Ephesians Series: Ephesians 1:20c-The Father Exerted His Power By Seating His Son at His Right Hand

Ephesians 1:15 For this reason, after I myself heard about the faith among each and every one of you in the one and only Lord Jesus as well as you are practicing divine-love, which is on behalf of each and every one of the saints, 16 I never permit myself to cease regularly expressing thanks to the one and only God because of each and every one of you. I do this while disciplining myself to make it my practice of remembering each and every one of you during my prayers. 17 I make it a habit of occupying myself with praying that the God, that is, the glorious Father of the one and only Lord ruling over each and every one of us as a corporate unit, who is Jesus Christ, would cause each and every one of you to receive divine wisdom, specifically, divine revelatory wisdom provided by the one and only Spirit with respect to an experiential knowledge of Himself. 18 Namely, that the eyes of your heart are enlightened in order that each and every one of you would possess the conviction of what constitutes being the confident expectation of blessing produced by His effectual call, what constitutes His inheritance, which is characterized by glorious wealth, residing in the person of the saints. 19 Also, what constitutes being His incomparable, great power on behalf of each one of us who believe which is equivalent to the exertion of His sovereign, omnipotent power to overcome. 20 This He caused to enter into the state of being exerted on behalf of the incomparable Christ. Specifically, by causing Him to be raised out from the dead ones. Then, by causing Him to be seated at His right hand in the heavenlies. (Lecturer’s translation)

Ephesians 1:20 continues Paul’s thought from Ephesians 1:15-19 since it continues to discuss the exertion of the Father’s sovereign, omnipotent power, which is mentioned in Ephesians 1:19.

Specifically, the contents of Ephesians 1:20 describes the means by which the exertion of the Father’s sovereign, omnipotent power to overcome the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system manifested itself.

This verse is composed of a relative pronoun clause, which is then followed by two participial clauses.

The relative pronoun clause asserts that the exertion of the Father’s omnipotent power to overcome the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system was caused by the Father to enter into the state of being exerted on behalf of the one and only or incomparable Christ.

The first participial describes the means by which the Father caused the exertion of His sovereign, omnipotent power to overcome was manifested in time.

It describes it as taking place by means of the Father causing Jesus Christ to enter into the state of having been raised physically alive out from those who are physically dead.

The second participial clause further describes the means by which the exertion of the Father’s sovereign, omnipotent power to overcome sin, Satan and his cosmic system was exerted by Himself on behalf of His incomparable Son, Jesus Christ.

It describes this as taking place by means of the Father causing His Son to enter into the state of being seated at His right hand.

This second participial clause marks the Father seating His Son at His Son, Jesus Christ at His right hand in the third heaven as taking place after the Father raising Him from the dead.

The nominative masculine singular aorist active participle conjugation of the verb kathizō(καθίζω) means “to cause someone to sit” and is employed with the prepositional phrase en dexia autou (ἐν δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ), “at the right hand” in order to form an idiom, which means “to cause someone to sit at one’s right hand.”

Here it is used of the Father causing His Son, Jesus Christ to sit at His right hand, which was not only the highest position in the divine government but also the place of the highest authority in the divine government.

The participle conjugation of this verb is also as a participle of means, which would indicate that the former is defining or explaining what Paul means when he asserts that the exertion of the Father’s power was exerted by the Father, and which assertion, begs to be defined.

As was the case in Ephesians 1:3, the articular dative neuter plural form of the adjective epouranios (ἐπουράνιος) here in Ephesians 1:20 means “the heavenlies” and refers to the first, second and third heavens.

This word is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), which functions here as a marker of location.

Therefore, this prepositional phrase is marking the first, second and third heavens as the location in which the Father caused His Son, Jesus Christ to sit at His right hand.

So therefore, in Ephesians 1:20, the apostle Paul describes for the recipients of the Ephesian epistle two means by which the Father caused the exertion of His sovereign, omnipotent power to overcome sin, Satan and his cosmic system in time, namely, the resurrection and session of Jesus Christ.

The church age believer has been identified with Jesus Christ in both of these events in His life (Eph. 2:6).

Thus, this same divine omnipotence that raised and seated Jesus Christ at His Father’s right hand is also available to each and every church age believer because of their union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

As we noted in our study of Ephesians 1:19, the Father’s incomparable, great power was manifested on behalf of the church age believer through His Son’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand.

As we noted, Paul also describes this power in this verse as the Father’s sovereign, omnipotent power to overcome.

This omnipotence we also noted was also manifested at the moment of the church age believer’s justification through the baptism of the Spirit, which identified them with the Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand.

Again, as we noted, this identification with Jesus Christ in these events in His life provides the church age believer the necessary omnipotence to experience deliverance from the power of the sin nature as well as the power of Satan and his cosmic system.

In other words, these events in the Lord’s life provide the church age believer the necessary power to overcome sin, Satan and his cosmic system.

We also noted that the omnipotence of the Father is manifested in the life of the church age believer who appropriates by faith their union and identification with Jesus Christ.

This post-justification enables the church age believer to overcome sin, Satan and his cosmic system.

In Colossians 3:1-5, Paul discusses the implications of this identification with Christ in His resurrection and session in relation to the spiritual life of the church age believer.

Colossians 3:1 Therefore, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that each one of you have been raised up with Christ and we agree that this is true. Then, continue to make it your habit of diligently seeking after the things above, where Christ is seated at God’s right hand. 2 Each one of you continue making it your habit of concentrating on the things above, not on the things on earth 3 because each one of you has died. Consequently, the life of each one of you is concealed with Christ by means of the power of God the Father. 4 When Christ, the life of each one of you is revealed, then, at that time, each one of you will be revealed with Him in glory. 5 Therefore, I solemnly charge each one of you to put to death the members of that which belongs to your earthly nature with regards to the practice of sexual immorality, sexual impurity, sexual lust, evil desire as well as that which is greed which is characterized as idolatry. (Lecturer’s translation)

The church age believer’s union and identification with Jesus Christ enables the Father to restore mankind as sovereign ruler over the earth, which was His original plan with Adam and Eve (cf. Gen. 1:26-27).

However, they lost the rulership of the earth to Satan and his angels (cf. Luke 4:6; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 5:19) and which rulership is only temporary because at His Second Advent, Jesus Christ and His bride the church will be installed as permanent rulers over the earth.