For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
Parallel translations
- WEB For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection”, it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him.
- BSB For “God has put everything under His feet.” Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly does not include the One who put everything under Him.
- NKJV For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.
- NASB For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him.
- NLT For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God has put all things under Christ's feet, with God Himself clearly excepted. It matters because it shows the scope and ordering of Christ's authority.
Overview
Citing Psalm 8, Paul affirms that all things are subjected to Christ, while clarifying that the Father who does the subjecting is not Himself included. This careful distinction preserves the proper relationship within the Godhead. Christ's universal authority is real, yet it is given by and exercised toward the glory of the Father.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 8:6Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
- Heb 2:8Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
- Matt 28:18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
- Matt 11:27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
- Eph 1:22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
- John 13:3Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
- John 3:35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
- 1 Pet 3:22Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
- Phil 2:9–11Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
- Rev 1:18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
- Heb 1:13But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
- Heb 10:12But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
- Eph 1:20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 15:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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