He raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet – Eph 1:20-22, quoting from Psalm 110:1

When is Done really Done?

We often assume that when something is declared finished, it’s fully operational. But in reality, finishing something often marks the beginning of the process of refinement.

Back in 1991 I got assigned a project to automate cashier scheduling for a retail chain, as it was a time-consuming task. Within a month we had a working prototype. Done? It depends. In some ways, that was just the start:

• The store computers weren’t powerful enough, so we optimized performance.
• Some cashiers couldn’t type, so we designed a graphical interface.
• Store managers struggled with precise forecasting, so we built new tools.
• Different stores had varying labor contracts, so we added configuration options.
• And the list went on.

Each one of these took a team of a dozen people designing, building and testing. In some sense we were “Done” after one month, but that was followed by several month’s work to get it ready for everyone to use.

Ordering Creation

The verses at the top are followed by: and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. – Eph 1:22-23

This echoes Genesis 1:28, where God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.”

Just as Christ is now filling all things through the church, Adam and Eve were commissioned to fill the earth and bring it into order. In both cases, the appointment comes first, but the full realization takes time.

Creation was “Done” in the first verse of the Bible: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But that didn’t mean everything was in its final form. The earth was formless and empty (verse 2), not ready for human habitation. God spent the next 6 days establishing order:

1. separated light from darkness
2. separated water from sky
3. separated land and water
4. stars as signs and to mark seasons
5. different water creatures and birds
6. various animals and humans

The same principle applies beyond creation—God’s work often begins with a declaration, but its full impact unfolds over time. Just as God established order step by step, Jesus’ reign follows the same pattern. He has already been seated at God’s right hand, but his reign is still being fully realized as all things come under his rule. (Psalm 110:1)