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developing the meaning and purpose of the fullness. The only reason for lifting out the
words translated "to sew" is the significant use of the word in the Septuagint version of
Job 14: 12 "till the heavens are unsewn". The bearing of this upon the argument of
II Pet. 3:, the present firmament and the fullness will appear when we call to mind the
passages which speak of the heavens as "curtains" or a "tent" as Isa. 40: 22. Finally, we
have the word sumphoneo "to agree". Sumphonia is translated "musick" in Luke 15: 25,
and of course is the Greek original of our word "symphony". In Eccles. 7: 15 the
word is used with a rather different meaning from "agreement". 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 fullness
of the seasons, when all things are to be summed up in Him, and it is itself called:
"The fullness of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1: 23).
How are we to try to understand this statement? It falls into line with the last
occurrence of pleroma in Colossians, and for that matter, in the N.T.:
"For in Him dwelleth all the fullness 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 | Eph. 1: 22, 23. "The Church which is His Body, the fullness of Him that
filleth all in all."
B | Eph. 3: 14-19. "The whole family in heaven and in earth . . . . . that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith . . . . . filled unto
all the fullness of God."
C | Eph. 4: 8-13. "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 fullness of the Christ."
B | Col. 1: 16-20. "For by 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 the fullness dwell . . . . . to reconcile all
things . . . . . in earth and things in heaven."
A | Col. 2: 9, 10. "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
and ye are filled to the full in Him, Which is the Head of
all principality and power."
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 Eph. 1: 22, 23 and Col. 2: 9, 10. The
passage in Col. 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 believe it to be a mistake to use Col. 2: 9 as a proof of that
wondrous doctrine. The church of the One Body is "the fullness of Him that filleth all in
all" but such a revelation does not justify the thought that the church is Divine. The