Ephesians 1:15-23

¹⁵ Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. ²² And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Commentary

Vs. 15-16 ¹⁵ Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 

Having heard of the believers faith in Ephesus, and their love for all the saints (that is all of God's people everywhere), and having affirmed their salvation in verses 13-14, the Apostle Paul now states that he does not cease to make mention of them in his prayers, something that a Godly leader always does, extend grace and love to those who are in faith, but also he prays for them to grow in their faith and knowledge of God (consider Rom. 1:9; Philippians 1:4; 1 Thess. 3:7-10). 

Vs. 17 "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him"

Now there are several things to note about the Apostle Paul's prayer for them. First it was directed towards the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Second it was reverent, it acknowledged God the Father as the God of glory. Third it was specific, for Paul knew they were new in their faith, and thus vulnerable to influence and misleading from false apostles, prophets and teachers. Fourth it was centered around their understanding of God, and so Paul prays that they might be given by God "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." Now this is not a "spirit" per-say, for they already had the Holy Spirit (1:13-14), rather spirit here implies Spiritual comprehension of Him (which is made clear in vs. 18), so that they might be able to apprehend and inculcate into themselves, by diligent study, all of the great and grand truths that God the Father was sharing with them (and us all) through His chosen vessel, the Apostle Paul. For Spiritual growth doesn't happen by osmosis, you have to be in the Word of God and attentive to it if you want to apprehend the grand truths of it, that help secure and grow ones faith and make it fruitful in Christ (consider Matt 13:10-23). 

Vs. 18 "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints," 

Thus the Apostle Paul's wants us all not to just live as God's children, but also to thrive, and so Paul's prayer is that God will open our eyes to all that we have In Christ, both the hope of His calling, as well as the riches of His inheritance in the saints, that we share in Him. Therefore no Christian is ever without hope, for hope by the very nature of our being in Christ is ours forever. Thus if a Christian has anything in this life it is hope, hope in this life regardless of my circumstances, and hope for a glorious future with Christ, no matter how much I seemingly mess it up down here, because God has called me and redeemed me to be His own. And so whether in good times or bad, we have always hope. Perseverance then is born out of not only knowing God through Christ; knowing that we have been redeemed and forgiven by Christ's blood and sealed forever by God's Spirit, but also knowing that our circumstances down here will never dictate who we are in the eyes of God up there. Now the second thing that Apostle Prays for is that we might know, "the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints," which again is something that God must reveal to us, in order for us to fully apprehend these things for ourselves. And so though we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ all have the Holy Spirit, and it is the Spirit who teaches us all things pertaining to our faith (1 John 2:27), God's Spirit does not give us complete understanding of everything all at once. And so though there is often times of great growth and excitement as we comprehend the hope that we have in Christ, as well as the riches that we share with and through Christ, as we spend time with Him in His Word. God also brings more of His truth and revelation to us, as we receive and believe these things for ourselves. 

Vs. 19 "and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power"

From the hope of Christ's calling, to the riches of the glory of His inheritance in saints, to now the exceeding greatness of His (God's) power towards us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power. The Apostle Paul wants us all who believe in the Lord Jesus to know that God's power is not only working for our salvation and our sanctification, but it is God's mighty power that sustains us and enables us to do whatever He has called us to do. And so I want us all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to know and believe that God's power is working mightily on our behalf in all areas of our lives (Rom. 8:28-39). Therefore when things and circumstances, and even people closest to you turn on you, or away from you, just keep going forward in faith down that straight highway and narrow road, because the mighty power of God will be with you as well (Psalm 37; 55:22; 63:7-8). 

Vs. 20 "which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places," 

As evidence of God's mighty power working on our behalf, we have the supreme example which God worked In Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavingly places. And so just as God raised up His Son and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the dead and seated Him (enthroned Him) at His right Hand in heaven, so too will God's mighty power raise us all up and bring us together to be with Christ forever (1 Cor 6:14; 2 Cor 4:14). 

Vs. 21 "far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come."

In raising the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and seating Him at His right hand, God the Father has exalted Jesus Christ's Person and Name far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named in, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. Therefore there is no principality or power or might or dominion in heaven or on earth, or name that is named, that the Lord Jesus Christ is not exceedingly and eternally exalted above, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come (Col 1:15-18). Therefore it is the Lord Jesus Christ's Person and Name and Him alone that God has commanded everything in heaven and on earth give all honor and glory and prestige too (John 5:22-23).

Vs. 22-23 "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

God the Father has not only exalted the Person and Name of the Lord Jesus Christ above everything and everyone in heaven and on earth, but He has put all things to under Jesus' feet (Acts 2:34-39). That is what is meant by the phrase "gave Him to be head (gr. κεφαλή, see 1 Cor 11:3) over all things"..., all which begins being manifested here on earth with the church which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Thus we as believers are the ones who must first and foremost not only give all honor and glory and praise and power to the Lord Jesus Christ, but we must be in full subjection to Him and His Will, which comes to us all through His Word. For Jesus is the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. 1:12-18), who will reward (or repay) everyone one of us in heaven and on earth according to our works (Rev. 22:12-13). The only question then is your person and life being lived in subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ by doing His Will for you and this world by believing and obeying His Word? Becasue being in the Kingdom of heaven, and being a citizen of it, begins and ends with believing and obeying and honoring the King of it.

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. (1982). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.