Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:15–23

Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:15–23 begins with thanksgiving for the Ephesians’ faith in Christ and love for other believers, then requests that God grant them spiritual wisdom and revelation so they might deepen their knowledge of Him. The heart of the prayer focuses on three interconnected realities: understanding the hope of their calling, grasping the riches of their inheritance as God’s people, and recognizing God’s incomparable power at work within them.

This power is demonstrated through Christ’s resurrection and exaltation to supreme authority over all cosmic forces, with everything placed under His feet and Christ appointed as head of the church—His body. (Eph 1:15–23) Paul exults that God has raised Jesus to universal authority as the promised messianic King, given to the church as head over all things, with the church holding a central place in God’s purposes as the assembly over which Christ reigns and which He fills by His Spirit.[1]

For church leaders, this passage carries profound implications. Christ has appointed leaders in the church—including pastors—commissioned by the King to lead His church and proclaim His word.[1] The King’s purpose for His body is that it mature toward “the measure of the stature of his fullness,” nothing less than conformity to His image and likeness.[1] Leaders serve this vision by stewarding Christ’s authority and power, not their own. Rather than primarily demanding duty, leaders should ground their people in deeper knowledge of God’s redemptive accomplishment—understanding that sustained holiness arises from grasping the gospel’s lavish gifts of hope, redemption, and powerful salvation.[2] Leadership must recognize that authentic Christianity entails both relationship to Christ and genuine love for other believers—faith in Christ apart from love for the saints is incomplete, while love without faith reduces the church to mere social service.[3]

[1] John Currie, The Pastor as Leader: Principles and Practices for Connecting Preaching and Leadership (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024), 33–35.
[2] S. M. Baugh, Ephesians, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 133.
[3] Stephen E. Fowl, Ephesians: A Commentary, ed. C. Clifton Black, M. Eugene Boring, and John T. Carroll, The New Testament Library (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), 55.