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In this message we come to the heading up of all things in Christ. To many of us, this may be an altogether new thought. Ephesians 1:10 says, “Unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.” Instead of “to head up all things in Christ,” the King James Version says, “He might gather together in one all things in Christ.” This translation is inadequate. In Greek, the word translated “to head up” is a verbal form of the noun “head.” The proper translation of this verse is, “To head up all things in Christ.”
Verses Eph. 1:9-10 should not be isolated from the preceding verses, for verses Eph. 1:3-14 are actually one long sentence. Because verses 9 and 10 are not independent sentences, we need to refer to verses Eph. 1:7-8, which speak of the riches of God’s grace and of the grace which He has caused to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence. If you read these four verses together, you will see that everything in them is related to the abounding grace. The abounding grace does so much for us. For instance, it makes us God’s inheritance, and it makes God our inheritance. In a family the children are the father’s inheritance. A man may be very wealthy, but if he has no children, he is actually poor and may think of himself as having nothing. This indicates that a father’s inheritance is his children. According to the Bible, the more children we have, the richer we are. Nothing can compare with them. As the sons of God, we are God’s inheritance. The abounding grace makes us the sons of God and His inheritance. It will also make God our inheritance. In a family, not only are the children the inheritance of the father, but also the father is the inheritance of the children. Many children would testify that they would rather lose anything else than lose their father. The living father is the best inheritance. We are in the process of becoming God’s inheritance, and He is in the process of becoming our inheritance. This is made possible by God’s abounding grace.
The matter of the mutual inheritance, however, is not the end, for as verses 9 and 10 indicate, the abounding grace will accomplish the heading up of all things in Christ. By the abounding grace certain things are taking place in the universe to bring about the heading up of all things in Christ. We need to see how the abounding grace is working this out.
Before we consider this, we need to say a word about the church people in the Lord’s recovery. Although we are small in number, we are the most important people on earth, more important than government leaders, military leaders, or leaders in industry. Most Christians, however, have not seen the vision that the grace that has accomplished redemption, applied forgiveness, and regenerated us and that now is operating in us to make us God’s inheritance and to make Him ours is also working to head up all things in Christ. Christian preachers and teachers do not speak of this, and Christian books do not mention it. They do not cover the crucial point that the abounding grace is working on the church people so that all things might be headed up in Christ.
We have seen that the heading up of all things is mentioned in verse 10. But this verse does not stand alone; it is the continuation of verses 3 through 9. This indicates that the heading up of all things is the issue of all the items covered in verses 3 through 9: selection, predestination, the praise of the glory of God’s grace, being graced in the Beloved, having redemption and forgiveness, and having God’s grace abound to us in all wisdom and prudence. Verse 9 speaks of the mystery of God’s will according to the good pleasure which He purposed in Himself. Then we have verse 10, which speaks of the heading up of all things in Christ. The infinitive “to head up” in verse 10 is related to all the preceding things in the foregoing verses. This means that God chose us that He may head up all things in Christ. He predestinated us unto sonship that He may head up all things in Christ. He accomplished redemption for us through the blood of Christ in order to head up all things in Christ. God has graced us and caused grace to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence that He may head up all things in Christ. The heading up of all things in Christ is the issue of all these things.
Many Christians have never realized that God has chosen us, predestinated us, redeemed us, forgiven us, and graced us for the purpose of heading up all things in Christ. Have you ever realized that you were chosen and predestinated so that God might head up all things? Have you ever considered that God redeemed you and forgave you of your sins in order to head up all things? Christians may know a great deal about God’s selection and predestination without knowing how these are related to the heading up of all things in Christ. We ourselves may not even be clear about this. We are accustomed to saying that God’s goal is neither holiness nor spirituality, but the church. But the ultimate goal is not even the church; it is the heading up of all things in Christ. Yes, the church is the goal, but not the consummate goal, the goal in the last stage. Rather, it is the goal in the first stage. The consummate goal is the heading up of all things in Christ. This concept is found only in Ephesians 1:10, not in any other verse in the Bible.
God has made Christ the Head over all things (v. 22). Through all the dispensations of God in all the ages, all things will be headed up in Christ in the new heaven and new earth. This will be God’s eternal administration and economy.
In order to head up all things in Christ, God firstly heads up His chosen ones. Therefore, the church life is a life of being headed up. Ephesians 1:22 and 23 say, “And He subjected all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One Who fills all in all.” Verse 22 says that God gave Christ to be the Head over all things. This indicates that He is not merely the Head of the church, but over all things. God gave Christ to be the Head over all things to the church. The little word “to” implies transmission. It indicates that Christ’s headship is being transmitted to the church. This means that, in a sense, we can share the headship of Christ over all things. Although we are not the head, we can share the headship. To put it another way, we are not the king, but we can share the kingship.
The church can share the headship of Christ because the church is the Body of Christ. The King is not just the Head, but the Head with the Body. Christ is not only the Head, but also the Body (1 Cor. 12:12). Because the church is the Body and because Christ is both the Head and the Body, we may say that, in a sense, we, the Body, are also Christ. Although we are not the Head, we can share Christ’s headship. We are the Body of the Head, and the Head is the head over all things. We are not only head over insects, cats, and dogs, but also over presidents, kings, generals, and industrial leaders. We are over them all. Is the President of the United States under us, or are we under him? In a very real sense, he is under us. In saying this, I am not promoting revolution; I am simply relating the spiritual fact that we, the members of the Body of Christ, are above all things. The church is under nothing but Christ Himself; we are above everything else because we are the Body of the One who is over all things. Do you have the confidence to say that you are above the President of the United States and the Queen of England? Probably you do not have this confidence. However, I can say honestly that if I were brought into the presence of the President of the United States, I would have the sense that I am above him. In saying this I am not proud; rather, I simply am conscious of the spiritual fact.
The reason you may not have the confidence concerning this is that you yourself are not headed up. You have been saved and you have come into the church, but you have not yet been headed up. On the contrary, you are still in the universal heap of collapse, the collapse in the universe caused by rebellion. Due to the two rebellions, the angelic rebellion and the human rebellion, the whole universe is in a state of collapse. In God’s eyes there is no order on earth; instead, there is a heap caused by the collapse. Suppose a tall building suddenly collapses into a heap. In this heap some parts are higher than others. Likewise, in the collapse caused by rebellion certain people, such as the President or other heads of government, are above others. In the collapse the President of the United States is, of course, higher than we are. Nevertheless, all the world leaders are still in the collapse.
I can testify that by the Lord’s grace I am no longer in the collapse; I have been rescued from it. To be rescued from the collapse is to be headed up. Hallelujah, I have been headed up! Because I have been headed up in Christ, I have been brought out of the heap caused by the universal collapse. Hence, I am higher than all those who remain in the collapse. Have you been headed up in Christ? Have you been rescued from the heap of rebellion? We all need to be delivered from the collapse and headed up in Christ.
The entire universe is a heap of collapse caused by rebellion. God created the universe in an excellent order, but an archangel, the head of the age before Adam, rebelled and became Satan. (See Isaiah 14.) Satan’s rebellion caused the first collapse in the universe. In Genesis 1 God came in to restore the creation that had been ruined by this rebellion. Actually, chapter one of Genesis is not primarily a record of creation, but of restoration. In the restored universe God created man and made him the head of creation. But this man, Adam, fell. This was the second rebellion that led to the second collapse. As a result of these two rebellions, the whole universe has become a heap of collapse. Again I say, in this heap some people are higher than others, but all remain in the collapse.
God’s eternal intention is to head up all things in Christ, who has been appointed to be the universal Head. The first step God takes to accomplish this is to head up His chosen ones in Him. One by one, God rescues His people from the heap caused by the universal collapse. Most Christians, however, do not realize that this is what God is doing and do not pray about it. Instead, they have the natural concept that man is fallen and needs to be rescued from hell. According to the Bible, God’s salvation is not primarily to save us from hell; it is to save us from the heap of collapse. God has brought us out of the universal collapse and has placed us under the unique Head, Christ. Because of the angelic rebellion and the human rebellion, none of the created beings is under any head. There is simply no headship in the universe. But Ephesians 1:10 says that all things are to be headed up in Christ. Most of today’s government leaders do not care for Christ; they are not under the headship of Christ. Since this is the situation, how can Christ be the Head over all things? God is endeavoring to head up all things in Christ. He is working to bring every item in the universal collapse back to the headship of Christ.
As we have seen, the first step is for God to bring His chosen ones, His sons, out of the collapse and to place them under the headship of Christ. Here, under the headship of Christ, we are outside of the heap of the universal collapse, and we are over all things. Thus, the church life must be a life of being headed up. In the church life it is God’s chosen ones, not the world leaders, the unbelievers, or the animals, that are being headed up. God is heading up all His chosen ones to be the Body of Christ with Christ as the Head. Eventually, this Body with Christ as the Head will be the universal Head over all things. Today we in the church are taking the lead to be headed up in Christ. If we are not willing to be headed up in the church life, we shall delay the heading up of all things. In fact, God will not have a way to accomplish the heading up of all things in Christ if we, the chosen ones, are not willing to be headed up. But if we are willing for this, God will say with joy, “These are the pioneers who are taking the lead to be headed up. They are pioneering the way for Me to head up all things in Christ.” When the church takes the lead to be headed up in Christ, God has a way to head up all other things.
We have seen that because of the two rebellions, everything in God’s creation is in a heap of collapse. There is no proper headship. For example, there is no headship in the animal kingdom. Instead, the animals fight against one another. There is not even harmony in the plant kingdom. The same is true of the human life: nations fight against nations, people against people, and race against race. But the Bible clearly reveals that when the millennium comes, all nations will cease fighting. Today there is a great deal of negotiation about the limitation of weapons, but in the millennium there will be no weapons at all. Speaking of the millennium, Isaiah 2:4 says, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Regarding the situation in the animal kingdom during the millennium, Isaiah 11:6 says, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together.” This indicates that all the animals will be headed up and live together peaceably. Furthermore, Isaiah 55:12 says, “All the trees of the field shall clap their hands,” singing together in harmony in praise to God. Psalm 96:12 and 13 declare, “Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord.” This is a description of the situation when everything is headed up in Christ. When this takes place, there will be absolute peace and harmony in the human kingdom, the animal kingdom, and the plant kingdom because everything will have been fully rescued out of the heap of collapse. This rescue out of the collapse is called “the restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21, Gk.). This restoration begins with our being headed up in the church life.
However, even in the so-called church there is no heading up. Not only the universe and human society are in a state of collapse, but even the so-called church is in the same condition. By God’s grace, we all must say, “Lord, we are here to take the lead to be headed up. Lord, head us up in Christ. We don’t want to remain in the heap of collapse. We have to be rescued from the collapse by being headed up in You.” After you have been brought out of the collapse, you will be above all things. Until this happens, you will not have the confidence to say that you are above the President. It is possible to be saved, but still remain in the heap because you are not headed up. Oh, may our eyes be opened to see the revelation here in the book of Ephesians!
Many Christians are talking about the church, but in their talk the word “church” has become meaningless. In the book of Ephesians, however, the church means a great deal. But if you do not know what it is to be headed up in Christ, you cannot know what the church is. The church is not a heap of fallen people who are still in the collapse. The church is the heading up of God’s chosen ones under the headship of Christ. In contrast to the genuine church, today’s Christianity is a heap. Wherever you go in Christianity, you see one heap after another. The reason there are so many heaps in the denominations or in the independent Christian groups is that, just as in human society, there is no heading up. But in the proper church life we are being headed up in Christ.
It is important to see that the heading up in the church is a matter in life. If we try to be headed up without growing in life, we shall fall into organization. To head up all things in the church without the growth in life is simply to have an organization. The proper heading up is the growing of life. The more you grow in life, the more life you will have, the more heading up there will be, and the more you will be rescued from the heap of collapse. No human hand or organization can accomplish this. No human effort can help the heading up in the church life. I cannot help you, and you cannot help me. The only thing that avails is the growth in life. Oh, we need to grow and help others to grow! We need to minister the supply of life to one another to help one another grow. The heading up in the church life is altogether dependent upon the growth in life.
I would impress you again with the fact that the entire universe is in a state of collapse. We have been saved not only from the fallen, sinful condition, but also from the heap of collapse. Now in order to be delivered from the collapse in a practical way, we need to grow in life. The more we grow, the more we come out of the collapse.
The heading up in the church life also takes place by light (Rev. 21:23-25). This light, of course, is not the light of knowledge, but the light of life. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” The light here shines out from the life in which we grow. When we grow in life, we have the light of life. Under this light, everything is kept in order. If instead of life and light we have death and darkness, we are still in the collapse. Wherever death and darkness are, there is the collapse. All of human society, including today’s Christianity, is nothing but death and darkness and, hence, a heap of collapse. But because we are full of life and are under light, we are not a heap. Because we are in life and because all our movements are in light, there is no confusion. Although today’s Christianity is a heap of collapse in death and darkness, we in the church life are in life and under light. With life and light we are being headed up.
We have seen that the church takes the lead to be headed up in Christ. Eventually, the millennium will come and, following that, the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem. In the new heaven and new earth all things will be headed up in Christ. In the New Jerusalem there will be no death and no night; instead, everything will be saturated with life and be under light. With the New Jerusalem as the center, all things in the new heaven and the new earth will be headed up. At that time Ephesians 1:10 will be completely fulfilled. Then we shall realize that Christ is the Head over all things to the church, His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. Today we in the church life are taking the lead to be headed up in Christ. For this we need to grow in life and have the light of life.
