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This brings us to the prison epistles where these supra-mundane powers are mentioned
six times. The six references are distributed as follows and their inter-relation is made
evident by the parallelism here exhibited:
A | Eph. 1: 21. Christ above all principality and power.
In this world and world to come.
The church His Body and fulness.
He the Head.
B | Eph. 3: 10. Some principalities and powers are learning
through the church the manifold wisdom of God,
and so do not appear to be "evil powers" or "against us".
C | Eph. 6: 12. These principalities and powers are spiritual wickedness,
rulers of the darkness of this world against whom we wrestle,
and because of whom we must "put on" the whole armour of God.
A | Col. 1: 16-19. Christ before all; principalities and powers were created
by Him and for Him, and He is before all things.
Fulness dwells in Him.
He is the Head of the Body the church.
B | Col. 2: 10. In association with the church which is "complete in Him" are
these principalities and powers, for Christ is here said to be their "head".
This balances Eph. 3: 10 above.
C | Col. 2: 15. Here, however, are "enemies" again.
These use "the rudiments of the world".
The Saviour spoiled or "stripped off"
these principalities and powers at the cross.
The one other occurrence of arche in the prison epistles, namely Col. 1: 18 is
suggestive. Christ is "the arche" the beginning, the principality, all others were created
by Him and for Him and by Him all consist (Col. 1: 16, 17). In the realm of the first
creation these powers appear to have been delegated, but in the new creation of which the
church is the first great foreshadowing, these principalities lose their authority, which is
exercised by Christ alone. This will continue until the last enemy is destroyed and the
goal of the ages is reached. To the above six references therefore, this seventh
outstanding and separate reference should be associated swallowing up all such rule, even
as He will swallow up death in victory.
It is interesting to note that in I Pet. 3: 22, Peter says of Christ "Who is gone into
heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made
subject unto Him". He substitutes angels here for principalities. Angels are only
mentioned once in the prison epistles, and then only to be set aside, namely in the passage
which speaks of "worshipping of angels". The Church of the Mystery is not concerned
with heaven's "messengers" and "ministers" (Heb. 1: 4), but with heaven's aristocracy
"thrones" and "dominions". The high exaltation of Christ as Head of the church is the
better realized when we perceive the high order of spiritual beings that are placed beneath
His feet.
"Powers." The word "power" should strictly be reserved for the translation of
dunamis, and the word "authority" be used for the Greek word exousia which is found