Glory In The Church And Christ
GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND CHRIST
EPHESIANS 3:20-21
Join Paul in a shout of glory to our majestic God.
Just as he did when he wrote Romans and other letters, Paul brings the first main section of Ephesians to a close with an exclamation of praise to God. What prompts him to break out into praise is his reflection on God’s power that is at work in the lives of believers. The apostle was concerned that his readers should know the immeasurable greatness of that power, and the last part of his first prayer (1:19-23) was directed specifically to this desire. In that prayer, he defined the dynamic that energizes the church as the power that raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to a place of sovereign authority at the Father’s side and that is active in subduing every force that is hostile to God.
In his second prayer (3:16-19) Paul asked God to give his readers a blessing that transcends human understanding or expression. The source of Paul’s confidence that his prayers will be answered in a manner that far exceeds his own expectations is his vision of the incomprehensible majesty of God. The God whom Paul served filled him with a sense of awe and wonder. Paul’s own inability to exhaust the inexhaustible resources of God is emphasized by terms deliberately chosen: “immeasurable greatness” (1:19), “surpasses knowledge” (3:19), “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (1:20). Glory belongs to such a God, whose reality had so deeply impressed itself on his servant.
Paul has spoken clearly about the work of reconciliation that God has determined to accomplish through Christ. He has developed a high concept of the church as the pledge of that ultimate and perfect unity that God will achieve. His vision of what God will yet accomplish embraces the whole universe. The closing words of this doxology sound these themes once more: to God be glory, not only in the church where he has displayed his intention, but in that infinite realm of being of which Christ is the center (3:21).
The thunderous peal of glory unfragmented by space and uninterrupted by time is breathtaking.