In Ephesians 1, Paul speaks about the mystery of His will. This secret had not been made known to previous generations (Eph. 3:5; Col. 1:26), and its administration was entrusted to Paul. This secret has everything to do with the present time, in which God is gathering a people for Himself from the nations.
Ephesians 1
8 (…) In all wisdom and prudence,
9 He makes known to us the secret of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
10 that, in the fullness of the appointed times, He may gather together in Christ all things—both things in heaven and things on earth.
mystery
The secret Paul speaks of here is not the main subject of this series of blogs, but it does deserve our attention. When the fullness of time has arrived at the end of the ages, everything—both in the heavens and on earth—will be gathered together in Christ. The NKJV translates this as: to gather together under one Head, who is Christ. The Greek verb anakephalaiōmai, translated here as “to gather together,” contains the word kephalē, meaning “head.”
heavens and earth
All creation will be gathered together under one Head: Christ. Here too, as in Colossians 1:20, it concerns “both what is in the heavens and what is on earth.” This includes all creatures: humans and spiritual powers.
the Christ
That this is God’s will was no secret to the Old Testament prophets. The secret of His will that Paul reveals here, however, is that Christ does not refer solely to Jesus Christ, but also to the company that belongs to Him: the ecclesia, which is His body (Eph. 1:22–23).
The Universe
In Him we receive our allotment (Eph. 1:11). This means that we are co-owners of Christ (Rom. 8:17). What He receives, we receive with Him, because we are one body with Christ. The believers whom God is now gathering from the nations are co-sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus (Eph. 3:6). That promise includes dominion over the universe—heavens and earth—and no creature is excluded from it.
Final Purpose
When Paul speaks of the summing up of all things in Christ, he reveals the final purpose of God’s dealings with creation. It is the gathering together of all that is in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, under one Head. This is not a partial restoration, but a comprehensive plan of salvation that finds its fulfillment in Christ as Head and Body. Paul thus makes it clear that the secret of God’s will culminates in the gathering and reconciliation of all creation in Christ, with no creature left out.
God’s hidden plan ultimately reveals itself to be a comprehensive plan, encompassing everything under Christ as Head.