as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
- KJV That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
- NKJV that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
- NASB regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.
- NLT And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
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's plan, for the fullness of time, is to unite all things in heaven and earth under Christ as head. It reveals Christ as the goal and center of cosmic history.
Overview
This verse states the grand aim of God's mystery: at the appointed climax of history, to 'sum up all things in Christ.' The fractured cosmos — heaven and earth — will find its unity and rightful head in the exalted Son. This cosmic Christ-centeredness frames the whole letter and anticipates the reconciliation Paul describes in later chapters.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 28
- Col 1:20and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.
- Phil 2:9–10Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,
- Gal 4:4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
- Dan 2:44In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
- Mark 1:15“The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”
- Heb 1:2But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.
- Isa 2:2–4In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
- Col 1:16For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.
- 1 Pet 1:20He was known before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake.
- Mic 4:1–2In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.
- Rev 5:9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
- Eph 1:22And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
- Rev 19:4–6And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying: “Amen, Hallelujah!”
- Eph 3:15from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
- Dan 9:24–27Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
- Amos 9:11“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
- Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
- Heb 12:22–24Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
- 1 Cor 11:3But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
- Eph 2:15by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace
- 1 Cor 3:22–23whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you,
- Matt 25:32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
- Heb 11:40God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.
- Mal 3:1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Col 3:11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
- Rev 7:4–12And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:
- 1 Cor 10:11Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
- Heb 9:10They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every spiritual blessing is 'in Christ,' the head over all things for the church, in whom Jew and Gentile are made one new man by his blood.
How Ephesians 1:10 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.