I saw the steeple under my feet:

A steeple is a small pointed tower found on buildings, most commonly Christian churches and cathedrals. Consisting of a tower base, a belfry, and a tapering spire, it traditionally serves both practical purposes (like housing bells) as an architectural metaphor pointing the mind towards heaven. 
Pip narrates, "When the church came to itself --- he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet" 

Here Dickens gives us a vivid description of Pip's fear.  The full idea is that the convict has turned Pip upside down, by grabbing him by legs.  To Pip the world appeared upside down.  The church steeple now seems to be below his feet. Dickens uses this image to help the reader experience Pip's terror and confusion.  Everything is literally turns upside down--- both his body and symbolically his peaceful childhood.  This is the moment when the escaped convict bursts into Pip's life and changes its course. 

The sentance literally means: Pip is hanging upside down, so the church steeple appears beneath him. 

Figuratively Pip's world has suddenly been turned upside down. Dickens makes the reader get a feel of the frightened child. 

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