Ephesians 1:22-23
Christ Over All
The Title of today’s sermon is simply: Christ Over All. Jesus Christ is over and above all. He is over death, He is over the earth, He is over heaven, and He is over every created being in existence. Christ is over all.
Something I was thinking about this past week was this association with up and down we make. When the Bible talks about glory it is mentioned as “up”. God raises someone up in glory. When the Bible talks about shame it is mentioned as “down”. God will cast one down in shame. Pride goes before a fall - pride comes before falling into shame. Glory is up, Shame is down. Christ came down from His glory that is up there to take on our shame down here. He descended (Ephesians 4:9) in death, and then ascended up to life and to glory (Eph. 1:20; Heb. 1:3-4; Phil. 2:7-11; Col. 1:18).
I think our passage today, and Paul’s purpose, is that we really begin to grasp the heights of the glory of Jesus Christ; that we would see that He up above all and that He is over all.
In order to fully grasp verse 22, we must see it on the heels of verses 19-21 (READ).
God Put Him in Supremacy Over Everything (v19-21)
What we are talking about here is the Supremacy of Christ. This point is simple: Jesus Christ is over all things and He is above all things. No one is His equal. When you think of Jesus Christ your thoughts for Him must be unique. You should think of Him in ways that you think of no one else. We must not entertain thoughts about Christ that are inferior to His supreme reality. Our imaginations of Him must give Him the same majesty and honor the Scriptures give Him.
Christ is Supreme in two ways that I want to point out from these verses. First, Jesus is supreme because of His Resurrection. Verse 20 says, “That power is like the working of His mighty power which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead”. Then notice what Paul says in Colossians 1:18, “And He is the head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have supremacy.” The first thing Paul mentions is Jesus’ resurrection. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the first of all resurrections. Men have been taken to heaven without dying, like Enoch and Elijah. Some were even raised from the dead, such as Lazarus, the little girl, and some recorded in the OT. The difference is that Jesus died and then was raised up to life never to die again. He is the first resurrection to Everlasting life. In Revelation 1:18, Jesus says to a terrified Apostle John, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!”
The resurrection is the first thing Paul mentions here when talking about God’s power because in Paul’s mine it is the most impressive display of God’s power. Furthermore, it is a pledge of God’s power that will be exerted in raising all of the righteous dead to everlasting life along with Christ.
Secondly, Jesus is Supreme because of His Ascension. Paul says in verse 20 that God seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenly realms.
Notice Christ is at God’s right hand. This is declared all over the pages of Scripture. In mark 16:19 it says, “And after saying these things to the disciples Jesus sat down at God’s right hand.” In Romans 8:34 Paul says that Christ intercedes for us and that He does it while at God’s right hand in heaven. In Hebrews 1:3 it says, “After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.” And then in 12:2 he says again, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” In Psalm 110:1 David says, “The LORD says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”
I thought about this last week and it seems to me that it is as if God wants everyone to see Himself, and, along with Him to see Christ. When you see God you will see Jesus Christ. All that is God’s is Christ’s. God has honored Christ, and, everyone will honor Christ. God will not receive honor except through Christ.
Christ’s supremacy is further described as not only at the right hand of God, but, in the heavenly realms. This is the non-physical realm. It is the realm that transcends above and beyond the physical realm we are in. It is the dimension of existence that contains more of God’s creation that is not seen or known of in our world. It is the heavenly realms, and, Paul speaks of it multiple times in Ephesians. According to verse 3 this is where our blessings are. According to 2:6 this is where we have been raised with Christ and seated. In 3:10 Paul says something interesting – he says that the wisdom of God was being shown through the Church not to mankind on earth but to “rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” And then in 6:12 Paul says that our battle as Christians is not against flesh and blood, but, it is against the rulers, the authorities, the powers and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The words “Powers, authorities, rulers, dominions, etc are traditional Jewish terms to designate angels of great rank and might (MacArthur, pg. 48). The heavenly realms is where Christ has been raised up to and it is over everything in that realm that Christ also has total supremacy.
The point in all this is to see that because God has powerfully placed Jesus Christ over all things there is no chance of Jesus ever being overthrown. “His dominion”, Daniel 7:14 says, “is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
God Put Everything in Subjection to Christ (v22a)
Next we see the Subjection of all things to Christ. Verse 22 says, “And God placed all things under His feet…” Whereas the Supremacy of Christ gives emphasis to His honor and His majesty, when we speak of all things being in Subjection to Him we emphasize His authority and dominion over everything.
Paul has already made mention of this in verse 10 when he spoke of the mystery of God’s will. He says that God’s will is “to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
All of creation will be under the rulership of Jesus Christ. Every nation on earth with their kings; every possible order in the heavenly realms: the powers, the principalities, the authorities, the rulers, the dominions and every imaginable title given to any angelic being – all will be under the sovereign, all-powerful hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. His government will be total.
Psalm 110 was written by King David and it is a Messianic Psalm – it is about the Messiah. In verse 1 David writes, “The LORD (Yahweh, God the Father) said to my Lord (David’s Lord, the Messiah): ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” This is a great psalm where the plans that God has for the Messiah are revealed. He is going to sit at the right hand of God, in equal dignity, in equal authority, in equal power, in equal righteousness, in equality with God the Father by virtue of being God the Son and as such He will rule everything in creation.
God made the Church Special to Christ (v22-23)
Lastly, Christ is the Head of the Church. God made the Church Special to Christ. Notice verses 22-23, “………….”
Now, I find this very interesting. Here in this passage Paul is focusing on Christ’s total authority over all of the created existence so why does he make a special mention about the unique and particular authority Jesus has over the Church? Doesn’t it go without saying here? I mean, if Christ has authority over everything, well, the Church is included in everything. But Paul takes a moment in these two verses and finds it important to point out the special authority Christ has with the Church. Why?
Well, first of all, notice the language here. Christ is the Head, and, the Church is His Body. The Church’s relationship with Christ described in this way stresses union. The life of the Head is the life in the Body. In Christ, we are alive as much as Christ because it is His life that is in us. The phrase “Body of Christ” speaks of a society of people who constitute a union. We are joined together with one another as much as we are joined together with Christ. I like how Wuest describes it when he says the Church is described here as, “A Society which is in vital connection with Christ, having the source of its life in Him, sustained and directed by His power, the instrument by which He also works.”
An important point here is that the Church spoken of in this passage is the whole group of saved individuals. Paul is not speaking of the local church here, which may (and often) has unsaved individuals. He is speaking of the universal Church of all truly regenerated people who are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore have His Spirit living in them. Every local church is not made up of all saved people. Truly saved and unsaved people participate in the local church operation.
This relationship of Christ to the Church must be seen in light of the Church’s need to see the power God exercised in Christ. Paul is not saying anything here that is not for the purpose of driving home the point of God’s Power displayed in Christ. The Church’s Head was raised and glorified, so Christ’s Body will as well.
Conclusion:
I would conclude with this today: Have you become a part of the Body of Christ? Has He become your Head? Does He have supremacy in your life? You can be part of a local church without being part of Jesus Christ’s Body.
To become a part of His Body, and to Have His life in you, you must trust Him as your Savior. Your sins need to be forgiven. He died for your sins. He loves you. He stands resurrected from that death and He stands ready to receive you if you will receive His forgiveness. You can have the hope of eternal life, and God’s forgiveness today if today you will put your trust in Jesus Christ.
Christ Over All
The Title of today’s sermon is simply: Christ Over All. Jesus Christ is over and above all. He is over death, He is over the earth, He is over heaven, and He is over every created being in existence. Christ is over all.
Something I was thinking about this past week was this association with up and down we make. When the Bible talks about glory it is mentioned as “up”. God raises someone up in glory. When the Bible talks about shame it is mentioned as “down”. God will cast one down in shame. Pride goes before a fall - pride comes before falling into shame. Glory is up, Shame is down. Christ came down from His glory that is up there to take on our shame down here. He descended (Ephesians 4:9) in death, and then ascended up to life and to glory (Eph. 1:20; Heb. 1:3-4; Phil. 2:7-11; Col. 1:18).
I think our passage today, and Paul’s purpose, is that we really begin to grasp the heights of the glory of Jesus Christ; that we would see that He up above all and that He is over all.
In order to fully grasp verse 22, we must see it on the heels of verses 19-21 (READ).
God Put Him in Supremacy Over Everything (v19-21)
What we are talking about here is the Supremacy of Christ. This point is simple: Jesus Christ is over all things and He is above all things. No one is His equal. When you think of Jesus Christ your thoughts for Him must be unique. You should think of Him in ways that you think of no one else. We must not entertain thoughts about Christ that are inferior to His supreme reality. Our imaginations of Him must give Him the same majesty and honor the Scriptures give Him.
Christ is Supreme in two ways that I want to point out from these verses. First, Jesus is supreme because of His Resurrection. Verse 20 says, “That power is like the working of His mighty power which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead”. Then notice what Paul says in Colossians 1:18, “And He is the head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have supremacy.” The first thing Paul mentions is Jesus’ resurrection. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the first of all resurrections. Men have been taken to heaven without dying, like Enoch and Elijah. Some were even raised from the dead, such as Lazarus, the little girl, and some recorded in the OT. The difference is that Jesus died and then was raised up to life never to die again. He is the first resurrection to Everlasting life. In Revelation 1:18, Jesus says to a terrified Apostle John, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!”
The resurrection is the first thing Paul mentions here when talking about God’s power because in Paul’s mine it is the most impressive display of God’s power. Furthermore, it is a pledge of God’s power that will be exerted in raising all of the righteous dead to everlasting life along with Christ.
Secondly, Jesus is Supreme because of His Ascension. Paul says in verse 20 that God seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenly realms.
Notice Christ is at God’s right hand. This is declared all over the pages of Scripture. In mark 16:19 it says, “And after saying these things to the disciples Jesus sat down at God’s right hand.” In Romans 8:34 Paul says that Christ intercedes for us and that He does it while at God’s right hand in heaven. In Hebrews 1:3 it says, “After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.” And then in 12:2 he says again, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” In Psalm 110:1 David says, “The LORD says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”
I thought about this last week and it seems to me that it is as if God wants everyone to see Himself, and, along with Him to see Christ. When you see God you will see Jesus Christ. All that is God’s is Christ’s. God has honored Christ, and, everyone will honor Christ. God will not receive honor except through Christ.
Christ’s supremacy is further described as not only at the right hand of God, but, in the heavenly realms. This is the non-physical realm. It is the realm that transcends above and beyond the physical realm we are in. It is the dimension of existence that contains more of God’s creation that is not seen or known of in our world. It is the heavenly realms, and, Paul speaks of it multiple times in Ephesians. According to verse 3 this is where our blessings are. According to 2:6 this is where we have been raised with Christ and seated. In 3:10 Paul says something interesting – he says that the wisdom of God was being shown through the Church not to mankind on earth but to “rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” And then in 6:12 Paul says that our battle as Christians is not against flesh and blood, but, it is against the rulers, the authorities, the powers and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The words “Powers, authorities, rulers, dominions, etc are traditional Jewish terms to designate angels of great rank and might (MacArthur, pg. 48). The heavenly realms is where Christ has been raised up to and it is over everything in that realm that Christ also has total supremacy.
The point in all this is to see that because God has powerfully placed Jesus Christ over all things there is no chance of Jesus ever being overthrown. “His dominion”, Daniel 7:14 says, “is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
God Put Everything in Subjection to Christ (v22a)
Next we see the Subjection of all things to Christ. Verse 22 says, “And God placed all things under His feet…” Whereas the Supremacy of Christ gives emphasis to His honor and His majesty, when we speak of all things being in Subjection to Him we emphasize His authority and dominion over everything.
Paul has already made mention of this in verse 10 when he spoke of the mystery of God’s will. He says that God’s will is “to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
All of creation will be under the rulership of Jesus Christ. Every nation on earth with their kings; every possible order in the heavenly realms: the powers, the principalities, the authorities, the rulers, the dominions and every imaginable title given to any angelic being – all will be under the sovereign, all-powerful hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. His government will be total.
Psalm 110 was written by King David and it is a Messianic Psalm – it is about the Messiah. In verse 1 David writes, “The LORD (Yahweh, God the Father) said to my Lord (David’s Lord, the Messiah): ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” This is a great psalm where the plans that God has for the Messiah are revealed. He is going to sit at the right hand of God, in equal dignity, in equal authority, in equal power, in equal righteousness, in equality with God the Father by virtue of being God the Son and as such He will rule everything in creation.
God made the Church Special to Christ (v22-23)
Lastly, Christ is the Head of the Church. God made the Church Special to Christ. Notice verses 22-23, “………….”
Now, I find this very interesting. Here in this passage Paul is focusing on Christ’s total authority over all of the created existence so why does he make a special mention about the unique and particular authority Jesus has over the Church? Doesn’t it go without saying here? I mean, if Christ has authority over everything, well, the Church is included in everything. But Paul takes a moment in these two verses and finds it important to point out the special authority Christ has with the Church. Why?
Well, first of all, notice the language here. Christ is the Head, and, the Church is His Body. The Church’s relationship with Christ described in this way stresses union. The life of the Head is the life in the Body. In Christ, we are alive as much as Christ because it is His life that is in us. The phrase “Body of Christ” speaks of a society of people who constitute a union. We are joined together with one another as much as we are joined together with Christ. I like how Wuest describes it when he says the Church is described here as, “A Society which is in vital connection with Christ, having the source of its life in Him, sustained and directed by His power, the instrument by which He also works.”
An important point here is that the Church spoken of in this passage is the whole group of saved individuals. Paul is not speaking of the local church here, which may (and often) has unsaved individuals. He is speaking of the universal Church of all truly regenerated people who are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore have His Spirit living in them. Every local church is not made up of all saved people. Truly saved and unsaved people participate in the local church operation.
This relationship of Christ to the Church must be seen in light of the Church’s need to see the power God exercised in Christ. Paul is not saying anything here that is not for the purpose of driving home the point of God’s Power displayed in Christ. The Church’s Head was raised and glorified, so Christ’s Body will as well.
Conclusion:
I would conclude with this today: Have you become a part of the Body of Christ? Has He become your Head? Does He have supremacy in your life? You can be part of a local church without being part of Jesus Christ’s Body.
To become a part of His Body, and to Have His life in you, you must trust Him as your Savior. Your sins need to be forgiven. He died for your sins. He loves you. He stands resurrected from that death and He stands ready to receive you if you will receive His forgiveness. You can have the hope of eternal life, and God’s forgiveness today if today you will put your trust in Jesus Christ.
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