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

in Philo reveal a background of both Stoic philosophy
and the theology associated with the Wisdom tradition.
In the epistle itself the '7t>..~a - '7t>"11PoUv motif has
both christological and ecclesiological importance.
Ecclesiologically the motif refers to the Church as
the unifier of the cosmos;
but equally the motif
denotes an ecclesiological unity, the 'Many' whicr is
the Church is the alter ego of Christ in that it
expresses and represents that unity which is inherent
in Christ.
Christo logically the motif is used in the
context of ascension to emphasise the unity that there
is between Christ and God, a unity that is expressed
not in terms of nature but in terms of function.
Inherent in all this is the idea that the enthroned
Christ will bring the universe to completion (expressed
by means of the 'reconciliation' motif) by means of the
Church.
This explains the (basically) active significance
of the 7t>..flp~. term (though the passive
element is not totally absent) and the passive significance
of '7t>"T'lP0,,~tv01) in 1:23. It is in this
fashion that the author can declare that the Church
completes Christ (1:23).
Both ascension pericopes in the epistle
refer to the fact that Christ is xe~~ ; this is
hardly coincidental because our exegesis has demonstrated
that the ascension is the author's theological point
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