Christ Fills Everything

Ephesians 1:22-23

Christ ‘fills everything in every way’ (Eph. 1:23, NIV). This is what follows from the Church as His own ‘fullness.’ Paul seems to say that even though Christ already fills everything, there is still a sense in which the Church is the ‘fullness’ of Him on Earth. How can this be?

Perhaps one way is that the fullness is on the side of the creature, not the creator. Whereas Christ fills all things by giving them their being, such that they can be what they are, the Church is filled with Him in a unique manner. The Church not only has its own existence from Christ, but it is also His mystical body on Earth. It also is united with Him in some way that goes beyond the way that most things are united with Him.

1. As His mystical body, the Church is the continuation of Christ’s ministry post-ascension, led by the Holy Spirit.
2. Whereas all things are filled with Christ such that they can be what they are, the Church ‘partakes in the divine nature’ (2 Peter 1:4) such that it can be more than it is.