Ephesians 1:20 teaches that the same mighty power God used to raise Jesus from the dead is the power he used to seat Jesus in the place of highest honor in heaven, at his own right hand. Paul wrote this as a prayer of thanksgiving and request, lifting the eyes of the believers in Ephesus to the greatness of the power already at work for them. The verse is part of a longer prayer, and it is meant to strengthen their confidence in what God has done.
Which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places…
Ephesians 1:20 (WEB)
What Ephesians 1:20 Means
The verse begins by naming the source of the action: the power is God’s own, and it was “worked” in Christ. Paul is not describing a vague hope or a general sense of good feeling. He is pointing to a concrete event, the resurrection of Jesus from the grave, and to an exaltation that followed it, the moment Jesus was given the place of authority beside the Father.
Notice the two main actions. God raised Jesus, which means he overturned death itself, and God seated Jesus, which means he gave Jesus a position of rule and honor. The phrase “in the heavenly places” tells us this is not only a historical event on earth but a reality in the unseen order of God’s kingdom. The verse does not promise that believers will escape hardship in this life. It promises that the power behind the resurrection and exaltation is the same power working on behalf of those who trust Christ.
The Context of Ephesians 1:20
Ephesians is traditionally attributed to the apostle Paul, written to churches in and around Ephesus, a major city in western Asia Minor. Its readers were largely Gentile believers who had come to faith in Christ and were learning what it meant to belong to God’s people together. Paul’s opening chapter is saturated with praise for what God has done in Christ, and verse 20 sits in the middle of his prayer that these readers would understand God’s power more fully.
Just before the verse, Paul prays that his readers would know “the exceeding greatness” of God’s power toward those who believe. Verse 20 then gives the proof: think of what that power has already accomplished in Jesus. Verses 21 through 23 go on to say that Christ rules far above every authority and that all things are placed under him for the sake of his church. Read this way, the verse is not an isolated statement about Jesus but the foundation for the church’s confidence and identity.
Key Phrases in Ephesians 1:20
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
(WEB)
This verse makes the same connection between God’s power and the resurrection, saying that the Spirit who raised Jesus gives life to believers. It shows that the power in Ephesians 1:20 is not distant but dwells in the people of God.
Psalm 110:1
The LORD says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
(WEB)
This is the psalm behind Paul’s image of sitting at God’s right hand. Reading it alongside Ephesians 1:20 shows how the early church understood Jesus as the fulfillment of Israel’s hope for a righteous and exalted king.
A Short Prayer From Ephesians 1:20
Father, you are the God who raised Jesus from the dead and gave him rule over all things. I confess that I often live as though your power is smaller than the problems in front of me. Open my eyes, as Paul prayed for his readers, to know the greatness of the strength you have shown in Christ. Let that same power work in my heart, my home, and the situations I cannot fix on my own. Teach me to rest in the one who sits in highest authority, and help me to trust him today with what I cannot control. Amen.
