Cheryl Schatz

Craig #303,
You said:

If I use the context to work out the meaning of the head/body metaphor the head loves, feeds, cares for the body and is united as one with the body. There is no mention of authority. But if I go back to Eph 1:20-23 the head/body metaphor seems to be associated with authority. Is Paul using the metaphor in different ways within the one letter? Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

There has been some very good comments here and I will just jump in to point out a couple of things. If you start from the beginning you will see that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (verse 3). This is because we are so connected to Christ that when He is seated in heaven, we are said to be seated there with Him.

Ephesians 2:6 (NAS)
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 1:22 becomes quite clear when we consider that it is the one body (head – Christ and body – church) that is seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly places. With this understanding we can see our place with Christ:

Ephesians 1:20–21 (NAS)
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

In the verse 22 we can see that the things that are placed in subjection are placed “under His feet” and that Christ is “head over all things” to the church.

Ephesians 1:22–23 (NAS)
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

The church is not placed in subjection, it is all things placed under our feet as we are the body of Christ. In this context “gave Him as head over all things” is a position of preeminence of first place as is fitting for the source of all creation. Col. 1:18 brings this out well

Colossians 1:18 (NAS)
18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. It is the first place of importance as He is the beginning and ending of all things.

In this context although there is authority, but it is not authority over the church which is His body. It is authority over all other power, all rule, all dominion and all other “names”. And the subjection of all other sources of power are placed under Him and under us. It isn’t a situation of the head taking authority over the body but rather that the head and body are one and all else is under that one body.