Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Ephesians 3:20

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us," — Ephesians 3:20 (ASV)

The doxology is plainly the climax of the first half of Ephesians; it may be regarded as the climax of the whole letter, which rises to a spiritual peak at this point and then concentrates on practical outworkings in chs. 4–6. If chs. 1–3 are couched in the form of a traditional Jewish blessing and indeed contain echoes of some synagogue prayers, this parallelism extends to the doxology and Amen (cf. Romans 11:33–36). The apostle has repeatedly insisted that the end of redemption is the glory of God (1:6, 12, 14, 18; 2:7; 3:10, 16). In the doxology he rehearses themes already touched on—the abundance of God’s gift (1:18, 19; 2:7; 3:19), the power made available to the Christian (1:19; 3:7, 16, 18), and the indissoluble link between Christ and the church (1:22–23; 3:10). “Immeasurably more” (GK 5655) appears only here and in 1 Thessalonians 3:10; 5:13. God’s capacity to meet his people’s spiritual needs far exceeds anything they can either request in prayer or conceive by way of anticipation . It is actualized through “his power,” which continually operates within the lives of believers.