To what does “all” refer?

Explanation:

Paul says there is one God and Father πάντων (of all), who is over all, through all, and in all. At first, it is not clear whether πάντων is in the masculine or neuter gender. If it is masculine, it likely refers to all believers, and if it is neuter, it likely refers to all things, including believers. Given that Paul includes the fact that God is father of all, he most likely has the masculine in mind. Thus, he means to refer to the God and Father of all believers. We can deduce this because there are two other passages where we learn that all refers to believers. ⁴ For example, in John 1:12, John writes that all who receive Jesus are children of God. Further, in Galatians 3:26, Paul explains that in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God. Clearly the all in both John 1:12 and Galatians 3:6 refers to all believers. Similarly, when Paul writes there is one God and father of all, the all refers to believers. ⁵

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that all is a general term that could be used to refer to any number of things, including believers. For example, in Ephesians all refers to every spiritual blessing conferred on believers (Ephesians 1:3), and to the fact that God has a plan to unite all things (Ephesians 1:11), he God works all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11), Christ is far above all rule and authority (Ephesians 1:21), and all things are under his feet (Ephesians 1:21). In fact, in Ephesians 1:23, Paul says that the church is the fullness of Christ who fills all in all. In other words, Christ fills all and the church is the fullness of all that Christ fills. Thus, that all sometimes refers to all of the believers does not show that it refers to believers in every passage. Rather, the context dictates how all is being used.

Response to counterargument:

While it might be that all can refer to any number of things, it is important to note that Paul refers to God as Father of all. That Paul uses the term Father when he says that God is Father of all, implies that Paul has the relationship between God and his covenant people in mind. ⁶ We can deduce this because there are a number of passages where Paul refers to God as God and Father, and it is clear he has in mind God as covenant Father of believers. In 2 Corinthians 1:3, Paul refers to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 11:31, he mentions the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He does the same in Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 1:17, 1 Thessalonians 3:11, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, and 1 Peter 1:3. Given that all sometimes refers to all believers, and that Paul refers to God as Father, which has to do with his covenant relationship with believers, when Paul says there is one God and Father of all, he likely means one God and Father of all believers. ⁷

Explanation:

In order to understand what Paul means when he says there is one God and Father of all, we have to look to the immediate context. When we do, we find that Paul is exhorting the Ephesians to live in unity with one another. He motivated this exhortation by explaining there is one body and one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4), one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5), and one God and Father over all (Ephesians 4:6). Given that Paul has the unity of believers in mind, which is grounded in the one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, it is easy to see that of all refers to all believers. ⁸

Counterargument:

It could be that Paul has in mind the unity of all believers under the one God, who is the Father of all believers. Or it could be that Paul motivated unity among believers under the one God who is the Father of all things. In other words, just as the diversity of the cosmos is united under one God and Father, so the believers ought to be united as one body of Christ. ⁹ Both interpretations motivate unity among believers, which seems to be Paul’s main point through Ephesians 4:1–6.

Response to counterargument:

The problem with his argument is that while it might be consistent with Ephesians 4:1–5 to suggest that God as Father over the entire cosmos motivates unity among believers, such a notion is not consistent with Ephesians 4:6. For in Ephesians 4:6 we learn that the one God and Father of all, is also over all, through all, and in all. Of course, we know that God dwells only in believers, so it is hard to see why he would say that God is through all, and in all of the cosmos, which includes inanimate objects and unbelievers. ¹⁰ Thus, it is more consistent with the immediate context that Paul motivates unity among believers by the one God and Father of all believers.

Possible weaknesses:

The one weakness of this argument is that the plain sense of the phrase God and Father of all suggests God’s supremacy over all things. If Paul does mean God and Father of all believers, we might expect him to say, God and Father of all his children, or of the whole church. Instead, he leaves us with a simple of all, which suggests all things whatsoever.

Explanation:

What does Paul mean when he says that God is Father of all? Does he mean all believers, or all as in every existing thing? Most likely he has in mind every existing thing. We can deduce this because in Ephesians 3:14–15 he writes that he bows his knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.^13,14 Clearly, he has in mind that all things have their source in God the Father. Now he uses the fact that God is over all things to motivate the Ephesians to unity.

Counterargument:

The problem here is that this view simply assumes that when Paul says that every family is named from the Father, he has in mind all things in heaven and on earth. It is also possible that when Paul says every family is named through the Father, he has in mind all of the believers. ¹⁵ Every family in heaven is the believers who have passed away, while every family on earth is those still alive. ¹⁶

Response to counterargument:

It could be that Paul has in mind that God names every believer, but we know from elsewhere that God names all of creation. For example, in Psalm 147:4 we read that God numbers the stars and gives them their name. ¹⁷ Given that Paul has set up God’s supremacy over creation (Ephesians 1:20–22), Ephesians 3:14–15 seems to emphasize that same supremacy. Thus, when we reach Ephesians 4:6, where Paul says there is one God and Father of all, he likely means there is one God who is supreme over the entire universe. Thus, the believers ought to be united.

Explanation:

In order to understand what it means that there is one God and Father over all, it is important to notice that Paul has developed a theme in Ephesians where God is supreme over all. In Ephesians 1:10 we learn that God will unite all things in Christ. Then in Ephesians 1:11 we learn God works all things to accomplish his will. In Ephesians 1:22, Paul writes that God has subjected all things to Christ, and in Ephesians 3:9 he notes that God created all things. Finally, in Ephesians 3:14–15 we learn that God is the Father who names all families in heaven and earth. ¹⁸ Clearly Paul has God’s supremacy in mind, so we should not be surprised that when Paul writes there is one God and Father over all, he has in mind that God is Father over all things. ¹⁹

Counterargument:

Unfortunately, one cannot deduce the meaning of a term based on how the term is used outside of its immediate context. Rather, the immediate context ought to dictate how the term is used, and in the case of Ephesians 4:6, we can deduce that Paul has believers in mind. We can deduce this because he exhorts the believers in Ephesus to unity, reminding them there is one body, Spirit, Lord, faith, baptism, and God and Father. Of course, God is supreme over all things, but in the context of Ephesians 4:6, Paul has in mind the fact that God is Father of all believers.

Response to counterargument:

The immediate context of Ephesians 4:6 does not negate the fact that Paul refers to God as the one God and Father of all, as in, the whole cosmos. Rather, Paul’s main point through Ephesians 4:1–7 is to encourage and exhort the Ephesians to unity. What better way to do this than to remind them that all the apparent diversity in the cosmos is itself united under the supremacy of God. In fact, Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians 8:6 when he instructs the Corinthians in regard to food sacrificed to idols. There he explains there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist.

Possible weaknesses:

The weakness of this view is that it suggests that everyone has an intimate familial relationship with God, when Scripture clearly affirms that it is faith in Jesus Christ that grafts one into God’s family. Still, as Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 8:6, God is the Father from whom all things exist.