All Means All
Ephesians 1:10 — All Means All United
“…as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:10)
This single verse is devastating to the doctrines of Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT) and Annihilationism. It tears through the tight religious boxes that limit the victorious work of Christ and leaves no room for partial outcomes. It speaks of nothing less than the ultimate reconciliation of all things—in heaven and on earth—under the headship of Christ.
Not a chance, not an offer, not a possibility.
A plan.
A proclamation.
A guaranteed fulfillment.
What Does “Unite All Things in Him” Actually Mean?
Paul’s language is deliberate. The Greek word used here—anakephalaiōsasthai—means “to sum up, bring together, or unite under one head.” This is not a vague poetic flourish. It is the inspired articulation of God’s redemptive endgame.
“All things” (ta panta) means exactly what it says. Paul clarifies it further: “things in heaven and things on earth.” That includes the entirety of the created realm—visible and invisible, human and divine, spiritual and physical.
No exclusions.
No asterisks.
No fine print.
To argue otherwise is to dismantle the very sentence structure and context Paul constructs.
Common ECT and Annihilationist Rebuttals—and Why They Fail
Rebuttal 1: “All” means all kinds, not all individuals.
This is the tired fallback of those needing to limit God’s victory. But Paul doesn’t say “all kinds of things.” He says, “all things in heaven and on earth.” That phrase defines the scope. It is total, comprehensive, and cosmic. The grammar does not allow for selective categories.
Rebuttal 2: “Unite” just means subjugation—forced submission under judgment.
No. The word Paul uses is not “subdue” or “conquer.” It’s “unite.” It implies harmony, not coercion. Reconciliation, not tyranny. You don’t “unite” someone to Christ by eternal torment. You don’t “sum up” a soul in Christ by annihilating it. You destroy the meaning of the word and the integrity of the gospel when you suggest otherwise.
Rebuttal 3: It only refers to believers—the elect.
If Paul meant only believers, he would have said so. He had no hesitation using phrases like “those in Christ,” “the elect,” or “the church.” Instead, he refers to “all things in heaven and on earth.” That surpasses the boundaries of the church. It invades the cosmic.
This is not ecclesiology. This is eschatology.
The Now and the Not Yet
Yes, “in Christ” is a phrase often used to describe those who have believed. But Ephesians 1:10 reveals a future dimension—God’s end goal. It’s eschatological. Right now, only some are “in Christ” in a present experiential sense. But Paul reveals that the purpose of God is to eventually bring all things under the headship of Christ.
It’s not speculation. It’s a revealed mystery. And Paul writes it as a certainty.
Current limitation does not nullify future fulfillment. The firstfruits do not negate the harvest. The early seal on believers is not the whole story—it is the down payment of a cosmic reconciliation to come.
1 Corinthians 15:22–28 — The Parallel Truth
“As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)
This verse is often diluted by fear-based theology. But the parallel is perfect.
The scope of Adam’s death is universal—all die. The scope of Christ’s life is equally universal—all will be made alive. This is not talking about “those who believe” only. It is speaking of a redemptive undoing of Adam’s curse.
If only believers are made alive, then the parallel collapses. If some remain in death—whether in conscious torment or utter non-existence—then death is not defeated.
But Paul declares:
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
“That God may be all in all.”
What kind of gospel claims death is defeated but then tells you it lives on forever in the back room of the universe, screaming in flames? That is not victory. That is the exact opposite of what Paul proclaims.
Romans 5:18–19 — The Legal Overturning of Adam’s Sentence
“As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.”
Here again, Paul presents a perfect symmetry: Adam’s sin affects all. Christ’s righteousness restores all. This is not an invitation. It is a reversal. The sentence passed on all humanity has been overturned by the obedience of One.
To say otherwise is to accuse Christ of doing less than Adam. It is to say the Savior fails where the sinner succeeded.
That is blasphemy disguised as orthodoxy.
Colossians 1:20 — The Blood of the Cross Is Not Wasted
“…and through him to reconcile all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
If some are never reconciled—whether because they are tormented forever or annihilated—then the blood of the cross failed to reconcile all things. But Paul says it does. All things are reconciled. All things are made at peace.
There is no such thing as eternal war in the presence of a victorious Lamb.
Philippians 2:10–11 — Not Forced Bowing, But Glorious Confession
“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This is not a staged humiliation of the damned. Paul quotes Isaiah—a passage that celebrates the exclusivity of Yahweh’s salvation. The bowing and confessing is a fulfillment of worship. It brings glory to the Father—not fear, not groaning, not reluctant surrender, but glory.
No one glorifies God from an eternal lake of agony. That is not glory. That is theological schizophrenia.
God’s Plan Is Not a Proposal
Ephesians 1:10 is not God’s best-case scenario. It is His set plan.
A plan established before the foundation of the world.
A plan that declares the final summing-up of everything—everything—in Christ.
To teach otherwise is to accuse God of failure.
To preach everlasting torment or irreversible annihilation is to say:
- That God’s love ends.
- That Christ’s blood reaches only so far.
- That the Spirit’s power is temporary.
- That the cross saves only some.
- That death is never fully destroyed.
That is the gospel of defeat.
But the gospel of Christ is the gospel of Universal Reconciliation—not universalism, but the final reconciliation of all creation to its source, its King, its life: Christ.
Final Word: Either All Means All, or the Gospel Is a Lie
Ephesians 1:10 doesn’t leave room for ECT or Annihilationism. It shuts the door, turns the key, and burns the map. Any theology that preserves death, separation, torment, or extinction in the “fullness of time” is preaching another gospel.
The God who begins in Christ will finish in Christ.
The God who breathed life into Adam will breathe resurrection into all.
The Father who gave the Son all things will return all things to Himself, through the Son, until God is truly and finally all in all.
That is the mystery. That is the plan. That is the gospel.
And it cannot fail.
