having made known to us the mystery of His will [this past participle of revelation is the first of a series of mysteries]
according to His good pleasure (kindness) [a relative phrase of reason or causation]
which He exhibited (purposed, set forth) [referring back to the unfolding or manifestation of the grace]
in Him [the third reference to Christ as the centre of all operations]
in the administration (dispensation, plan) [a prepositional phrase referring to the magnitude of scope of the plan is unfolding IN CHRIST]
at the right time (in the fullness of time) [a temporal prepositional phrase setting the time frame for the action]
to bring everything under the headship (authority) of Christ [an infinitive clause of purpose or intent; the end point]
the in-the-heaven things [a noun phrase of explanation of the “everything” referred to above]
and the in-the-earth things [the second noun phrase of explanation of the “everything” referred to above]
in Him
Ephesians 1:9, 10
Let’s explore this idea of God’s will more deeply. Paul openly stated that God’s will is to bring everything under the headship of Christ.
The word used is ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι [anakephalaiosasthai] from the root anakephalaiomai. It is such an interesting word. It is a compound made of two words. Just by clicking on the word in a + version in E-Sword you will find out the words are G303 and G 2775 in Strong’s concordance. Then you type each number into the search slot of the ISBN and you have the words involved.
[ana] – A primary preposition and adverb; properly up; but (by extension) used (distributively) severally, or (locally) at (etc.): – and, apiece, by, each, every (man), in, through. In compounds (as a prefix) it often means (by implication) repetition, intensity, reversal, etc.Here the prepositional force is distributive – “under”.
Kephalaiomai related to:
[Kephalaion] a principal thing, that is, main point or main thing; specifically an amount (of money): – sum.Or
[Kephale] – the primary word literally or figuratively: – head.anakephalaiomai in its original sense means to sum up, gather together in one. But here is being used in the sense “being under the head”. Or in English we would say under the headship. It is a middle passive verb and therefore the meaning is us being under the headship of Christ.
Just ponder this one word for a moment. Let it soak into you. Its meaning. Its inferences and implications. Its connections and significance in Ephesians. Does it remind you of another word Paul uses in Ephesians?
I am going to show you this part of the Greek sentence for the first time in Gems. There is a reason. I don’t want to bamboozle you but to help you to see the magic of Paul’s words and the way they are crafted. It is a magically poetic structure, layered and connected together.
Ανακεφαλαιώσασθαι [being under the headship]
τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ, [the all things in Christ]
τὰ ἐπὶ τοῖς οὐρανοῖς [the [panta] is assumed from the earlier element and represented only by the article “ta“ – the in heaven things]
καὶ [and] τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, [and the on earth things]
ἐν αὐτῷ, [in or under Him]
- Notice how “in Him” sandwiches it all and gives it reference.
- God wants all EVERYTHING under the headship of Christ.
Under the headship in (under) Him encompasses:
- All things in Christ – we are the in-Christ-things
- All things in heaven } all literally in him, but the dative case here can also mean “under”, where it picks up on the distributive force of the preposition and is more naturally to be
- All things on earth. } translated “under” rather than “in”.
Sorry I got a bit linguistic and technical (heavy) on you but it is case of having to do that, in order to bring out the fullness of the meaning. If it is too much “over your head” – pun intended – then just let it go by. Next Gem we will get back to more normal stuff. I will work on making it clearer in a diagram.
One ought to hold on to one’s heart; for if one lets it go, one soon loses control of the head too.
Friedrich Nietzsche
I think there is only one quality worse than hardness of heart and that is softness of head.
Theodore Roosevelt
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
Nelson Mandela