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The heading up of all things in Ephesians 1:10 is the issue of all the things covered in verses 3 through 9—God has chosen us, predestinated us, redeemed us, forgiven us, and graced us for the purpose of heading up all things in Christ.
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Verses 22 and 23 reveal further that this heading up is "to the church" so that the Body of Christ may share in all that is of Christ as the Head, having been rescued from the heap of the universal collapse in death and darkness, which was caused by the rebellion of the angels and the rebellion of man; to be rescued from the collapse is to be headed up.
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When everything is headed up in Christ, there will be absolute peace and harmony (Isa. 2:4; 11:6; 55:12; Psa. 96:12-13), a full rescue out of the collapse; this will begin from the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21).
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The picture in Ezekiel 37 of the dead, dry, and scattered bones shows that the unique way to have the Body, the church, and the house of God in the genuine oneness is the way of life:
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When the breath entered into the dead ones, it became life to them, and they lived and stood up in oneness to become an exceedingly great army.
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The dead bones were enlivened and became one as the issue of the dispensing of life and the growth in life—vv. 1-14.
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God's way to head us up is to work Himself as the factor of life into us so that we may rise up and be attached to one another in the Body.
Morning Nourishment
Ezek. 37:4-5 …Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah….I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.7 …As I prophesied, there was a noise,…a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
10 …And the breath came into them; and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
The heading up of all things is mentioned in Ephesians 1:10. But this verse does not stand alone; it is the continuation of verses 3 through 9. This indicates that the heading up of all things is the issue of all the items covered in verses 3 through 9: selection, predestination, the praise of the glory of God’s grace, being graced in the Beloved, having redemption and forgiveness, and having God’s grace abound to us in all wisdom and prudence. Verse 9 speaks of the mystery of God’s will according to the good pleasure which He purposed in Himself….The infinitive to head up in verse 10 is related to all the preceding things in the foregoing verses. This means that God chose us that He may head up all things in Christ. He predestinated us unto sonship that He may head up all things in Christ. He accomplished redemption for us through the blood of Christ in order to head up all things in Christ. God has graced us and caused grace to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence that He may head up all things in Christ. The heading up of all things in Christ is the issue of all these things. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 72-73)
Today’s Reading
Many Christians have never realized that God has chosen us, predestinated us, redeemed us, forgiven us, and graced us for the purpose of heading up all things in Christ….Christians may know a great deal about God’s selection and predestination without knowing how these are related to the heading up of all things in Christ….The ultimate goal is not even the church; it is the heading up of all things in Christ. Yes, the church is the goal, but …the consummate goal is the heading up of all things in Christ.The collapse comes from the factor of death, and the rising up comes from the factor of life. When the factor of death causes a collapse, all the parts of our being become detached from one another. This is illustrated by the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. When those bones were dead and dry, they were detached. But when the breath entered into them, they became living, they rose up, and they were attached (Ezek. 37:4-10). This rising up and attaching is actually the heading up. Formerly, the bones were piled in a heap, each of them detached from the body. But when the breath of life entered into these dead bones, they firstly rose up and then became attached to one another. After this they became a body, and even an army. This is what it means to be headed up.
We should …consider [this] in the light of our experience. Many of us can testify that we used to be detached and in the heap caused by the universal collapse. But one day the factor of life came into us, and we rose up and became attached. After coming into the church life, we had the deep sense that we were more and more upright and that we were becoming more attached. This is the heading up in Christ. A number of times, however, the power of death has worked even in the church to inject the factor of death into the members of the church. When the factor of death gets into certain members, they are poisoned and spread the poison of death to others. Once again these dear ones collapse into a heap and are thus far removed from being headed up. But, praise the Lord, the factor of life eventually reaches them again! When the breath of life is breathed into them and the factor of life enters into them, they rise up once more, become reattached, and experience being headed up. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 73, 84-85)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1965, vol. 1, “The Vision, Practice, and Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ,” chs. 2-4