Jesus Is Over Everything
Ephesians is probably my favourite book in the whole Bible. It’s so full of rich, theological truths that shape our identity as followers of Jesus!
Even just in the opening chunk of the letter (v1-14), Paul throws in nine massive theological ideas as part of his scatter-gun introduction. The section we read in v3-14 is one single run-on sentence in the original Greek – 202 words, no full stops! You can just imagine Paul dictating this letter to his scribe, getting more and more animated as these deep and exciting truths just pour out of him in praise to God.
This opening section is what is known in Hebrew as a berakah, which was a kind of hymn of praise – an outpouring of praise to God. A berakah would usually begin with a phrase like “Blessed be God, who has…”
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.”
Ephesians 1:4
Within this berakah Paul introduces nine big theological concepts, as I said above. He mentions:
- Election (v4)
- Adoption (v5)
- God’s will (v5)
- Grace (v6)
- Redemption (v7)
- Wisdom (v8)
- The Mystery (v9)
- The Consummation of All Things (v10)
- Uniting in Christ (v11-14)
Each one of these things could be discussed at length in its own book (and probably has been)!
As we look at this opening section, the stand-out point that pulls it all together comes in verse 10:
“And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.”
Ephesians 1:10
God is uniting everything in the whole universe under the authority of Jesus! This idea of “uniting” is like God is summing everything up. If the universe is one huge concept containing the vastness of all creation, the simple idea which sums up the whole thing is Jesus.
This has huge implications! On the cross Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. He purchased our freedom and gave us access to God the Father. Amazing! There’s more though. We tend to focus on our own personal salvation, which is an incredible gift in itself, but God was doing more than just that.
On the cross, just as Jesus was making the way to unite us with God once again, he was also making the way for all of creation to be united in him. This is something which God has already begun, is continuing to do and will bring to completion when Jesus returns and establishes his kingdom in all its fullness.
Whatever you’re facing today, if you’re feeling anxious or worried about the state of the world, remember that God is in charge of the whole universe, and he is bringing it all together in Christ!
