Roy A. Huebner
“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 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.”
Ephesians 1:10
In Heaven, and On Earth
There is one purpose of God, and that is to glorify Himself in Christ. He will manifest that glory in two spheres under the headship of Christ:
The Earthly Sphere: the glory of God will be manifest in rule and in government – Christ will be exalted over that.
The Heavenly Sphere: Christ is the head, we the members of His body associated with Him there. Like Isaac’s bride shared with Isaac, who was Abraham’s heir, we will share with Christ in connection with His exaltation.
William Kelly writes about this time,
“This will be in the age to come, when Christ shall be displayed as Head over all things, and the glorified saints shall reign with Him. It is neither this age, during which Satan is still permitted to reign as the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air; nor is it the eternal state, when all government is over, and Christ will have given up the kingdom, that God may be all in all. It is the intervening millennium. This will be the fulness of the times, previous periods having been the necessary preparation for it. Meanwhile, redemption through Christ’s blood having been effected, the Holy Ghost seals the believer, and is the earnest of the inheritance.”
W. Kelly, Lectures on the Epistle of Paul, the Apostle, to the Ephesians, London: Morrish, p. 27, note, n.d.