Commentary on Ephesians 1:15-23

As we conclude Liturgical Year A and anticipate Advent and the beginning of Liturgical Year B, the second reading for Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday is Ephesians 1:15–23. A more fitting text, not least its climax in verses 20–23, is difficult to imagine.

The Pauline letter Ephesians commences with a brief salutation (1:1–2) and an expansive benediction (verses 3–14; see also 2 Corinthians 1:3–11), wherein Christ is lauded for the spiritual blessings he bestows upon believers. Thereafter, the cyclical epistle that is Ephesians pivots to prayer, which is the text in view here. 

Interpretation: The text in focus

Beginning in 1:15, Paul (or, if you are so inclined, a Paulinist) informs his recipients, who would have included but not been limited to Ephesian Christians (see the commentaries on 1:1), that he has heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and of their love toward other believers. Their faith and love (hope appears in 1:18) prompt Paul to give God thanks for them as he remembers them in his prayers (1:16).

Commencing in 1:17, Paul prays for them. To begin, he asks that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he extols as the “Father of glory,” would grant the Ephesians a “spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Were one to ask, “Unto what end?,” Paul would answer, “Spiritual enlightenment.” What might such enlightenment entail and enable? It would provide knowledge for the recipients along the following lines: 

First, they would grasp the hope into which God has called them through Christ. Additionally, they would comprehend more fully “the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.” Furthermore, they would ascertain with greater insight “the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe,” in concert with “the working of his great power” (1:18–19). Eternal hope, divine inheritance, and great power. No trifling prayer is this!

Moreover, the mention of “great power” in 1:19 prompts Paul to ponder in verses 20–23 how God exercised and employed such power in Christ. To begin, God raised Christ from the dead. In concert with Christ’s resurrection is God’s session of him at his “right hand in the heavenly places” (verse 20). As Paul is wont to do, he alludes and appeals to Psalm 110:1 when speaking of Christ being seated at God’s right hand (see also, similarly, 1 Corinthians 15:25; Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1). 

Psalm 110:1, when conjoined with Psalm 8:6, is also in view in verse 22 when Paul declares that God has put all things under Christ’s feet (see also 1 Corinthians 15:27). According to verse 20, Christ is seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places, a phrase frequently found in Ephesians (see, too, 1:3; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12).

From his authoritative seat, Christ reigns as king, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (verse 21a). What’s more, his name is above all names, for all time now and forevermore (verse 22b; see also Philippians 2:9). Finally, and consequentially, God has made the risen, exalted, seated, and reigning Lord Jesus Christ “head over all things for the church.” Paul also speaks of Christ as head in Ephesians 4:15 and 5:23, as well as in Colossians 1:18 and 2:19. As such, he is not only the authority over the church, which is his body, but he is also the source of the church and its life, which is the fullness of him who fills all in all.    

Reflections: The text proclaimed

This past summer, my wife and I, along with a beloved Turkish guide, visited the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Türkiye. For me, the highlights of this holy place have been and remain the Byzantine mosaics depicting Christ, particularly the so-called Deësis (Greek for “entreaty”) mosaic, which dates to circa 1261. At the center of this stunning mosaic is Jesus Christ Pantocrator (“the ruler of all”), who is presented holding the Gospels and is flanked by Mary, his mother, and John the Baptizer, his forerunner. 

Those who have stood before this marvelous, massive mosaic can attest that it seems as though Christ is looking at them even as they are looking at him. Until this past summer, however, I was unaware that our guide, who is a Christ-follower, was deeply moved by the mosaic as a young-adult Muslim—so much so that the mosaic, which allows one to feel seen by Christ Pantocrator, played a consequential role in his conversion to the Christian faith. 

Even as this story attests to the beauty and power of art, Ephesians 1:20–23 paints a profound and poetic picture of the authority and majesty of Christ, the exalted, seated, regnant Lord of the church, which is his body and the fullness of him who fills all in all. Later in Ephesians, Christ is once again depicted as head of the church (5:23). There, recipients in general and husbands and wives in particular are reminded that “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

On Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday, we do well to be reminded that the reign of the one who dwells at God’s right hand is of one piece with and is an extension of the one who became flesh and dwelt among us and who laid down his life so that we might have life abundant and eternal. In so doing, we are able to prepare ourselves for Advent as we conceive of Christ’s reign as one of self-giving, as Revelation 5 rightly reminds us. He holds a scepter with a nail-scarred hand. His gracious gaze can transform us, and his holy presence can conform us more fully into his character and likeness.