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It is said that God is through all and in all:

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

—Ephesians 4:4-6

It is also said that Christ is all and in all.

Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

—Colossians 3:11

Does God (and Christ) being through and in all include the rebel angels and unrepentant humans?

Thank you.

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    While this is indeed a curious question, it could theoretically be rephrased as a question of tradition or Systematic support on Christianity.SE. As phrased, this compares two verses in presenting a systematic dilemma that seeks a systematic answer. While the two verses are from the same author and could thus use a Biblical Theo approach, the question's phrasing doesn't reflect the authorship hermeneutic factor. Current phrasing requests no literary hermeneutic to inform an understanding of the text. It seems to request any argument to form a conclusion, not asking about process. Commented Mar 12 at 22:24

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  • In Ephesians 4:6 (and Colossians 3:11) does God being "through all and in all" include the wicked, or only the righteous?

No.

Note the context of both quotes: In Ephesians, the thought begins with "There is one body and one Spirit... one Lord, one faith, one baptism." The statement about God being "through all and in all" refers to the church, not the world or the cosmos.

The same applies to Colossians 3:11. Both the letter as a whole and the immediate context are addressed to Christians. The word "here" in this verse means the church:

You have taken off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

Conclusion: It may be theologically correct to say that God's omnipresence extends even to rebel angels and unrepentant human beings. But this is not what either Ephesians or Colossians is talking about. They refer to God's presence among Christians.

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    Does this mean that we also God because God is through us and in us? Commented Mar 12 at 1:30
  • Yes in the same sense that Christ is in us and we in him. No in the sense that we are not the same being as Christ or God. Commented Mar 12 at 19:25
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Eph 4:6 describes four aspects of God the Father about "all", namely:

  • He is the Father of all
  • He is over/on all
  • He is through all
  • He is in all

This all-encompassing statement has been understood in various ways including:

  • that God is the creator and sustainer of all things (Col 1:16, 17) and thus the source of biological life for all things
  • that God is the source of spiritual life and regenerative life for all believers (1 John 5:11, 12)

What is the logical evidence?

The second is obviously true; BUT, for the second option to be true, it must also include the first precisely because no one can come to the Father unless the Father "draws" them (John 6:44, 12:32; see also Heb 7:19, 10:22, etc).

Thus, since God is the creator of all things and the sole source of spiritual life and transforming power to live the Christian life, and since God wants all people to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), the "all" must include all things and all people and all living creatures.

See also 1 Cor 15:28.

Indeed, when speaking to those at the Areopagus and a group of non-Christian pagans, Paul remarked (about all people) -

Acts 17:28 - ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’

Thus, all are dependent on God for "life and breath and all else" (Acts 17:25 see also Isa 42:5) and thus, to this extent at least, God is in us all.

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  • David said to God in Psalm 51:11, "Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me." If God's Spirit and presence can depart from a person, how can God be inside that person? Commented Mar 12 at 0:49
  • @JoshuaB - there is a difference between before conversion vs after conversion. Before conversion, the Holy Spirit works on a person; after conversion the Holy Spirt works in a person. Commented Mar 12 at 2:37
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First, "in all" in Ephesians 4:6 is a textual error; the Textus Receptus has "ἐν πᾶσιν ὑμῖν", i.e., "in you all". So clearly only the righteous are intended.

Similarly, in Colossians 3:11, the first word, even in your translation, is "here"; looking at the previous verse, we see:

And have put on the new man . . . Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

So it is only in the new man where there is "neither Greek nor Jew" (those still living in the old man certainly still have ethnic hatred - just look anywhere online!), and only in the new man where "Christ is all, and in all".

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  • So God and Christ is in all the saints via indwelling of the one Holy Spirit? Commented Mar 12 at 18:01
  • That's a subtle but remarkably important fact about the Greek Textus Receptus text showing it is only all those 'covered' in the righteousness of God - the spiritually new, born-again believers, raised in Christ. +1 Commented Mar 14 at 16:36

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