Charles Ellicott Commentary Ephesians 1:22

"and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church," — Ephesians 1:22 (ASV)

And has put all things under his feet.—See 1 Corinthians 15:25–28, where Saint Paul deals with the quotation from Psalm 8:6, in application to our Lord's Mediatorial kingdom. In this passage, these words fill up the picture of our Lord's transcendent dignity by the declaration of the actual subjugation of all the powers of sin and death rising up against Him, in the spiritual war which is to go on until the appointed end. They therefore form a natural link between the description of His Lordship over all created being, and of His headship over the Church, militant on earth, as well as triumphant in heaven.

And gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body.—This is the first time that this celebrated phrase is used, describing Christ as the Head, and viewing the Church as a whole as His body. It is characteristic that in 1 Corinthians 11:3, Christ is called “the Head of each man,” as “the man of the woman;” whereas in this Epistle, Christ is the Head of the whole Church, using the same comparison .

The consideration of all Christians as “the body of Christ” is indeed found in Romans 12:4 and 1 Corinthians 12:12–27; but it is notable that in these passages the leading idea is, first, of the individuality of each member, and then, secondarily, of their union in one body. And in 1 Corinthians 12:21, “the head and the foot,” just as much as “the eye and the hand,” are simply looked upon as members. (Compare also 1 Corinthians 6:15; 1 Corinthians 10:17.)

Here, in accordance with the great doctrine of this Epistle—the unity of the whole of humanity and of the whole Church, ideally co-extensive with that humanity, with Christ—the metaphor is changed. The body is looked upon as a whole, Christ as its Head. The idea is developed again and again (Ephesians 5:28; Colossians 1:18; Colossians 2:19) in these Epistles of the Captivity. It is from these that it has become a household word in all Christian theology. With some variation, it is expressed also in other metaphors—the building and the cornerstone, the bride and the bridegroom.

But under the title of the “Head,” Christ is looked upon especially in His ruling, guiding, originating power over the Church. Probably the idea of His being the seat of its life, though not excluded, is secondary; whereas in His own figure of the vine and the branches (John 16:6) it is primary.