ALL Things United in Christ – Eph 1:10
Are All Things United in Christ, If Some Are in Hell?
“…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 enough to unravel the entire theological infrastructure of both Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT) and Annihilationism. It doesn’t merely challenge them, it demolishes them with one clear cosmic proclamation:
All things, not some, will be united in Christ. Not burned. Not erased. United.
Both ECT and Annihilationism crumble under the weight of this promise. The only way to preserve them is to twist Paul’s words, dilute God’s purpose, and reduce Christ’s final victory to a partial, fractured restoration, which is no restoration at all.
Ephesians 1:10 , Total Cosmic Unity
Paul’s vision in Ephesians 1 is not limited to a church-age gospel or individual salvation. It is about God’s eternal plan, revealed in Christ, to restore everything, heavenly and earthly realities, into perfect, relational harmony.
“…a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
That’s not allegory. That’s divine intention.
And the wording is exact:
- “All things” , ta panta in Greek, a phrase Paul uses consistently to refer to totality.
- “In heaven and on earth” , an all-encompassing scope of all domains.
- “Unite” , anakephalaiomai, which means to bring into relational harmony, to sum up under one head, not to crush or discard.
The Desperate Rebuttals from ECT (and Why They Fail)
1. “All things” only means ‘all kinds’ of things.
This is the classic sleight-of-hand: reduce the totality to mere types. But Paul defines his own scope, heaven and earth. This isn’t about categories. It’s about realities, everything that exists, celestial or terrestrial.
To limit “all things” to just “some humans from various groups” is a theological dodge. A cowardly retreat from the plain text.
2. “United” just means subjugated. Even the damned are under Christ’s rule.
Here they admit defeat, but attempt to redefine victory. They argue Christ’s rule over the damned counts as unity. But Paul did not say “subjugate”. He said “unite.”
The word anakephalaiomai is deeply relational, it means to integrate, harmonize, bring into one cohesive whole. You do not “unite” a soul by torturing it. You dominate it. That’s not restoration, it’s tyranny.
3. This only refers to the church, not the whole cosmos.
Another futile dodge. If Paul meant just believers, why would he say “all things in heaven and on earth”? Why cast a net over the entire creation if he only intended a sliver?
Ephesians 1 isn’t just about the church. It’s about the cosmic scope of Christ’s redemptive mission.
The Empty Arguments of Annihilationism
1. “All things” means what’s left after the wicked are destroyed.
This turns God’s plan into a partial salvage operation. But Paul does not say, “a plan to unite all remaining things.” He says “all things.”
There is no clause that excludes anything, no phrase like “except the damned” or “after destruction of the wicked.” The text is absolute.
And what does it say about God’s power if the best He can do is burn part of His creation and then call the ashes “restored”? That’s not victory, it’s concession.
2. The wicked were offered reconciliation but refused, so they’re excluded.
Then God loses.
That’s the only conclusion you can reach if rebellion triumphs over redemption. But this view destroys the meaning of “fullness of time.” It makes God a beggar, not a Sovereign.
If God’s plan fails in even one case, Ephesians 1:10 is a lie.
The Linguistic Deathblow: Anakephalaiomai
Paul’s word choice wasn’t careless or poetic. He chose anakephalaiomai, a word that means to bring everything into a single, united whole. It is used elsewhere in Romans 13:9 to sum up the entire law in the one command: “Love your neighbor.”
It speaks of wholeness, reconciliation, and completion.
It cannot mean:
- fragmentation (ECT)
- deletion (Annihilation)
- subjugation without relationship (authoritarianism)
To redefine anakephalaiomai as domination or exclusion is to blaspheme the text.
What About Other Scriptures?
Ephesians 1:10 doesn’t stand alone. Paul echoes this same truth again and again:
Colossians 1:20 – Christ reconciles all things to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:28 – God becomes all in all, not just some in all.
Philippians 2:10–11 – Every knee bows, every tongue confesses, not by force, but in willing acknowledgment of Christ’s lordship.
None of these passages hint at eternal isolation, destruction, or torment. All of them point to a sweeping, all-encompassing reconciliation.
The True God Wins Everything
If even one soul remains:
- in torment forever, or
- wiped out and lost from existence,
then Christ’s redemptive work is incomplete. Ephesians 1:10 becomes a failed proclamation, not a fulfilled promise.
But Paul didn’t write it as a hope.
He wrote it as God’s plan, a plan for the fullness of time, and that plan is universal reconciliation.
Not domination.
Not reduction.
Union.
God’s endgame is not the eternal agony or absence of the many, it is the restoration of the all.
The Real Tragedy of ECT and Annihilationism
Both systems slander the heart of God.
- ECT turns Him into a sadistic tyrant who keeps souls alive just to hurt them forever.
- Annihilationism portrays Him as a cosmic exterminator who wipes away the inconvenient parts of His creation.
Both systems reduce Christ’s victory to a fragile compromise with rebellion.
But Scripture does not show a God who gives up on His creation. It shows a God who searches, suffers, redeems, and restores, until every last particle is united in Christ.
Final Reflection
Ephesians 1:10 is not poetic fluff. It is the declaration of God’s triumphant purpose.
And that purpose is incompatible with any theology that imagines eternal torment or permanent deletion.
There is no harmony in hell.
There is no unity in obliteration.
There is no restoration in fear.
Only one gospel makes sense of Ephesians 1:10:
The gospel of universal reconciliation.
Where Christ doesn’t just save a few, but brings all things, heavenly and earthly, back to Himself.
That is victory.
That is love.
That is God.
