Have you ever heard or said the phrase, “God is my all and all”? The thought has certainly crossed my mind and I know it is the prayer of my heart. But have you ever thought about what it means to have God as our ‘All in All’?
Have you ever found yourself saying or repeating words without fully understanding the extent of their meaning? I believe we all have at times.
You may find yourself doing this as you listen or worship to songs. You may even find yourself doing this with well known scriptures.
A few friends and I were joking about some of the Christmas songs we sing and not knowing what the words mean in them, yet we still sing them. For example, “error pining” in the song O Holy Night. Pining means to suffer a mental and physical decline, especially because of a broken heart. Like who knew?
No doubt, words are important. The bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Not only is it important to know what we say, it is equally as important to know what we are reading in the Word of God.
When we don’t understand, God tells us to ask Him for wisdom in which he will generously extend to us.
So, what does “all in all” mean?
The word “all” as a pronoun is “used to refer to the whole quantity or extent of a particular group or thing” and as a noun is defined as “the whole of one’s energy or interest.”
But the wording “all in all” is an idiom. A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words.
All in all, means (via theidioms.com):
• considering everything that has happened
• taking everything into account
• in summary of
• everything considered, and in spite of anything to the contrary
• everything important, all encompassing
“This phrase, all in all, was originally coined to allude to the omnipresent and all pervasive nature of the Christian God. It was used in “The Great Bible” in 1539 with that meaning. The more recent usage of the term, meaning “everything considered”, began in the early 19th century. An early example is found in The Edinburgh Advertiser from July 1829. Both meanings of the phrase are currently in use”. Via Source: theidioms.com
We find this phrase “all in all” in I Corinthians 15:28, were it reads, “That God may be all in all”.
Now in this passage, Paul is talking about God’s supreme authority over everything. His authority even over death and every enemy. And Paul discusses how all things are subjected to God.
I Corinthians 15:28 in the Amplified Bible reads as the “manifesting His glory without any opposition, the supreme indwelling and controlling factor of life”.
What sticks out to me is the “controlling factor” of life. And the question comes to mind, “Can we really say God is our All in All, if we are not allowing him full control of our life”?
So maybe we should instead say, I WANT God to be my all in all, or I’m STRIVING to make God my all in all. Because when we say that Jesus is our All and All, what we are really saying is…
Considering everything …
Taking everything into account…
Everything considered and despite anything to the contrary…
Jesus is ALL.
In saying that Jesus is all in all, we are saying that He is the “whole part” of where I expend my interests, my energy, my efforts.
So, let’s stop here and do a self-evaluation. Have we made Jesus our all in every area or aspect of life?
For me, I know there are areas that I struggle with that I constantly give over and over to God, one being my critical thinking of myself. So if you are struggling in areas don’t beat yourself up, you are not alone. We all have areas to work toward making Jesus all. And I have a strong suspicion we will continue to strive for Him to be our all, until we make our home in Heaven.
But for now, we can make this our prayer, to keep asking, knocking, and seeking for Jesus to be our all. Each day, little by little, and bit by bit. Making God our all in all.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 ESV
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