Are we praying big enough? (Ephesians 3:14-21)

1. The Source of the Church’s Prayer (vs. 14-15)

Ephesians 3:14–21 ESV

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Intro:

This passage stood out to me the last time I read through it, and I was challenged by the book "A Praying Church” to really think about it more deeply as a piece of missing application in my own soul of the infinite majesty of God offered to me on a daily basis, which I needed to more fully grasp.

I want to pass along the conviction that God offers us incredible things--things beyond what we could think to ask--as we pray for one another and with one another.

These words are helpful to keep in mind as empowering us to grow—this is a passage that hit my soul like dynamite.

Glory, strength, power, know, filled

The corporate, relational nature of Prayer, both in its mention of the entire Trinity, as well in the uniting of the people of God together throughout this passage is a crucial piece to notice here—the glory of God in the uniting of a people so disparate and diverse, and yet all as one seeking the face of our God together.

Prayer (Corporate), Glory & Strength through the Spirit for the growth in searching the unknowable depths of Christ's love until we are filled with all God's fullness together.

Corporate prayer is the collective crying out of the people of God together for the Father to work through the Holy Spirit to root the knowledge of Jesus more deeply into our hearts until we recognize that He is beyond our mind's comprehension and wildest imaginations, and our prayers are our continually reshaped accordingly.

I believe… This passage is included for the instruction of the people of God in the aim of corporate prayer and the elevation of that prayer to the loftiest heights.

[Pray]

[Read Passage]

Paul wrote this passage to the Ephesian Church. It was written while Paul was in prison, and possibly written near when the letter to the Colossians was written (as an expanded treatise on many of the same topics as Colossians). Taken from the CSB Study Bible intro notes.

Genre: Prayer & Doxology

Genre shift? Yes, from Prayer to Doxology. It's as if Paul is closing out this section of the letter with a joyful shout of praise to God as He thinks (again... as he did in the beginning of the letter) of the greatness of God's work in redemption and in His people.

Noted in Notes on Passage, but Ephesians seems to draw some of the themes in this passage out already previously in Chapters 1 & 2, which is good to be able to show the flow of Paul's thoughts.

Parallel Passages: None specifically, but there are themes which are close in Col. 2:1-5

Colossians 2:1–5 ESV

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

The riches of Christ and the treasures of wisdom in Him.

It illustrated the prayer of the Apostle Paul for the people of the Church of Ephesus, a newly formed people of differing cultures who were now united in Christ--and his prayer for the expansion of that unity in the deepening of their knowledge of the love of Christ together as a body.

Corporate prayer is a congregational cry to the Lord for personal renewal… Which then leads us to seek deeper collective understanding of the character and love of our God… And seeks His strength to accomplish things no one of us could ever have dreamed of apart from His power at work in each of us.

How does corporate prayer help us grow in Christ-likeness and in love for one another?

The Source of the Church’s Prayer:

O--

“For this reason...”

This phrase encompasses Paul’s discourse in 2:11-22, namely, the unity of Jews and Gentiles in Christ as one “new person.” Immediately following this discourse he prepares to pray for their unity. At this point, however, he digresses in order to elaborate further on the mystery and his responsibility to dispense it. The prayer expressed in 3:14-21 would fit well after 2:11-22, but with more information gained from the digression in 3:2-13, the content of the prayer is all the more forceful.

--Hoehner, 472.

The Substance of the Church’s Prayer:

“I bow my knees before the Father… that according to his riches in glory...”

The purpose of bowing his knees is that out of the abundance of God, the riches of His glory will pour out on us.

"that the Christ may dwell through the faith in your hearts" --Vs. 17 YLT (note THE Christ, as emphasis on the specific person of Jesus?)

The Scope & Strength (?) of the Church’s Prayer:

"that is working in us"--vs. 20 YLT (note the continual nature of the work in us--as in the power is continually at work within us?)

"to Him is the glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus" --vs. 21 YLT (note the assembly is in Christ Jesus, and the glory is in the assembly in Christ Jesus...)