P. Derek Overfield PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

4. - THE NATURE OF CHRIST'S HEADSHIP
It is agreed by all exegetes that X€~~~
takes on a decisive theological significance when
referred to Christ and the Church in both Ephesians
and Colossians , although there is little agreement a s
to what this significance may be.
The question resolves
itself into two parts:
'over what precisely is Christ
head? ' or, put more simply, ' is there one headship
(over all things ) or two (head of the church;
head of
the cosmos ) ? '
Secondly, ' how does this headship
affect either (or both) Church and/or cosmos?'
The answer to the first question has
already in part been given by our argument that c ,~,
(l : 22 ) is determinative and as such implie's that there
are two headships involved;
one in relation to the
cGsmos and the other to the Church.
This statement
raises two separate questions:
' is the nature of both
headships the same? ' and, ' what is the significance
of ~1t!p mv't'" in 1: 22?' It is these questions that
we now seek to answer.
4.1 1:22 Head of the World
The first thing that concerns us here is
the significance of the accusative construction
mv'tQ.
•
1
C ..
l)1t~ p
22 ,
According to C.F.D. Moule \)1ttp + accusative
h as , generally speaking , a more literal significance
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