The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 3NOV

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Scriptures for today on whiteboard

Eph 3:14-16

Eph 3:17-19

Eph 3:20-21

Deuteronomy 28:35

Isaiah 45:23

Philippians 2:10

Colossians 1:21–23

Colossians 2:6–7

Ezekiel 8:5–6

Ezekiel 8:16–18

Ezekiel 43:1–5

Last week - !

Paul’s stewardship of the mystery of the gospel revealed

Chief among sinners - to - commissioned by God Himself to take the gospel to the Gentiles

He did it, and did it well, with all his being

We are benefactors, as Gentiles, of God’s faithfulness through Paul’s stewardship

Suffering is part of it! “prisoner of Christ”

…this week…

The Mystery of Redemption and its Revelation

Paul’s Resumed Prayer (3:14–21)

Posture of prayer before the Father (3:14–15)

Report of content of intercession for audience (3:16–19)

For divine indwelling and love (3:16–17)

For understanding (3:18–19)

Concluding blessing of God (3:20–21)

PRAY (ask someone)

***3 x Readers: 14-16 // 17-19 // 20-21

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.

A) Posture of prayer before the Father (3:14-15)

Ephesians 3:14–15 ESV

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

Textual comments…

v14

“For this reason” : <3:1> which was from ch2! Gentile+Jew=one holy temple in the Lord (2:21)

“bow my knees before the Father”

Submission - acknowledgement of an authority over you

**Reader

Deuteronomy 28:35 “The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.”

Moses: part of the curse upon those who reject the Law

If the people don’t bow the knee, God will strike their very legs

**Reader

Isaiah 45:23 “By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’”

Application for us: in prayer, we need to remember to whom we are praying! Let us be reminded of the authority that God has over His Creation. It’s absolute.

**Reader

Philippians 2:10 “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,”

v15

expounding on v14, and calling back to 1:10, 21

Authority over EVERY name: in heaven and on earth, in this age and the one to come — COMPREHENSIVE authority over the saints on earth and the saints in heaven, His Family

In light of ch2, ONE family (no distinctions in the House of God, all redeemed are in Christ)

Ephesians Commentary

“There is but one family which ought to be reckoned, both in heaven and on earth, both among angels and among men—if we belong to the Body of Christ. For outside of Him there is nothing but dispersion” (Calvin, 166).

Application comments…

Posture of Prayer

Paul opens his prayer by “setting the stage” in his mind - setting God above himself, in his mind

When we do this properly, the words that come out in prayer will be appropriate

When we don’t, we are at risk of having an incorrect perspective on prayer and focus on ourselves, and God-forbid we approach prayer with the attitude that God OWES US something. He doesn’t, He’s the one in charge, He’s the one with authority.

B) Report of content of intercession for audience (3:16-19)

Ephesians 3:16–19 ESV

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.

Textual comments…

The Content of Divine Indwelling and Love (v16-17)

Ephesians 3:16–17 ESV

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,

v16

“riches of His glory” : xrefs 1:18, 3:8

He gives/grants —> “to be strengthened with power”

We’ve looked at this word before, didomi, external actor having already given something to “you” (next word)

given STRENGTH with dynamei! (power)

Power comes through what? the Spirit

And where is this power?…

“inner being” : inner anthropos, your inner humanity, the very essence of you. It’s a comprehensive term.

the Spirit literally fills your essence of humanhood

v17

“so that” : purpose statement for the power prayed for

Indwelling of Christ (through faith) >> the strengthening through HS power!

“being (firmly) rooted and grounded in love”

Belongs with the idea in v16-17a

“rooted” : planted in the ground // “grounded” : a foundation laid in the ground….unique words, handful of uses

Any thoughts of what teaching of Jesus Paul may have had in mind here?

Parable of the Sower

Luke 8:4–15 ESV

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Path: The seeds that fall on the path are eaten by birds.

Represents: those who hear the Word but don't understand it. Satan snatches it away before it can take root.

Rocky ground: The seeds on rocky ground sprout quickly but wither in the sun because they lack deep roots.

Represents: those who receive the Word with joy but have no root. They fall away when trouble or persecution comes.

Thorny ground: The seeds among thorns grow, but the thorns choke them out.

Represents: those who hear the Word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it out.

Good soil: The seeds that fall on good soil produce a bountiful harvest.

Represents: those who hear the Word, understand it, and bear fruit—some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some a hundredfold.

I’ve always loved this parable, so easy to understand and practical apply

The seed is the Word. The good soil is the human heart being planted, by God, in Christ.

Let’s look at how Paul uses this concept in Colossians…

**Reader

Colossians 1:21–23 “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

**Reader

Colossians 2:6–7 “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

The Content of Understanding (v18-19)

Ephesians 3:18–19 ESV

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.

v18: 18a, easy to interpret, 18b, not so much…

Praying for our understanding. Remember Eph 1:15-23? flip there, yogi

explain how that passage is connect to this one.

Hold a finger on both passages, use green book, red pen marks, to show the parallels

Here’s the parallels…

3:16a >> 1:18c : riches of God’s glory

3:16b >> 1:19, 17b : strengthened by the Spirit’s power

3:17a >> 1:18a, 23 : hearts, fullness of the inner man

3:17b >> 1:5 : love for God, love for the saints

3:19b >> 1:23 : filled up

3:20b >> 1:19-20 : power working within

Understanding is at the root of all these topics in Paul’s prayer.

We need it, in order to be “wise unto salvation”.

And we can’t get it, without God giving it!

The other piece: “with all the saints”

Not a select few who’ve got the understanding.

It’s a corporate affair among Christians =>> one H.S. ==> one Truth ==> one faith

Not trying to steal my own thunder, but Eph 4:4-6

Ephesians 4:4–6 ESV

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

No secret knowledge in play.

“breadth and length and height and depth”

Ephesians Commentary

Scholars are in disarray” over the answer (Lincoln, 208). No stone has gone unturned as a possible backdrop to Paul’s meaning: Stoicism, Gnosticism, magical papyri, apocrypha, other biblical passages (e.g., Rom 8:39; Job 11:8–9), or other things like the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:16), the mystery of Christ, his cross, or the church as the body of Christ. “But,” writes Nils Dahl, “no one set of parallels has provided the key to the interpretation of Eph 3:18 within the context of the letter.”

I’m in the camp of Paul describing the love of Christ.

Connected with 17 and most closely to 19a (Baugh even thinks the “versification” is screwed up here, and 18-19a should have been one verse

Anyway, the firm grounding of love + love of Christ : a sandwich with the dimensions in between. Convincing enough for me.

v19

Let us not miss the irony Paul’s employing: praying that God would cause the Ephesians to know the unknowable!

“filled up to all the fullness of God”

I really like how Baugh “walked the dog” here to explain what Paul’s getting at in these final few verses:

3:1-13, long digression (last week’s lesson)

3:14-21 flows out of end of ch2 (talked about this already)

Paul bows his knees in prayer -> Gentiles merged with believing Jews into “one holy temple in the Lord” (2:21)

There is a new “dwelling of God in the Spirit” (2:22)

Therefore, Paul prays…

in 3:16 “to be strengthened with power through His Spirit”

that Christ would dwell in them (3:17)

joining the Father + Spirit in the new temple building, aka, the Church (1:22-23, 4:10)

Now, in light of above context, we can move to “fullness”…

Paul paraphrased: “may God fill you to the full measure of His divine presence”

Put more clearly/simply, Paul’s prayer: God would fill His new creation, new covenant, temple (the Church) with His presence>>God the Spirit.

God’s presence filling a place is not a novel concept here = tabernacle and temple

The Jew of Jews would almost certainly have this in mind when writing “filled with all the fullness of God?”

The Ezekiel prophecy…

Presence of God departing…

**Reader

Ezekiel 8:5–6 “Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.””

Then, Ezekiel in walked through various areas of the temple, showing him various abominations of increasing severity

**Reader

Ezekiel 8:16–18 “And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.””

Presence of God returning…

**Reader

Ezekiel 43:1–5 “Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”

Direct background imagery for v19, that again, the Jew of the Jews would most certainly know and understand.

Application:

The presence of God has ALWAYS been of seminal importance.

Presence was one of the primary graces that was broken at the Fall

For the OT Jew, when Yahweh was present, they were safe/successful/secure/healthy/strong/etc.

Opposite also happened. Repeatedly. (JUDGES, KINGS, Babylonian exile, the Ark capture by Philistines, others?)

How is this different for the NT believer? …is sealed by God’s presence

Ephesians 1:13–14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

The Shekhinah cloud of God’s presence, His glory, doesn’t have to be chased around the desert! It doesn’t have to be in your home, in your office, in your classroom, in your car, in your bedroom, in order for God’s presence to be with you.

If you confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead, His Spirit, His presence is permanently welded to you!

Paul is ever-thankful for this filling of His presence work that God has done, and is also kinda mind-blown about it!

Which leads to his hymn of praise in v20-21 to close his prayer…

C) Concluding blessing of God (3:20–21)

Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV

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.

Textual comments…

These two verses cap off the first 3 chapters of this letter.

Arguably, 3 of the most doctrinely-drenched passages of the Bible,

Packed with some of the most motivating, encouraging, God-glorifying, soul-nourishing concepts and promises God provides us.

God electing us, predestining us, Jesus in the flesh obeying the Father perfectly, Jesus satisfying the Father’s justice perfectly, the Spirit sealing us, the Father adopting us, the Spirit giving us wisdom and understanding, God grafting in all types of people into His kingdom, all for His glory!

What do we notice about this list?

It’s all incredible, Grace-Filled work that God has done!

Which makes v20-21 a truly fitting end to these magnificent 3 chapters.

Its form matches “ascription hymns” where, typically glory, is ascribed, or given, to God. (Rev 1:5-6, Ps 66 as examples)

v20

“able to do far more abundantly” : there’s that word again dynameno! His power is dynamite!

By itself, just saying He’s able might not be the best encouragement, but in light of Ephesians 1:19 “and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might”, He’s DONE it for us who believe!

v21

So, Paul’s closing words are fitting, TO HIM be the glory, among ALL generations, forever and ever!

Application comments…

Ephesians Commentary

The implications of this are most significant. In the OT era people had to travel long and hard to the distant land of Israel to inquire of the Lord or to discover his dwelling place (e.g., 1 Kgs 10:1–10; 2 Kgs 5:1–19). Now, in the new covenant era, the Lord dwells wherever his church is established together (Matt 18:20), even to the ends of the earth, as his church expands through the proclamation of the gospel (Matt 24:14; Acts 1:8; 13:46–8; Rom 10:18) in the power of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:4; Gal 3:5; Eph 3:16; 1 Thess 1:5). “To the Spirit particularly is attributed the dignity of transforming created space into covenantal place: a home for communion between Creator and creatures, extending to the ends of the earth in waves of kingdom labor.” As the church expands it does so as the embodiment of Christ and as the temple home of the glory of God where ever it is on earth through the Holy Spirit (2:22). As one of my friends, Rev. Wayne Forkner, puts it, the church is an embassy of the new creation in this world.

Closing

This lesson concludes all of Paul’s opening encouragement, theological exposition, doxology, and prayer

What follows in his letter will be application to our lives in light of the majestic preamble, “frame-setting” he’s accomplished.

To give one application summary of our lesson would be: Christians are both individuals and components of the body of Christ.

Individuals

the Lord finds each Christian inconceivably valuable

Calls each sheep by name (John 10:3 “To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” )

He strongly desires each sheep’s presence with him (John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” )

He will guard each sheep to the end (John 17:12 “While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” )

the individual shows up in today’s study in Paul’s prayer for the HS strengthening the ”inner man” (v16)

Component of the body

Together, we are a single house of God (2:19-22)

Both Jew and Gentile, brought together in Christ, to comprise the single house of God, each soul being a dwelling place of God’s presence (HS indwelling)

1 Peter 2:4–6 “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.””

What follows in the letter, exhortations/commands,

flow out of the unity and diversity in the body,

made up of many prized members,

whom Christ loved even unto death,

and whom Christ raised to eternal life in His resurrection!

PRAY

Pray that we would remember these chapters as we move forward into Paul’s exhortations to us as believers in Jesus and members of the body, the Church, God’s dwelling place in this age, looking forward to the age to come!

See you next week!

Ephesians 4:1-6

Paul’s Exhortation to Unity in Love (4:1–6)

The exhortation proper (4:1–3)

The worthy walk (4:1c–2a)

Patient endurance in love (4:2b)

Zeal for the church’s unity in peace (4:3)

The basis of the exhortation (4:4–6)