Sunday, 17 July 2016
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, Ephesians 1:22
The idea of placing all things under the feet goes back to the Old Testament. In the 8th psalm we read –
“You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet.” Psalm 8:6
These words from the psalm speak of man, but in the greater sense they speak of Christ who took on the nature of man. Adam (man) fell and lost his right to the world. Christ came to reclaim that. Through His work, He has been granted all power and all authority. In this, the “He” is emphatic. “He (emphatic – meaning God) put all things under His (meaning Jesus’) feet.” The meaning is that all things are in subjection to Him, not because He was simply set over these things, but because God has granted Him these things as a gift. Christ has all authority over all things.
The next words show a surprising concept which should not be missed. God “gave Him to be head over all things to the church.” All things are “under His feet,” and He is “head over all things to the church.” What this means is that we are, as Paul explains in Romans 8:17, “joint heirs with Christ.” The next verse will bear this out, but even without it, if Christ is the head, then the church must be (as verse 23 will show) His body.
Therefore, we see the exceptional magnitude of the inheritance we possess because of Christ. We are subject to Him as our Head, but all things are below us (as we are members of His body). This takes us back to the authority of man at the beginning. God gave us dominion over the animals of the earth. He gave us the right to subdue the earth and to fill it. We were subjected to God, but were granted authority below Him.
The devil gained control over that, and man has been subjected to him. However, Christ regained that control. Now all who are in Him are again a part the original intent for creation. A Man (meaning Christ) is its head, and we are His body. We share in the inheritance of what Christ has obtained. It is truly a marvelous thing which God has done for us in Christ.
Life application: When you see the wicked advancing in the world’s system and seemingly getting away with their wickedness, don’t let it trouble you. They will have their moment of ease and supposed power, but they will be swept away like the dust beneath your feet. Our inheritance is so far superior to what they think they have, that there is simply no comparison at all.
Lord God, Jeremiah asked why the way of the wicked prospers. He was confused about why things worked out that way. We often feel the same. We see utterly wicked people, such as in our governments, who seem to get away with everything. They are not held accountable for their evil. But their supposed victory is temporary and it is just a passing vapor. Our inheritance is so very much greater. The world can have its depraved party which will end. In Christ, we have an eternal inheritance which can never be taken away. Thank You for this sure and grounded hope! Amen.