, and gave Him a name above every other name. And in the context it is implied that because of His work He is raised far above all principality and power, and might and dominion; all things are put under His feet, and He is appointed Head over all things to the Church. Then, be assured, He will secure His own triumph, and His own reward. The Churchs completeness will be His richest recompense. It was for this joy that was set before Him, that He endured the cross and despised the shame; and when He shall behold this, He will see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. As Christ, therefore, is Head over all things to His Church, all things shall work together for the Churchs good. (J. C. Harrison.)

Christs sovereignty

The brow once crowned with thorns now wears the diadem of universal sovereignty; and that arm, once nailed to the cross, now holds in it the sceptre of unlimited dominion. He who lay in the tomb has ascended the throne of unbounded empire. Jesus, the Brother-Man, is Lord of all: He has had all things put under His feet. This is the true apotheosis of humanity. (John Eadie, D. D.)

Christs Headship

Under His over all Headship, everything that happens benefits His people--discoveries in science, inventions in art, and revolutions in government--all that is prosperous and all that is adverse. The history of the Church is a proof extending through eighteen centuries; a proof so often tested, and by such opposite processes, as to gather irresistible strength with its age, a proof varied, ramified, prolonged, and unique, that the exalted Jesus is Head over all things to the Church. (John Eadie, D. D.)

The power of Christ

Sosomenes relates that when the Holy Family, in their flight into Egypt, reached the termination of their journey, and approached the city of Heliopolis, a tree which grew before the gates of the city, and was guarded with great veneration by the heathen citizens, as the seat of a god, bowed down its branches at the approach of the infant Christ. Likewise it is related (not in legends merely, but by grave religious authorities), that all the idols of the Egyptians fell with their faces to the earth. I have seen pictures of the flight into Egypt, in which broken idols lay by the wayside. (Mrs. Jameson.)

Triumphs of Christ

A little prior to the death of Julian the apostate, Sibanius Julianus, it is said, a teacher of paganism, tauntingly asked a Christian instructor, What is the carpenters son doing? He is preparing a coffin for Julian, replied the Christian. (Baxendale)

.

Jesus above all

We have seen in mountain lands one majestic peak soaring above all the rest of the hills which cut the azure of the horizon with their noble outline burning with hues of richest gold in the light of the morning sun; and so should the doctrine of Christ incarnate, crucified, risen, and reigning, be preeminent above the whole chain of fact, doctrine, and sentiment which make up the sublime landscape--the magnificent panorama--which the Christian preacher (or teacher) unfolds, and makes to pass in clear form and brilliant colour before the eye of his peoples faith.

(Evangelical Magazine.)

Christ essential to Christians

So intimately connected are the head and the body, that one cannot exist without the other. In her freaks, no doubt, Nature does produce strange monsters, which, though deficient, some of this and some of that part, contrive to live; and it is marvellous to see what formidable lesions the body can suffer, of what valuable members it may be maimed, and yet survive. But the loss of the head is the loss of life. Death descends on the knife of the guillotine. A bullet whistles through the parting air, the lightning flashes, the sword of the headsman gleams in the sun, and--there is a corpse! before the eye has winked, the man is dead, stone dead. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)

Christ is the Head of the Church

If, says Augustine, a man should come up to embrace thee, to kiss and honour thee upward, and beneath with a pair of shoes beaten full of nails, tread upon thy bare foot; the head shall despise the honour done unto it, and for the foot that smarteth, say, Why treadest thou upon me? So when feigned gospellers honour Christ our Head, sitting in heaven, and oppress His members on earth, the Head shall speak for the feet that smart, and say, Why treadest thou on Me? Paul had a zeal toward God, but he did tread upon Christs feet on earth, for whom the Head crieth forth of heaven, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? Although Christ sitteth on the right hand of His Father, yet lieth He on earth; He suffereth all calamities here on earth, He is many times evil entreated here on earth. (Bernard Gilpin.)

Christ the Head of the Church

1. The term Head frequently conveys the idea of supreme dignity and preeminence. In this sense it is properly applicable to Christ.

2. The Head is also frequently designed to express a state of supreme power and authority. In this sense of the term, Christ is the Head of the Church in opposition to all who sacrilegiously usurp the title.

3. The title Head is sometimes more literally used, as expressing the relation which that part of the body sustains to the members with which it is vitally connected. Strong and expressive as this figure may appear, Christ is, in this sense, as to all the purposes of spiritual life, the Head of His body, the Church. This idea deserves our particular attention.

I. It denotes the strict and intimate union that subsists between Christ and His people.

II. It conveys an idea of the comprehensive and infinite fulness of Christ.

III. It implies that the Lord Jesus Christ communicates or imparts from His fulness to every individual member of His mystical body.

IV. This relative character of Christ supposes the absolute need which He and His people have of each other, in order to the completeness of the body. (W. Roby.)

The Headship of Christ over believers

1. The closeness of Christs union with His members.

(1) He has taken our nature.

(2) By His sufferings He has procured for us all things spiritual and temporal.

(3) He unites us to Himself more closely than the angels.

4. He communicates to us the whole life of grace and glory which we have.

(5) He directs and moves us

(a) outwardly, by signifying His will;

(b) inwardly, by sending His Spirit.

(6) He strengthens us with aids outward and inward.

2. Christ, whom God hath given to be Head over believers, is also Head over all creatures.

(1) The necessity of this Could He not bind Satan and cause him to deliver up his prey, how should we be ever set at liberty? Could He not dissolve the works of Satan, and swallow up death, and create life in us, our case were lamentable.

(2) A spur to thanksgiving.

(3) A ground of confidence. What need we fear any creature, when we have Him who is over every creature? If He be ours, who can hurt us? (Paul Bayne.)

The Head of the Church

I. He hath placed all things under His feet. I believe it will be necessary to remark both the nature and the extensiveness of this dominion; for you will observe it is the effect of Divine appointment. He, that is, God the Father, hath put all things under His feet, therefore it is very different from that dominion which essentially belongs to His Divine nature. This He alway possessed; this, therefore, He could not obtain. All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth; All things are delivered unto Me, etc. The question is, How He obtained it? that is, whether He obtained it by an actor bounty, or by an act of grace, or by an act of recompense? The angels obtained their preeminence by pure bounty; the saints obtained their preeminence by pure grace; but the Saviour obtained His as a recompense. And as it was thus obtained, so you will observe with regard to its extent that it is universal, it is boundless. He hath put all things under His feet.

1. He hath put all beings under His feet. Angels, devils, men. Not a being in the universe but is either His servant or His slave.

2. And God hath put all things under His feet. The ordinances of nature; the heavenly bodies; the elements, etc. What a dignity does this attach to our Lord and Saviour! What an enemy must this render Him to those who are His adversaries!

II. God hath made Him to be the head over all things to His Church. His mediatorial power and dominion are peculiar, and principally for the sake of His own people. Let us explain. When God delivered Joseph from prison, He raised him also to a state of distinction; he was made governor, not of a mere village, or town, or province, but over all the land of Egypt, then the most renowned monarchy in the world; and without him, as the expression is, no man was to lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. But what was the end of this dispensation: Was it the mere aggrandisement of this youth? No; but the preservation, the welfare of one particular family, his own family; a family of little note in the world, living in obscurity, and now on the verge of famine, and yet a family of singular importance; a family attached to the worship of God, who were the depositories of His laws, heirs of the righteousness of faith, to whom pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. To Joseph they all repaired for support: he had all the stores at his disposal, and all the command of them. By him they were preserved and nourished; and that his exaltation was peculiarly and principally for their sakes, appears undeniable, in that as soon as he was removed by death they were in bondage, and enslaved and in the lowest state of degradation, for there arose another king which knew not Joseph. Thus was Joseph a striking representation of the Messiah who was to come, and who came to give His life a ransom for us; who came not only that His people might have life, but that they might have it more abundantly. What would have become of them but for His exaltation on their behalf? But, says He, Because I live, ye shall live also.

III. That this Church is His body. We shall observe four things; and--

1. The body has its progress as it passes from one state and condition to another; so it is with the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church, the apostle says, grows in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

2. There is another article of resemblance. Though the body is of one substance, yet it has various parts, and all these have a mutual relation, not only to the head, but to each other. So in the Church there is the intellectual eye, the active hand, the speaking tongue, etc.; all equally useful and necessary in their respective places.

3. The body is united to the head. It is of the same flesh and blood and constitution as the head. So we are assured that Christians are joined to the Lord, and are of one spirit with Him.

4. The members depend upon the head, so does the Church rely entirely upon Christ. Take away the head, and what becomes of the members? The head is the watching part, the guiding part, the governing part, and all the members yield to it and obey it. There are the eyes placed to see; there are the ears placed to hear; the tongue to speak, and the palate to taste; there all the senses have their residence. All the parts of the body are influenced and governed by the head: down from the head to the feet, animal life descends and flows through the whole frame of man by means of nerves and ligatures. Thus Jesus is the life of the Church, and holds communion therewith.

IV. This body is His fulness. How is this? There are only two conceivable ways: either because the Church fills Him, or because He fills the Church. It is true in both senses. We are the recipients of this fulness; therefore so far it may be called our fulness. But then He is the author and the source of it; therefore it must be called His fulness. What are we in ourselves spiritually considered?

V. This fulness is the fulness of Him that filleth all in all, which is designed to show us His greatness and the infinite degree of His fulness: that it is not the fulness of a stream, if it be as wide as the Nile or the Ganges, but the fulness of a fountain, which supplies the streams; not the fulness of a lighted candle, which fills only one room with light, but the fulness of the sun, which enlightens the world, so that nothing is hid from the heat thereof. He filleth all in all. He fills the universe with worlds. How many can the eye see: how many more does the telescope enable us to behold? He filleth all in all. He fills heaven with His glory, the earth with His goodness, and hell with His wrath. He fills all the Scriptures of truth: all its types, all its prophecies, and all its promises He fills all ordinances; without Him they are as clouds without water, or as wells that are dried up. He fills all creatures. The eyes of all wait upon Him, and He giveth them their meat in due season; He openeth His hand and satisfieth the desires of every living thing. He fills all His subjects; philosophers with wisdom, mechanics with skill; and there is no creature in heaven or in earth that is not under His control. The fulness of Him that filleth all in all. He has filled His people in all ages of the world. He filled the patriarchs with faith; the prophets with capacity to foretell future events; the apostles with the Holy Ghost. He fills all common believers; He fills their understanding with knowledge; their consciences with peace; their wills with holy desires; their affections with love to holiness; their lives with all the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God. (W. Jay.)

Christ the Lord of all

If a stream be a symbol of the multitude of the believers, Jesus is the fountain. If a tree be an image of the whole Church, Jesus is the root and the trunk. If a kingdom represent the disciples of this dispensation, Jesus is the prince. Or does the conjugal union in the person of the wife illustrate the relation of the Church to our Saviour? Then, as the husband is the head of the wife, so is Jesus the Head of the Church. Or, if the human body, in its parts, and as a whole, represent the Church and the Saviour, then Jesus is the Head of the body. We will briefly attempt to define the sovereignty of Jesus Christ as here declared, and then inquire into some of the circumstances which this headship involves--circumstances, the consideration of which may tend to produce confidence and repose of soul.

I. And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church. We must supply the antecedent, The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. The Father hath put all, and gave Him. Gave, here means, as you know, appointed, or constituted. The pronoun Him distinctly refers to Christ, Christ being the antecedent in the twentieth verse. And there can be no doubt as to the meaning of the word Head: it expresses the highest authority, and the supreme power. This explanation is confirmed by the words, and hath put all under His feet. Ancient conquerors sometimes trampled the vanquished Under the feet of their horses, and crushed them with their chariot wheels. Our Lord Jesus Christ, then, now reigns supreme. His mind devises, His will determines, His lips decree, and His power executes. Jesus does not now serve; He ordains and exacts service. He does not now obey; He commands. He does not now submit; He rules. And Jesus asserts and maintains His sovereignty in every sphere with special relation to His Church. And it may help further to develop this topic if we remark, still briefly, that Christs Headship in His humiliation is distinct from His Headship in His exaltation. In His humiliation He was the Head in the sense of substitution and representation. That Headship was, however, mere representation; the Headship of which our text speaks is dominion. The former was temporary; this is forever. That was for man only; this is over all. That was in humiliation and sorrow; this is in a state of exaltation and joy. That was the foundation; this the beautiful and sublime superstructure. We must also remark that Christs Headship to His Church is distinct from His Headship over all. The two are one in design, but they are distinct in character and manifestation. As the Head of the Church, Jesus dwells in the highest and best affections of those who compose the Church. He rules them by conviction, and by persuasion, and in love.

II. What does the headship of Jesus Christ involve? Universal government, then, is really in the hands of that Being whom you trust with yourself, and whom you trust as your Saviour. His authority is not nominal, but actual; and His power is not in word and in boast, but in deed and in truth. No hireling power supplants Him; no flattering sycophant blinds Him; no lawless opposition awes Him. And, brethren, the redemption of a countless multitude, glory for the redeemed, and honour to God, will be the result of Christs dominion. Not a slave among them; not a captive; not a prisoner; none widowed; none orphaned; none poor; not a sinner a sinner still; not sufferer a sufferer still; not a sinner nor a sufferer--no, not one! It was not always so. Time was when poverty, sickness, oppression, death, and evil of every kind, ran riot among the subjects of this very King; but the Head, Christ Jesus, shall then, from all these evils, have saved them; and having saved, glorified them. And God shall be glorified in them. As the maiden in the mirror sees what manner of person she is; and as the fisher in the clear lake beholds his full length image; so God in this glorified multitude shall see Himself--His power--His righteousness--His wisdom--His love--Himself. And in this glorified multitude, the angels, as in a crystal sea, shall behold their God. But, brethren, look at the process. The process is as remarkable as the consummation is glorious. The establishing of righteousness and blessedness among fallen men is an object of eternal purpose. The goings forth of the Head, Christ Jesus, are of old, from everlasting. The promise of this Headship relieved the expulsion from Eden of its dark and dense gloom. Abraham rejoiced to See the day of this King Jesus. As the Angel of the covenant He was with the Church in the wilderness, and with the Church upon Zion. From Adams fall until the incarnation of Jesus, the world was in a course of preparation for the founding of His empire. The world was allowed to grow weary under human dominion; and at the climax of its groaning this empire was born. The King Himself is a martyr King; and He passed through death to reach His throne. (S. Martin.)

The second Incarnation

A glowing prophecy of a second and yet more glorious Incarnation of Christ. There was a first coming, and there is to be a second coming, of the Saviour. He is supreme in heaven. He is also to be supreme on earth. Christ is to fill all with Himself--all governments; all laws; all policies under the government; all commercial and industrial organizations; all societies; all circles; all households; all individuals. All are to be filled with the mind, and will, and spirit of the Head; and Christ is to be the brain of the whole world. In other words, all physical economies and civil organizations, just as much as spiritual economies and religious organizations, are to be absolutely filled and dominated by Him. This is what I call the second Incarnation. It is the injection, as the first Incarnation was the lapse, as it were, into the human body, of the mind and will of Christ--the Divine Christ, subjecting Him to the law of matter, to its limitations and its infirmities, as we are controlled by the physical laws which surround us. So there is to be a more glorious Incarnation, by which the sum total of the globe itself, and all its members, are to be gloriously filled full of the mind, and feeling, and will, and disposition of Christ. As one little body bore about His spirit, so this greater body, the comprehensive race and the globe, is to bear about in it the mind and will of God; and everything is to move harmonious from pole to pole, and round and round the world. The whole world is to be as perfectly harmonious as the whole body is harmonious under the control of an intelligent, healthy, right minded man. This is poetry indeed, but it is the poetry of prophecy: It is the ideal of progress. It is that bright conception toward which, whether men know it or not, they are certainly drifting or steering. Will not that be the millennium? You may think it is fantasy. It is poetry now, but it will be fact yet. For there is to be a second great Incarnation; and as the Spirit Divine filled the body of Christ, and filled it full, so that great body which is the Church, which is the whole human race, is yet to be filled full of Him who filleth all things with all things. All the processes of society are to exhibit more of Christ; so that at last the day shall come when in all the earth, like a man without a pain from head to foot, mankind shall be without a sadness, or a sigh, or a sorrow; when the whole globe, in all its parts, shall be filled full of Him who filleth all things, who is the head and animating brain of the time and the world; and the globe, no longer singing a requiem, no longer singing of things gloomy and sad, clothed with light and inspired with joy, shall go chanting in its rounds, and the heaven and the earth shall sing together; and so the consolation shall come.

I. If this be so, then, first, dismiss the unworthy conceptions of Christs saving which have sprung from a judgment formed upon the inchoate and undeveloped state of things that has existed hitherto. Many men seem to think that the gospel is sent into this world as a life boat, to pick off from the foundering wreck as many of the great population as they possibly can, and let the rest go down. But Christianity is not a mere wreckers boat. In saving men, we ought to do it with the feeling that we are aiming toward the final consummation--the salvation of mankind. I believe the world will come to its final state as my tulips will come to blossom next spring. They are in the winter now, but they are in the bulb, and will come forth. And the world is coming to blossom yet. Not in my day, and not in your day, but ere long in ages to come. As it takes a great many years to bring an orchard into full fruitfulness, but as at last the trees come to maturity and begin to bear fruit, so by and by men will begin to be fruitful unto God, and the whole globe will be a great tree of the Lord, filled with Divine fruit on every side and on every branch.

II. This whole globe is my Lords; and when I speak about anything that concerns His kingdom, whether it be science, or art, or learning, or politics, or anything else, I am talking about my Fathers business. The earth is the Lords, and the fulness thereof.

III. If these views be correct, then all those tendencies which now alarm and discourage Christian men, as, for instance, the insurrection of science against faith, have no real cause of fear in them. Now, as I have already said, the globe itself, that is, the realm of natural material laws, is to receive a second Incarnation of Christ. Science is now making the swaddling clothes of Christianity. If it takes from the world many ecclesiastical notions which men would not otherwise give up, very good. The world will be the wiser for it. If there be many superstitions which are supposed to be religion, but which are not religion, and they are taken away, very good. The world will be the better for it.

IV. If these views be correct, we shall not see the true glory of redemption here. We cannot imagine it. We shall not be in a condition to see it until we have passed from this mortal state. We are told that a man in the midst of a battle is the least able to describe the battle. The smoke and the noise, and the intensity of the conflict, prevent him from having a large view of the movements of the whole field. We are secluded. Each age is, as it were, but a note in the whole period of time. It cannot be that we rise so high, or stand at a period so late, that we see the whole disclosure. Then only shall we understand the nature of Christ, then only the comprehensive plan of His mercy, then only this second and greater Incarnation, by which He interjects the whole globe and its processes with His Spirit, when we reach the other world. Then and there only shall we be furnished with that vision by which we may see His grace, so that worthily we may worship Him, rejoicing that He is lifted above all kings, all princes, all principalities of every name. (H. W. Beecher.)

Christ and His Church

I. In what respects Christ is the Head of the Church.

1. For guidance.

2. For strengthening and establishing all the dependencies.

3. For reconciling the whole body to God.

4. For the spiritual government of the body.

II. The character of the Church.

III. In what sense the Church is the fulness of Christ.

1. The Church has the fulness of Christs love.

2. The Church possesses the fulness of Christs redemption. (J. F. Crossman, M. A.)

Christ the Head of the Church

Now in the Word of God the Church is compared to a variety of objects--to a vine, to a building, to a temple, and in our text to a human person, made up of two parts, the head and the body, the head representing Jesus, the body representing the collective members of the Church of Christ And gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is His body. Our subject presents us with several important ideas or principles.

I. The idea of importance. The head is everything to the body--it sees for the body, it hears for the body, it smells for the body, it tastes for the body, it masticates food for the body, it thinks for the body, it schemes, it purposes, in one word, it does everything for the body. So Jesus Christ is everything to the Church.

II. The idea of indispensableness. Lop off this limb and then that--amputate one of your members and then another, the limbless trunk of your body will still be alive; but let that body be beheaded, and it dies in a moment. So it is with the Church of Christ.

III. The idea of identity. The same fluid which courses through the body flows through the head, and the same food which is the nourishment of the body is the sustenance of the head. The component parts of the one are the component parts of the other. And just so it is between Christ and all believers. There is a sameness of nature. Christ and all Christians are alike in their desires, in their aims, in their pleasures, in their friendships, in their enmities, in their principles, in their motives, in their standard, in the one grand object ever before them--the glory of God.

IV. The idea of sympathy. If your foot be crushed the head will feel it; if any other member of the body, however distant from the head, be in pain, the head will feel it--and such is the sympathy between Christ and all His suffering people. Am I speaking to any who are heavy hearted and cast down? What is the cause of your sorrow? Is it the shading of your prospects? Is it the presence of disease in some beloved member of your family? Is it that you are going down the hill of adversity, and because your pride is being humbled at every step? Is it because you have just received some deep wounds from a quarter whence you least expected them? Or, is your grief some secret silent sorrow which your tongue refuses to divulge? It matters not what may be the sorrows, there is sympathy in the living head for the sorrows of all the suffering members of the mystical body. And oh, fellow Christians, what a sympathy is the sympathy of Christ! It is a sympathy which knows all our griefs, and all the particulars and details of all our sorrows. It is a sympathy which supports us under all our griefs, nay, it is a sympathy which makes use of those sorrows as a means of fetching us back from our wanderings; nay, more, which will make all our sorrows to work out for us a far more exceeding and as eternal weight of glory.

V. The idea of glory. The glory of the head is always reflected upon the members of the body. Now just consider what the glory of Christ is (Joh_1:1). Oh, what an honour to belong to the body of such a Head! Then consider the works of Christ--All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. What an honour to be a member of the body of such a Creator! Then consider the possessions of Christ. With mortal lips and with human tongue He said it--All things that the Father hath are Mine. Oh, the honour of being a member of the body of such a possessor! Then look at His immensity; our text speaks of it as the fulness of Him who filleth all in all. Oh, the honour of being a member of that body! That man can well afford to part with dust and ashes who is in possession of gems, and precious stones, and priceless rubies; nay, who can call kingdoms; nay, who can call the world; nay, who can call Jesus his own! That man can afford to trample under his feet all the pleasures of his fellow creatures, who can say, My beloved is mine, and I am His.

VI. The idea of the resurrection of the body. For where lies the head, there will lie the body; and where reigns the head, there will reign the body too. As our Head, even Jesus, once lay in the sepulchre, so shall we His followers lie there too; and as Jesus our Head is now reigning in glory, so shall we reign in glory too. (Alfred Pope.)

The Headship of Christ

I. The text affirms the supreme political power and authority of Immanuel. Just as in Israel there was established a Theocracy, the Almighty claiming to be recognized as the Head of their civil and ecclesiastical polity, and just as all judges and rulers were expected to recognize their power as delegated to them from above; and just as the Divine right and title were not subverted nor destroyed when rulers and people sank into sin and idolatry; so now on earth there is established a larger civil and ecclesiastical government, of which Jesus is the Head, and of which the Theocracy was the symbol; and all rulers and all subjects are required to acknowledge their lawful Lord who sits upon the holy hill of Zion, the stability of whose government and the legitimacy of whose claims upon all are no more affected by the godlessness of the nations and the impiety of their rulers than were the claims of the Shepherd of Israel set aside by the wanderings of His flock, or the usurpations of her hirelings.

II. The power of Christ as King of Nations is subordinated to His purposes as King of saints. He is Head over all things to the Church, or for the Church--for her peace, her prosperity and perpetuity; so that He is now described as putting His honour on His people, even as the head puts honour on the body. Jesus is the Head of His new creation. But more particularly we remark--

1. He is Head over all things, that He may bring together the materials, and build them up into a Church unto Himself. He is the head cornerstone, living, tried and precious, upon which there must be reared a blemishless, indestructible fabric, composed of living stones selected from the quarry of humanity, polished and prepared by the Spirit of all grace, and cemented together by the binding of undying love.

2. Christ is Head over all things for the beautifying of His Church; that is, He exerciseth His power over all things so as to promote and advance the beauty of His Church. The beauty of a Church is her purity in doctrine and her holiness in practice, her strict unbending conformity to the law and the order of her exalted Head; and the administration of her wise and her gracious Ruler is all ordered and arranged, so that at length she may be presented in the heavens a glorious Church, without spot and blemish or any such thing. In order to this she is tried with the storm and strengthened with the sunshine; the fire and the flood are brought to bear upon her goodly fabric, so as to purge out all that is polluted and profane, and hasten on the perfection of her coming state.

3. Jesus is Head over all things in order that He may perfect His body the Church. Of all those who are given unto Him, of them He can lose none. Time, with its thousand vicissitudes, must roll along whilst there remaineth one, whose name is written above, alive or unacquainted with the grace that is in Christ. Its plans and its purposes shall have existence until the completion of Christs body the Church; its discoveries in science and improvements in arts; its advances in civilization; its augmentations in commercial zeal; its treaties and its friendships; are all the secondary causes in His hand for finishing His plans, and for making one with Himself all His covenant children. (J. Macnaughton, M. A.)

The Headship of the God-Man

I. Let us meditate, first, upon the important statement, that God hath put all things under Christs feet, and made Him Head over all things.

II. But the text tells us--and this is the second point--that it was for the sake of the Church that God put all things under Christs feet--that He was made Head over all things. Although exalted at Gods right hand, angels and principalities and powers being made subject to Him, He has not abandoned the designs which He entertained, or lost the feelings which He cherished, towards men, while He tabernacled with them upon earth. His exaltation has produced no change of feeling towards His former associates, as it too often occurs among the weak and depraved children of men. He has carried up with Him to the right hand of His Father and the throne of the Universe the same feelings of love and compassion towards His people His whole conduct upon earth so strongly expressed. Even now He entertains those very feelings which once prompted Him to leave the glory He had with His Father before the world began--to lead upon earth a life of poverty and ignominy and shame--and at last to endure the cruel and ignominious death of the cross. We may be assured, then, that He will not leave unfinished a work which He has already done, and suffered so much to effect, but that He will bring to bear upon its accomplishment all the power and authority with which He has been invested. Conclusion: Thus extensive and thus absolute is the power with which Christ has been invested, and which He is continually exercising, and this power is at all times directed to bear on the interests of the Church--to promote the conversion, the sanctification, and the everlasting redemption of all those whom the Father gave Him. In the scheme of Divine Providence, the establishment of general laws, and the arrangement of the most important transactions, does not prevent an equally careful attention to, and an equally certain provision for, the most minute. Christ does indeed direct and overrule for the good of His Church the councils of monarchs, and the conflicts of armies, and the fortunes of nations, but amid all these great events He does not neglect the least circumstance in the life and history of any of His chosen people--of any individual member of His body. While He is opening up channels for the extension of His Church and the spread of His gospel, by overthrowing dynasties, or by destroying systems of wide and commanding influence--He is at the same time providing the food with which the most obscure of His people is fed, and the raiment with which he is clothed. Christs kingdom not being of this world, the good of individuals, or the good of the whole, or of the many, can never come into collision, as is sometimes the case in matters which have a reference to this worlds business and this worlds interests. Everything connected with the sanctification and final happiness of each individual believer is as carefully attended to, and as effectually provided for, as if Christ had been made Head over all things for his sake alone. (W. Cunningham, D.D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph 1:22-23. And hath put — Greek, υπεταξεν, hath subjected; all things under his feet — This is said in allusion to Psa 110:1, Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. The psalm is a prophecy, not only of Christ’s exaltation to universal dominion in the human nature, (1Co 15:27,) but also of the entire subjection of all his enemies, 1Co 15:25. For in ancient times conquerors put their feet on the necks of their enemies in token of their subjection, Jos 10:23-24. And gave him to be head over all things to the church — As it is here declared that Christ is raised to universal dominion for the sake of his church, that is, for the noble purpose of erecting and establishing it, and uniting the angels who are in heaven, and all the good men, who have lived and are to live on earth, in one harmonious society, that they may worship and serve God together, and be happy in one another’s society to all eternity, it was necessary for accomplishing this grand purpose, that the evil angels should be subjected to him; and even that the material fabric of the world, with every thing it contains, should be under his direction, that he might order all the events befalling his people, in such a manner as to promote their holiness, and prepare them for heaven. Add to this, he is in such a sense made head over all things to his church, as to cause even its enemies, however undesignedly by them and unwillingly, to serve its interests; and all events, whether apparently prosperous or adverse, and all persons and things, to work together for the good of its members. To these he is a head, not merely of government, but likewise of guidance, life, and influence, as is implied in the next clause. Which is his body — The church is called the body of Christ, to signify that the true and living members thereof are united to, and animated by him; that they are under his direction, and the objects of his care, and that they are united to one another in love, after the manner of the members of the human body, which are governed by the head, and united to one another by various joints, ligaments, nerves, arteries, veins, and other vessels of communication and intercourse. The fulness of him that filleth all in all — This expression may mean that his church, that is, the spiritual part of it, is completed, or completely filled by him, namely, with all sorts of gifts and graces. So Locke understands it. Thus believers are said to receive out of Christ’s fulness, grace for, or upon grace. Macknight, however, takes the clause in a different sense, observing, that by calling the church το πληρωμα, the fulness of Christ, the apostle intimates, that he who is universal Lord would want a principal part of his subjects, if the church among men on earth were not united and subjected to him as its head. Who filleth all in all — That is, who filleth all his members with all their spiritual gifts and graces, according to the place and office in his body which he hath assigned them.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

St. Paul having spoken of Christ’s sovereignty in general, over all created beings, both in heaven and in earth, in the foregoing verses, doth in the words before us declare, that as he is an head of dominion and authority to the whole creation in general, so he is an head of influence to his church in particular.

Note, Christ was given by the Father to be the church’s head. Now, this metaphor of an head implies several things; as,

1. Eminency above the church; as the head is above the members.

2. Authority over the church: the head governs all the members.

3. Oneness of nature betwixt him and his church to see an head of one nature, and members of another, is monstrous.

4. It implies a strict, intimate,and close union betwixt him and his church, as betwixt head and members; which union as to the members of the visible church, is a political union; but as to the invisible members, (real believers,) the union betwixt Christ and them is mystical, spiritual, supernatural, and indissoluble.

Lastly, this metaphor of an head, given here to Christ, implies a communication of influences from himself unto all his members; an influence of common gifts to the visible members of his body, and an influence of spiritual life and motion to the invisible members, true believers.

Indeed, Christ is the head of angels as well as saints, but in different respects; to angels, he is an head of dominion and government, an head of authority and superiority; but to his church, he is an head of dominion and direction also; not only an head of authority, but an head of vital influence too. The angels are Christ’s honourable subjects, but saints are the mystical members of his body, the former are as then nobles in his kingdom, that attend upon his person, but the latter are the endeared spouse that lies in his bosom.

O glorious dignity of the meanest believer above the highest angel! For as the nobles in a prince’s court think it a preferment and honour to wait upon his queen, so the glorious angels account it no dishonour to them to serve and administer to the saints, to which honourable office they are appointed, Heb 1:14 namely, to be ministering, or servicible spirits, for the good of them that are the heirs of salvation. As the chiefest servants disdain not to serve the heir, so the angels delight to serve the saints.

Observe, 2. As the character here given of Christ, The head of his church; so the honourable title put upon the church, she is his body: The head over all the church, which is his body; not his natural, but his mystical body.

This implies, 1. The church’s union with Christ, and her relation to him.

2. The church’s receiving influences from him, life, motion, and strength; all which the members of the body receive by virtue of union with their head.

3. It implies the duty of subjection and obedience due from the church to Christ, as from the members to the head.

4. It implies the union and order among the members themselves: that as all the members of the natural body sympathize with, and are subservient to, each other; so should all the members of the church, Christ’s mystical body, employ their gifts, and improve their functions and offices, for the general good of the whole, and the mutual benefit and advantage of each other, as becomes the body of Christ, and members in particular.

But especially the church is said here to be the body of Christ, and He her head;

1. With respect to a communication of influences: Christ our head is our fountain of life; our head is our heart also, out of it are the issues of life: from him we live, by him we move, and our spiritual being is derived from him, strengthened and sustained by him; the whole church receives spiritual life, motion, and strength from Christ, as the body doth from the animating and enlivening soul.

2. Christ is called here the head of the church his body, with respect to a complication of interest, as well as a communication of influences. As the head and the body, as the husband and the wife, so Christ and his church are mutually concerned for each other: they stand and fall, live and die, together; whatsoever he has is theirs; they have nothing but through him, they have all things in him, and by him; his God is their God, his Father is their Father; his blood, his bowels, his merit, his Spirit, his life, his death, is theirs; and as all that he has is his church’s, so all that he did is for his church, called here his body. He obeyed as his church’s head; he died as her head; and hath in his church’s name taken possession of heaven, as a purchased inheritance for her. How fitly then may Christ be called the head of the church, and the church be called the body of Christ?

Observe, 3. How Christ came to be the head of his church: God the Father gave him this authority, Eph 1:22, And gave him to be head over all things to the church; that dignity and superiority, that dominion and power, which Christ has over his church, is given to him by God the Father; none else was fit for it but himself: and although it was given him, what bold presumption is it, and will it be, in any person upon earth to assume any power over, or to exercise any office in, the church, when never called to it, nor authorized by Christ to undertake it!

We may demand of such confident undertakers, as the Pharisees demanded of the holy and humble Jesus, By what authority dost thou do these things? and who gave thee this authority?

Observe, 4. The high honour which is put upon the church by being Christ’s body; by this she becomes Christ’s fulness: The church which is his body, the fulness of him.

Yet note, The church is not the fulness of Christ personal, but of Christ mystical; not of his natural, but mystical, body: every saint, and every degree of grace in a saint, is part of Christ’s fulness. The work of the ministry then is the best and noblest work in the world, because it is an adding to the fulness of Christ. God had but one Son in the world; and he made him a minister.

And if increasing the number of converts, and adding to persons’ growth in grace, be an addition to Christ’s fulness, then how glorious a sight will the great day afford when Christ shall have all his fulness; when there shall not be one saint wanting; nor one degree of grace in any saint wanting; when head and members shall be both full, full of grace, full of joy, full of glory: when Christ shall be fully glorified in his saints, and they everlastingly filled with the fulness of him that filleth all in all?

Observe, 5. The glorious title here given to our Lord Jesus Christ, as head of his church. He filleth all in all; he filleth all persons, both angels and men; he filleth all places, heaven with glory, earth with grace, hell with horror; he filleth all ordinances, prayer with prevalency, preaching with efficacy, & c. he filleth all relations, fathers with paternal affections, mothers with maternal bowels; he fills all conditions, riches with thankfulness, poverty with contentment.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:22 under the authority of Christ (literally under his feet): In pictures from the ancient Near East, victorious kings have their feet on the necks of their defeated enemies. Paul is graphically picturing the way Christ has defeated all his enemies and reigns as king of all things (see Ps 110:1; 1 Cor 15:25-28).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Eph 1:22. Πάντα ὑπέταξεν, hath put all things under His feet) 1Co 15:27.—ἔδωκε) gave. Not, however, that Christ was not formerly Head of the Church, ch. Eph 5:25; Joh 3:29.—ὑπὲρ πάντα, above [over] all things) The Church, as being above all things, above authorities, etc., the Head of which [Eph 1:10, ἀνα-κεφα-λαιώσασθαι, together under one Head, etc.] is Christ, Col 2:10, may say, Christ is my Head: I am His body. The dative of advantage to the Church is in contradistinction to the over, or above [all things].

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph_1:22. While Paul has before been setting forth the exaltation of Christ over all things, he now expresses the subjection therewith accomplished of all things under Christ: καὶ πάντα … αὐτοῦ, with which consequently the same thingthe installation into the highest κυριότης (Php_2:10 f.)is expressed, only from another point of view (from below, from the standpoint of the object subjected; previously from above, from the seat of the exalted Lord), in order to present it in a thoroughly exhaustive manner. Such a representation is not tautological, but emphatic. Theodoret, with whom Harless agrees, makes the purpose: καὶ τὴν προφητικὴν ἐπήγαγε μαρτυρίαν. But the words, while doubtless a reminiscence of Psa_8:7 (6), in such wise that Paul makes the expression of the Psalm his own, are not a citation, since he does not in the least indicate this, as he has done at 1Co_15:27 by the following ὅταν δὲ εἴπῃ. Certainly, however, he recognised that, which is said in Psalms 8. of man as such, as receiving its antitypical fulfilment in the exalted Christ (see on 1 Cor. l.c., comp. also Heb_2:8), and thereby it was the more natural for him, when speaking here of the dominion of Christ. to appropriate the words of the Psalm.

πάντα has the emphasis, like πάσης and παντός before. Allall that is created

God has subjected to Christ If Paul had meant simply all that resists Christ (Grotius, Rosenmüller, Holzhausen, Olshausen), he must have said so, since there is no mention of subjecting what is hostile either before or in the eighth Psalm.

καὶ αὐτὸν κ.τ.λ.] and Him, the One thus exalted and ruling over all, Him even He gave, etc.; observe the emphasis of the αὐτόν prefixed. What dignity of the church in Him!

ἔδωκε] is usually taken in the sense of τίθημι (Harless: and installed Him as Head over all things for the church; comp. Hofmann, Schriftbew. II. 2, p. 117); but here as arbitrarily as at Eph_4:11. Grotius and Rückert rightly take it as: He gave Him … to the church. If Paul had conceived of τῇ ἐκκλ. not as dependent on ἔδωκε, but as attached to κεφ. ὑπὲρ πάντα, it would be difficult to see why he should not have written τῆς ἐκκλησίας.[117] Comp. Col_1:18.

ὑπὲρ πάντα] exalted above all things, is neither transposed (Peshito, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Erasmus, Grotius, Estius, and others): ipsum super omnia (sc. positum) dedit ecclesiae ut caput ejus, Grot.; nor does it signify especially (ἐπὶ πᾶσιν, Eph_6:16), as Boyd and Baumgarten would have it; nor is it, in its true connection with κεφαλ., to be taken as summum caput (Beza, Morus, Koppe, Rückert, Holzhausen, Meier, Olshausen, Bleek, comp. Matthies); by which, according to Koppe and Olshausen, it is meant to be indicated that Christ is higher than the apostles, bishops, etc. In opposition to this interpretation, it may be decisively urged that only One Head to the church can at all be thought of, and that πάντα here calls for the same explanation as above in the case of πάντα ὑπέταξ. Hence rather: and Him He gave as Head over all things (to which position, as just shown, He had exalted Him) to the church (Christians as a whole). Since He, as Head over all things, was given to the church, it is obvious that He was to belong to her in a very special sense as her own Head; hence it is, in accordance with a well-known breviloquentia (Matthiae, p. 1533; Kühner, II. p. 602), unnecessary to supply κεφαλήν again before τῇ ἐκκλ.

[117] Hofmann no doubt thinks that, if ἔδωκε τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, were to be taken together, Paul would not have inserted κεφαλ. ὑπὲρ πάντα. But why not? The very position assigned to κεφ. ὑπ. π., as placed apart from αὐτόν, is in keeping with the importance of this definition of quality, which at the same time, so placed, brings together with striking emphasis ὑπὲρ πάντα and τῆ ἐκκλ. Christ has He given as Head over all things to the church. So high and august is His esteem for it!

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph 1:22 . καὶ πάντα ὑπέταξεν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ : and He put all things under His feet . The ὑπέταξεν is coordinate with the previous ἐνήργησε . These two things God did: He wrought His mighty power in raising and exalting Christ and He subjected all things to Him. The idea expressed by the ὑπέταξεν here is not the limited idea of a subjection of opposing objects, which we have in 1Co 15:27 , but the wider idea of placing all created things under the sovereignty of Christ. The words recall those of Psa 8:7 , but do not give these in the form of a quotation. That Psalm speaks of Man as he was meant by God to be, with dominion over all the creatures. Here that ideal is presented as made real in Christ, the exalted, sovereign Christ. The act referred to, therefore, by the aor. ὑπέταξεν may be the definite gift of absolute dominion consequent on the exaltation. The raising of Christ to God’s right hand was followed by the placing of all things under His feet and making Him, de facto , sovereign over all. καὶ αὐτὸν ἔδωκεν κεφαλὴν ὑπὲρ πάντα τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ : and gave Him as head over all things to the Church . The RV agrees with the AV and the Bishops’ Bible in rendering it “and gave Him to be head”. Tynd. and Cran. have “hath made Him above all things the head”; the Rhemish, “hath made Him head over all the Church”. The two ideas of Christ’s Headship over all things and His Headship over the Church appear to be in the statement. The question is how they are related, and what is the precise idea attaching to each of the significant terms. The ἔδωκεν is not to be taken in the technical sense of appointed, installed (as expressed by נָתַן , τιθέναι ), but, as is indicated by the simple dat. ἐκκλησίᾳ , in its ordinary sense of gave . Christ in the capacity or position here ascribed to Him is presented as a gift of God to the Church. Having exalted Him to the highest and invested Him with supreme dominion, God gives Him to the Church. The πάντα in ὑπὲρ πάντα must have the sense it has in πάντα ὑπέταξεν , not “all authorities ,” but “all things ”. The κεφαλή , therefore, must express an absolute headship over all the created world, visible and invisible, not a particular, higher headship over other subordinate headships, Apostles, Bishops, etc., in the Church. Further, as the subsequent statement about the σῶμα shows, it must have the full sense of head , organic head, and neither that of sum nor that of highest dignity only. The term ἐκκλησία , again, obviously has here its widest Christian sense. Used by the Greeks to designate an assembly of the people called for deliberation ( cf. Act 19:39 ), and by the LXX as the equivalent of the Hebrew קָהָל , the congregation of Israel , especially when called in religious convention (Deu 31:30 , etc.), it expresses in the NT the idea of the fellowship or assembly of believers meeting for worship or for administration. And it expresses this in various degrees of extension, ranging from the small company gathering for worship in one’s house (the ἐκκλησία κατʼ οἶκον , Rom 16:5 ; 1Co 16:19 , etc.), or the single congregation of village or city (Act 5:11 ; Act 8:3 ; 1Co 4:17 , etc.), to the larger Christian communities of provinces and countries ( τῆς Ἀσίας , Γαλατίας , Ἰουδαίας , 1Co 16:1 ; 1Co 16:19 ; 2Co 8:1 ; Gal 1:2 ; Gal 1:22 ), and finally to the Church universal, the Church collectively, the whole fellowship of believers throughout the world ( Mat 16:18 ; 1Co 12:28 ; Phi 3:6 ; Col 1:18 ; Col 1:24 , etc.). Here and in the other occurrences in this Epistle the word has this largest extension of meaning, with the further mystical idea of a unity vitally related to Christ, incorporated in Him, and having His life in it. If the terms then are to be so understood, how is their connection in the sentence to be construed? The τῇ ἐκκλησία is immediately dependent on ἔδωκεν , and cannot well be taken as a dat. commodi =“for the good of the Church” (De Wette), as if it were attached immediately to the ὑπὲρ πάντα . The κεφαλὴν ὑπὲρ πάντα may then be taken either as in apposition to αὐτόν “gave Him, head over all things, to the Church,” i.e. , gave Him, this head over all things, to the Church (Chrys., Stier, etc.); or as having a predicative force “gave Him as head overall things” (Ell., etc.). The latter is to be preferred both as the easier construction and as more congruous with the anarthrous κεφαλήν . Thus the purport of the clause is that God, in giving Christ to the Church, gave Him in the capacity of Head over all things. There is no distinction or comparison, therefore, between two headships, as if one were over the world or over the state, and the other over the Church. Christ’s Headship over the Church, so far as this clause is concerned, is rather implied than expressed. The idea of the Headship over the Church is more distinctly conveyed by the sentence which follows, with the further description of the Church as the σῶμα Χριστου . Here the great idea is still that of the Headship of Christ over all things. Having that supremacy He is given by God to the Church, and as given in the capacity of universal Head He is given to the Church as her Head also.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eph_1:22

And hath put all things under his feet. Christ is not only exalted above all creatures, but he has dominion over them; all are placed in absolute subjection to him. They are under his feet. This passage is a quotation from Psa_8:7. It is applied to Christ by this same apostle in 1Co_15:27, and Heb_2:8. In both of these passages the word all is pressed to the full extent of its meaning. It is made to include all creatures, all capable of subjection; all beings save God alone, are made subject to man in the person of Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords, and King of kings.

There are two principles on which the application of this passage of Psa_8:1-9 to Christ may be explained. The one is that the Psalm is a prophetic exhibition of the goodness of God to Christ, and of the dominion to be given to him. There is nothing, however, in the contents of the Psalm to favor the assumption of its having special reference to the Messiah. The other principle admits the reference of the Psalm to men generally, but assumes its full meaning to be what the apostle here declares it to be, viz., that the dominion which belongs to man is nothing less than universal. But this dominion is realized only in the Man Christ Jesus, and in those who are associated with him in his kingdom. This latter mode of explanation satisfies all the exigencies both of the original Psalm and of the passages where it is quoted in the New Testament.

And gave him to be head over all things to the church, καὶ αὐτὸν ἔδωκεν κεφαλὴν ὑπὲρ πάντα τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ. This may mean either, he gave him to the church as her head; or, he constituted him head for the church. The former is more consistent with the meaning of the verb δίδωμι. It may, however, also signify to constitute; see Eph_4:11, and compare 1Co_12:28. In either case, Christ is declared to be head not of the universe, but of the church. This being admitted, ὑπὲρ πάντα may be taken in immediate connection with κεφαλὴν, head over all, i.e. supreme head. This does not mean head over all the members of the church, as the Vulgate translates; caput super omnem ecclesiam; for πάντα and ἐκκλησίᾳ are not grammatically connected; but simply supreme head. Or we may adopt the interpretation of Chrysostom: τὸν ὀντα ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ὀρώμενα καὶ τὰ νοούμενα Χριστόν, Him, who is over all things visible and invisible, he gave to the church as her head. This gives a good sense, but supposes an unnatural tra)ection of the words. Luther also transposes the words: Und hat ihn gesetzt zum Haupt der Gemeinde über alles. So does De Wette: Und ihn gesetzet über alles zum Haupte der Gemeinde, And placed him over all Christ is the head of the church. In all these interpretations the main idea is retained; viz., that Christ is the head of the church. As in Col_2:10, it is said Christ is ἡ κεφαλὴ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας, the head of all principality and power, in the sense of supreme ruler; and as here in the immediately preceding context he is said to be exalted over all principality and power, and in the following context he is said to be the head of the church, which is his body, the two ideas may be here combined. Him he gave as head over all things, as head to his church. This is Meyers interpretation. He, the exalted Savior, the incarnate Son of God, seated as head of the universe, is made head of his church. This view of the passage has the advantage of giving πάντα the same reference here that it has in the preceding verse. All things are placed under his feet, and he head over all things, is head of the church.

The sense in which Christ is the head of the church, is that he is the source of its life, its supreme ruler, ever present with it, sympathizing with it, and loving it as a man loves his own flesh. See Eph_4:15, Eph_4:16; Eph_5:23, Eph_5:29; Rom_12:5; 1Co_12:17. Intimate union, dependence, and community of life, are the main ideas expressed by this figure.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Insomuch that there is nothing but is subject to him.

That we should not think that that excellent glory of Christ is a thing wherewith we have nought to do, he witnesseth, that he was appointed of God the Father the head of all the Church, and therefore the body must be joined to his head, which otherwise should be a maimed thing without the members: which notwithstanding is not of necessity (seeing that the Church is rather quickeneth and sustained by the only virtue of Christ, so far off is it, that he needeth the fullness thereof) but of the infinite goodwill and pleasure of God, who vouchsafeth to join us to his Son.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

put . . . under--Greek, "put in subjection under" (Psa 8:6; Co1 15:27).

gave . . . to the church--for her special advantage. The Greek order is emphatic: "HIM He gave as Head over all things to the Church." Had it been anyone save HIM, her Head, it would not have been the boon it is to the Church. But as He is Head over all things who is also her Head (and she the body), all things are hers (Co1 3:21-23). He is OVER ("far above") all things; in contrast to the words, "TO the Church," namely, for her advantage. The former are subject; the latter is joined with Him in His dominion over them. "Head" implies not only His dominion, but our union; therefore, while we look upon Him at the right hand of God, we see ourselves in heaven (Rev 3:21). For the Head and body are not severed by anything intervening, else the body would cease to be the body, and the Head cease to be the Head [PEARSON from CHRYSOSTOM].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 22. And hath put all things under his feet] All beings and things are subject to him, whether they be thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers, 1Co 1:16-18; 2Co 2:10; for he, God the Father, has given him to be head-chief, and supreme, over all, to the Church, the Church having no ruler but Jesus Christ; others may be officers in his Church, but he alone is head and supreme.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. And gave him to be the head. He was made the head of the Church, on the condition that he should have the administration of all things. The apostle shews that it was not a mere honorary title, but was accompanied by the entire command and government of the universe. The metaphor of a head denotes the highest authority. I am unwilling to dispute about a name, but we are driven to it by the base conduct of those who flatter the Romish idol. Since Christ alone is called “the head,” all others, whether angels or men, must rank as members; so that he who holds the highest place among his fellows is still one of the members of the same body. And yet they are not ashamed to make an open avowal that the Church will be ἀκέφαλον, without a head, if it has not another head on earth besides Christ. So small is the respect which they pay to Christ, that, if he obtain undivided that honor which his Father has bestowed upon him, the Church is supposed to be disfigured. This is the basest sacrilege. But let us listen to the Apostle, who declares that the Church is His body, and, consequently, that those who refuse to submit to Him are unworthy of its communion; for on Him alone the unity of the Church depends.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(22) And hath put all things under his feet.—See 1Co_15:25-28, where St. Paul deals with the quotation from Psa_8:6, in application to our Lord’s Mediatorial kingdom. In this passage these words fill up the picture of our Lord’s transcendent dignity, by the declaration of the actual subjugation of all the powers of sin and death, rising up against Him, in the spiritual war which is to go on till the appointed end. They therefore form a natural link between the description of His lordship over all created being, and of His headship over the Church, militant on earth, as well as triumphant in heaven.

And gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body.—This is the first time that this celebrated phrase is used, describing Christ as the Head, and viewing the Church as a whole as His body. It is characteristic that in 1Co_11:3, Christ is called “the Head of each man,” as “the man of the woman;” whereas in this Epistle Christ is the Head of the whole Church, on occasion of the same comparison (see Eph_5:23). The consideration of all Christians as the “body of Christ” is indeed found in Rom_12:4; 1Co_12:12-27 : but it is notable that in these passages the leading idea is, first, of the individuality of each member, and then, secondarily, of their union in one body; and in 1Co_12:21, “the head and the foot,” just as much as “the eye and the hand,” are simply looked upon as members. (Comp. also 1Co_6:15; 1Co_10:17.) Here, in accordance with the great doctrine of this Epistle—the unity of the whole of humanity and of the whole Church, ideally co-extensive with that humanity, with Christ—the metaphor is changed. The body is looked upon as a whole, Christ as its Head. The idea is wrought out again and again (see Eph_4:15-16; Eph_5:28; Col_1:18; Col_2:19) in these Epistles of the Captivity. It is from these that it has become a household word in all Christian theology. With some variation it is expressed also in other metaphors—the building and the corner-stone, the bride and the bridegroom. But under the title of the “Head” Christ is looked upon especially in His ruling, guiding, originating power over the Church. Probably the idea of His being the seat of its life, though not excluded, is secondary; whereas in His own figure of the vine and the branches (Joh_16:6) it is primary.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And hath put all things under his feet,.... These words are taken out of Psa 8:6. See Gill on Co1 15:27.

And gave him to be the head over all things to the church; the Vulgate Latin version reads, "and gave him to be the head over every church", or "all the church"; the Ethiopic version, "the whole church"; which intends not barely professors of religion, or a family of faithful persons, or a particular congregation, in which sense the word is sometimes used; but the whole body of God's elect, the church, which is built on Christ the rock, for which he gave himself, and which is the general assembly and church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven: Christ is an head to this church; in what sense he is so; see Gill on Co1 11:3. And this headship of Christ is the gift of God; and it is an honourable gift to him, as Mediator; it is a glorifying of him, and a giving him in all things the pre-eminence; and it is a free grace gift to the church, and a very special, valuable, and excellent one, and of infinite benefit and advantage to it; and which is expressed in his being head "over all things" to it; to overrule all things for its good; to communicate all good things to it; and to perform all the good offices of an head for it: the Syriac version reads, "and him who is above all things, he gave to be the head to the church" even him who is God over all, blessed for evermore.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And hath put all things under his feet - See the notes at 1Co 15:27.

And gave him to be the head over all things - Appointed him to be the supreme ruler.

To the church - With reference to the church, or for ira benefit and welfare: see the notes or, Joh 17:2. The universe is under his control and direction for the welfare of his people.

(1) All the elements - the physical works of God - the winds and waves - the seas and rivers - all are under him, and all are to be made tributary to the welfare of the church.

(2) Earthly kings and rulers; kingdoms and nations are under his control. Thus far Christ has controlled all the wicked rulers of the earth, and they have not been able to destroy that church which he redeemed with his own blood.

(3) Angels in heaven, with all their ranks and orders, are under his control with reference to the church; see the notes at Heb 1:14; compare Mat 26:53.

(4) Fallen angels are under his control, and shall not be able to injure or destroy the church. See the notes at Mat 16:18. The church, therefore, is safe. All the great powers of heaven, earth, and hell, are made subject to its Head and King; and no weapon that is formed against it shall prosper.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

As Christ is king, and yet men are kings also; so Christ is head of the Church, and yet man may be head thereof also. Jesus Christ is bishop and pastor of our souls; (Hebrews iii.) but is that a reason why there should be no other bishop and pastor of our souls?

Notes as to the style or expressions of St. Paul, in this chapter.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

All things; either all his enemies, as Psa 110:1, all except the church, which is said to be his body; or all things more generally, of which he spake before, angels and men; all are made subject to Christ, 1Pe 3:22.

Hath put all things under his feet; put them into a perfect and full subjection to him.

Objection. All things are not yet put under him.

Answer.

1. All things are so put under him that he can do with them what he please, break all his enemies in pieces when he will, though for many reasons he yet doth it not.

2. They are begun to be subjected to him, and by degrees shall be further subjected, till they be perfectly and absolutely subjected unto him, de facto, as already they are de jure.

And gave him; appointed, or constituted, or made him.

To be head; a mystical head; such a one not only as a king is to his subjects, to rule them externally by his laws, but such as a natural head is to the body, which it governs by way of influence, conveying spirits to it, and so causing and maintaining sense and motion in it, Eph 4:16; Col 2:19.

Over all things; either:

1. God hath chiefly, and above all before mentioned, given Christ to be the Head of the church; q.d. Though he be King and Lord of all, yet God hath made him the only proper Head to the church only; God hath set him above principalities and powers, but especially hath appointed him to be the Head of the church. Or:

2. Over all things may be meant, for the communication of all good things to the church, and performing all offices of a Head to her; a Head to the church, with a power over all things for her good.

To the church; the catholic church, or whole collection of believers throughout the world, and in all ages of it.

things under his feet; put them into a perfect and full subjection to him.

Objection. All things are not yet put under him.

Answer.

1. All things are so put under him that he can do with them what he please, break all his enemies in pieces when he will, though for many reasons he yet doth it not.

2. They are begun to be subjected to him, and by degrees shall be further subjected, till they be perfectly and absolutely subjected unto him, de facto, as already they are de jure.

And gave him; appointed, or constituted, or made him.

To be head; a mystical head; such a one not only as a king is to his subjects, to rule them externally by his laws, but such as a natural head is to the body, which it governs by way of influence, conveying spirits to it, and so causing and maintaining sense and motion in it, Eph 4:16; Col 2:19.

Over all things; either:

1. God hath chiefly, and above all before mentioned, given Christ to be the Head of the church; q.d. Though he be King and Lord of all, yet God hath made him the only proper Head to the church only; God hath set him above principalities and powers, but especially hath appointed him to be the Head of the church. Or:

2. Over all things may be meant, for the communication of all good things to the church, and performing all offices of a Head to her; a Head to the church, with a power over all things for her good.

To the church; the catholic church, or whole collection of believers throughout the world, and in all ages of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. The last previous verse declares the superiority of Christ’s rank; this declares that all inferiors are directly subjected to his rule.

Put… feet— The words are evidently run in from Psa_8:6, where they are spoken of man as the supreme of the earth. Christ is the supreme ideal man. And here is a peaceful supremacy different from the subjection of all things by conquest specified in 1Co_15:27.

Gave him… to the Church—But while this supremacy embraces all in its benign sway, there is one object over which and to which he is a special donation. He is ruler over all; but he is given head, even in his universal supremacy, to the Church. God gave him head, while over an things, to the Church.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And put all things under his feet; a strong, figurative expression, denoting high sovereignty. It does not refer merely to defeated and arrested enemies, but to the whole of creation and the fullness thereof. They are as thoroughly under Christ and at his disposal as if they were literally under his feet. As a military commander, proceeding even through his own country, has power to requisition everything needful for his army, and deal with all property as may be required for military purposes, so Christ has the whole creation at his disposal, animate and inanimate, hostile and friendly. And gave him to be Head over all things to the Church. The exaltation of Christ is not merely an honor conferred on himself, but has also a definite practical purpose; it is for the benefit of the Church. God gave him to the Church as Head over all things. The gift of Christ to the Church is the gift of One who has sovereign authority over all things. The official subordination of Christ to the Father is recognized throughout this remarkable passage. So in Philippians, though he was "in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." It is this Jesus, in the form of a servant and in the likeness of men, that is now Head over all things, and as such given by the Father to the Church. With such a Head, what need the Church fear, and what can she want?

Christ Head over all things for the Church.

The double headship of Christ

(1) Head of the Church; and

(2) Head over all things for the Church.

I AS HEAD OF THE CHURCH, he is the sole Fountain of authority, grace, influence, blessing. No other to be set above him or alongside of him on his throne.

II As HEAD OVEN ALL THINGS FOR THE CHURCH, he has complete control:

1. Over the devil and all his hosts, to restrain their malice, etc.

2. Over the angels, to command their services.

3. Over all kings and rulers, heathen and Christian, to counteract their opposition or summon them to his side.

4. Over Nature and all her resources.

5. Over the whole realm of mind philosophy, art, science, literature, etc.

6. Over all the stores of grace and blessing. (see Ps 2) But this headship of Christ is not to be held as superseding civil authority, which is a Divine ordinance in its own sphere. Though Christ is Head over all things for the Church, he has not called his ministers to share this authority; he keeps it in his own hands.

Vers. 22, 23.

Christ"s headship.

The Resurrection was the point of conjunction between his crucifixion and his coronation. The headship to which he was exalted had a twofold relationship: he was made Head over all things to the Church," and he was made Head of the Church itself.

I HIS HEADSHIP OVER ALL THINGS. It is no new thought that our Lord is at the head of the natural order of things; for" without him was not anything made that was made;" "By him all things consist;" he upholds all things by the word of his power," for the government is upon his shoulders." But by virtue of his mediatorship the elements are made subject to him all kings and nations, all angels in heaven, all fallen angels, all the advances and discoveries of science, are made tributary to the welfare of the Church. Therefore no weapon formed against her shall prosper Christian people ought to derive comfort and aspiration from the thought that he who is the Foundation of their religious hopes holds in his hands all the complicated threads of providence and directs the course of human history. It is the one Divine hand which clasps together the two great books of nature and revelation. This thought ought to give fresh breadth and strength and healthiness to all our thoughts about him. Above all, let us see in this fact the Divine guarantee for the safety of the Church. If God be for us, who can be against us?" Jesus "filleth all in all," and therefore has the inexhaustible resources of the universe at his disposal for the good of the Church.

II HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH. There is a double relationship involved in this headship one representative, the other vital.

1. The representative relation. He was Head as he was Savior. (Eph_5:23) Believers were in him from eternity, for they were chosen in him (ver. 4). The covenant which was confirmed before of God in Christ" (Gal_3:17) was that in the terms of which they are saved; the promise of life is said to be in him, (2Ti_1:1) as all the promises are yea" and "amen" in him. (2Co_1:20) Thus grace is said to be given us in Christ Jesus before the world began; (2Ti_1:9) and believers are said to suffer with him, to be quickened and raised together with him, to sit together in heavenly places in Christ. (Eph_2:6) Christ, indeed, as Head, stands for the whole body: So also is Christ. (1Co_12:12) Thus the representative relation extends from eternity to eternity. These passages of Scripture prove the groundlessness of the notion that Christ only became Head after his resurrection with the view of proving that the saints of the Old Testament dispensation do not belong to the body or Church of Christ. He was Head just as he was Savior; for he is the Head of the Church, and he is the Savior of the body". (Eph_5:23) Christ was not and could not be Savior without death, yet he was the Savior of Old Testament saints ages before his death. There is no passage asserting that he became Head through resurrection. The resurrection only declared his headship as it declared his sonship. If Christ was not Head before his incarnation, the Old Testament saints had no Mediator. Christ was the Head of all believers because, as being the last Adam, all believers were in him.

2. The vital relation. Christ is the Head of the body, the Church, holding the same relation as the head does to the natural body.

(1) As to life. His life is the life of the members. "Because I live ye shall live also"; (Joh_14:19) The life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God". (Gal_2:20) If the head is severed from the body, life becomes extinct. The life of the Church depends upon its union with Christ; therefore it is a blessed truth, "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit". (1Co_6:16, 1Co_6:17) Thus the apostle can say, as if his life were merged in the very life of the Redeemer, "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me," the Mainspring of all my activity, the Source of all my holy desires, the Fountain of my blessedness. In a beautifully spiritual sense, believers can say," In him we live, and move, and have our being.

(2) As to motion. It is the head which directs all the movements of the body; so it is Christ who "worketh all in all" (1Co_2:6) and fills all in all.

(3) As to strength. The members of the body have no power of self-motion; they derive their power from the head. So all our power to fight against sin is derived from Christ. Therefore the apostle prays for the Ephesians that they may be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man" (Eph_3:16) and he says of himself, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me". (Php_4:13)

(4) As to sympathy. The sensations of the limbs are telegraphed back to the brain, which shows itself in constant sympathy with every part of the body. A pain in the smallest nerve is felt in the head. So Jesus Christ knows all our sorrows and our trials, and "cannot but be touched with a feeling of our infirmities." He says to Saul, "Why persecutest thou me?" and says to the whole company of the redeemed, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". (Mat_25:40) It is out of this close connection that the members themselves ought to realize the power and the blessing of mutual sympathy.

(5) As to subordination. Jesus Christ is not only Head of the Church, but Head over the Church. The apostle says, "The Head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the Head of Christ is God". (1Co_11:3) It is implied here that the body is subordinate to the head, though the subordination is in its nature different in the three cases mentioned. Christianity is not only Christ, but it is subjection to him as Savior, Lord, and Guide.

III THE CHURCH AS THE BODY OF CHRIST. The Church thus regarded refers not to any one body of Christians; for there is no denomination on earth that contains all the disciples of Christ, nor is there any denomination of which it can be said that all its members are disciples of Christ. It refers to the whole number of God"s people, redeemed by the blood of Christ. (Eph_5:25) The Ephesian Epistle sets forth the doctrine of the Church in this sense. We never read in it of Churches, but of the Church. The idea is that of one organic whole, represented under various images, borrowed at one time from a temple, at another from a house, at another from the head with its different members, but it always signifies a union of those united to Christ by faith, whether they belong to earth or heaven. The Church is here described as at once the body and the fullness of Christ.

1. The body of Christ; The most impressive illustration of the body is supplied by the same apostle in 1Co_12:12-27. He shows an analogy between the Church and the human body in important particulars.

(1) As the body is one organic whole, because animated by one spirit, so the Church is one by virtue of the indwelling Spirit. It follows, therefore, that believers must be one in faith, love, and obedience. But this union must have outward expression in the recognition of all Christians as such, and in mutual helpfulness and harmony.

(2) As the unity of the body admits of a diversity of members and organs, the unity of the Church admits of a like diversity in gifts and offices.

(3) As all the members of the body are mutually dependent, each existing for all, so members of the Church have beneficiary relations to each other for the purposes of edification or service.

(4) It is God who has made the distinction among the members of the body; it is he who bestows spiritual gifts according to his good pleasure. Thus the body exists with a community of condition, feeling, character; all the members bound up in one bundle of life, so united to Christ that all his relationships are theirs his people their people, his Father their Father, his home their home.

2. The Church the fullness of Christ. As the body is not complete without the head, so the head is not complete without the body. The Lord Jesus Christ is not complete without his Church. How can this be? He himself says, My strength is made perfect in weakness;" but is his power not always perfect? It is declared to be perfect in our weakness. So the Church serves as an empty vessel, into which the Savior pours his mediatorial fullness. Every fresh convert added to the Church adds to his fullness. His fullness is manifested by the variety of gifts and graces he bestows on his members, who are always growing up into him who is the Head, (Eph_4:15) growing to a stature, to a proportion, till we are filled with the fullness of God. This view of the Church suggests

(1) that if we are vessels of mercy, we are empty vessels till the Lord fills us with his Spirit.

(2) It suggests the high dignity of the Church.

(3) It suggests the rich love of God who gave Christ as the Head of the Church.

(4) It suggests the absolute safety and ultimate triumph of all true believers. T.C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he hath given him to be head over all things to the church - An head both of guidance and government, and likewise of life and influence, to the whole and every member of it. All these stand in the nearest union with him, and have as continual and effectual a communication of activity, growth, and strength from him, as the natural body from its head.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ARGUMENT 5

THE CHURCH THE CLIMAX OF CREATION

22,23. “And He hath subordinated all things beneath his feet, and gave him head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him who filleth all in all.”

We learn in the Pauline epistles that the personal Son created all the worlds throughout the celestial universe, as well as all the angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim. Hence, we find that Omnipotence becomes creative in the person of the Son. Ekklesia, from ek, out, and kaleo, to call, means Church throughout the Greek Testament. If you do not remember that definition, you will fall into utter bewilderment on the Church idea, led astray by the Churchism of the present day, which is utterly variant from, and antagonistical to the New Testament ekklesia, which consisted only of the souls called out of the world, and separated unto God. Hence all worldly Churches are simply Satan’s counterfeits. This Divine Ekklesia, the New Testament Church, is here affirmed to be the climax of all creation, the highest conception of the Divine mind, and the grandest culmination of all the stupendous works wrought by Omnipotence throughout the celestial universe, towering transcendently in the Divine estimation, not only above all the stupendous worlds that speed their precipitate flight through the void immense, chasing each other around the effulgent Throne, but actually transcending all the heavenly hierarchies, that flame and radiate through millions of immortal worlds. O the unutterable glory which God has in reservation for the Church of the First-born! The infinite possibilities in reservation for redeemed humanity beggar the flight of the most stalwart imagination! Glory to God in the highest!

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. And hath put all things under his feet. All power was given into his hands when he was raised from the dead (Matt. 28:18). He is the rightful ruler of all. And gave him to be the head, etc. He was, when raised from the dead (verse 20), exalted to be the ruler of all things and made the Head of the church; not merely its ruler, but the Head of the Body, which derives its life from the Head. Compare 1 Cor. 10:17; 12:27. Note that this exaltation is after the cross and the resurrection, definitely showing that Christ's church was not organized until after our Lord's suffering.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

all things under Christ's feet

Here "feet" represents Christ's lordship, authority, and power. AT: "all things under Christ's power" (See: Metonymy)

head ... his body

Just as with a human body, the head rules all things pertaining to its body, so Christ is the head of the church body. (See: Metaphor)

head over all things

Here "head" refers to the leader or the one who is in charge. AT: "ruler over all things" (See: Metaphor)

the fullness of him who fills all in all

"Christ fills the church with his life and power just as he gives life to all things"

translationWords

Christ

head

church

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

22. καὶ πάντα ὑπέταξεν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ. The phrase is taken from Psa 8:7, where it describes man’s place in creation (cf. Gen 1:27-30). The relation between the exaltation of Jesus and the ultimate realization of this part of the eternal purpose is indicated in Heb 2:9. The same passage is quoted in 1Co 15:27, where, as here, it is closely connected with a quotation from Psalms 110. Our Lord’s words in Mat 11:27 πάντα μοι παρεδόθη, following on the thought of ‘a revelation to babes’ (cf. Psa 8:3 ἐκ στόματος νηπίων), Mat 21:16, perhaps suggested this application of the text. For the thought see Mat 28:18.

καὶ αὐτὸν ἔδωκεν κεφαλὴν. With this use of ἔδωκεν cf. Eph 4:11. κεφαλὴν, ‘Head’ = ‘Chief.’ The figure is common in Hebrew, though not in Greek. See Hort, Proleg. to Eph., pp. 132 f. Cf. Eph 4:15; 1Co 11:3; Col 1:18; Col 2:10.

τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, Eph 3:10; Eph 3:21, Eph 5:23 ff. See Hort, Christian Ecclesia, p. 138 ff., for the steps by which this conception of a single Universal Ecclesia was attained.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22.] and subjected all things under His feet (from the Messianic Psa_8; not without an allusion also in καθίσας, &c. above to Psa 110:1: not merely cited, as Thdrt., καὶ τ. προφητικὴν ἐπήγαγε μαρτυρίαν, but interwoven into the context, πάντα being a summing up of all mentioned before), and gave (‘presented;’ keep the literal sense: not ‘appointed;’ see below) Him (emphatic, from its position: Him, thus exalted, thus glorified, the Father not only raised to this supereminence, but gave Him to His redeemed as their Head, &c.) as Head over all things to the Church (not as Chrys.,—in either of his alternatives: ἢ τὸν ὄντα ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ὁρώμενα κ. τὰ νοούμενα χριστόν (which would be τὴν κεφ., or τὸν ὑπὲρ πάντα), ἢ ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ἀγαθὰ τοῦτο πεποίηκε, τὸ τὸν υἱὸν δοῦναι κεφαλήν,—which is beside the context, in which no comparison is made between the gift of Christ and other blessings: nor as Beng., ‘Ecclesia, super omnia, super imperia, &c., quorum caput (?) Christus est, potest dicere, Christus est caput meum: ego sum corpus ejus,’—for this sense cannot possibly be extracted out of the words themselves ὑπὲρ πάντα: nor as Baumgarten, ὑπὲρ πάντα = μάλιστα πάντων, præcipue, potius quam cæteris,—for, not to mention other objections, πάντα must surely be the same in meaning as πάντα before: nor can πάντα be masculine, as Jer., Anselm, al., and Wahl: nor, as Calv., ‘quia simul plena rerum omnium potestas et administratio illi sit commissa:’ nor, with Harl., does πάντα find its limitation within the Church, so as not to apply to other things without it: nor is ὑπὲρ πάντα to be taken with κεφ., summum caput, as Olsh., all.: nor as Meyer, Stier, and Ellicott (edn. 1: in edn. 2, he interprets nearly as below), is another κεφαλήν to be supplied before τῇ ἐκκλ., ‘gave Him, as Head over all things, as Head to the Church:’ nor is the dative a dat. commodi, as De W.: but the meaning is thus to be gained, from what follows: Christ is Head over all things: the Church is the Body of Christ, and as such is the fulness of Him who fills all with all: the Head of such a Body, is Head over all things; therefore when God gives Christ as Head to the church, He gives Him as Head over all things to the church, from the necessity of the case. Thus what follows is epexegetical of this), which same (Church, ‘quæ quidem;’ hardly ‘ut quæ,’ “in virtue of her being,” as Meyer) is His BODY (not in a figure merely: it is veritably His Body: not that which in our glorified humanity He personally bears, but that in which He, as the Christ of God, is manifested and glorified by spiritual organization. He is its Head; from Him comes its life; in Him, it is exalted: in it, He is lived forth and witnessed to; He possesses nothing for Himself,—neither His communion with the Father, nor His fulness of the Spirit, nor His glorified humanity,—but all for His Church, which is in the innermost reality, Himself; His flesh and His bones—and therefore) the fulness (πλήρ. is in apposition with τὸ σῶμα αὐτ., and is a fresh description of ἡ ἐκκλησία. It would pass my limits, even to notice summarily what has been written on πλήρωμα. I will endeavour to give an account of the word itself. Like other derivatives in -μα from the perfect passive, it would appear primarily to designate either (1) concrete, that thing on which the action denoted by the verb has passed: e.g. ποίημα, the thing made, πρᾶγμα, the thing done, σπέρμα, the thing sown, πλήρωμα, the thing filled: or (2) abstract, that occurrence whereby the action denoted has been exemplified: e.g. τρῶμα, the effect of τιτρώσκειν, not the thing wounded, but the wound inflicted: so κλάσμα, ἀρίθμημα, and the like; πλήρωμα, the fulness. From this latter, the transition is very easy to the meaning the thing whereby the effect is produced, as where πλήρωμα is used for the crew of a ship (see also Mat 9:16 ║; Mar 6:43; 1Co 10:26; Gal 4:4; ver. 10), ζεῦγμα for a bridge or yoke, &c. Hence arises the so-called active sense of such nouns, which is not in fact an active sense at all, but a logical transference from the effect to that which exemplifies the effect. Here, the simple and primary meaning is by far the best,—‘the thing filled,’—“the filled up receptacle” (cf. κατοικητήριον, ch. 2:22), as Eadie expresses it (see also Ellicott), the meaning being, that the church, being the Body of Christ, is dwelt in and filled by God: it is His πλήρωμα in an especial manner—His fulness abides in it, and is exemplified by it. The nearest approach to any one word in English which may express it, is made by fulness, though it, as well as πλ., requires explaining, as importing not the inherent plenitude of God Himself, but that communicated plenitude of gifts and graces wherein He infuses Himself into His Church. I would refer those who wish to enter more fully into this matter, to the long and laboured notes of Harless, and Stier: and to Fritzsche on Rom. vol. ii. pp. 469 ff.) of Him who filleth (it is doubted whether πληρουμένου is passive, or middle in an active sense. Those who take πλήρωμα above, actively, “the filling up,” generally (Harless is an exception) defend the passive sense here, “of Him who is (being) filled, &c.” So Chrys: πλήρωμα, φησίν· οἷον κεφαλὴ πληροῦται παρὰ τοῦ σώματος … διὰ πάντων οὖν πληροῦται τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ. τότε πληροῦται ἡ κεφαλή, τότε τέλειον σῶμα γίνεται, ὅταν ὁμοῦ πάντες ὦμεν συνημμένοι κ. συγκεκολλημένοι. Jer.: “Sicut adimpletur imperator, si quotidie ejus augeatur exercitus, et fiant novæ provinciæ, et populorum multitudo succrescat, ita et Christus, in eo, quod sibi credunt omnia, ipse adimpletur in omnibus;” and Estius: “Qui secundum omnia, sive quoad omnia in omnibus sui corporis membris adimpletur. Nisi enim essent hic quidem pes ejus, ille vero manus, alius autem aliud membrum … non perficeretur Christus secundum rationem capitis.” But to this it is difficult to assign any satisfactory sense, especially on account of τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν. It certainly cannot be said that Christ awaits His completion, in any such meaning as this, by the completion of his Church. And it is not probable that if such had been the meaning, τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν would have thus barely and emphatically preceded the participle which itself conveyed so new and startling an idea. We should have had some such arrangement as this—τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ καὶ αὐτοῦ τὰ πάντα (κ.) ἐν πᾶσιν πληρουμένου. If now we take πληρουμένου in an active reflective sense, both meaning and arrangement will be satisfactory—‘the fulness (receptacle, filled and possessed) of Him who filleth’ τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν. But are we justified in thus taking it? It seems so, from Xen. Hell. vi. 2. 14, ὁ στρατηγὸς μάλα ὀξέως τὰς ναῦς ἐπληροῦτο κ. τοὺς τριηράρχους ἠνάγκαζε. See likewise Plato, Gorg. § 106; Xen. Hell. v. 4. 56; vi. 2. 35: Demosth. p. 1208. 14: Plut. Alcib. 35: Pollux i. 99: in all of which the 1 aor. middle is thus used. Having then this authority as far as grammatical usage is concerned, we are further inclined to this rendering by ch. 4:10, where it is said of Christ, ὁ ἀναβὰς ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὰ πάντα, and the Apostle proceeds to enumerate the various gifts bestowed by Him on His Church. See further in note there) all things (the whole universe: not to be restricted in meaning. The Church is the special receptacle and abiding place—the πλήρωμα κατʼ ἐξοχήν, of Him who fills all things) with all things (i.e. who is the bestower of all, wherever found. ἐν πᾶσιν has been rendered ‘every where’ (B.-Crus.): ‘in every way’ (De W.): ‘in every case’ (Harl.): and al.: but the Apostle’s own usage is our best guide,—πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι, ch. 5:18, and other reff., and directs us to the instrumental or elemental meaning—the thing with, or by, or in which as an element, the filling takes place. So that the expression will mean, with all, not only gifts, not only blessings, but things: who fills all creation with whatever it possesses—who is the Author and Giver of all things. The reference is, I think, to the Father, not to Christ. The latter has been imagined (see especially Ellicott), principally from strictly parallelizing the two clauses,—τὸ σῶμα | αὐτοῦ ║, τὸ πλήρωμα | τοῦ τ. π. ἐν π. πληρουμένου ║. But this is by no means conclusive: the second definitive clause may assert more than the first;—may be, not subordinate to the first, but inclusive of it. In ch. 4:10, where Christ’s filling all things is spoken of, we have the active voice, denoting the bare objective fact: whereas here the reciprocal middle implies a filling for Himself, which can hardly be predicated of any but the Father, for whom are all things, even the Son himself).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Put all things in subjection. Compare Col 1:15 - 18; Psa 8:5 - 8.

Gave Him. Him is emphatic : and Him He gave. Not merely set Him over the Church, but gave Him as a gift. See 2Co 9:15.

The Church [τη εκκλησια] . See on Mt 16:18.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.