Eph 1:20-23, Phili 2:9-11 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 20. Which he wrought in Christ . Which he exerted in relation to the Lord Jesus when he was dead. The power which was then exerted was as great as that of creation. It was imparting life to a cold and "mangled" frame. It was to open again the arteries and veins, and teach the heart to beat and the lungs to heave. It was to diffuse vital warmth through the rigid muscles, and to communicate to the body the active functions of life. It is impossible to conceive of a more direct exertion of power than in raising up the dead; and there is no more striking illustration of the nature of conversion than such a resurrection. And set him at his own right hand . The idea is, that great power was displayed by this, and that a similar exhibition is made when man is renewed and exalted to the high honour of being made an heir of God. On the fact that Jesus was received to the right hand of God, . In the heavenly places . . The phrase here evidently means in heaven itself. (a) "raised him from the dead"

Ephesians 1:20-23

Verse 20. Which he wrought in Christ. Which he exerted in relation to the Lord Jesus when he was dead. The power which was then exerted was as great as that of creation. It was imparting life to a cold and "mangled" frame. It was to open again the arteries and veins, and teach the heart to beat and the lungs to heave. It was to diffuse vital warmth through the rigid muscles, and to communicate to the body the active functions of life. It is impossible to conceive of a more direct exertion of power than in raising up the dead; and there is no more striking illustration of the nature of conversion than such a resurrection.

And set him at his own right hand. The idea is, that great power was displayed by this, and that a similar exhibition is made when man is renewed and exalted to the high honour of being made an heir of God. On the fact that Jesus was received to the right hand of God, Mk 16:19 Acts 2:33.

In the heavenly places. Eph 1:3. The phrase here evidently means in heaven itself.

(a) "raised him from the dead" Acts 2:24,32 Verse 21. Far above all principality. The general sense in this verse is, that the Lord Jesus was exalted to the highest conceivable dignity and honour. Comp. Php 2:9, Col 2:10. In this beautiful and most important passage, the apostle labours for words to convey the greatness of his conceptions, and uses those which denote the highest conceivable dignity and glory. The main idea is, that God had manifested great power in thus exalting the Lord Jesus, and that similar power was exhibited in raising up the sinner from the death of sin to the life and honour of believing. The work of religion throughout was a work of power; a work of exalting and honouring the dead, whether dead in sin or in the grave; and Christians ought to know the extent and glory of the power thus put forth in their salvation. The word rendered "far above"-- υπερανω--is a compound word, meaning high above, or greatly exalted. He was not merely above the ranks of the heavenly beings, as the head; he was not one of their own rank, placed by office a little above them, but he was infinitely exalted over them, as of different rank and dignity. How could this be if he were a mere man, or if he were an angel? The word rendered "principality" --αρχης--means, properly, the beginning; and then the first, the first place, power, dominion, pre-eminence, rulers, magistrates, etc. It may refer here to any rank and power, whether among men or angels, and the sense is, that Christ is exalted above all.

And power. It is not easy to distinguish between the exact meaning of the words which the apostle here uses. The general idea is, that Christ is elevated above all ranks of creatures, however exalted, and by whatever name they may be known. As in this he refers to the "world that is to come," as well as this world, it is clear that there is a reference here to the ranks of the angels, and probably he means to allude to the prevailing opinion among the Jews, that the angels are of different orders. Some of the Jewish rabbis reckon four, others ten orders of angels, and they presume to give them names according to their different ranks and power. But all this is evidently the result of mere fancy. The Scriptures hint, in several places, at a difference of rank among the angels, but the sacred writers do not go into detail. It may be added that there is no improbability in such a subordination, but it is rather to be presumed to be true. The creatures of God are not made alike; and difference of degree and rank, as far as our observation extends, everywhere prevails. On this verse Rom 8:38.

Dominion. Gr., Lordship.

And every name that is named. Every creature of every rank.

Not only in this world. Not only above all kings, and princes, and rulers of every grade and rank on earth

But also in that which is to come. This refers undoubtedly to heaven. The meaning is, that he is supreme over all.

(b) "above all principality" Php 2:9 Verse 22. And hath put all things under his feet. 1Cor 15:27.

And gave him to be the head over all things. Appointed him to be the supreme Ruler.

To the Church. With reference to the church, or for its benefit and welfare. Jn 17:2. The universe is under his control and direction for the welfare of his people.

(1.) All the elements--the physical works of God--the winds and waves-- the seas and rivers---all are under him, and all are to be made tributary to the welfare of the church.

(2.) Earthly kings and rulers; kingdoms and nations are under his control. Thus far Christ has controlled all the wicked rulers of the earth, and they have not been able to destroy that church which he redeemed with his own blood.

(3.) Angels in heaven, with all their ranks and orders, are under his control with reference to the church. Heb 1:14. Comp. Mt 26:53.

(4.) Fallen angels are under his control, and shall not be able to injure or destroy the church. Mt 16:18. The church, therefore, is safe. All the great powers of heaven, earth, and hell, are made subject to its Head and King; and no weapon that is formed against it shall prosper.

(c) "all things" Ps 8:6, Mt 28:16 (*) "gave him" "appointed" Verse 23. Which is his body. This comparison of the church with a person or body, of which the Lord Jesus is the head, is not uncommon in the New Testament. 1Cor 11:3; 1Cor 12:27; Eph 4:15, Eph 4:16.

The fulness of him. The word here rendered fulness-- πληρωμα means, properly, that with which anything is filled, the filling up, the contents. Rom 11:12. The exact idea here, however, is not very dear, and interpreters have been by no means united in their opinions of the meaning. It seems probable that the sense is, that the church is the completion or filling up of his power and glory. It is that without which his dominion would not be complete, he has control over the angels and over distant worlds, but his dominion would not be complete without the control over his church; and that is so glorious, that it fills up the honour of the universal dominion, and makes his empire complete. According to Rosenmuller, the word fulness here means a great number or multitude; a multitude, says he, which, not confined to its own territory, spreads afar, and fills various regions. Koppe also regards it as synonymous with multitude or many, and supposes it to mean all the dominion of the Redeemer over the body--the church. He proposes to translate the whole verse, "He has made him the Head over his church, that he might rule it as his own body--the whole wide state of his universal kingdom." "This," says Calvin, (in loc.,)" is the highest honour of the church, that the Son of God regards himself as in a sense imperfect unless he is joined to us. The church constitutes the complete body of the Redeemer. A body is complete when it has all its members and limbs in proper proportions; and those members might be said to be the completion, or the filling-up, or the fulness--πληρωμα--of the body or the person. This language would not, indeed, be such as would usually be adopted to express the idea now; but this is evidently the sense in which Paul uses it here. The meaning is, that the church sustains the same relation to Christ which the body does to the head. It helps to form the entire person. There is a close and necessary union. The one is not complete without the other. And one is dependant on the other. When the body has all its members in due proportion, and is in sound and vigorous health, the whole person then is complete and entire. So it is to be in the kingdom of the Redeemer. He is the head; and that redeemed church is the body, the fulness, the completion, the filling-up of the entire empire over which he presides, and which he rules. On the meaning of the word fulness πληρωμα-the reader may consult Storr's Opuscula, vol. i., pp. 144--187, particularly pp. 169--183. Storr understands the word in the sense of full or abundant mercy, and supposes that it refers to the great benignity which God has shown to his people, and renders it, "The great benignity of him who filleth all things with good, as he called Jesus from the dead to life, and placed him in heaven, so even you, sprung from the heathen, who were dead in sin on account of your many offences in which you formerly lived, etc.--hath he called to life by Christ." This verse, therefore, he would connect with the following chapter, and he regards it all as designed to illustrate the great power and goodness of God. Mr. Locke renders it, "Which is his body, which is completed by him alone," and supposes it means, that Christ is the head, who perfects the church by supplying all things to all its members which they need. Chandler gives an interpretation in accordance with that which I have first suggested, as meaning that the church is the full "complement" of the body of Christ; and refers to AElian and Dionysius Halicarnassus, who use the word "fulness" or πληρωμα as referring to the rowers of a ship. Thus, also, we say that the ship's crew is its "complement," or that a ship or an army has its complement of men; that is, the ranks are filled up or complete. In like manner, the church will be the filling-up, or the complement, of the great kingdom of the Redeemer--that which will give completion or perfectness to his universal dominion.

Of him. Of the Redeemer.

That filleth all in all. That fills all things, or who pervades all things. 1Cor 12:6; 1Cor 15:28. Comp. Col 3:11. The idea is, that there is no place where he is not, and which he does not fill; and that he is the source of all the holy and happy influences that are abroad in the works of God. It would not be easy to conceive of an expression more certainly denoting omnipresence and universal agency than this; and if it refers to the Lord Jesus, as seems to be indisputable, the passage teaches not only his supremacy, but demonstrates his universal agency, and his omnipresence--things that pertain only to God. From this passage we may observe,

(1.) that just views of the exaltation of the Redeemer are to be obtained only by the influence of the Spirit of God on the heart, Eph 1:17-19. Man, by nature, has no just conceptions of the Saviour, and has no desire to have. It is only as the knowledge of that great doctrine is imparted to the mind, by the Spirit of God, that we have any practical and saving acquaintance with such an exaltation. The Christian sees him, by faith, exalted to the right hand of God, and cheerfully commits himself and his all to him, and feels that all his interests are safe in his hands.

(2.) It is very desirable to have such views of an exalted Saviour. So Paul felt when he earnestly prayed that God would give such views to the Ephesians, Eph 1:17-20. It was desirable in order that they might have a right understanding of their privileges; in order that they might know the extent of the power which had been manifested in their redemption; in order that they might commit their souls with confidence to him. In my conscious weakness and helplessness; when I am borne down by the labours, and exposed to the temptations of life; when I contemplate approaching sickness and death, I desire to feel that that Saviour to whom I have committed my all is exalted far above principalities and powers, and every name that is named. When the church is persecuted and opposed; when hosts of enemies rise up against it, and threaten its peace and safety, I rejoice to feel assured the Redeemer and Head of the church is over all, and that he has power to subdue all her foes and his.

(3.) The church is safe. Her great Head is on the throne of the universe, and no weapon that is formed against her can prosper, he has defended it hitherto in all times of persecution, and the past is a pledge that he will continue to protect it to the end of the world. (4.) Let us commit our souls to this exalted Redeemer. Such a Redeemer we need--one who has all power in heaven and earth. Such a religion we need--that can restore the dead to life. Such hope and confidence we need as he can give--such peace and calmness as shall result from unwavering confidence in him who filleth all in all.

(d) "the fulness" 1Cor 12:12, Col 1:18,24

Philippians 2:9-11

Verse 9. Wherefore. As a reward of this humiliation and these sufferings. The idea is, that there was an appropriate reward for it, and that that was bestowed upon him by his exaltation as Mediator to the right hand of God. Heb 2:9.

God also hath highly exalted him. As Mediator. Though he was thus humbled, and appeared in the form of a servant, he is now raised up to the throne of glory, and to universal dominion. This exaltation is spoken of the Redeemer as he was, sustaining a Divine and a human nature. If there was, as has been supposed, some obscuration or withdrawing of the symbols of his glory Php 2:7 when he became a man, then this refers to the restoration of that glory, and would seem to imply, also, that there was additional honour conferred on him. There was all the augmented glory resulting from the work which he had performed in redeeming man.

And given him a name which is above every name. No other name can be compared with his. It stands alone. He only is Redeemer, Saviour. He only is Christ, the Anointed of God. Heb 1:4. He only is the Son of God. His rank, his titles, his dignity, are above all others. See this illustrated Eph 1:20, Eph 1:21.

(a) "God" Heb 2:9, Rev 3:21 Verse 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. The knee should bow, or bend, in token of honour, or worship; that is, all men should adore him. This cannot mean merely that at the mention of the name of Jesus we should bow; nor is there any evidence that God requires this. Why should we bow at the mention of that name, rather than at any of the other titles of the Redeemer? Is there any special sacredness or honour in it above the other names which he bears? And why should we bow at his name rather than at the name of the Father? Besides, if any special homage is to be paid to the name of the Saviour under the authority of this passage--and this is the only one on which the authority of this custom is based--it should be by bowing the knee, not the "head." But the truth is, this authorizes and requires neither; and the custom of bowing at the name of Jesus, in some churches, has arisen entirely from a misinterpretation of this passage. There is no other place in the Bible to which an appeal is made to authorize the custom. Comp. Neal's History of the Puritans, chap. 5. Ninth. 5. The meaning here is, not that a special act of respect or adoration should be shown wherever the name "Jesus" occurs in reading the Scriptures, or whenever it is mentioned, but that he was so exalted that it would be proper that all in heaven and on earth should worship him, and that the time would come when he would be thus everywhere acknowledged as Lord. The bowing of the knee properly expresses homage, respect, adoration, Rom 11:4; and it cannot be done to the Saviour by those who are in heaven, unless he be Divine.

Of things in heaven. επουρανιων --rather, of beings in heaven, the word "things" being improperly supplied by our translators. The word may be in the neuter plural; but it may be also in the masculine plural, and denote beings rather than things. Things do not bow the knee; and the reference here is undoubtedly to angels, and to the "spirits of the just made perfect" in heaven. If Jesus is worshipped there, he is divine; for there is no idolatry of a creature in heaven. In this whole passage there is probably an allusion to Isa 45:23. See it illustrated Rom 14:11. In the great divisions here specified--of those in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth--the apostle intends, doubtless, to denote the universe. The same mode of designating the universe occurs in Rev 5:13, Ex 20:4, Ps 96:11,12. This mode of expression is equivalent to saying, "all that is above, around, and beneath us," and arises from what appears to us. The division is natural and obvious- that which is above us in the heavens, that which is on the earth where we dwell, and all that is beneath us.

And things in earth. Rather, "beings on earth," to wit, men; for they only are capable of rendering homage.

And things under the earth. Beings under the earth. The whole universe shall confess that he is Lord. This embraces, doubtless, those who have departed from this life, and perhaps includes also fallen angels. The meaning is, that they shall all acknowledge him as universal Lord; all bow to his sovereign will; all be subject to his control; all recognise him as divine. The fallen and the lost will do this; for they will be constrained to yield an unwilling homage to him by submitting to the sentence from his lips that shall consign them to woe; and thus the whole universe shall acknowledge the exalted dignity of the Son of God. But this does not mean that they will all be saved, for the guilty and the lost may be compelled to acknowledge his power, and submit to his decree as the sovereign of the universe. There is the free and cheerful homage of the heart which they who worship him in heaven will render; and there is the constrained homage which they must yield who are compelled to acknowledge his authority.

(*) "at the name" "In" Verse 11. And that every tongue should confess. Every one should acknowledge him. On the duty and importance of confessing Christ, Rom 10:9, Rom 10:10.

That Jesus Christ is Lord. The word Lord, here, is used in its primitive and proper sense, as denoting owner, ruler, sovereign. Comp. Rom 14:9. The meaning is, that all should acknowledge him as the universal sovereign.

To the glory of God the Father. Such a universal confession would honour God. Jn 5:23, where this sentiment is explained.