Paul's prayer for the Ephesian saint’s closes on a grand note, and that is that they might know "what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe."

Paul tells the Ephesian saints that they have been effectually called, and that inherent in this call is the unfailing hope that brings into view the saints inheritance in Christ. Then, Paul makes them aware that all of their great blessings are but the outgrowth of God's inheritance in them, and that all redounds to the praise of God's glory.

Their "call" is a past experience, their hope of that call was to be their future experience and now Paul tells the Ephesian saints what makes that "hope" sure and stedfast. It is, "The exceeding greatness of His power." Paul uses such adjectives as "eternal," "Mighty", and "Glorious", to describe God's power, in our text he refers to God's power as exceeding great. Actually God's power is of such nature that it defies human description.

LITERALLY PAUL SAYS, GOD’S POWER IS INFINITELY SUPERIOR, SURPASSING ALL POWERS, and he stress the point that all this measureless power of God is operative in behalf of the saints. It was from this power that their redemptive call was Issued, and it is by this same power that their hope will be realized. God's beneficent power is directed toward the "usward who believe."

Vs.20 "Which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places."

While God's power is humanly Incomprehensible, we are reminded by Paul of a demonstration of God's super abounding power. God manifests His power by the resurrection of Christ from the grave, and setting Him at His own right hand in glory.

The same Divine energy that raised Christ from the dead is at work in each believer conforming him to the image of Christ, and is climaxed by their resurrection from the grave. Thus it is, Paul can say with triumphant tone, "O death where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory?" (I Cor- 15:55)
Christ spoke from the throne of His exaltation, saying, "I am He that liveth, and was dead, behold, I am alive for evermore..." (Rev. 1:18). And Paul says to the saints at Rome "... We shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection" (Rom.6:5). The believer having died in Christ, his substitute, buried in Him, arose in Him; he too like Christ is "alive for evermore." All of these inexpressible blessings, Paul attributes to the exercise of God's sovereign and irresistible power which was manifested in the resurrection and exaltation of Christ.

"Which He wrought in Christ, When He (God) raised Him from the dead…" The resurrection of Christ from the grave is the capstone, or crowning work of redemption. Without the resurrection of Christ from the grave, His perfectly obedient life, and sacrificial death would all have been in vain. The resurrection of Christ from the grave attested to the fact of the Father's approval of the sacrifice, and all that the sacrifice represented. In view of Christ's resurrection, Paul says, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. 8:33, 34).

The saint’s temporal dwelling is that of a "vile body", or a body of humiliation, but when He, Who is our life shall appear we will be given a body like unto the body of His glory. "When He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (Phil. 3:21, 1John 3:2). The only way a saint can truly behold Christ as He is, exalted above all of creation, is to have a body "fashioned like unto His glorious body."

God not only resurrected Christ from the grave, but also gave Him that most honored of all places, "At His own right hand." Christ now sits enthroned with His Father, at His Father's right hand, which speaks of infinite favor, supreme privilege, and unquestionable authority.

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

"FAR ABOVE," Not merely above, but "Far above all principality, and Power, and might, and dominion, and-every name that is named..." in these words Paul plainly states, there is no power, or combinations of powers that is not infinitely inferior to the sovereign and all sustaining power of the resurrected and glorified Son of God.

"In this present world Kings, and Princes, Monarchs, and Masters, Presidents, and Premiers, go on and on, thinking that the power which thy hold is of their own making. Yet, the Scripture says,"...The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will" (Dan. 4:17). The Pharaohs of Egypt, the Caesars of Rome, did not hold their thrones contrary to the will of God, nay, they were raised up to power by the omniscient providence of God, and when God's purpose for them as kings was realized He cast them down, (Rom. 9:17, Prov. 21:1).

The Rulerships of this world will go on in their defiance of God’s appointed Head until He comes to this world and puts down all rule and authority. Then, will be heard the universal angelic pronouncement, "…The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15). Then will the kings of the earth worship and pay homage to that "name which is above every name."

Vs. 22 "And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church."

In the resurrection and exaltation of Christ, all things were placed under His dominion.

1 Cor.- 15:22 "For as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." God's purpose was for man to have dominion over the works of His hands. this is brought out in Psa. 8:3 – 9, Heb. 2:6-18, and many other places. But Adam failed, he lost his dominion, and the beautiful and sublime earth became a shambles. At this point, and from our poor finite wisdom it appears as if all is lost the devil has delivered a crushing defeat to our federal head, and first human ancestor. But, there is second Adam, there is the God-man, Jesus Christ, Whom all the while was the one God intended to have eternal dominion over the entire universe. Satan did not frustrate God's purposes in Eden, but did that which before determined of God for him to do, for the Man, Christ Jesus, was God's Lamb-sacrifice, before the foundation of the world, (Rev. 3:8).

Adam was not God's supreme Idea of a man, but God's incarnate Son is and it is His Son that defeated the devil. And it is His Son that is made the Head of the universe. God's ideal man is His own Son, and in Him He has destroyed him that had power over death, even Satan. Yet, the fulfillment of this shall not be realized until this earth is brought back from the curse wrought by Adam's failure.

Then will that last enemy, death, be eternally destroyed. "And there shall be no more death" (Rev. 21:4).