One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Parallel translations
- WEB one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all.
- BSB one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
- NKJV one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
- NASB one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
- NLT one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
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
There is one God and Father who is sovereign over, working through, and present in all his people. This shared Father grounds the unity of the church.
Overview
Paul caps his sevenfold list of 'ones' with the supremacy of the one God and Father. His being 'over all, and through all, and in us all' describes God's transcendence and his intimate, indwelling presence among believers. Because all Christians belong to the same Father through Christ, division within the church contradicts its very nature.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 30
- Rom 11:36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
- 1 Cor 8:6But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
- Mal 2:10Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
- Gal 3:26–28For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
- Gal 4:3–7Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
- Rev 4:8–11And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
- 1 Jn 3:24And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
- John 20:17Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
- 1 Jn 4:12–15No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
- Matt 6:9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
- 1 Cor 12:6And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
- 1 Jn 3:1–3Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
- 2 Cor 6:16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
- Num 16:22And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
- 1 Chr 29:11–12Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
- Dan 4:34–35And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
- Jer 10:10–13But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
- Ps 95:3For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
- Eph 2:22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
- Isa 63:16Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
- Matt 6:13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
- Eph 3:17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Dan 5:18–23O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
- John 14:23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
- Gen 14:19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
- Isa 40:21–23Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
- Eph 6:23Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Isa 40:11–17He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
- John 17:26And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
- Eph 1:21Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 4:6 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.