up' is foreshadowed and anticipated in the present position of Christ, and

His relation with the Church of the present calling.

And

hath put all things under His feet (this is quoted again in 1 Cor.

15:27 and

Heb. 2:8 with age -purpose associations), and gave Him to be Head

over all things (panta, all things without exception, whereas in

1:10 ta panta refers to the redeemed) to the Church which is His

Body, the

fulness of Him, that filleth all in all (ta panta, not the wider

The Church of the One Body is the great outstanding anticipation of the

goal of the ages.  It is associated with Him, under Whose feet are all

things, it is associated with a dispensation of the fulness of the seasons,

when all things are to be summed up in Him, and it is itself called:

`The fulness of Him that filleth all in all' (Eph. 1:23).

How are we to understand this statement? It falls into line with the

last occurrence of pleroma in Colossians, and as for that, the last, in the

New Testament:

`For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily' (Col. 2:9).

The first occurrence of pleroma in Ephesians, stands by itself (Eph.

1:10); the remainder form a group that expand the theme, thus:

A

`The Church, which is His Body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in

all' (Eph. 1:22,23).  Head.  Body.  Filleth all.

B

`The whole family in heaven and earth ... that Christ may dwell

in your hearts by faith ... filled unto all the fulness of God'

(Eph. 3:14 -19).  Whole family.  Heaven and Earth.  Dwell.

C

`He ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill

all things ... Unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the

stature of the fulness of the Christ' (Eph. 4:8 -13).  Fill

all things.

B

`For in Him were all things created ... all things were created

by Him and for Him ....  He is the Head of the body the church

... for it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness

dwell ... to reconcile all things ... in earth or things in

heaven' (Col. 1:16 -20).  All things.  Dwell.  Heaven and Earth.

A

`For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are

filled to the full in Him, Which is the Head of all principality and

power' (Col. 2:9,10).  Head.  Principality.  Filled.

Here is a very complete conspectus of this mighty theme, point

answering point with such precision, that no approach to one corresponding

member can be undertaken without due consideration of the other.  This, the

reader will perceive is fraught with immediate consequences.  It forces a

comparison between Ephesians 1:22,23 and Colossians 2:9,10.

The passage in Colossians 2:9 has been taken as one of the proof texts

of the Deity of Christ.  The doctrine of the Deity of Christ constitutes one

of the four tenets of the Trust of the Berean Forward Movement, yet we