Ephesians 1:20-23 Power and Authority of Christ
While praising the Ephesian believers for their faith and love, Paul began to list several items he prays that God would provide for them including wisdom, knowledge, perception and strength. Paul continues on the subject of strength by explaining that the same strength and power that raised Jesus is available to us.
20 that 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 rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Jesus just before He returned to His Father told His disciples that all authority had been given to Him and as a result we were told to go out in the world and make disciples (read Matthew 28:18-20). Here Paul informs us that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of His Father and reminds us that Jesus has authority over all including rulers and people in authority on earth and authority over things we cannot see. He further tells us that the name of Jesus is above every other name. What does that mean? Imagine if you were friends of a large company’s CEO or the prime minister of some country. If you ran into some problem or needed access to some location you could say, “that’s okay, I know the boss!” As Christians we need to realize that God is all powerful and that power is available to us, after all our Lord, Savior and close friend Jesus is in charge!
In many ancient cultures a person sitting at the right hand (or sitting on the right side) of a king or some other official, refers to someone in authority, a person to be honored or one that is favored. The Bible lists several examples of this (see Genesis 48:13-14; Psalm 110:1; 118:16; Matthew 22:41-45; Mark 16:19; Romans 8:34; Acts 2:33; 7:55-56 and 1 Peter 3:22). The “right side” does not refer to being on the correct side or the side opposite to the “wrong side.” However there are stories that extend the role of the “favored side” such as when Jesus’ disciples were told to fish from the right side of the boat (see John 21:6).
In these verses that refer to the power of God as demonstrated to raise Jesus from the dead, they also speak about the power available to us for grace, apostleship and obedience (see Romans 1:4-5); the ability to live for Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 13:19) and to face suffering and death (see Philippians 3:10). The Bible often refers to the ‘power’ of the resurrection, why is this significant? While raising someone from the dead is undoubtedly ‘easy’ for God, giving life to someone previously dead or extending life in any way is something mankind has not and will never accomplish. The ability to give life after death is reserved for God alone (read Deuteronomy 32:39 and 1 Samuel 2:6).
Paul uses four words in verse 21 to describe the ultimate authority of Jesus, each implying the highest level of government, control and ability to govern others. The Greek words for these are: archẽ (rule) referring to the first person, leader or principality; exousia (authority) meaning the one that has the power to choose; dynamis (power) referring to might, strength and ability and kyriotẽs (dominion) pointing to a government or one that has lordship over another. Later in chapter six, Paul will use similar words emphasizing that some of these realms and powers are from sources unseen.
Paul refers to the name of Jesus as being above every name. Jesus’ Father gave Him authority above everything and everyone (see Matthew 28:18; John 3:35; 5:27; 13:3; 17:2; Philippians 2:9-10; Colossians 2:10; Hebrews 1:2 and 1 Peter 3:22). The name of Jesus is above all other names regardless of government of man or influence of the dark. For how long? For all of eternity! In the Old Testament we are told (read Psalm 8, verse 6 which is later cited by Paul both here and in 1 Corinthians 15:27) about the promise of the Father placing everything at the feet of His Son. This action not only includes total authority and control over all things and people, it also refers to placing the mercy of His enemies at His feet.
Added separately after the statement that Jesus was given all things, Paul says that He was given the headship of the church. The church belongs to Jesus! It means that everything we do in the church is to bring glory to Him. As the church we are to be obedient to Jesus in everything. With Him having all the authority and being the Head of the church we need to fully understand what He taught and what He expects from us. As Christians our focus must be on Him and not on something we think we should be doing or by what tradition dictates. The concept is similar to a modern corporation that compares everything they do to their mission statement. If something they are considering does not align with the mission it should not be followed up and funded, however if it does, it should be pursued and fully supported. Everything a church does should be evaluated and compared to our ultimate “mission statement,” the Bible, especially the commandments of Jesus.
Paul also had the privilege of revealing what he called a mystery that was hidden for ages, namely the church (read Romans 16:25-26 and Ephesians 3:9). The Greek word for mystery, as we discussed earlier in Chapter 4 regarding the same word used in verse nine, is simply the revealing of something that was not seen before, not a mystery to solve. Paul also revealed that the church was to bring the good news, the Gospel message to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Here is Paul’s announcement or revealing of the church in his letter to the Colossians: "24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me." (Colossians 1:24-29, ESV) Paul used similar language here in this book to the Ephesians to explain and reveal how Jesus’ ministry would continue through the church. Note how Paul summarized what a church should be doing using words like ‘proclaim’, ‘warn’ and ‘teach’, something Paul will go into greater detail later in this letter to the Ephesian church.
The Bible refers to the church as the Body of Christ (see also Ephesians 4:12, 16; 5:30; Colossians 1:18, 24 and 1 Corinthians 12:27). Just as each part of a human body is necessary to function properly, each person of the Body of Christ is critical for the health and efficiency of their ministry as well as the collective ministries of the local church. Another way of relating to this is that we can certainly agree that we don’t need two noses on our face or nor do we need one of our feet trying to learn how to hear, God provides the people with the appropriate Spiritual gifts to do what they need to do. Everyone is vital for a local church to remain effective. Paul will later address some of these roles and the necessary gifting of Christians needed by the church in Ephesians chapter four. Here Paul reminds us that the important part is that Jesus is the Head of the church, so once again we are reminded that we should be listening to Him!
The term “fullness of Him” (see also Ephesians 3:19 and John 1:16) implies that the church and all true believers have been filled with Jesus. If filled then there is no room for anything else or someone different. Is Jesus a priority in your life?
Paul concludes verse 23 with a statement, “who fills all in all,” God created all things and set all things into motion (see also Ephesians 4:10; Colossians 1:15-20 and 3:11). He holds everything together and without Him there is nothing. He is literally all in all. Knowing that Jesus is holding everything together (see Colossians 1:16-17) means He knows us down to the sub-atomic level, He knows you better than you know yourself, and that should give you great comfort! Some other Biblical metaphors about relationships include: father/son (see Matthew 3:17), bride/bridegroom (see Matthew 25:1; John 3:29), vine/branches (see John 15:5) and shepherd/sheep (see John 10:11).