Cheryl Schatz

Craig,
You are welcome! I am very happy to serve in any way that I can.

As far as Eph 1:22 I see a preeminence being brought out.
Although Christ has authority over all things, and the world is not His body, I still see a connection to what Christ is to the church. Maybe there is more and I am missing it. But this is what I see. In Eph 1:22, Christ is placed in His proper position of preeminence as the origin and source of all things. He is the origin of all creation and the One who holds all things together. Thus He is the starting point, the preeminent One. As “head” He is the Alpha, the starting point the initiator. Because He is “far above all rule and authority” the term “far above” shows preeminence. He is so far above His creation because He is the uncreated Creator. He is the starting point of creation, the source of creation and its origin. Thus He is far above everything that originated from Him.

In the head-body metaphor, we are connected to Him and He is not just our source, but He is a part of us. He is our source and origin yet He is connected to us as one body. Everything that belongs to Him, belongs to us. There is an intimacy and oneness that isn’t there in the rest of creation.

So while we could add in “authority” in Ephesians 1:22, I see the preeminent Origin of all creation as the key thought to the term “head”. I think that if Paul had merely wanted to emphasize His authority rather than His place of preeminence, he would have used an authority word rather than an origin word (i.e. head).

That’s the way I see it. There is a connection to origin, but one part of the connection (head and body) is far more intimate and mutual then the other part (head over creation).