Ephesians 3.17d-Practicing the Command to Love One Another is the Means By Which Believer's Are Rooted and Grounded
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday August 31, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 3:17d-Practicing the Command to Love Another is the Means By Which Believers Are Rooted and Grounded
Lesson # 178
Ephesians 3:14 For this reason, I make it my habit of bending my knees in the presence of the Father 15 from whom each and every family located in the heavens as well as located upon the earth is designated a name. 16 I make it a habit of occupying myself with praying that according to the wealth produced by His glory He would cause each and every one of you as a corporate unit to be given strength by means of power through the personal intermediate agency of His Spirit for the benefit of your inner being. 17 Namely that the one and only Christ’s power would dwell in your hearts through your faith …because each and every one of you are firmly rooted, yes specifically, because of all of you without exception are firmly established by means of the practice of divine-love. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 3:17 is composed of the following:
(1) complementary infinitival clause: katoikēsai ton Christon dia tēs pisteōs en tais kardiais hymōn (κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν), “namely that the one and only Christ’s power would dwell in your hearts through your faith” (Author’s translation)
(2) causal participial clause: en agapē errizōmenoi kai tethemeliōmenoi (ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι), “because each and every one of you are firmly rooted, yes specifically, because of all of you without exception are firmly established by means of the practice of divine-love.” (Author’s translation)
Now, the reader must be aware of the fact that the conjunction hina (ἵνα), which appears in Ephesians 3:18 introduces the assertion exischysēte katalabesthai syn pasin tois hagiois ti to platos kai mēkos kai hypsos kai bathos (ἐξισχύσητε καταλαβέσθαι σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ ὕψος καὶ βάθος), “you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth.” (NET)
The thought from this assertion in Ephesians 3:18 is completed in Ephesians 3:17 with the causal participial clause en agapē errizōmenoi kai tethemeliōmenoi (ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι), “because you have been rooted and grounded in love.” (NET)
This is indicated by the fact that both of these assertions form a single thought which are being introduced by the conjunction hina (ἵνα).
As we will note, the participial clause which completes Ephesians 3:18 is causal for emphasis.
Therefore, the translation of the conjunction hina (ἵνα) should be translated before the causal participle clause in Ephesians 3:17 rather than to begin Ephesians 3:18.
The complementary infinitival clause in Ephesians 3:17 parallels the infinitival clause direct object clause dynamei krataiōthēnai dia tou pneumatos autou eis ton esō anthrōpon (δυνάμει κραταιωθῆναι διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον), “to be given strength by means of power through the personal intermediate agency of His Spirit for the benefit of your inner being,” which appears in Ephesians 3:16.
In fact, the infinitival clause in Ephesians 3:17 explains the one in Ephesians 3:16.
Now, in Ephesians 3:17, the verb rhizoō (ῥιζόω) means “to be established” as conceived of as if a plant being or becoming fixed in the ground.
In context, it is used in relation to the believer practicing the command the love of God as a result of obeying the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He loves them.
Therefore, the verb rhizoō (ῥιζόω) refers to these Gentile church age believers “being firmly rooted” or “strengthened spiritually” by the practice of the love of God in their lives as a result of obeying the Lord’s command to do so.
This verb rhizoō (ῥιζόω) functions as a participle of cause, which indicates that these Gentile church age believers would be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breath, length, height and depth of Christ’s love for them “because” they have been firmly rooted by means of obeying the Lord’s command to love one another.
The verb themelioō (θεμελιόω) is also employed in a figurative sense and means “to be or become strengthened as conceived of as a foundation that is laid.
Therefore, the word expresses the idea of these individuals being established or stable in their souls as a result of practicing the command to love one another.
The participle form of the verb themelioō (θεμελιόω) also functions as a participle of cause, which would indicate that these Gentile church age believers would be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breath, length, height and depth of Christ’s love for them “because” they have been established in their souls by means of obeying the Lord’s command to love one another.
Now, in Ephesians 3:17, the conjunction kai (καί) helps to form the figure of hendiadys which indicates that the verbs rhizoō (ῥιζόω) and themelioō (θεμελιόω) are not referring to two different concepts.
Rather, they are referring to one since both of these words speak of the souls of the recipients of this epistle being firm in their conviction that they are objects of Christ love for them by means of obeying His command to love one another.
This figure would indicate that themelioō (θεμελιόω) is intensifying or advancing upon the idea expressed by the verb rhizoō (ῥιζόω) in the sense that the verb themelioō (θεμελιόω) is intensifying or advancing upon the meaning of the verb rhizoō (ῥιζόω).
Therefore, this indicates that when Paul asserts that the recipients of the Ephesian epistle would be firmly rooted by means of obeying the command to love one another, he means that they would be firmly established in their souls by means of obeying this command.
This would constitute these Gentile church age believers comprehending with all the saints the four dimensions of Christ’s love for them.
The participial clause which follows the infinitival clause in Ephesians 3:17 is fronted by the prepositional phrase en agapē (ἐν ἀγάπῃ), “by means of the practice of divine-love” for emphasis.
The noun agapē (ἀγάπη), “divine-love” does not refer to the function of human love but rather the exercise of divine-love because it originates from the character and nature of the triune God (1 John 4:8).
It is also reproduced in the church age believer by the Holy Spirit when the believer exercises faith in the Spirit inspired contents of Scripture and in context, the Ephesian epistle (Gal. 5:22-23).
This post-justification faith provides the church age believer the capacity to practice the command to love another as Christ loves them.
This word agapē (ἀγάπη), “divine-love” contains the figure of metonymy, which means that divine-love is put for the practice of the love of God as a result of obeying the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He loves the believer.
The noun agapē (ἀγάπη) is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), which means “by means of” because it functions as a marker of means.
This indicates that the practice of the love of God is “the means by which” the recipients of this epistle are rooted and grounded spiritually or in other words, strengthened spiritually to execute the Father’s will for their life.
God’s attribute of love is experienced by the child of God and reproduced and manifested in them by God the Holy Spirit when they respond to God’s love for them by accepting by faith this love for them.
This faith is demonstrated by their obedience to the Son’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 to love one another as He loves and which command originates with the Father.
Obedience to this command manifests the believer’s love for God according to John 14:15 and 1 John 4:21.
Therefore, when the child of God obeys the command to love their fellow child of God, it is a love which is divine in quality and character because is resides in the character and nature of God and is reproduced in the Christian by the Spirit when they obey this Spirit inspired command.
This reproduction of the love of God in the life of the child is called “the fruit of the Spirit” by the apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22.
