Albert Barnes Commentary Ephesians 1:10

"unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, [I say,]" — Ephesians 1:10 (ASV)

That in the dispensation. The word here translated "dispensation," oikonomian, means, properly, the management of household affairs. It then means stewardship or administration; a dispensation or arrangement of things; a scheme or plan. The meaning here is that this plan was formed in order (eiv) or to this end: that in the full arrangement of times, or in the arrangements completing the filling up of the times, God might gather together in one all things. Tindal translates it, "to have it declared when the time was full come," etc.

The fulness of times. This means when the times were fully completed; when all the periods He had prescribed, or judged necessary for the completion of the object, should have passed. The period referred to here is when all things will be gathered together in the Redeemer at the winding up of human affairs, or the consummation of all things. The arrangement was made with reference to that, and embraced all things that conduced to it. The plan stretched from before the foundation of the world to the period when all times would be completed; and, of course, all the events occurring in that intermediate period were embraced in the plan.

He might gather together in one. The word used here—anakefalaiow—means, literally, to sum up, to recapitulate, as an orator does at the close of his discourse. It is from kefalh (the head), or kefalaion (the sum, the chief thing, the main point). In the New Testament, the word means to collect under one head, or to comprehend several things under one. Romans 13:9: It is briefly comprehended, i.e. summed up under this one precept, namely, love. In the passage before us, it means that God would sum up, or comprehend all things in heaven and earth through the Christian dispensation; He would make one empire under one head, with common feelings, and under the same laws.

The reference is to the unity that will hereafter exist in the kingdom of God, when all His friends on earth and in heaven will be united, and all will have a common head. Now there is alienation. The earth has been separated from other worlds by rebellion. It has gone off into apostasy and sin. It refuses to acknowledge the Great Head to whom other worlds are subject, and the object is to restore it to its proper place, so that there will be one great and united kingdom.

All things. Ta panta. It is remarkable that Paul has here used a word that is in the neuter gender. It is not all persons, all angels, or all men, or all the elect, but all things. Bloomfield and others suppose that persons are meant, and that the phrase is used for tous pantas.

But it seems to me that Paul did not use this word without design. All things are placed under Christ (Ephesians 1:22; Matthew 28:18), and the design of God is to restore harmony in the universe. Sin has produced disorder not only in mind, but in matter. The world is disarranged.

The effects of transgression are seen everywhere; and the object of the plan of redemption is to put things on their pristine footing, and restore them as they were at first. Everything is therefore put under the Lord Jesus, and all things are to be brought under His control, so as to constitute one vast harmonious empire.

The substance of the declaration here is that there is hereafter to be one kingdom in which there will be no discord or alienation; that the now separated kingdoms of heaven and earth will be united under one head, and that thenceforth all will be harmony and love. The things that are to be united in Christ are those which are in heaven and which are on earth. Nothing is said of hell. Of course, this passage cannot teach the doctrine of universal salvation, since there is one world that is not to have a part in this ultimate union.

In Christ. By means of Christ, or under Him, as the great Head and King. He is to be the great Agent in effecting this, and He is to preside over this united kingdom. In accordance with this view, the heavenly inhabitants—the angels as well as the redeemed—are uniformly represented as uniting in the same worship and as acknowledging the Redeemer as their common head and king (Revelation 5:9–12).

Both which are in heaven. The margin notes, as in Greek, in the heavens. Many different opinions have been formed about the meaning of this expression. Some suppose it to mean the saints in heaven, who died before the coming of the Savior; and some that it refers to the Jews, designated as the heavenly people, in contrast to the Gentiles, as having nothing divine and heavenly in them, and as being of the earth.

The simpler and more obvious interpretation is, however, without doubt, the correct one. This is to suppose that it refers to the holy inhabitants of other worlds. The object of the plan of salvation is to produce harmony between them and the redeemed on earth, or to produce, out of all, one great and united kingdom. In doing this, it is not necessary to suppose that any change is to be produced in the inhabitants of heaven. All the change is to occur among those on earth, and the object is to make, out of all, one harmonious and glorious empire.

And which are on earth. This refers to the redeemed on earth. The object is to bring them into harmony with the inhabitants of heaven. This is the great object proposed by the plan of salvation. It is to found one glorious and eternal kingdom that will comprehend all holy beings on earth and all in heaven.

There is now discord and disunion. Humanity is separated from God and from all holy beings. Between humans and every holy being there is by nature discord and alienation. Unrenewed people have no sympathy with the feelings and work of the angels, no love for their employment, no desire to be associated with them. Nothing can be more unlike than the customs, feelings, laws, and habits that prevail on earth, from those that prevail in heaven. But the object of the plan of salvation is to restore harmony to these alienated communities and produce eternal concord and love. Learn from this:

1. The greatness and glory of the plan of salvation. It is no small undertaking to reconcile worlds, and from such discordant materials to found one great, glorious, and eternal empire.
2. The reason for the interest that angels feel in the plan of redemption (1 Peter 1:12). They are deeply concerned in the redemption of those who, with them, are to constitute that great kingdom that is to be eternal. Without envy at the happiness of others, without any feeling that the addition of others will diminish their felicity or glory, they wait to welcome the coming of others and rejoice to receive even one who comes to be united to their number.
3. This plan was worthy of the efforts of the Son of God. To restore harmony in heaven and earth, to prevent the evils of alienation and discord, and to establish one immense and glorious kingdom, was an object worthy of the incarnation of the Son of God.
4. The glory of the Redeemer. He is to be exalted as the Head of this united and ever-glorious kingdom, and all the redeemed on earth and the angelic hosts will acknowledge Him as their common Sovereign and Head.
5. This is the greatest and most important enterprise on earth. It should engage every heart and enlist the powers of every soul. It should be the earnest desire of all to increase the numbers of those who will constitute this united and ever-glorious kingdom, and to bring as many as possible of the human race into union with the holy inhabitants of the other world.