Eph3v20
Read: Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV)
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Questions to consider:
What meaning comes to your mind with the phrase: “Now to Him who is able….”
What meaning do you vision with this phrase: “according to the power that works in us”…..
Take the words “Able” and “Power” in the above text and ask yourself how you would tie these two words together? What meaning do you give each word in the text?
Would you think that the words “able” and “power” come from the same root Greek Word? Is there any significance to the ‘nuance of thought’ as one reads ‘able’ in the 1st part and then ‘power’ in the 2nd half of the text? Thus, the following study of these two words and that of another phrase from this text.
Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
20 Now to him who is able (G1410 LN74.5) to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power(G1411 LN76.1) at work within us,
Splitting up the one strip above into two:
G1410 δύναμαι [dunamai /doo·nam·ahee/] v. Of uncertain affinity; TDNT 2:284; TDNTA 186; GK 1538; 210 occurrences; AV translates as “can (could)” 100 times, “cannot + 3756” 45 times, “be able” 37 times, “may (might)” 18 times, “able” three times, and translated miscellaneously seven times. 1 to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom. 2 to be able to do something. 3 to be capable, strong and powerful.[1]
LN74.5 δύναμαι; δυνατέω: (derivatives of δύναμιςa ‘ability,’ 74.1) to be able to do or to experience something—‘can, to be able to.’
δύναμαι: οὐδεὶς δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν ‘no one can serve two masters’ Mt 6:24.
δυνατέω: σταθήσεται δέ, δυνατεῖ γὰρ ὁ κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν ‘he will succeed, because the Lord is able to make him succeed’ Ro 14:4.[2]
G1411 δύναμις [dunamis /doo·nam·is/] n f. From 1410; TDNT 2:284; TDNTA 186; GK 1539; 120 occurrences; AV translates as “power” 77 times, “mighty work” 11 times, “strength” seven times, “miracle” seven times, “might” four times, “virtue” three times, “mighty” twice, and translated miscellaneously nine times. 1 strength power, ability. 1a inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth. 1b power for performing miracles. 1c moral power and excellence of soul. 1d the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth. 1e power and resources arising from numbers. 1f power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts. Additional Information: For synonyms see entries 970, bia; 1753, energeia; 1849, exousia; 2479, ischus; and 2904, kratos.See entry 5820 for comparison of synonyms.
LN76.1 δύναμιςb, εως f: the potentiality to exert force in performing some function—‘power.’ ἀλλὰ λήμψεσθε δύναμιν ἐπελθόντος τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ε’φ̓ υ’μᾶς ‘but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’ Ac 1:8.
Expositors Commentary explaining the various words:
20 Paul concludes the first half of his letter in grand style—with an exalted doxology that both exalts God (it may even be part of the prayer, though the conjunction de clearly signals a break from what preceded) and assures the readers that God is completely able to answer his elevated prayer for them. In the event that anybody, wondering whether Paul’s request has been too expansive, should ask whether God can really grant to his people this “fullness,” Paul answers in no uncertain terms: “Yes, he can! Nothing limits God’s ability.” Power language dominates what follows: “him who is able” (dynamenos, GK 1538), “power” (dynamis, GK 1539), and “at work” (energoumenēn, GK 1919). God can perform the unthinkable in his people because of his invincible potency and his indwelling presence. Paul directs his praise to the one “who is able to do [above all] immeasurably more” (hyper panta poiēsai hyperekperissou). The adverb hyperekperissou (GK 5655) conveys something “quite beyond all measure (highest form of comparison imaginable)” (BDAG, 1033). With this hyperbolic expression (note the two uses of hyper), Paul pushes the boundaries beyond limits.
GK1538 δύναμαι (dynamai): vb.; ≡ DBLHebr 3523; Str 1410; TDNT 2.284—LN 74.5 be able, have ability (Mt 3:9)[3]
GK1539 δύναμις (dynamis), εως (eōs), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ DBLHebr 2657, 2658, 7372; Str 1411; TDNT 2.284—1. LN 74.1 ability, to perform an activity (2Co 1:8); 2. LN 76.1 power (Ac 1:8); 3. LN 76.7 mighty deed, miracle (Ac 2:22); 4. LN 37.61 ruler, human ruler (Ro 8:38), for another interp, see next; 5. LN 12.44 supernatural power (Mt 24:29; Mk 13:25; Lk 21:26; Eph 1:21; Ro 8:38), for another interp, see prior; 6. LN 33.134 meaning, what is intended (1Co 14:11); 7. cf. LN 12.43–12.50 τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ θεοῦ (tēn dynamin tou theou), and τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ (tēn dynamin tou echthrou), supernatural army, formally, the army of God and the army of the enemy (i.e., demonic army), suggested from the context, and the common lxx use of this word for “army.” For another interp, see “power” above (Mt 22:29; Mk 12:24; Lk 10:19+)
GK1919 ἐνεργέω (energeō): vb.; ≡ Str 1754; TDNT 2.652—1. LN 42.3 function, work (Mt 14:2); 2. LN 42.4 cause to function, grant the ability to do (2Co 12:6); 3. LN 13.9 bring about, produce, cause to be (Php 2:13)
Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
20 Now to him who is able (G1410 LN 74.5) to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think (noeo) ( G3539, LN31.6) , according to the power at work within us,
Greek Word: “dynamai” “Be Able”…. “be capable of, can, have power to”
Expositors Commentary Continues….
Paul then extends what God is able to do beyond what humans may ask of him or what they are capable even of imagining. Paul used the common verb noeō (GK 3783) in v. 4 with the sense of “understand”; here it has the extended sense of “imagine, think” (BDAG, 674). Paul explains that beyond the boundaries of our asking or even imagining for ourselves, God is able to do according to (kata; the basis or norm of his operation) his power (dynamis) that keeps on working (present tense and middle voice of energoumenēn) within or among us. In other words, it is well within God’s ability to accomplish far beyond what his people can ask for, or even imagine as possible, because God keeps working in ways that are in keeping with his mighty power. Recall, this power raised Christ from the dead, seated him in the heavenly realms, and made him head over all things “for the church” (1:19–22). Paul has made an incredibly audacious claim. As Lincoln, 216, affirms, “Neither the boldest human prayer nor the greatest power of human imagination could circumscribe God’s ability to act.”
We may translate the last phrase, en hēmin, as either “within us” or “among us.” Does Paul pray for this power to work inside individual Christians, or in the framework of the body? The answer must be, “Both.” The love Paul has requested for his readers must be demonstrated in the body of Christ, the local church. This requires God’s powerful working “among us.” This, I believe, is the primary focus here, as we’ve seen corporate emphases throughout. For this to happen, however, it requires the work of God’s power within each individual believer. It would diminish Paul’s request in this context to ignore either of these components—individual or corporate.[4]
The Greek word: (noeo – G3539, LN31.6)
Root shows that ABLE G1410 (dynamai) and Power G1411 (dynamis) are from same root wood…. 1st & 2nd in chart below:
Compare translations:
Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
20 Now to him who is able (G1410 LN74.5) to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power(G1411 LN76.1) at work within us,
Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV)
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Note the NLT and how it does capture the meaning of the Greek words used in this verse.
Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20 (NIRV)
20 God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us.
Ephesians 3:20 (NASB77)
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
NEXT – dealing with word: “abundantly”
Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly (G5228 G4057 – LN 78.34) than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
This Greek word (hyperkperissou) is a complex word. The chart below shows the root along with the other words created from that base word (perisseuo).
Note by this breakdown you can see that it was a complex GREEK word and its parts:
Hyperekperissou – of base word (perisseuo)
Review the ROOT words as they are listed above as they progress down the listing. The RED dot is the word used in our text. “hyperekperissou” “beyond all measure” – The Greeks added a prefix or two in front of the base word “perissou” – Note the spelling difference with word below it that there was a suffix added. In our word there is a suffix as well and unique to all the others.
I am NOT a student of the Greek language and can only point out what I might see. However, it is interesting to note the construction of words by the Greeks. The point is they add a prefix &/or suffix to give the base word a more precise meaning. The translators try and come up with the English equivariant to their word(s). Thus the various Bible translations have differences in choices of words as demonstrated above with the several translations for Eph. 3:20.
A sentence out of the Expositors Commentary (from above)…
God can perform the unthinkable in his people because of his invincible potency and his indwelling presence. Paul directs his praise to the one “who is able to do [above all] immeasurably more” (hyper panta poiēsai hyperekperissou). The adverb hyperekperissou (GK 5655) conveys something “quite beyond all measure (highest form of comparison imaginable)” (BDAG, 1033). With this hyperbolic expression (note the two uses of hyper), Paul pushes the boundaries beyond limits.
WHAT value is there in reviewing the Greek words?
WHAT value is there is reading different translations to gain a wider scope of the text?
Our vocabulary builds the message in our heads and with that we develop the lesson to be learned from the Bible text.
Hope you enjoyed!
The writer….
[1] Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
[2] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 675). New York: United Bible Societies.
[3] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[4] Klein, W. W. (2006). Ephesians. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians–Philemon (Revised Edition) (Vol. 12, pp. 101–102). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.