Ephesians 1:20-23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
20 which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,(A) 21 far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.(B) 22 And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,(C) 23 which is his body,[a] the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.(D)
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- 1:23 His body: the church (Eph 1:22); cf. note on Col 1:18. Only in Ephesians and Colossians is Christ the head of the body, in contrast to the view in 1 Cor 12 and Rom 12:4–8 where Christ is equated with the entire body or community. Fullness: see note on Col 1:19. Some take the one who fills as God, others as Christ (cf. Eph 4:10). If in Christ “dwells the fullness of the deity bodily” (Col 2:9), then, as God “fills” Christ, Christ in turn fills the church and the believer (Eph 3:19; 5:18). But the difficult phrases here may also allow the church to be viewed as the “complement” of Christ who is “being filled” as God’s plan for the universe is carried out through the church (cf. Eph 3:9–10).
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