Praying to the Glorious Father

38Hope (1:18a). Paul asks God to open their eyes to know the hope to which He called them. In eternity past He called us. Then we believed in the present. And our hope also has a future dimension. We look forward to God summing up all things in Christ. Our salvation is marked by massive hope.

Paul prays that they may now grasp the hope of this calling. In Romans Paul describes our hope as involving sharing in the glory of God (Rom 5:2). He also speaks in other places of the hope of "salvation" (1 Thess 5:8), "righteousness" (Gal 5:5), resurrection of an incorruptible body (1 Cor 15:19,52-55), and "eternal life" (Titus 1:2; 3:7). This hope is rich, and it is varied in the New Testament. To put it simply, God has called us to a distinct way of life with a glorious future hope. When we hold out the gospel to people, we are essentially holding out hope to people (cf. Col 1:5). There is much suffering in this life; there are many dangers, toils, and snares, but glory is coming.

Inheritance (1:18b). Grammatically this could mean the inheritance God receives (i.e., we are His inheritance) or the inheritance that we receive (cf. Col 1:12). Since the text speaks of "God's inheritance," it seems best to go with the former (just as we noted in Eph 1:11). Paul wants us to appreciate the value that God places on us who are in Christ. Bruce says, "That God should set such a high value on the community of sinners rescued from perdition and still bearing too many traces of their former state, might well seem incredible were it not made clear that he sees them in Christ, as from the beginning, he chose them in Christ" (Ephesians, 270). In light of this, we should live for God's praise, and we should declare God's praise to the nations (cf. 1 Pet 2:9-10).

Power (1:19-20a). This third request is the climactic request in the prayer. That is made evident by how Paul expands on power in the following verses (vv. 20-23) and by the incredible labels Paul applies to God's power: "immeasurable greatness," "power" (dynamis), "working" (energeia), and "vast strength." Paul says God's almighty power is available to His saints! Only by God's power will we be able to engage in the spiritual battle described in Ephesians 6. Only by God's power will we arrive safely into His heavenly kingdom, and His power is given to "us who believe" (v. 19).

Think about where some of these Ephesians were coming from. Some were formerly caught up in magic, the Artemis cult, astrology, and emperor worship. Their lives were dark and perverted (Eph 4:17-19) until Christ saved them. The people of this culture lived in fear of hostile 39spiritual forces (O'Brien, Ephesians, 138). Paul is assuring them that God's power is supreme over all their enemies!

We need not fear when we have superior power. The power of the risen Christ is ours to do battle against worry, temptation, doubt, and demonic warfare. Why do we often fail to rely on this mighty power? Added to the exalted view of self and diminished view of God is the failure to understand the spiritual battle in which we are engaged.

The evil one and his host hate us. They hate our faith. They hate the church, our marriages, and our mission. That is why we must lean into Christ and pray for His resurrection power to strengthen us and empower us to live for God's glory.

To illustrate God's mighty power, Paul goes to the resurrection. In the Old Testament they measured power by creation (Isa 40) or by the exodus, but now there is another greater picture of power, the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Now, Christian, this power is ours. Paul says, "The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you" (Rom 8:11). This power is ours to witness, to overcome sin, to pursue holiness, to fight against the schemes of the Devil, and to have great faith for mission.

Praise God for His Exaltation of Christ

Ephesians 1:20-23

As mentioned, these verses are a continuation of verse 19. Paul is speaking of God's great work of exalting Jesus above all. I want you to see four aspects of Christ's exaltation.

God, with His infinite wisdom and power, has done what no man can do. He raised Jesus from the dead! Death is no little bug to squash; it is a bitter enemy we will all face. Yet because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we do not have to fear death. Jesus has crushed it! In his famous chapter on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul closes by saying,

Because of the resurrection, life has meaning. Our labor is not in vain. The resurrection of Jesus testifies to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. 40The resurrection gives believers enormous hope and sufficient power for living a life of service to God.

Paul is paving the way for Ephesians 2:4-7 where he says of believers, "Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens." The resurrection is a truth we need to meditate on every day.

Jesus is not only alive forevermore, but He is also reigning forevermore. Paul notes here the enthronement of Jesus.

In the early preaching in the book of Acts, the resurrection and Christ's enthronement were emphasized. They were the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies.

When He was brought before the Sanhedrin, Jesus claimed that these verses were about Him (O'Brien, Ephesians, 140; see Matt 26:64; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:41-44). To be at the "right hand" was a position of privilege, honor, favor, victory, and power. This position belongs to Jesus Christ alone.

What does that mean for us? It means everything. Everything is under the reign of the seated King! The author of Hebrews says He is upholding the universe by the word of His power, and He upholds it all sitting down (Heb 1:3). If He is doing this, then we can trust Him with our problems—both great and small. Our hope is not in a political election but in the seated King.

Christ, as the risen, seated King, is now superior to every competitor. His throne is above the principalities and powers. He is above creation. He is above Satan and his system. He is above everyone and every ruler. Paul mentions His supremacy over all earthly powers. He mentions Christ's supremacy over every title or name (cf. Phil 2:6-11). And then he mentions Christ's supremacy over all His enemies with the phrase "under His feet." Paul is saying here that not only is every power inferior to Christ, they are also subject to Him (O'Brien, Ephesians, 145).

Finally, Paul mentions Christ's headship over the church. Here we see the amazing connection between Christ and His church. Only the church, not all creation, is said to be His body. Consequently, the church should be important to us! Jesus identifies Himself with it! He is head over it. Later in Ephesians Paul will expound on this relationship.

A lot of believers know this intellectually, but it seems that many think a pastor is the head of the church. I know of one case in which one-third of a congregation left a church when a pastor left it. The church is not about a man; it is about Christ. He is the Head.

Paul also says that the church is Christ's "fullness" (v. 23). I take this difficult phrase in the passive sense rather than active. We do not fill Christ. He fills us. Paul is saying that Jesus, as Head over the church, is "filling [the church] in a special way with his Spirit, grace, and gifts: it is his fullness" (O'Brien, Ephesians, 152).

As Lord over all things, He fills all things, but this filling of the church is different. Only the church is His body, and He rules it and fills it in a special way. What this means is that we as a church are entirely dependent on Christ. What makes us something significant—indeed glorious—is our relationship to Jesus. He fills the church with His presence.

What encouragement this must have given to the house churches in the region of Ephesus. What encouragement it should give to us!

Reflect and Discuss