Ephesians 1:23
Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Study Note
Study Note
Paul describes the church as Christ's body — 'the fulness of him that filleth all in all' — a phrase that combines ecclesiology and cosmology in a single breath. The Greek 'plērōma' (fulness) was a term appropriated in proto-Gnostic circles for spiritual completeness, and Paul may be redirecting that vocabulary to anchor it in the corporate, embodied community of believers rather than in esoteric knowledge. The paradox is deliberate: the one who 'fills everything in every way' (Ephesians 1:10) is himself somehow 'completed' through his body the church, suggesting a reciprocal relationship of divine presence and human participation. Colossians 1:19 and 2:9 develop the same theme, grounding fullness in the Incarnation itself.
Other Translations
which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
which is his body, the fulness of Him who is filling the all in all,
Which is his body, the full measure of him in whom all things are made complete.
Cross References
And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, …
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that …
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of …
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)