Ephesians 1:21-23 - Who fills everything in every way

1:21

Jesus has been raised far above every name, power and authority. This is absolutely universal. There is no spiritual name that is higher than Jesus, there is no human authority that is higher than Jesus. Now we need to understand something of how this works, for when He was standing before Pilate Jesus said, “my kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). This does not mean it doesn’t affect this work, far from it, but that it does not operate in the same way. In particular, there is definitely no question of using armed force, nor even of seeking political power (though that does not mean we never play any part in the political process). God’s kingdom works in a different way. But whatever name we see claiming authority for itself we need to remind ourselves that the name of Jesus is higher.

1:22,23

God has placed everything under the feet of Jesus. We need to appreciate how the world works, how God is working in the world. Everything has been placed under Jesus’ feet. And Jesus has been appointed as head over everything for the church. Now we could so easily run off in the wrong direction here. This most definitely does not mean that the church can go and do what it likes, nor that it can seek self-aggrandisement. Nor must it mean that we cannot cope with this so we’ll just ignore it. What it does mean is that God’s plan is to achieve His purpose in the world through the church. How can this possibly be? It can be because of Jesus. He has been raised above all power and authority, and He is the head of the church. And the church is His body, and He fills it completely. That means absolutely everything about the church is to be Christ focused, Christ centred. But we also need to realise how central we are, in Christ, to God’s plans upon the earth.