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Ephesians 3:14-21 Notes

Ephesians 3:14-21  Biblical Commentary:

 

CONTEXT:  The recipients of this letter were mostly Gentile Christians.  In chapter 2 and the first half of chapter 3, Paul talked about the great transformation that God has wrought in their lives, from death to life (2:1-10)-and how Christians are no longer divided into Jew and Gentile, but are now one in Christ Jesus (2:11-22).  He then related how God called him to minister to Gentiles (3:1-13).

Now he concludes chapter 3 with a prayer for the recipients of this letter.

EPHESIANS 3:14-16.  STRENGTHENED THROUGH HIS SPIRIT

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

"For this cause" (v. 14a).   This phrase links the verses that follow to what Paul said earlier-that Christians are now one in Christ Jesus with no separation between Jewish and Gentile Christians (2:11-22) and that God called Paul to minister to Gentiles (3:1-13).

 

"I bow my knees" (v. 14b).  In that time and place, people prayed standing or kneeling. The bowing of knees is a gesture of reverence.

 

"to the Father (patera) of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 14c).  Note the wordplay between Father (patera) in this verse and family (patria) in the next verse-a graceful note that is nearly impossible to replicate in a translation.  Paul uses the word Father for God.  In patriarchal families of that day, the father was the authority figure, a man to be obeyed.  He was responsible for providing for his family-protecting them-and bringing up his children to obey God.

Jesus used the word Father (pater) for God nearly 150 times, including once where he addressed God as Abba ho pater­­-Abba being the Aramaic word that children would use to address their father.

The words "of our Lord Jesus Christ" are not found in the oldest (and therefore presumably the best) manuscripts.  Most modern translations omit them.

 

"from whom every family (patria) in heaven and on earth is named" (v. 15).  The assignment of names is the privilege of the creator.  In human families, the father and mother name their children.  Naming is essential to the child's identity.  Not only does our name tell us who we are, but it ties us to our parents, who gave us our name.

But the Heavenly Father is the ultimate creator-the one who created all families, both those on earth (who are still alive) and those in heaven (those who have died).  The Heavenly Father is thus privileged to assign names to all families-and to all of creation (Genesis 1:5, 8, 10).

Being named by the Heavenly Father gives us our spiritual identity, and ties us to our Father.

But not everyone is a child of the Heavenly Father:

  • In his first epistle, John said, "Whoever is born of God doesn't commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he can't sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn't do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn't love his brother" (John 3:9-10).
  • In an exchange with opponents who claimed God as their father, Jesus replied, "If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God....  You are of your father, the devil" (John 8:42, 44).

"that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power (dunamis) through his Spirit in the inward man" (v. 16).  Paul prays that God would strengthen these Ephesian Christians "with power (dunamis) through his Spirit in the inward man."  The Greek word dunamis (from which we get our word dynamite) speaks of a special kind of power-the ability to do or to accomplish.  It is an enabling sort of power, because it equips us to do good things while leaving us freedom to exercise that power.

It is natural that this power would come through the Holy Spirit-the presence of God with us-God dwelling in our hearts-God guiding and empowering us.  Paul prays that the measure of power accorded these Ephesian Christians might be in accord with "the riches of (God's) glory."  What a prayer!  The riches of God's glory are infinite, so Paul is praying for God to shower these Ephesian Christians with infinite blessings.  As Buzz Lightyear of "Toy Story" would put it:  "To infinity and beyond!

EPHESIANS 3:17-19.  FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

"that Christ may dwell (katoikeo) in your hearts (kardia) through faith" (pistis) (v. 17a).   The Greek word katoikeo (dwell) combines kata (in this context meaning "a place where") and oikeo (to dwell-related to oikos, which means "house" or "home").  The sense we get here, then, is of Christ setting up housekeeping in the hearts of these Christians-of Christ making their hearts his dwelling place.

The Greek word kardia (heart) refers to the center of one's being, both physical and spiritual-that which makes the individual person what he or she is-character, intellect, personality, etc.  Paul's vision is that, having experienced God's infinite blessings, these Christians might harbor Christ's presence in the innermost parts of their being.

The Greek word pistis (faith) has to do with the person's response to the kerygma (the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ).  If Christ is to dwell in the hearts of these Ephesian Christians, they must receive him in faith.  Christ wants to bless every person, but will not force his way into their hearts.  Faith is the key that unlocks the door.

 

"to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love" (agape) (v. 17b).   As every gardener knows, plants depend on their roots for nurture and sustenance.  The roots might be underground-invisible to the casual observer-but they are absolutely essential to the well-being of the plant.  But much also depends on the soil in which the roots are rooted.  If the soil has moisture and nutrients, the roots will extract those and feed the plant-so that the plant can prosper.  However, if the soil contains no moisture or nutrients, the roots will be helpless-unable to support the life of the plant-and the plant will die.

But these Christians have no reason to worry about the spiritual soil in which they are rooted.  It is agape-God's love-the kind of love that a mother showers on her child-the kind of love that focuses on giving rather than getting.

 

"may be strengthened to comprehend" (katalambano) (v. 18a).   Being rooted in and surrounded by God's love makes it possible for these Christians to understand spiritual mysteries-"what is the breadth and length and height and depth."  But katalambano means more than comprehending or understanding.  The Greeks used this word to speak of reaching out to cross the finish line-to win the prize.  Paul is praying that God will strengthen these Christians to enable them to reach out and grasp the prize-to emerge victorious.

"with all the saints" (v. 18b).  With Christ rooted in the depths of their being, these Christians join with all the saints-not just those who live nearby, or even those who are still alive.

We, today, are joined with all the saints of history when we come to Christ in faith.  We are joined with all the saints of far-away lands-people whose color and culture are different than ours, but who share our faith in Christ.  We are also joined with Peter and Paul and Augustine and Luther and Calvin-and the millions of unknown saints who have served Christ faithfully through the centuries.

 

"what is the breadth and length and height and depth" (v. 18c).  Having Christ at the center of our lives makes it possible for us to understand "the breadth and length and height and depth"-the infinite measure of the one in whom we believe.

 

"and to know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge" (v. 19a).  The love that Paul mentions here is Christ's love for us-not our love for Christ.  He says that Christ's love surpasses knowledge.  While the Greeks prized knowledge, their knowledge could take them only so far.  For one thing, their knowledge was imperfect.  We have learned so much in the past two thousand years, but our knowledge is also imperfect.  Also, our knowledge, however perfect, cannot bring us into the kingdom of God.  Only Christ's love has that power.

 

"that you may be filled (pleroo) with all the fullness (pleroma) of God" (v. 19b).  Elsewhere, Paul said that "in (Christ) all the fullness (pleroma) of the Godhead dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:9).  This, of course, is the Incarnation-Christ born in Bethlehem-"the word become flesh" (John 1:14).  This belief stood in opposition to the dualistic belief, popular in the first century, that the spiritual is good and the material is bad.  Now Paul prays "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that...you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (vv. 17, 19).  In other words, the Christ who embodied the Godhead (Colossians 2:9) makes it possible for Christians to be "filled with all the fullness of God" (v. 19b)-so that we also embody the Godhead.

Those who had embraced Greek dualism would find this nearly impossible to believe.

Many people today would find it nearly impossible to believe that Christians are "filled with all the fullness of God."  Are the members of your congregation "filled with all the fullness of God"?  Certainly, there are a few who would fit that description, but are most church members "filled with all the fullness of God"?  What about you?  Are you "filled with all the fullness of God"?  If God has answered Paul's prayer (3:14, 19), then you and the other unlikely candidates have, indeed, been "filled with all the fullness of God."

Stop and consider the implications of that!  We are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16).  God's Holy Spirit dwells in us.  Let us approach our personal identity with the same reverence that we feel when we enter a church sanctuary.

EPHESIANS 3:20-21.  TO GOD BE THE GLORY

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

"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" (v. 20).  Has Paul, in praying for these ordinary Christians to "be filled with all the fullness of God," asked too much?  Not at all!  God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think"-beyond anything our minds can imagine.

Earlier, Jesus promised:  "Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.  Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:12-14).  That too seems too grand to be true-until we consider the meaning of asking in Jesus' name.  To pray in Jesus' name requires that we first try to understand Jesus' mind so that our prayers represent his will as closely as possible.  To pray in Jesus' name is to bring our prayers into accord with the essential character of Jesus.  When we do that, everything becomes possible.

At his ascension, Jesus promised:  "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth" (Acts 1:8).  We, Jesus' disciples, are his chosen instruments for proclaiming the Gospel.  It makes sense, then, that he would enable us for that task.  The enabling power is the Holy Spirit.

 

"to him be the glory in the assembly (ekklesia) and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."  (v. 21).   Paul concludes this chapter with a doxology (an expression of glory to God).  Doxologies of this sort are found frequently in both Old and New Testaments (Psalm 28:6; 31:21; 119:12; Romans 11:36; Galatians 1:5, Philippians 4:20, etc.).  The Greek word ekklesia (usually translated "church") means "those who are called out."  That is how Israel thought of itself-called out to be the people of God.  The church continues that tradition under the banner of Christ.

Jesus called the church to proclaim the glory of God in perpetuity-"forever and ever."  That is how it has worked out.  It has been two thousand years since Jesus walked the dusty pathways of Israel, but the church is still giving God glory.  We are not only singing songs of glory in our worship, but we are also proclaiming the Gospel far and wide-and feeding the hungry and healing the sick all over the world in the name of the Christ who has called us.  Who could have imagined such a thing?  God could.  Jesus could.  Paul could.  And it took place just as they envisioned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Eph 3:14-21 - Paul prays in light of the mystery (Guzik)  

1. (Eph. 3:14-15) Introduction to the prayer.

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

a. For this reason: The basis of Paul's prayer was his knowledge of God's purpose. This means he confidently prayed according to God's will. We can't pray effectively if we do not have insight into God's purpose and will.

b. I bow my knees: Paul prayed in the posture of bowing his knees. This position of utmost humility was in contrast to the more normal posture of prayer in that culture, to pray standing with hands raised up.

  1. The humility came when he considered God's great eternal plan, his place in that plan, and how God's work is unstoppable even when Paul was imprisoned.
  2. Solomon prayed on his knees (1 Kings 8:54). Ezra prayed on his knees (Ezra 9:5). The Psalmist called us to kneel (Psalm 95:6). Daniel prayed on his knees (Daniel 6:10). People came to Jesus kneeling (Matthew 17:14, Matthew 20:20, and Mark 1:40). Stephen prayed on his knees (Acts 7:60). Peter prayed on his knees (Acts 9:40). Paul prayed on his knees (Acts 20:36), and other early Christians prayed on their knees (Acts 21:5). Most importantly, Jesus prayed on His knees (Luke 22:41). The Bible has enough prayer not on the knees to show us that it isn't required, but it also has enough prayer on the knees to show us that it is good.
  3. Adam Clarke saw a connection between Solomon's kneeling prayer at the dedication of the temple and Paul's kneeling prayer here. "Many parts of this prayer bear a strict resemblance to that offered by Solomon when dedicating the temple... The apostle was now dedicating the Christian Church."

c. To the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: Paul directed his prayer to the Father, who is presented as the "planner" among the members of the Trinity. In the Bible, prayer is usually directed to the Father, through the Son, by the empowering and direction of the Holy Spirit.

d. From whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named: In remembering that all God's family is called after His name, Paul showed that his mind was rather taken with this idea of the essential unity of the Body of Christ. God is Father of both Jew and Gentile.

  1. Charles Spurgeon preached a touching sermon on this verse titled, Saints in Heaven and Earth One Family. In it he developed the idea that we are one with our brothers and sisters in heaven, and how this enriches our hope of heaven.
  2. Some commentators think Paul refers to heavenly families in the sense of families of angels. "May not the holy Angels be bound up in spiritual families, though they marry not nor are given in marriage?"

2. (Eph. 3:16-19) Paul prays again for the Ephesians.

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

a. To be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man: Paul asked that they would be strengthened with might, and that the strength would be according to the riches of His glory (a most generous measure). He also prayed that the strength would come through the Holy Spirit and that it would be put into their inner man.

  1. There is an inner man just as real as our physical body. We all understand the importance of strength in our physical body, but many are exceedingly weak in the inner man.
  2. According to the riches of His glory: "It would be a disgrace to a king or a nobleman to give no more than a tradesman or a peasant. God acts up to the dignity of his infinite perfections; he gives according to the riches of his glory." (Clarke)

b. That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith: Paul asked that Jesus would live in these believers, even as Jesus promised in John 14:23: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

  1. Two ancient Greek words convey the idea "to live in." One has the idea of living in a place as a stranger, and the other has the idea of settling down in a place to make it your permanent home. Dwell uses the ancient Greek word for a permanent home. Jesus wants to settle down in your heart, not just visit as a stranger.
  2. The glory of the indwelling Jesus is something for us to know, and to know by faith. It is there for us, but must be taken hold of through faith. "You have your Bible, and you have your knees; use them." (Carr John Glynn, godfather to H. C. G. Moule)
  3. iii. We need spiritual strength to let Christ dwell within us because there is something in us that resists the influence of the indwelling Jesus. That something can be conquered as the Spirit of God gives us the victory of faith.

c. Being rooted and grounded in love: Paul asked that all this would take place as they were rooted and grounded in love. The meaning seems to be that they should be rooted and grounded in their love for one another, more than being rooted and grounded in their love for God and the knowledge of that love.

  1. "Two expressions are used: 'rooted,' like a living tree which lays hold upon the soil, twists itself round the rocks, and cannot be upturned: 'grounded,' like a building which has been settled, as a whole, and will never show any cracks or flaws in the future through failures in the foundation." (Spurgeon)

d. May be able to comprehend with all the saints: Paul asked that they might be able to understand together in community every dimension of the love of Jesus. Paul wanted them to know it by experience and not just in words.

i. "In this measurement may you and I be skilled. If we know nothing of mathematics, may we be well-tutored scholars in this spiritual geometry, and be able to comprehend the breadths and lengths of Jesu's precious love." (Spurgeon)

e. What is the width and length and depth and height: This means that the love of Jesus has dimensions and that it can be measured.

  1. "Alas, to a great many religious people the love of Jesus is not a solid substantial thing at all - it is a beautiful fiction, a sentimental belief, a formal theory, but to Paul it was a real, substantial, measurable fact; he had considered it this way, and that way, and the other way, and it was evidently real to him, whatever it might be to others." (Spurgeon)
  2. The love of Jesus has width. You can see how wide a river is by noticing how much it covers over. God's river of love is so wide that it covers over my sin, and it covers over every circumstance of my life, so that all things work together for good. When I doubt His forgiveness or His providence, I am narrowing the mighty river of God's love. His love is as wide as the world: For God so loved the world (John 3:16)
  3.  "Some of them seem to be so taken up with the height and length that they deny the breadth, and you would think from hearing them preach that Christ came into the world to save half-a-dozen, and that they were five of them... Out on their narrowness! There will be more in heaven than we expect to see there by a long way; and there will be some there with whom we had very little comfortable fellowship on earth who had fellowship with Christ, and who are therefore taken to dwell with him for ever." (Spurgeon)
  4. The love of Jesus has length. When considering the length of God's love, ask yourself, "When did the love of God start towards me? How long will it continue?" These truths measure the length of God's love. Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).
  5. The love of Jesus has depth. Philippians 2:7-8 tell us how deep the love of Jesus goes: but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. You can't go lower than the death of the cross, and that is how deep the love of Jesus is for us.
  6. The love of Jesus has height. To see the height of God's love, ask yourself, "How high does it lift me?" It lifts me to heavenly places where I am seated with Christ. He has raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).

vii. Can we really comprehend the width and length and depth and height of God's love? To come to any understanding of the dimensions of God's love, we must come to the cross. The cross pointed in four ways, essentially in every direction, because...

  • God's love is wide enough to include every person.
  • God's love is long enough to last through all eternity.
  • God's love is deep enough to reach the worst sinner.
  • God's love is high enough to take us to heaven.

f. To know the love of Christ: Paul wrote of something we can know. This isn't speculation, guesswork, emotions, or feelings. This is something to know.

  1. "One of these philosophers kindly says that religion is a matter of belief; not of knowledge. This is clean in opposition to all the teaching of Scripture." (Spurgeon)

g. That you may be filled with all the fullness of God: Paul asked God to fill these Christians unto all the fullness of God. The word unto is a better translation than the word with. Paul wanted Christians to experience life in Jesus Christ, the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9), and to be filled to their capacity with Jesus, even as God is filled to His own capacity with His own character and attributes.

  1. "Among all the great sayings in this prayer, this is the greatest. To be FILLED with God is a great thing; to be filled with the FULLNESS of God is still greater; but to be filled with ALL the fullness of God utterly bewilders the sense and confounds the understanding." (Clarke)

3. (Eph. 3:20-21) A glorious doxology.

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

a. Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think: As Paul came to this great height (what can there be higher than the fullness of God?), it is logical to ask how this can ever be. How can something so far above us ever become reality? It can only happen because God is able to do far beyond what we ask or think.

  1. This doxology does not only belong to the prayer that precedes it, but also to every glorious privilege and blessing spoken of in the first three chapters. Who is able to bring such things to pass? Only God can do this because He can do far beyond our ability to think or ask.
  2. Paul says that God is able to do above all that we ask or think. The we included Paul and the other apostles and they certainly knew that Jesus could do great things.
  • You can ask for every good thing you have ever experienced - God can do above that.
  • You can think of or imagine things beyond your experience - God can do above that.
  • You can imagine good things that are beyond your ability to name - God can do above that.

   iii. Spurgeon on the phrase exceedingly abundantly: "He has constructed here in the Greek an expression which is altogether his own. No language was powerful enough for the apostle, - I mean for the Holy Ghost speaking through the apostle, - for very often Paul has to coin words and phrases to shadow forth his meaning, and here is one, 'He is able to do exceeding abundantly,' so abundantly that it exceeds measure and description." (Spurgeon)

b. According to the power that works in us: God is able to do this in our life now, not beginning with heaven. This power... works in us now.

. The things Paul prayed for in the previous verses (spiritual strength, the indwelling Jesus, experiential knowledge of God's love, and the fullness of God) belong to us as children of God, but they must be received by believing prayer and can be furthered in the lives of others by our prayers for them.

c. To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus: The only fitting response to this great God is to give Him glory - especially in the church, the company of His redeemed, and that He receive that glory throughout all ages, world without end - Amen!

  1. When the church understands and walks in God's eternal purpose, God will be glorified and the church will fulfill its important duty of simply glorifying God.
  2. "But the apostle felt that he must not say, 'Unto him be glory in my soul.' He wished that, but his one soul afforded far too little space, and so he cried 'unto him, be glory in the church.' He calls upon all the people of God to praise the divine name." (Spurgeon)