Ephesians 3:14-21

Read the Text

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.

Introduction

We live in a world that prides itself on our abilities to be able to accomplish great tasks by ingenuity and sheer will. We glory in our own strength.

The Reason for Prayer

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

This first verse in our text for today, I will be honest, confused me for a little bit. Reading it, I immediately began looking around and reading to find what Paul was talking about. After looking around for a considerable amount of time I finally stumbled on what Paul’s reason was for this prayer. If we turn back to Ephesians 3:1 Paul says almost the exact same words that he does in v.14 (For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—). He cuts himself off there and goes into a thought about the mystery of the gospel from Ephesians 3:2-13. So, if we look right before Eph. 3:1 we find Paul’s reason for praying on behalf of the gentiles. It is because through Christ God has broken down the walls that separated the gentiles from being the people of God. He is building himself a dwelling place that consists of both Jew and Gentile. Gentiles were not partakers of the Covenant of promise as the Jews had received. Therefore, they had no hope without God in the world. That is the reason that Paul is praying for them. He wants them to be able to comprehend and know the incomprehensible love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

Would this be the reason for our prayer for each other and those outside of the family of God. We constantly need to be reminded about the mystery of the gospel. We who were far off from receiving the promises of God are brought near by the incomprehensible love of Christ. God is reconciling all things to himself through the blood of his Son and the power of his Spirit. This is what the world needs to hear. This is what we need to hear on a daily, even minute by minute basis. Let this wonderful truth be the fuel that drives us to know the love of Christ that surpasses understanding.

Notice how Paul describes God with the phrase “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named”. God is the Father of every person on the earth. This should make us think back to what he was just telling the Ephesians. Namely, the mystery of the gospel, that the gentiles are fellow heirs, and members of the family of God. There is no distinction. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and his life, death and resurrection are partakers of the promise that was given to Abraham. This is an invitation into the family of God. No matter what your ethnicity or where your family is from, God is calling people from every tribe, people, nation, and tongue to come delight in the mystery of the gospel through his Son Jesus Christ.

The Prayer

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,

Paul prays to God based on the “riches of his glory” in v.16. What Paul is saying is that God would grant this prayer according to God’s glorious character. Every single attribute. Moses saw the glory of God in Exodus 34 as God passed by while Moses was in the cleft of the rock. God reveals the essence of his character in relation to his Creation when he says:

English Standard Version Chapter 34

The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Therefore, according to the riches of God’s glory Paul prays that we the Ephesians would be strengthened with power by God’s Spirit