The Pleroma (21) - Charles H. Welch

No.21. “All the Fullness of the 

Godhead Bodily-wise.” 

Three Greek words are translated “Godhead” in the N.T., namely, To Theion that which is divine, the thing pertaining to Theos. Theiotes, divinity, the characteristic property of Theos. That which is discernible from the works of creation, thereby making idolatry “without excuse” (Rom. i. 20) and Theotes. 

Theotes, Deity, the being in Whom Theiotes of the highest order resides (Col.ii. 9). 

The above is partly quoted from Dr. E. W. Bullinger’s Lexicon, and it agrees with the definitions given by Trench, Cremer, Lightfoot and most commentators. 

Those of us who believe the doctrine of the Deity of Christ naturally turn to Col. ii. 9 as to a proof text, but this may not be the right attitude of heart and mind when dealing with the sacred Scriptures. We do no honour to the Lord, if we misuse a portion of Scripture, even to prove or to enforce the glorious doctrine of His Deity. Truth needs no bolster. One of the reasons that caused us to hesitate about this use of Col. ii. 9 is that when we apply the principle given in I Cor. ii. 13 namely, that we speak not in the words of man’s wisdom, “but which the Holy Ghost teacheth”, and that we then go on to compare spiritual things with spiritual, we come up against a doctrinal difficulty. If the words “all the fullness” of the Godhead, prove the Deity of Christ, what do they prove in Eph. iii. 19. There, the prayer of the apostle is for the believer, that Christ may dwell, katoikeo, in their hearts by faith, and as a consequence that they may be “filled with (eis unto, with a view to) all the fullness of God”. If “all the fullness of Theotes” proves the Deity of Christ, should not “all the fullness of Theos” prove the Deity of the Church? To express the thought is to refute it. Such cannot be the meaning. In Col. i. 19 we meet the expression “all the fullness”, but there it is not followed, either by “God” or “Godhead”, yet this first reference must have a definite bearing upon the second reference found in Col. ii. 9. 

“For it pleased the Father that in Him should all the fullness dwell pan to pleroma katoikedai” (Col. i. 19). 

We cannot expect to understand the reference in Col. ii. 9 if we ignore the earlier reference in Col. i. 19. They go together and constitute a united testimony. The first passage opens with redemption (Col. i. 14) and closes with “peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. i. 20). He Who created “all things, that are in heaven and that are in earth” (Col. i. 16) reconciled “all things, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Col. i. 20). We move from Creation to Reconciliation via the headship of the church which is His body, and the blessed fact that He Who was in the beginning “the firstborn of every creature” is revealed as being Himself “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead”. While the triumph of His resurrection is the feature that is stressed here, we believe we shall never understand the reference to “fullness” in Col. ii. 9 if we do not know the corresponding “emptying” of Phil. ii. In order to illustrate this approach we use the figure of Jacob’s ladder, being fully justified so to do by the reference made to it by the Lord Himself. 

In Gen. xxviii. we have the record of Jacob’s dream, wherein he saw a ladder set up on earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, “and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it” (Gen. xxviii. 12). In John i., Nathaniel is referred to by the Lord as “an Israelite indeed, in Whom is no guile” (John i. 47). The word translated “guile” is dolos and is used in the LXX of Gen. xxvii. 35, where Isaac tells Esau, “Thy brother came with subtilty (dolos) guile, and hath taken away thy blessing”. One cannot avoid seeing an oblique reference in John i. 47 to Jacob, an Israelite who was most certainly not without “guile”. However, that is by the way, our interest is more directly concerned with verse 51. 

“Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the ANGELS of God ASCENDING and DESCENDING upon the Son of Man” (John i. 51). 

Now observe, “fullness” is associated with Christ, in the fact that in order that He might FILL ALL THINGS, He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all heavens” (Eph. iv. 10). 

Returning to John i., we observe the following sequences of thought: 

“In the beginning was the Word . . . . . the Word was God.” 

“All things were made by Him.” 

“The Word was made flesh and dwelt (tabernacled, skenoo, not the permanent ‘dwelling’ katoikeo of Col. ii. 9) among us.” 

“Of His FULNESS have all we received.” 

“The angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

So in Col. i. 15-20, He Who was the “Image of the Invisible God” (compare John i. 1 and 18), Who created all things (see John i. 3) Who became also the Firstborn from the dead, Who is before all things (even as John the Baptist acknowledged, John i. 30), in Him, in the capacity, not only as Creator but as the Firstborn from the dead (thereby assuming the death of the cross), in that capacity and in no other way, was it pleasing to the Father that “in Him should all the fullness dwell”. It is for this reason, we find the word somatikos “bodily” in Col. ii. 9. This word has been translated by several commentators “bodily-wise”, as though the fullness could not dwell in Him in any other way. 

We spoke a little while ago about the fact that if Colossians speaks of the Saviour’s “Fullness”, the Philippians speaks of His voluntary self-emptying. Phil. ii. 6-11 has been given a fairly full exposition in the book entitled The Prize of the High Calling, and the reader would be advised to consult pages 75-111 of that volume. Here, we can deal with one item only, the meaning of the words “He made Himself of no reputation” (Phil. ii. 7). First of all we give the structure of verses 6-9. 

Here it will be observed “things in heaven, and things in earth” occurs as in Col. i. 16. 

“He made Himself of no reputation.” The A.V. has used the word “reputation” twice in Philippians, the second occurrence being at ii. 29, “hold such in reputation”. The R.V. has wisely omitted the word “reputation” in both passages, reading in ii. 7 “but emptied Himself”, and in ii. 29 “hold such in honour”, for two different Greek words are used. 

The change, however, while it makes some aspects of the truth clearer, introduces other problems for, to a modern mind, there is something strange about the idea of anyone “emptying himself”. In modern usage, empty places foremost in the mind the idea of a “jug without water”, “a room without furniture” & “empty vessels” (II Ki. iv. 3). These come naturally to mind. In order to avoid too crude an application of the figure of “emptying a vessel” when speaking of the Saviour’s humiliation, most of us slip into paraphrase and say “He divested Himself” of His dignity and insignia of Deity, but this is confessedly an attempt to avoid a problem. The verb keno is cognate with kenos “vain” and means “empty”. That the word has a wider application than that of emptying a vessel, such expressions as “seven empty ears” (Gen. xli. 27), “the sword of Saul returned not empty” (II Sam. i. 22) will show. 

Where kenos is translated “empty” in the A.V. of the N.T. it refers in the parable to the treatment of the servant by the wicked husbandmen, who sent him “empty away” (Mark xii. 3; Luke xx. 10, 11), and to “the rich” who were “sent empty away” (Luke i. 53); in most cases, however, kenos is translated “vain”, as for example, in Philippians itself “run in vain” and “labour in vain”, where it is evident that “empty” would have no meaning (Phil. ii. 16). 

The verb keno translated “to make of no reputation”, occurs 5 times in the Greek N.T. and the four occurrences other than that of Phil. ii. 7, render the word “make void”, “make none effect” and “be in vain” (Rom. iv. 14; I Cor. i. 17; ix. 15; II Cor. ix. 3). In Phil. ii. 3 we find the word kenodoxia “vain glory”. We remember with adoring wonder that in the Psalm of the Cross, we read “I am poured out like water” (Psa. xxii. 14). He did indeed “empty Himself”. The word translated “offer” in Phil. ii. 17 is found in the LXX of Gen. xxxv. 14, where Jacob revisited the scene of the “ladder”, which he re-named “Bethel”, and following his Master’s footsteps, faintly adumbrates that awful condescension which, for our sakes, left behind the glory of heaven, for the deep, deep humiliation of “the death of the cross”. 

Above the ladder is intimated “the glory that He had” before the world was. This must not be confused with the glory that was “given” Him, as the Man Christ Jesus, the One Mediator. We may, in resurrection behold the one, but “the glory which thou gavest Me” the Saviour said “I have given them, that they may be one, EVEN AS we are one” (John xvii. 22). We do not pretend to understand this profound revelation. We would add not one syllable of our own lest we spoil and corrupt such unearthly beauty; but we can bow our heads and our hearts in adoring wonder, as we perceive that this is implied in the word “fullness”, for the church of the One Body is revealed to be, 

“The fullness of Him, that filleth all in all” (Eph. i. 23). 

Here the church is one with the Lord. We see the wondrous descent seven steps down to the death of the cross. Here at the foot, on the earth He is seen as Emmanuel “God with us”. Here, it was fulfilled “He was numbered with the transgressors”. And by virtue of that most wondrous “reckoning”, He became our Surety. The word translated “surety” in the O.T. is the Hebrew word arab, which in the form arrabon is brought over into N.T. Greek, occurring in Eph. i. 14 as “earnest”. This word corresponds with “pledge” in Gen. xxxviii. 17, 18 “Wilt thou give me a pledge till thou send it?” The root idea appears to be that of mixing or mingling: 

“A mixed multitude” (Margin a great mixture) (Exod. xii. 38). 

“The holy seed have mingled themselves” (Ezra ix. 2). 

“A stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy” (Prov. xiv. 10). 

“In the warp or woof” (Lev. xiii. 48). 

Arising out of the idea of this mixing and interweaving comes that of a surety, who is so intimately associated with the obligations laid upon the one for whom he acts, that he can be treated in his stead. So we get: 

“Thy servant became surety for the law” (Gen. xliv. 32). 
“He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it” (Prov. xi. 15). 
“We have mortgaged our lands” (Neh. v. 3). 
“Give pledges to my lord the king” (II Kings xviii. 23). 

In Ezek. xxvii. 9, 27 we find the word translated “occupy” in the sense of exchanging or bartering. In the same way we understand the expression, “Occupy, till I come”, and still speak of a man’s trade as his “occupation”. 

Such is the underlying meaning of the word “surety”, one who identifies himself with another in order to bring about deliverance from obligations. This is clearly seen in Prov. xxii. 26, 27: “Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?”. It is evident from this passage that the surety was held liable for the debts of the one whose cause he had espoused, even to the loss of his bed and this meant practically his all, as may be seen by consulting Exod. xxii. 26, 27, “If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down; for that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep?” Judah who became Surety for his brother Benjamin, gives us a picture of Christ’s Suretyship, saying to Joseph: 

“How shall I go up (ascend) to my father, and the lad be not WITH ME?” (Gen. xliv. 34). 

If poor erring Judah could enter like this into the meaning of Suretyship, how much more must our Saviour have done so. At the foot of the ladder, the transfer is made, and the first of the seven steps up to the glory of the right hand of God is made. The self-emptying on the one hand is compensated by all the fullness on the other, but that fullness would never have been attained had the Saviour not become man, a Man of flesh and blood, all the fullness dwells in Him “bodily-wise”. The church is the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. The goal and standard of that church is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The personal experimental climax of the faith is that each member shall be filled with (or unto) all the fullness of God. It is difficult, with these features so clearly set forth in Ephesians, to think that the same word “fullness” when dealt with in Colossians, a confessedly parallel epistle, should suddenly swing over to the doctrine of the deity of Christ. 

It may be that our attempt to explain Col. ii. 9 is so defective that the gleam of truth we saw at the commencement of this article has already become dimmed by our very effort to explain it. Shall we then, writer and reader, pause, put aside our lexicons, our concordances, our interpretations and follow in the footsteps of Asaph, who tells us that not until he went into the Sanctuary of God, did he understand. 

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(From The Berean Expositor vol. 44, page 208).
http://charleswelch.net/BE%20Vol%2044%20Final.pdf

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Every Blessing that is Spiritual. - by Charles H. Welch

Every Blessing that is Spiritual

Having seen that the opening section of Ephesians is threefold, and deals with:

The Will of the Father (1:3-6)

The Work of the Son (1:7-11)

The Witness of the Spirit (1:12-14),

each department in this great passage is devoted to one phase of the truth and together make up the Charter of the Church. We go back in time to ‘before the foundation of the world’ (1:4) and on to the future day of redemption (1:14 with 4:30). This redemption comes under the heading ‘The Work of the Son’, for He alone is the Mediator, He alone the Redeemer, for He alone offered Himself without spot an offering and a sacrifice for sin. The Spirit’s seal and earnest follows and does not precede this great redemptive work; the Witness of the Spirit combines the promise given before age times (2 Tim. 1:8-10 and Eph. 1:4) with the Redemption accomplished by Christ.

In Ephesians 1:3-6 we have ‘The Will of the Father’. We ask a series of questions concerning this will and submit the answers:

What does the believer inherit?

     ‘All spiritual blessings’.

Where will this inheritance be enjoyed?

     ‘In heavenly places’.

When was this will made?

     ‘Before the foundation of the world’.

Who will inherit?

     Those who receive ‘The Adoption’.

Why did the Father thus choose?

     ‘The good pleasure of His will’.

While these five subdivisions of this mighty subject do not actually state all that is written, it will be found that they will help us as we endeavour to grasp something of the stupendous revelation which is here unfolded to us.

‘All Spiritual Blessings’

‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ’ (1:3).

Our blessings are not so much in mind in this opening passage as an overwhelming sense of grace. ‘Blessed be God’. No petition rises to the Father, no confession, no vows of reform, no statement of failure, but thanksgiving and worship, full and free, ascends unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. No blessing is sought or desired, ‘all blessings’ are acknowledged.

The opening words of this glorious revelation are not ‘may I be blessed’ but ‘may He be blessed’. This note struck so early, should never be forgotten by the reader as he follows his guide through chamber after chamber of unspeakable glory. ‘He hath blessed us’. The word eulogia ‘blessing’ is derived from the verb eulogeo ‘to bless’, which is a compound of eu ‘well’ and lego ‘to speak’. The reader will recognise that this word is the origin of the English ‘eulogy’, a word meaning a high form of praise. The word translated ‘blessings’ in Ephesians 1:3 is actually once translated ‘fair speeches’, namely in Romans 16:18 which reveals the primary meaning of the word. Eu is an adverb and is found in Ephesians 6:3, ‘that it may be well with thee’. It is of frequent use as a particle in combination with other words, and is most familiar to the reader in the word evangel or ‘gospel’, where the letter ‘u’ is pronounced ‘v’ in English.

Writing to the believer before the great dispensational landmark of Acts 28, Paul speaks of ‘the blessing of Abraham’ (Gal. 3:14) coming on the Gentiles, but Abraham is never mentioned in the Prison Epistles, and no blessing of Abraham is associated either with ‘heavenly places’ or ‘before the foundation of the world’. Paul refers also to, ‘the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ’ (Rom. 15:29) and, ‘the cup of blessing which we bless’ (1 Cor. 10:16).

There are some terms used in the Scriptures, which by their very nature and the place they occupy in the scheme of salvation, come over and over again in the writings of the apostle. Such terms as ‘faith’, ‘redemption’, ‘justification’ will come to the mind immediately, and are found in many of the epistles whether written before or after Acts 28. No one, moreover, could deny the use of the word ‘blessing’ when speaking of these great doctrines of salvation. So far as the Prison Epistles are concerned, Ephesians 1:3 stands alone, the word ‘blessing’ meeting us in the very opening words of the new revelation, and never again employed in any capacity by the apostle. Terms such as ‘seated together’ and ‘blessing’ receive emphasis by their glorious solitariness. They stand alone and are beyond compare.

These blessings of Ephesians 1:3 are moreover peculiar in this, that they are ‘all spiritual’. As the record stands in the Authorized Version ‘all spiritual blessings’ must be considered as plural. The fact is, however, that in the original the word is singular, and a literal rendering is ‘in (or with) every blessing (that is) spiritual’. Where the Greek word pas ‘all’ is used of one it means ‘the whole’, ‘entire’ or ‘all the ...’, but if it is used to cover several items, it means ‘every’.

Green, in his handbook, says that where the adjective pas ‘all’ in the singular number is written without the article ‘the’, it signifies ‘every’, but with the article it means ‘the whole of’ the object which it qualifies. Thus pasa polis means ‘every city’; pasa he polis, or he pasa polis ‘the whole city’ and he polis pasa would have a slightly different meaning — either ‘the city, all of it’ or ‘the city in every part’.

The church of the One Body is blessed ‘with every blessing that is spiritual’. This is even wider in its scope than to say ‘all spiritual blessings’, for if the number of the blessings were but few — say four, they could be defined as ‘all spiritual’, whereas the mind reels as it endeavours to grasp the fact that there is no blessing that comes under the category of ‘spiritual’ that is omitted. It is highly improbable that while we are in this life we shall be able to appreciate a tithe of what is here so freely bestowed.

We turn our attention from this vision of unspeakable glory to consider the nature of the blessings thus bestowed. They are ‘spiritual’, Greek pneumatikos. Pneuma ‘spirit’ is derived from the idea of ‘breath’ and goes back to the equivalent terms that are found in the Hebrew. It would be a mistake however just here and now to attempt a dissertation on the origin and usage of pneuma, for that would take us so far afield that we should be in danger of forgetting our immediate quest. First of all, we discover that pneumatikos occurs three times in Ephesians:

‘All spiritual blessings’ (1:3). 

‘Hymns and spiritual songs’ (5:19). 

‘Spiritual wickedness’ (6:12).

Without comparison or consideration, we might have been tempted to think that ‘spiritual’ blessing must mean any blessing that comes from God; that they must be good, that they must refer to redemption and so on. But Ephesians 6:12 gives us pause, for there we read of ‘spiritual Wickedness’. It is manifestly absurd to speak of ‘good’ ‘holy’ or ‘Divine’ wickedness, and therefore we realize that the word spiritual has other and different connotations if it can be used in the same epistle of both ‘blessing’ and ‘wickedness’. In Ephesians 6:12 ‘spiritual’ wickedness is set over against ‘flesh and blood’. It is evident that the word ‘spiritual’ is the opposite of the word ‘corporeal’, and this is what we find elsewhere. Paul, writing in the epistle to the Romans places the idea of ‘spiritual’ over against the ‘carnal’, ‘for we know that the law is spiritual (pneumatikos): but I am carnal (sarkikos)’ (Rom. 7:14). ‘For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things’ (Rom. 15:27). In first Corinthians he not only contrasts spiritual with carnal, but also with ‘natural’.

‘The natural man (psuchikos) ... but he that is spiritual’ (1 Cor. 2:14,15).

‘It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body’ (1 Cor. 15:44).

The ‘carnal’ things of Romans 15:27 were good. We can learn from other passages that the apostle was very earnest in his endeavour to fulfil the injunction received at Jerusalem, that in the exercise of his ministry among the Gentiles he should remember the poor saints at Jerusalem, and quite a large portion of the epistles to the Corinthians is occupied with the ‘collection’. These ‘carnal’ things would include food, drink, clothing and other necessities of life. The ‘natural’ is placed over against the spiritual, for the spiritual is supernatural and is enjoyed on resurrection ground.

In complete contrast with the spiritual blessings of the Mystery, are the ‘carnal’ or ‘natural’ blessings of the law.

‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field ... blessed shall be thy basket and thy store ... the Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses ... the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods ...’ (Deut. 28:1-13).

‘Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in His ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table’ (Psa. 128:1-3).

How completely opposite all this is from the experience of the believer under the dispensation of grace. Like Paul, he may know what it is to suffer need, to be in want, to know what it is to be continually in trouble. He will have no guarantee of a settled dwelling place, he has no promise of special protection during periods of danger; his ‘basket and store’ may show impoverishment, while the ungodly may appear to prosper. It would be foolish to assess a man’s spiritual worth today by the size of his bank balance. Ephesians 1:3 does not speak of daily bread, of dwelling place, of home comforts or of business success; it visualizes a new plane, the spiritual, which is on resurrection ground. The earnest of our inheritance is not a bunch of grapes, as it was when the spies returned with the grapes of Eshcol, neither are our enemies men of flesh and blood, but spiritual foes.

The individual believer, like the rest of mankind, must needs find the means of living and provide things honest in the sight of all men, but these come to him as the blessings of the wilderness. They are no more ‘spiritual blessings’ than the ‘manna’ of the wilderness was the fruit of the land of promise. A member of the One Body may be rich or poor, sick or well, troubled or tranquil, but such conditions have noreference to ‘every blessing that is spiritual’ for two reasons, i.e., their nature and their sphere.

In Heavenly Places. En tois epouraniois

The believer in the dispensation of the mystery is blessed with every blessing that is spiritual. No limits are set to the extent of these blessings, only to their character. We now leave one subject of wonder, but to exchange it for another of equal marvel. These spiritual blessings are linked with a sphere ‘in heavenly places’.

We have said elsewhere that this phrase is unique, that it occurs in the epistle to the Ephesians and nowhere else. The unwary can easily be moved when they read that, in spite of what we have said, epouranios occurs in fifteen other places outside of Ephesians, as widely distributed as Matthew, John, 1 Corinthians, Philippians, 2 Timothy and Hebrews. We have been accused of misleading God’s people and of misquoting Scripture, and yet, in spite of all that has or can be said, we repeat that the phrase ‘in heavenly places’ en tois epouraniois is unique, occurring nowhere else than in the epistle to the Ephesians. The word ‘heavenly’ epouranios most certainly occurs elsewhere, this we have never denied; we read in Matthew 18:35 (in the Received Text) of ‘My heavenly Father’ and in John 3:12 of ‘heavenly things’, in 1 Corinthians 15:40 of ‘celestial bodies’ and in Hebrews 6:4 of those who ‘tasted of the heavenly gift’. No one, so far as our knowledge permits us to say, has ever maintained that those Hebrews who had tasted of the heavenly gift, had actually ascended up to heaven itself in order to taste it! Many things may be heavenly in origin and in character that are not enjoyed ‘in heaven’, and this is the point; it is this feature that is unique.

First, let us consider the implications of this term ‘in heavenly places’. What justification is there for the added word ‘places’? The reader will agree that the word ‘places’ answers the question ‘where?’ and our first consideration must be to examine the Scriptures to see whether this is so.

Hou is an adverb of place, and is used elliptically instead of the full expression eph hou topou ‘in what place’. We read in Colossians 3:1 ‘seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God’. Presently we shall see that ‘heavenly places’ is synonymous with ‘where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God’, and that it is moreover allied with the word ano ‘above’, which also is directly connected with these heavenly places.

This one passage, Colossians 3:1, establishes that Christ is represented as being somewhere, and if He is said to be seated on the right hand of God in heavenly places in Ephesians, no more need be said on that score. That such a statement is true every reader is aware, for Ephesians 1:20-22 directs our wondering attention to the exalted position of Christ, Who being raised from the dead was set ‘at His own right hand in the heavenly places’. This sphere of exalted glory is further defined; it is said to be ‘far above all principality and power’ (Eph. 1:21). Now the simple connective ano is sufficient to take us to ‘where’ Christ sitteth on the right hand of God (Col. 3:1), consequently the intensive huperano employed by the apostle, and translated ‘far above’ in Ephesians 1:21, cannot certainly mean less, it must mean more than the simple ano. If we allow the apostle to speak for himself we shall be left in no doubt as to the nature of this exaltation. In Ephesians 4, we read:

‘He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all 

heavens, that He might fill all things’ (Eph. 4:10).

Let us notice one or two important features in this passage. ‘He ascended up’ anabaino literally means ‘to go up’ as one would a mountain (Matt. 5:1); or as the false shepherds who ‘climb up’ some other way (John 10:1). The ascension is put in contrast with His ‘descent’ katabaino. This also primarily means ‘to go down’ as rain descends (Matt. 7:25), or when one descends a mountain (Matt. 17:9). Ephesians 4 tells us that His descent was to ‘the lower parts’ katoteros, and that His ascent was ‘far above all heavens’, and lest we should be tempted for any reason to set a limit to this ascent, we are further informed that this descent and this ascent were in order that He might ‘fill all things’. Consequently, the Saviour ascended to the highest conceivable position in glory. Now this position described as huperano ‘far above all heavens’ is found in Ephesians 1:21, ‘far above all principality and power’. They are coextensive in scope and meaning. In other parts of the New Testament we read of this ascension and one or two passages give further meaning and point to the phrase we are examining. When the apostle speaks of the ascension in the epistle to the Hebrews (4:14), he says of Christ that He ‘is passed into the heavens’, which the Revised Version corrects to read ‘passed through the heavens’. The word here is dierchomai ‘passed through’ as Israel passed through the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10:1), or as the proverbial camel is spoken of as going through the eye of a needle (Matt. 19:24). Again, in Hebrews 7:26 Christ is said to have been made ‘higher than the heavens’. We can therefore understand that the epi in the compound epouranios does really indicate position and place — every reference so far considered points to that one fact, this is ‘where’ Christ sits, this is ‘where’ all spiritual blessings will be enjoyed.

However, we have not yet concluded our examination. Christ is said to be in ‘heaven’ (Heb. 9:24) in the selfsame epistle that says He ‘passed through the heavens’. How can this be? The Hebrew reader acquainted with the first chapter of Genesis would need no explanation. The heaven, which is ‘at the right hand of God’ is the heaven of Genesis 1:1. The heavens through which Christ ‘passed’ and above which He ascended is called the ‘firmament’ or ‘expansion’ in Genesis 1:6. This ‘heaven’ spread out during the ages ‘as a curtain’ and ‘as a tent to dwell in’ is to pass away. The Lord is far above this limited ‘heaven’ and so is the sphere of blessing allotted to the church of this dispensation.

While there are references in the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as in the New, which show that saints of old knew that there were ‘heavens’ beyond the limited firmament of Genesis 1:6, no believer ever entertained a hope that the sphere of his blessing was there where the exalted Christ now sits ‘far above all heavens’, yet this is what we are now to learn.

The expression en tois epouraniois occurs five times in Ephesians as follows:

We will not attempt to examine these references here, but each one will come before us in its turn, and will be given the attention that such a revelation of grace demands. We have been concerned in this study to establish two related truths:

(1) That ‘in heavenly places’ refers to a sphere, a place, a condition that answers the question where!

(2) That ‘in heavenly places’ is unique, and is found only in the Epistle to the Ephesians.

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(From IN HEAVENLY PAGES pages 37-43).
http://charleswelch.net/HeavenlyPlaces.pdf

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The Pleroma (20) - Charles H. Welch

No.20. The title Head, and 

its relation to the Fullness. 

We have seen that the title ‘Head’ gathers up unto itself, all that the separate titles ‘King’, ‘Priest’ and ‘Prophet’ imply, with ever so much more than either of these titles taken separately, or all together can ever teach or contain. That church of which Christ is Head not only lacks nothing, but is infinitely more blessed, is in a closer relationship with Christ, and anticipates the goal of the ages in a way that no other company could ever do. We have seen that Eph. i. 10 finds its expansion and anticipation in Eph. i. 22, 23, and we now pass on to the other references to Christ as the Head as they occur in the epistles of the Mystery. The next reference to Christ as Head occurs in the practical section of Ephesians: 

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ” (Eph. iv. 15). 

Practice grows out of doctrine, and doctrine deals with calling, sphere of blessing, and standing in grace. What is stated as a fact before God in the revelation of the doctrine of Ephesians, awaits experimental realization in the practical section. Let us see this in the large, before concentrating our attention upon the detail of Eph. iv. 15. 

As a consequence of the Saviour’s exaltation ‘Far above all’ in Eph. i. 20-22, He is seen as Head over all things to the church, which is called ‘the fullness of Him that filleth all in all’. Turning to Eph. iv., we find that the ascension ‘far above all’ is restated, and the ‘fullness’ indicated as a goal: 

“He that descended is the same also that ascended up FAR ABOVE ALL heavens, that He might FILL ALL THINGS” (Eph. iv. 10). 

It is this ascended One Who gives the ministry that has as its goal ‘the perfect man’. It is evident from the language of Eph. iv. 8-13, that here we are presented with the outworking of the truth set out in chapter i. 

Coming now to Eph. iv. 15, we observe that the words of the A.V. ‘speaking the truth in love’ are a somewhat free translation, there being no equivalent in the Greek for the word ‘speaking’. The A.V. margin puts as an alternative ‘being sincere’ and the R.V. margin reads ‘dealing truly’. The Greek word under consideration is aletheuein, of which Alford, in his commentary, says ‘it is almost impossible to express it satisfactorily in English’ and suggests the translation ‘being followers of truth’, but says of this, “The objection to ‘followers of truth’ is that it may be mistaken for ‘searchers after truth’—but I can find no expression which does not lie open to equal objection.” The only other occurrence of aletheuein is Gal. iv. 16, where the A.V. renders it ‘because I tell (you) the truth’. It is not possible in English to say ‘truthing in love’ we must say ‘being sincere’, ‘being true and truthful’ or ‘speaking the truth’. None of these expressions however exactly present to the mind what the verb aletheuein does. The LXX of Gen. xlii. 16 employs this word where we read, ‘Ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies’. In Isa. xliv. 26, the LXX employs aletheuein to translate the word shalam ‘perform’, but when the same Hebrew word occurs again in verse 28, it is there translated by the Greek poiein ‘to make or to do’. If we can imagine a word in English that conjures up to the mind a person whose whole life is truth, whose very breadth and atmosphere is truth whose desires, will, plans and activity are truth, we may perhaps approach the meaning of Eph. iv. 15. This utter regard for truth, however, is kept in balance, for it must be ‘in love’—without which, such zeal in present circumstances would lead to fanaticism and to a persecuting spirit. This utter regard for truth held in love is the greatest accessory to growth, ‘may grow into Him in all things’. Growing up into Christ in all things is the practical echo of the basic doctrinal fact that has already been revealed concerning the constitution of the church of the One Body in Eph. i. 22, 23. Not only so, but it is the practical & experimental echo of the truth revealed in Eph. ii. 21. 

“In Whom all the building FITLY FRAMED TOGETHER (sunarmologeomai) 

GROWETH (auxano) unto an holy temple in the Lord.” 

The word sunarmologemai is repeated in Eph. iv. 16 where it is translated ‘FITLY JOINED TOGETHER’, and the words auxano and auxesis are found in Eph. iv. 15, 16 “May GROW UP (auxano) unto Him”, “Maketh INCREASE (auxesis) of the Body”. Not only do these words recur, but just as the church of the One Body is the fullness of Him that filleth ALL (ta panta) in all, so this growth of Eph. iv. 15 is unto Him in ALL THINGS (ta panta). Most translators supply the preposition ‘in’ before ‘all things’ in order to make easy reading, and this reading may give the intention of the Apostle, namely, that the Church should grow up into Christ in every particular, in all ways, in all things. Nevertheless, the mind will return to the fact that what the Apostle actually wrote was auxesomen eis auton ta panta, which rendered literally reads, “We may grow into Him the all things”, which while it does not read well and is not good English, leaves in the mind a different conception from that of the A.V. Can it be that Paul intends us to understand him to mean, that by holding the truth inviolate in love, we shall be encouraging that growth into Him, which the N.T. speaks of as ta panta, some specific, blessed totality of glory, in which Christ is now ta panta “the all things” in all? (Col. iii. 11) anticipating the goal of God, when God shall be ta panta en pasin ‘the all things in all’ (I Cor. xv. 28). 

Before, however, such words can have their true effect, it becomes necessary that we pause here, in order to place before the reader the peculiar usage of the phrase ta panta, for the phrase ‘the all things’ sounds strange to our ears. Pas is an adjective, translated either ‘all’ or ‘every’ in the majority of cases. The plural panta ‘all things’ is used with or without the article, and these two forms must be distinguished. We cannot very well translate ta panta ‘The all things’ for that has an un-English sound but a survey of the usage of these two forms panta and ta panta, may enable us to reach some agreed rendering that will satisfy every claim, and present a fair translation of the inspired original. The two forms are found in Rom. viii., and their choice is easily recognized by reason of the context of each form. There is a good deal of suffering in Rom. viii., induced both by the failure and frailty of the believer himself, and coming upon him by reason of his fellowship with Christ, his place in a groaning creation, and the attack of enemies. In consequence, he is sometimes at a loss to know what to pray for as he ought, but he does know, in the midst of all life’s uncertainty, that ‘all things work together for good to them that love God’ (Rom. viii. 28). Here ‘all things’ is panta, all things whether good or evil. Later in the chapter the Apostle says: 

“He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. viii. 32). 

Here ‘all things’ is ta panta, some specific ‘all things’ namely those things which come under the heading of Redemption, and which constitute the goal and consummation of the ages. Panta without the article is unlimited, panta with the article is restricted to the realm of redeeming grace. Rom. xi. does not teach that ‘all things’ without limit or restriction owe their origin, persistence and final blessing to the Lord. 

“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are ta panta” (Rom. xi. 36), 

that conception of the universe that embraces all in heaven and in earth which come under the grace and power of the Redeemer. The advocates of universal reconciliation, while recognizing the presence of the article in Rom. xi. 32 use this verse to support their doctrine and omit the articles in their translation. It is not the teaching of Rom. xi. 32, that “God hath concluded ALL in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon ALL” but as the A.V. renders correctly, at least the first clause, and as the whole verse should be rendered: 

“For God hath concluded THEM ALL in unbelief, that He might have mercy on 

THEM ALL” (Rom. xi. 32). 

Where universality is intended in Rom. ix. 5, the article is omitted, GOD is over ALL without limitation and reserve. In the verse that follows Paul uses ALL without the article with this same discrimination, “For they are not all Israel (pantes without the article) which are of Israel”, the ‘seed’ were called ‘in Isaac’ (Rom. ix. 6, 7). We must therefore read the words “And so all Israel shall be saved” (Rom. xi. 26) in the light of Rom. ix. 6, 7. The ‘all’ that are to be saved being those who were ‘In Isaac’—a type and shadow of the greater company of the saved at the end. In case the reader should expect to find the article here we point out that the word ‘all’ does not here stand alone and without qualification, pas Israel, ‘all Israel’ is already limited and does not need the article ‘the’. Let us note the use of panta and ta panta in Ephesians, and by this we do not intend every single occurrence, for such phrases as ‘all spiritual blessings’ do not come within the scope of this inquiry. That which is to be “gathered together in one” is ta panta (Eph. i. 10), not panta without the article. That which is ‘put in subjection under His feet’ is panta all things including enemies (Eph. i. 22). He is also Head over all things panta, good as well as evil, to the church which is His Body (Eph. i. 22), and He is the One who fills ta panta, that special company in all, without limit and reserve. The second reference to ‘all’ is without the article, and en pasin has been rendered ‘everywhere’, ‘in every way’ and ‘in every case’. The creation of ‘all things’ ta panta of Eph. iii. 9 is limited, because it is directly associated with the Mystery which had been hid in God. Where the words “One God and Father of ALL, Who is above ALL, and through ALL and in (you) ALL” (Eph. iv. 5) occur, the word used is panton and pasin without the article. This is universal, because the subject is already limited to ‘the unity of the Spirit’, and the insertion of humin ‘you’ in the text followed by the A.V. shows that this sense was clearly understood. J.N.D. adopts the reading hemim ‘in us all’ which has been rendered by some ‘and in all TO YOU’, making the passage balance Eph. i. 22, where Christ is not revealed as Head over all in the fullest sense yet, but as Head over all TO THE CHURCH.

One passage in Colossians must be included. Paul speaks of the new creation ‘where there is neither Greek nor Jew . . . . . but (ta panta kai en pasin Christos) the all things and in all Christ’ (Col. iii. 11). Here ‘Christ’ is put in a position to ‘the all things’, He Himself sums up in Himself the entire new creation. Of this He is the Head, it is in His image that all will be renewed, and where all other categories of worth and privilege are lost and put aside. So also in Eph. iv. 15 ta panta ‘the all things’ is in opposition with the “Head, even Christ”. The ‘fullness’ that embraces this ‘all things’ is Christ and His church, not Christ alone, and certainly not the church alone. Of both Christ and His church is fullness predicated, but only as Head and Body making One blessed company. True growth presses on to ‘the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ and in this dispensation, the growth of the One Body up into Him Who is the Head, is the great example and exhibition of what the day of glory will reveal in its perfection. Christ as Head is our theme, and here we see the first unfolding of that which is in germ in Eph. i. 22, 23. As we prosecute our studies we shall learn that other phases of this growth and perfecting are associated with Christ the Head until we hope, when the survey is complete, every reader will concur with our proposition, that whatever blessings are to be associated with the great titles of King, Priest and Prophet, they are all absorbed, filled and taken to their true end, in the one great title given to Christ in the epistles of the Mystery “The Head”. 

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(From The Berean Expositor vol. 43, page 165).

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