thanks, wisdom, hope, and authority

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love
toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you inmy prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Here in Ephesians 1:15-23, Krissi and I realized we don't nearly thank God for
the Christian friends He has given us. They have helped us through so much in
our lives, from counseling, to stretching us and exposing us to new things
(literally our paths in life!). What if we were to cultivate a life of
thankfulness for the people God gives us? What would that look like?

Krissi
saw the following progression:

1. "may give you a spirit of wisdom..." God grants us the grace by which we progressively know Him better
2. "the hope to which He has called you" This knowledge allows us to persevere (and continue to know Him even more) through our sufferings, because we have hope in Christ

We wonder about the final sentence. Possibilities:

• Christ has all authority over creation (all things)
• Christ has given this authority to the church
• Christ has authority in all things pertaining to the church

Amplified Bible and Message paraphrases of v22-23:

And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church], Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].

He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

Apparantly these translations seem to side with the church being headed over by Christ. Yet it also seems to position the church in a unique role of authority within the world, if Christ, the author of creation and ruler over all, resides in us.