Thankful for the Mystery

v.14

When considering the meaning and purpose of the mystery, Paul is moved by passion and thankfulness, overcome to the point that he falls to his knees in prayer to the Father.

We see many positions of prayer in the Bible, but kneeling was not the normal posture for prayer among Jews, typically they would stand.

Jews would often stand in prayer

Abraham praying for Sodom

Genesis 18:22

Genesis 18:22 NKJV

Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

Solomon dedicating the temple

1 Kings 8:22

1 Kings 8:22 NKJV

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven;

We still see that today, as evidenced by pictures of Jews at the wailing wall. They will almost always be standing in their prayers.

For a Jew to kneel in prayer meant a very extraordinary event, and Paul recognized the fulfillment of the mystery as such a thing.

v.15

It is from the Father that "the whole family in Heaven and Earth is named.”

This refers to the entire church, both the saints that have passed on, and the one’s on Earth.

This family, the church, bears His name. Just as you bear an earthly family name, which serves to identify you, all believers bear the family name of Christ, which identifies us as His...we are Christians!

v.16

This is where Paul begins his petition to the Lord.

He makes four requests:

Strength (v.16)

Love (v.17)

Comprehension (vv.18-19a)

Fullness (v.19b)

These are not individual requests, but a progression. Each one leads to the next.

Strength:

Paul prays for Christians to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, according to His endless riches.

Indeed, the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person is evidence of salvation.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in a person is evidence of salvation

Romans 8:9

Romans 8:9 NKJV

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

However, the power of the Spirit enables Christian living. Paul is praying for the strength of the Holy Spirit to empower his readers.

We have no power on our own. No matter how strong we may think we are, we will always fail when we relay on our own strength.

Our power comes by the Holy Spirit

Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 NKJV

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Even Jesus performed His earthly ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 4:1, 14

Luke 4:1 NKJV

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Luke 4:14 NKJV

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

Acts 10:38

Acts 10:38 NKJV

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Needless to say that the power of the Holy Spirit is indispensable to both the individual Christian and the church. Without the Holy Spirit, there would be no Christian and no church. They would simply cease to function.

The book of Acts shows very clearly the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church.

Both Christians and the Holy Spirit are inseparable, tied together for all eternity

John 14:16

John 14:16 NKJV

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

This is why it is so important for christians to willingly submit to the power of the Spirit. Doing so will lead to the next step...love.

vv.17-19

Love:

Without submission to the Holy Spirit, we won’t truly know love.

However, through faith, Christ will dwell in us, and will be grounded in love...If only we yield to the Holy Spirit.

Paul speaks of the gifts of the Spirit, and there is none more important than love.

Love is the most important gift of the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 NKJV

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Being grounded in Godly love, they should be able to understand the immense vastness of the love of Christ.

It is this immense depth that Paul wants his readers to understand. It is a deeper experience with Christ that he prays for.

Paul prays for us to be rooted and grounded in love. This means that we are anchored in place by love. We cannot be moved from it.

The deeper the roots, the stronger we are.

When Christians understand and practice Godly love, then you will have a continually deepening relationship with the Lord, and this is where you truly begin to understand.

Comprehension:

To comprehend means to truly understand. It is one thing to know something, but it is quite another to truly understand it.

There is a lot of knowledge in our world today, but very little comprehension.

People often spout knowledge, twist it around, and make themselves sound smart, but they don’t actually understand any of it.

This has become a huge problem. Our education system is great at providing knowledge without understanding. Because of this, many kids walk away with a brain full of “facts”, but no idea how to apply them in real life.

Knowledge without understanding can only lead to destruction.

The only way to truly comprehend, is by knowing the Lord

Proverbs 9:10

Proverbs 9:10 NKJV

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

There is NO understanding apart from the Lord, but knowing Him brings understanding.

As far as our text is concerned, the emphasis is on knowing the unknowable. Specifically the “love of Christ which passes knowledge”. It is far beyond human reason, and can only be known by those who are God’s children.

Notice that the love of Christ is so vast that it exists in 4 dimensions:

Width

Length

Breadth

Height

Experiencing the strength of the Holy Spirit, being grounded in love, and knowing the Lord will help us begin to comprehend the vastness of the love of God.

What is the result of all this?

Fullness:

With these other attributes comes the fullness of God. The Christian life is a maturing process, as we grow closer to God and stronger in faith.

The fullness of God, I believe, envisions believers maturing until they reach the fullness for which God created them—the perfection of God.

As I said, this is a journey, as God is transforming believers.

Believers are on a journey of being transformed by God

Romans 8:29

Romans 8:29 NKJV

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

So, the end result is to be conformed to the image of Christ, who is, indeed, the fullness of God.

Colossians 2:9-10

Colossians 2:9–10 NKJV

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

vv.20-21

As Paul finishes His prayer, he recognizes that God is all powerful. He is able to do far more than we could ever ask, even more than we could ever imagine.

Paul also recognizes that His power also works in us.

Therefore, it is God who the church must glorify, both now and forever.

This prayer of praise to God ends part 1 of Ephesians. In the first section, Paul described the role of the church and revealed the mystery…the unity among all Christians, whether Jew or Gentile.

In part 2 (chapters 4-6), he will explain how we should live in order to bring about the unity God wants, and fulfill the role of the church.

God has a purpose for this church. To fulfill it, we need to:

Know the strength of the Holy Spirit

Be grounded in God’s love

Comprehend the vastness of God’s love

Be filled with the fullness of God