Paul’s Earnest Prayer for the Believers Ephesians 3:14-21
Having discussed the Gentile and Jewish believers’ position in Christ that united them in being “one new man”, the church (Ephesians 2:15), Paul urgently and sincerely prayed for these believers, desiring that they would be united experientially; moreover, that they would know experientially God’s incomprehensible and surpassing love for them. This wonderful prayer for these believers may be outlined as follows: I. A Prayer of Great Concern for the Believers – Ephesians 3:14-19; II. A Doxology of Praise – Ephesians 3:20-21.
- A Prayer of Great Concern for the Believers – Ephesians 3:14-19
In response to God’s marvelous work of salvation for these believers, Paul was moved to kneel before the Father in prayer (v. 14). Paul’s position in kneeling in prayer is one of several postures for praying (standing, kneeling, lying prostrate) seen in the Scriptures. God the Father is the source of everything that believers have and enjoy in common with one another. From Him “the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (v. 15).
The “family” in this case refers to God’s family – all those who have been redeemed and adopted as His sons and daughters through Christ. The who family derives its name or identity from Him. God is our Father. He is the first Father, the only One with “underived” fatherhood. In essence, every human family derives its name, that is, exists as a family with a father, because of Him. Paul directed his prayer to the right source – God the Father.
Paul continued to pray in verses 16-17 that the Father would strengthen the believers “with might by His Spirit in the inner man.” This strengthening is pictured as a gift from the Father, coming from the “riches of His glory.” The verb for “strengthened” speaks of the fortitude or courage needed to resist evil or temptation (v. 16). The strengthening that Paul is referring to comes through the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit, who indwells within “the inner man” (v. 16) that is, within our innermost being.
Our Christian life ought to be one of continual inner renewal. The purpose of being strengthened within is that “Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith.” Christ desires to “be at home in” or deeply rooted in our lives (v. 17). Christ will be the dominating factor in our lives as we trust Him and as we are “rooted and grounded in love” (v. 17). In essence, as believers, we are to allow Christ to become the dominating factor in our attitudes and conduct.
In verse 18, Paul prayed, moreover, that the believers would be given the ability or inward power “to comprehend” or grasp “what is the breadth and length, depth and height of the love of Christ.” These four measurements illustrate the immensity or vastness of the love that we are privileged and exhorted to seek to comprehend. As we seek to comprehend Christ’s love for us, let us try to briefly measure: Christ’s love is “wide enough to reach the whole world and beyond; His love is long enough to stretch from eternity to eternity; His love is high enough to raise both Gentiles and Jews to heavenly places in Christ; and His love is deep enough to rescue people from sin’s degradation.
In verse 19, Paul stated that Christ’s love “passeth knowledge”, meaning that it cannot be completely known; however, we can know it intimately. The purpose for knowing the love of Christ is so that we “might be filled with all the fulness of God” (v. 19). The fulness of the Godhead is only in Christ, and through Him is a believer made complete (Col. 2:9-10). Brothers and sisters, the more we are filled with God’s moral excellence, the more we will experientially love one another!
- A Doxology of Praise – Ephesians 3:20-21
Paul closed this prayer with a grand doxology. He praised God who is able to do far more than one could ask or imagine, according to the standard of His power that is at work within us (v. 20). No human or angel would ever fathom that Jews and Gentiles could function together in one body. By God’s power of love, Paul was confident that Jewish and Gentile believers can function and love one another. Paul therefore ascribed to God glory, which is to be manifested in the church, where the miracle of love will occur, and in Christ Jesus, who made the union of Jewish and Gentile believers possible.
May God Bless!
