right hand in the heavenly places, far above all ...' (Eph. 1:20,21).  It

will be seen that even resurrection does not complete the statement.  It is

resurrection, ascension, seating, pre-eminence and fulness (Eph. 1:19-23) that

necessitates such a display of mighty power.  When it is realized that what has

been written in these verses is to reveal the kind of power `that is to us-ward

who believe', the mind falters in its attempt to comprehend either the wonder of

the gift or the marvel of the power that is at our disposal.  Paul himself

realized something of this mighty enabling.  Speaking of the ministry which he

had received as the prisoner of Jesus Christ for us Gentiles, he said:

`Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God

given unto me by the effectual Working of His power' (Eph. 3:7).

Here, as in Ephesians 1:19,20, we have energeia and dunamis, and not only

so, there is a reference to `principalities and powers in heavenly places', not

this time subjected beneath the feet of the Saviour, but learning through the

Church the manifold wisdom of God.  This energizing power is again introduced at

the close of the central prayer, Ephesians 3:20.  This prayer asks that the

believer may be `strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man' this

time combining the words dunamis and krataioo which form a part of the

combination of power revealed in Ephesians 1:19,20.  Then, having included in

his request such a glorious possibility as that of Christ dwelling in the heart

by faith, the comprehension with all saints of what is the breadth, length,

depth and height, the `knowledge surpassing love of Christ' (using the word

huperballo as in Ephesians 1:19), and having nothing less as a goal than being

`filled with (eis unto, or up to) all the fulness of God', introducing the word

pleroma, as in Ephesians 1:23, the apostle comes to the question of what

possible guarantee can there be for an affirmative answer to so mighty a

petition.  That guarantee, once again, is `the power that worketh in us' (Eph.

The word `power' is veiled from the English reader, who may not realize

that the verb dunamai is translated `able' not only in Ephesians 3:20, but in

3:4 `may' and 6:11, 13 and 16 `able'.  When the apostle wrote the parallel

epistle to the Colossians, he employed the words `strengthened with all might,

according to His glorious power' (Col. 1:11).  Here the words are dunamis,

dunamoo and kratos, and when referring to his own ministry he again attributes

any success he may have achieved to `His working, which worketh in me mightily',

using the words energeia, energeo and dunamis (verse 29).  In Philippians there

is but one occurrence of dunamis, namely in Philippians 3:10 `the power of His

resurrection' which the apostle was most eager to know, and one occurrence

of dunamai, in connection with the same theme, `the out-resurrection', where in

view of the transfiguration of this body of humiliation to a body of glory like

unto that of the risen Lord Himself, he once again falls back upon the same

mighty power `according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all

things unto Himself' (Phil. 3:21).  Here there is not only the recurrence of the

words energeia and dunamai, but a further reference to the exaltation of the

Lord, with all things in subjection beneath His feet, that we have found already

at the close of the first chapter of Ephesians.

Finally, this same mighty power was the basis of the apostle's confidence,

even in view of desertion and death.  `I am persuaded', he said, `that He is

able to keep that which has been entrusted, against that day' (2 Tim. 1:12).

Had we confined our reading to the closing verses of Ephesians chapter 1, we

should have been impressed with the tremendous power at our disposal, but as we