🛡️WEB · Ephesians 1:22
What does Ephesians 1:22 mean?
"He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly,"
— Ephesians 1:22 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly,
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Explanation
Ephesians 1:22 comes in the middle of one of the richest theological statements in Paul's letters, and it helps to see the flow of thought leading into it. In plain language, the verse says that God has placed everything in the universe under the authority of Christ, and that God has appointed Christ to be the head, or ruling authority, over all things specifically for the benefit of the church. The image of putting things "under his feet" is a picture of total victory and supremacy, like a conquering king standing over defeated enemies. Nothing is exempted from this rule—Christ's authority extends over every power, force, and reality that exists.
To understand the context, remember that Paul wrote Ephesians to believers in and around Ephesus, likely while imprisoned in Rome, probably in the early 60s AD. The letter as a whole is a meditation on the church's identity in Christ and the vastness of what God has accomplished through him. Just before verse 22, in verses 19-21, Paul prays that believers would grasp the "immeasurable greatness of his power" that was at work when God raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion." Verse 22 continues that thought, drawing on language from Psalm 8:6, which originally spoke of humanity's dominion over creation. Paul applies that psalm to Christ, showing that Jesus, as the true and greater human, fulfills what Adam and humanity were meant to do—rule creation rightly, but now in a redemptive and cosmic sense.
Theologically, this verse teaches the
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