15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not 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 unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 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, 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: 22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Although this is one long, interconnected thought, there are two distinct topics here: 1) Paul's prayer for the Ephesians, and 2) the power and position of Christ. The Ephesians are commended by Paul for their faith in Christ and their love for the saints. As a result, Paul prays for an increase in their understanding of Him, specifically with the verbs “give,” “enlighten,” and “know.”
The shift to the power and position in Christ begins in verse nineteen. Most notably the power of God is manifest and exercised in Christ's resurrection and ascension on behalf of believers; the scope of Christ's ascension and placement at the Father's right hand places Him above all; He is not only above all in the present world, but will be in another world yet to come; and Christ is the head of the Church, which is His body. The Church as Christ’s body, and the implications of that for believers, will be addressed at length in the fifth chapter of Ephesians.
The identity of “all principality, and power, and might, and dominion” referenced in verse twenty-one are identified by cross-referencing Matthew 28:18, Romans 8:37-39, and Philippians 2:9-11. Likewise, the biblical significance of Christ being “the head over all things to the church” in verse twenty-two is elaborated in I Corinthians 11:3 and Colossians 1:18, though we will address it further here when we arrive at Ephesians 5:23-24.
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