Ephesians:3:14-21, “Paul’s Prayer For Personal Experience Of
Jesus For The Ephesians”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at the first 13 verses of chapter 3.
1.1.1. In that
study, we observed Paul provide more background for our understanding of the
things that the Lord was doing in the church in bringing about unity between
all different people groups. Paul also
discussed his own calling and ministry in bringing about this tearing down of
the barriers that exist between Jew and Gentile.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going o look at verses
14-21 of chapter 3.
1.2.1. In this
study, we will see Paul’s second prayer for the Ephesian church. The first prayer he prayed was in chapter one
and in that prayer he mainly petitioned that the Ephesians would grow in their
“knowledge of the Lord.” He
wanted them to understand the great
treasures of the grace of God that they presently possess because they are “in
Christ.” In this prayer, Paul’s
emphasis has to do with the Ephesian’s “experience of God,” of receiving
personally and experientially all of the fullness of the Lord, of His power and
His love in their lives.
1.2.2. This prayer
of Paul’s for the Ephesians church is also one that all of us as Christ’s
people need fulfilled in our life. The experience
of God that Paul prays for the Ephesians here is not meant to be an experience
only for the exceptional Christian but rather that which should entail “the
normal Christian life” which every Christian can and should experience, as
it is available for all.
2. VS
3:14-15 - “14 For
this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its
name,” - Paul tells the Ephesians that
he bows his knees before the Father
2.1.
In verse 14, Paul expresses the attitude of his heart
primarily. He says that he bows his
knees before the Father, but in saying this he isn’t saying that he only prays
on his knees nor that this is the only position for effective prayer. In reality, the scriptures detail God’s
people praying and worshipping the Lord earnestly in many different postures.
2.2.
Paul prays for the Ephesians to ‘the Father.’ Jesus, in His example prayer for His
disciples, taught us to pray as He prayed, directing our prayer to God as our ‘Father.’ This is the proper way for us to consider the
One to whom we are praying. When we
think of the concept of ‘Father’ we realize that just as an earthly
father is ready and willing to entreat warmly and welcome his children when they
come to him, in the same way when we pray we are coming to our heavenly ‘Father’
who loves us as a son or daughter with even a much greater love than our
earthly parents and thus He is always willing to receive us when we come to
Him, and, He always grants our requests of Him as they are according to His
perfect will.
2.3.
When Paul mentions here that ‘every family in
heaven and on earth derives its name’ from God the Father, he is speaking
specifically of the family relationship and identity that God’s children share
with Him. Paul is not referring to every
single family here, including those who are not God’s people, for contrary to
the philosophies of this world the scripture is clear that God is not the
father of every person on the earth:
2.3.1. John 8:40-44,
“40 “But as it is, you are seeking to
kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham
did not do. 41 “You are doing
the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of
fornication; we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded
forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative,
but He sent Me. 43 “Why do you not
understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
44 “You are of your father the devil,
and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.
Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a
liar and the father of lies.”
2.3.2. 1 John 3:10,
“10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are
obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one
who does not love his brother.”
3. VS 3:16 - “16 that He would
grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power
through His Spirit in the inner man,” -
Paul prays that the Father will grant to the Ephesians that they be
strengthened with power through the Spirit in the inner man
3.1.
The New Testament reveals to us that Christians are
actually possessed of two different natures.
Paul often refers to these two natures with terms such as:
3.1.1. The “new
nature,” ‘inner man,’ or ‘spiritual man.’
3.1.2. And for the
other nature, the “old man,” “old self,” or “the flesh.”
3.2.
Here Paul refers to the new nature as being the ‘inner
man.’ This is the new nature that
only those who have come to saving relationship with Jesus Christ
experience. A non-believer does not have
a dual nature, he only knows and experiences the sinful nature that he inherits
from Adam, mankind’s federal head. The
unsaved person is spiritually dead, as we discussed in chapter 2. He is dead in transgressions and sins and
walking according to the course of this world and according to the spirit of
the power of the air, the Devil.
3.3.
From the scriptures we read that Christians are to
feed their new nature they have in Christ and keep the old sinful nature
inactive (see Galatians chapter 5 for instance). Someone once described the Christian as
having a war within us, as if two dogs were fighting within us. The one you feed is the one that is going to
win out. If you feed the flesh you will
become fleshly. If you feed the Spirit
you will be spiritual and be greatly blessed and used by God.
3.4.
In Ephesians 4:22 Paul writes to these Ephesians
warning them of ongoing corruption of the old nature that is within them, “22
that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the
old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit.” According to God’s ability Paul requests that
the Ephesians be strengthened in their ‘inner man.’
3.5.
When a person gives to someone or some cause according
to his ability we can gauge the amount that he might give. Here, Paul prays for the Ephesians that God
the Father might grant to them his prayer request ‘according to the riches
of His grace.’ Paul is asking for
big things to be done in the lives of the church in
3.5.1. We
Christians need to not limit ourselves when we pray for others, that is, as
long as you have the faith to believe that your prayer will be answered. Whenever Jesus taught about prayer He always
used “limitless language.” For
instance, Jesus once said:
3.5.1.1. John 11:22,
“22 “Even
now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
3.5.1.2. John
14:1-60, “13 “Whatever you ask in My
name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14
“If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
3.6.
Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians here is that they
would be strengthened in their inner man.
This is a prayer for them to have spiritual resolve and conviction. It is a prayer for strength to withstand
temptation and persevere in doing what is right in spite of what everyone else
around may be doing in their life. This
is the great need that we as Christians have is that we be strengthened in the
new nature through the Holy Spirit and die to self allowing Christ to live
through our life.
3.7.
Paul spoke about the reality of his own experience in
walking with Christ when he wrote:
3.7.1. Galatians
2:20, “20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer
I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for
me.”
3.7.2. Philippians
1:21, “21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
3.8.
To be honest, when I read from Paul’s letters about
his life as he describes his love and devotion to the Lord as well as how
greatly the Lord is using him, I realize how different my life is from
his. Paul was experiencing a depth of
personal relationship with Christ that I would like to have however I have to
tell you that right now I am not experiencing it. I have at times experienced it and I know
what it is, and I want it for my life.
3.8.1. For
instance, Paul described his ministry in 1 Corinthians 2:4 saying, “4 and
my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”
3.9.
The church in
4. VS 3:17 – “17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that
you, being rooted and grounded in love,” -
Paul prays that the Ephesians may have Christ dwell in their hearts through
faith and that they be rooted and grounded in love
4.1.
This verse causes confusion because Paul prays for the
Ephesians that ‘Christ may dwell in your hearts’ and yet we know from
many scriptural references that Christ already dwelt in their hearts just the
way that He dwells in the hearts of all true Christians, including:
4.1.1. 2
Corinthians 13:5, “5 Test yourselves to see if you are in
the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves,
that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
4.1.2. Colossians
1:27, “27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of
the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope
of glory.”
4.1.3. 1 John 5:12,
“12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son
of God does not have the life.”
4.1.4. Romans 8:9,
“9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed
the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
4.2.
So, what does Paul mean when asks that Christ would
dwell in the Ephesian’s hearts? The
Greek word translated ‘dwell’ used here means literally “to settle
down at home with.” Paul is praying
for the Ephesians that they might be a home for Christ or at home with Christ. This is the kind of experience with Christ
that we Christians ought to have.
4.2.1. Are there
things in your life that would make Christ uncomfortable to dwell with
you? These things need to be removed if
you are to be a place where Christ wants to dwell.
4.3.
The experience that Paul is praying for the Ephesians
involves experience of Jesus dwelling in their hearts. Yes, the Lord dwells in the hearts of all
Christians, however it is not always the case that Christians are responsive to
the indwelling Christ. Many Christians
seem to ignore the Lord being in their heart a good part of every day and they
live their life as if they did not know the Lord or have eternal life. Paul is praying that the Ephesians might know
Christ as “Lord” of their life, in control of them and all that they do.
4.4.
Paul prays that the Ephesians become ‘rooted and
grounded in love.’ Christian
maturity can be gauged by the depth that a Christian loves. Jesus gave us that one new commandment which
is to “love one another.” The
apostle John wrote much for us in his first epistle about how everything in our
Christian walk has to do with our own apprehension of God’s love for us and
then in response our loving others with that same love with which God has loved
us:
4.4.1. 1 John 4:19,
“19 We love, because He first loved us.”
4.4.2. 1 John 4:8,
“8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
4.4.3. 1 John 4:16,
“16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has
for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God
abides in him.”
4.5.
Loving people with God’s love (agape) involves a
commitment on one’s will and is not dependent upon feelings. It is unconditional love and it involves
actions that are deliberately taken on behalf of the one who is loved.
4.6.
The “rooting and grounding” in love for
Christians requires us to learn about God’s love for us from His word and it
also requires time to experience the care and love of God for our lives as Christians
as we walk with Christ through this world and in all of our experiences. Roots grow slowly but they are the most vital
part of any growing plant or tree as they provide the nourishment that flows
through them to the the leaves and fruit of the tree, as well as the protection
from the elements for the tree. The
other day I was driving down Platten Street by my house and as I passed some
rather large trees on the sides of the road I was just imagining the root system
that these large trees surely had underneath the road I was driving upon. We Christians need ‘rooting and grounding’
in God’s love after coming to salvation.
4.7.
We Christians must recognize that whenever we are
walking with Christ that we will be walking in love (agape love that is). Also, obedience to Christ always involves
walking in love. Christ will always
demonstrate His love through the life of anyone who is genuinely committed to
Him.
4.7.1. How great of
a lover of people are you? That is the
question each of us as Christians need to answer for it is the gauge of our
experience of Christ in our life.
5. VS 3:18 - “18 may be able to
comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and
depth,” - Paul prays for the Ephesians
that they may be able to comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth
5.1.
There has been debate about this verse as to whether
the breadth, length, height, and depth referred to here is “God’s love”
or general “experience of Christ.”
I guess in the end there is no real issue though for to know Christ is
to experience God’s love.
5.2.
I’ll bet you can’t draw the breadth, length, height,
and depth of an object? To do this would
require four dimensions. To know Christ
you see is an other worldly experience!
5.3.
Martyn Lloyd Jones quotes the great English preacher
of a century and a half ago, Charles Spurgeon, as saying the following about
the experience of Christ that every Christian may have with Christ, “There
is a point in grace as much above the ordinary Christian as the ordinary
Christian is above the worldling.”
Lloyd-Jones continues, “In other words, there is a stage in the
Christian life, in the development of the Christian, ‘which is as much above
the ordinary Christian as the ordinary Christian is above the worldling.” As was said at the outset of this study, the
kind of Christian life described in this prayer for the Ephesians should typify
that of every Christian, for it is the birthright of every Christian if he will
but renounce other attractions and take hold of Christ as he should.
5.4.
We Christians need to study God’s word diligently so
that we might know Christ and His love for us intimately. A few years ago at one of our Calvary Chapel
pastor’s conferences, pastor Sandy Adams told the following story that
emphasizes the fact that many Christians in the church haven’t really studied
God’s word to know the Lord and thus their knowledge of God’s word is not solid
or complete:
“It reminds me of a young Cajun boy
named Claude. He was a zealous new
Christian who lived way down on the bayou.
He approached his pastor one day, and asked if he could serve in the
church. The pastor asked, “Claude, can you read and write?” Claude admitted going to school hadn’t been
his top priority.
He’d been too busy hunting gators and eating gumbo. The pastor asked again, “Well, do you know
your Bible?” Claude replied, “Sir,
I’s pretty good in de Scriptures; I knows my Bible from limb to limb.”
The pastor then asked him to name his
favorite Bible story. Claude answered, “I like de parable o’ de Good Samaritan.”
He said, “Great, tell me the story?”
And here’s how Claude told it.
”Onced dere was dis man travelling from
And he gets into a chariot and he drove
furiously. And as he was a drivin’ under a big juniper tree, his hair caught
in de limb of dat tree, and he hung dere many days. And de ravens brought
him food to eat and water to drink, and he ate five thousand loaves and two
fishes. One night when he was a hangin’
dere asleep, his wife Delilah comes along and cuts his hair, and he drops and
he falls to de stony ground. But he gets up and he went on.
And it began a rainin’ forty days and
forty nights, and he hides himself in caves, and he lives on locusts an wild
honey. And while he was dere, he met a servant who says, “Come, take suppa
at my house.” And he says, “No, I won’t, I married a wife and I
can’t go.” Well, de servant went out
into de highways and de hedges and compelled him to come.
And after suppa, he went on down to
And he say, “Throw her down outta
dere,” and they throw’d her down seventy times seven. And of the fragments, dey picked up twelve
baskets fulls, besides womens and childrens.
And den da say, “Blessed are da piecemakers.”
”Now, who’s wife you s’pose she be in de judgment day?””
5.5.
H.A. Ironside has written the following story, “When
Napoleon’s soldiers opened the prison of the Inquisition, in an underground
dungeon they found the skeleton of a prisoner.
The flesh and clothing had long since gone, but the remnants of an ankle
bone with a chain attached to it were still there. On the wall they saw cut into the rock with a
sharp piece of metal a cross. Above the
cross in Spanish was the word for height,
and below it the word for depth, and
on one arm the word for length, and
on the other the word for breadth. As that poor prisoner of so long ago was
starving to death, his soul was contemplating the wonder of God’s purpose of
grace, and to Him the figure of the cross summed it all up-the length, the
breadth, the depth, the height.”
6. VS 3:19 - “19 and to know the
love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the
fullness of God.” - Paul prays
for the Ephesians to know the love of Christ and to be filled up with all of
the fullness of God
6.1.
Curiously, Paul prays for the Ephesians that they
might know something that ‘surpasses knowledge.’ This, of course, is ‘the love of Christ.’ This reminds me of what Paul wrote earlier in
the letter when he spoke of the “unfathomable riches of Christ.” The love of Christ has such great depth that
try though we may to comprehend all of it, we shall always see that there is so
much more to explore.
6.2.
Someone once said that the scriptures are like a great
ocean. For the babe in Christ and the
young child there are the shallow shore lines where they can wade and grow in
their understanding of the scriptures.
However, great Bible scholars shall never be able to reach its great
depths either.
6.3.
To know Christ is to know ‘the love of Christ,’
and thus Paul should pray for the Ephesians that they might know this
love.
6.4.
Paul prays for the Ephesians to have “the Big Gulp.” He asks God the Father that they ‘may be
filled up to all the fullness of God.’
That is a big prayer request, but as was mentioned earlier it is OK to
pray big prayers as long as you have the faith to believe that God shall
fulfill them. ‘All the fullness of
God’ entails becoming like Christ in every aspect of character and devotion
as well as “the fullness of the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit”
in your life. Imagine how God might use
someone who was ‘filled up to all the fullness of God.’
6.4.1. Do you o
Christian want all that God has for you in the Christian life? To desire less is to sin.
7. VS 3:20 - “20 Now to Him who is
able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to
the power that works within us,” - Paul speaks
of how the Lord is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or
think
7.1.
What keeps us from having all that God wants to give
us is not the ability of the supplier, who is God. What holds us back is our own reluctance to
have all that God wants for us and our lack of discipline in coming to the Lord
to ask for His every resource in prayer.
7.2.
Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “13 I
can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” yet how many Christians
are willing to look to the Lord in prayer for all things?
7.3.
God the Father is not only able to miraculously answer
any petition that we His children through faith in Christ bring to Him, He is
able to do ‘far abundantly beyond’ all that we ‘ask or think.’ The Lord is “omnipotent” and there is
no limit to His power and ability to work, that is, except for that limit which
we limit Him to by not coming to Him in prayer and bringing every need to Him.
8. VS 3:21 - “21 to Him be the
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.
Amen.” - Paul ends his prayer
exclaiming that God should get the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
8.1.
In every era of history the Lord is to get all ‘the
glory’ and thus whenever we, Christ’s church, pray for others we need to be
careful to request that the Lord be glorified in our request.
8.2.
This request for God to be glorified ought to
accompany our every prayer to the Lord.
9. CONCLUSIONS:
9.1.
As we consider this study and how that we apply it to
our life, I want to ask you a few questions:
9.1.1. What is your
present experience of Christ in your daily life?
9.1.2. Do you know
Him? Is He living within you?
9.1.3. Is your
Christian life so much above that of the ordinary Christian that it is as much
above it as a Christian is above a non-Christian? Are you an extra-ordinary Christian in your
experience of Christ?
9.2.
If the answer to that last question is “No!” then I
want to ask you to pray that you might know the breadth, length, height, and
depth of Christ and His love for you.
9.3.
Ask Christ to reveal to you His love and that you might
become rooted and grounded in His love.
9.4.
Ask Christ that you might know all of the fullness of
God.