As the sum of all things, Christ rules above every other rule and authority, power and dominion, above every other name that is named, now and forever (Ephesians 1:10, 20–23). Before he ever created anything, it was God’s plan to redeem a people for his son (Ephesians 1:6–7), and now, having died and risen, we see the fullness of the mystery of his will (Ephesians 1:9): according to the unimaginable riches of God’s fullness, we are given to share in his rule (see also Revelation 3:21). Christ, as head over all things, is uniting everything in himself through the fullness of his body, which is his church (Ephesians 1:22–23). And all this is “to the praise of [God’s] glorious grace,” the source of all our blessing (Ephesians 1:6).

Look at the Book is John Piper’s effort to help teach people to read the Bible for themselves. It’s an ongoing series of 8–12 minute videos in which the camera is on the text, not the teacher.

As part of this initiative, Desiring God has partnered with local churches for regional events focused on particular passages of Scripture. This is Part 7 in a series on Ephesians called “Seeing and Savoring the Splendor of God’s Sovereign Grace.”