Appreciation of the Mystery
EPHESIANS 3:14-19
OUR FOCUS AGAIN THIS MORNING FROM EPHESIANS IS THE MYSTERY…
ONCE AGAIN LET ME REMIND YOU OF THE MEANING OF “MYSTERY”: a biblical mystery is something that has not been previously revealed. “The secret things of God are the mysteries that God knows about life and about the future which humanity desperately needs to know.” – Steadman. Scripturally speaking, the mystery would have remained a mystery had not it been supernaturally revealed…
THE MYSTERY OF CHAPTER 3 OF EPHESIANS WAS THAT in Christ Jew and Gentile believers became one in God’s sight and members of His kingdom and family. Look again at what Paul says in v. 6…
NAS Ephesians 3:6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
NOW LOOK AT V. 4…
NAS Ephesians 3:4 And by referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
“IT WAS PAUL’S INTENTION NOT SIMPLY TO DECLARE THE MYSTERY BUT TO explain and clarify it. When Ephesian believers and every subsequent believer would read his explanations, Paul’s hope was that they would come to understand his God-given insight into the mystery of Christ.” – MacArthur…
NOW IN OUR PASSAGE TODAY, WE SEE PAULS’ “APPRECIATION of the Mystery.” Paul expresses his appreciation in the form of a prayer, the best way to express appreciation…
SO THE BLOG THIS WEEK IS A PRAYER. It is essentially a prayer for strength for the Ephesians. It is a prayer for others, Paul, in prison, is praying for other people. We call this an “intercessory prayer.” An intercessory prayer is a prayer you pray for the benefit of others…
ONE SOURCE TITLES THIS PASSAGE “Paul’s Prayer for Strengthened Love” (NET Bible). And yet I must tell you that the more I went over this passage this week the more I came to see Paul’s prayer as being multifaceted. He is not only praying for strength; he is praying for other positive things believers need as well. Another commentator perhaps more accurately titled this passage Paul’s prayer “For the Completeness of the Reader’s Experience of God” (Lincoln)…
“PAUL WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE CHRISTIANS IN AND ABOUT EPHESUS because they were in danger of losing heart. When you lose heart, you lose your stamina, your morale, your will to persevere.” – Steadman…
WHAT IS PRAYER? Let’s remind ourselves just what prayer is. The best, simplest definition of prayer is talking to God. There are other elements we could add, course, including praise, thanksgiving, and intercession, but any prayer and every prayer is simply talking to God…
LISTEN TO PAUL’S PRAYER OF “APPRECIATION FOR THE MYSTERY,” his appreciation for the amazing work of God in bringing together believing Jews and Gentiles in the Church…
NAS Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 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; 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.
AS I BEGIN THIS BLOG ALLOW ME TO SAY THAT THERE ARE FAR TOO MANY rich facets in this passage for us to explore. I find that’s often the case. Therefore, I would like you to understand that I have done the best I could to touch on as many of these rich dimensions as possible, but some I simply had to pass over or only briefly mention…
IN THE GREEK TEXT, THESE 6 VERSES COMPRISE ONE SINGLE SENTENCE. Our English translations, on the whole, have done a great job in retaining this long sentence feature “without lapsing into incomprehensibility or too great an awkwardness of style.” – Lincoln…
NOW LET’S LOOK CLOSELY AT V. 14…
NAS Ephesians 3:14 For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,
PAUL IS PICKING UP HIS THOUGHT FROM V. 1…
NAS Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
REMEMBER, AGAIN, VV. 2-13 ARE PARENTHETICAL…
“FOR THIS REASON” POINTS US BACK TO CHAPTER 2, especially the last few verses. I won’t go over the relevant verses from chapter two, but will only generalize the “reason.” The “reason” is that the Christian’s new identity in Christ makes him or her the dwelling place of God…
“PAUL PRAYS FOR THE EPHESIANS TO USE THE POWER that their great status in Christ provides. Because believers are the habitation of the triune, all-powerful God of the universe, Paul prays that their unlimited energy from Him would be manifested.” – MacArthur…
PAUL GIVES US A FASCINATING DETAIL IN V. 14 that I’d like us to look at… He says, “I bow my knees before the Father.” This is fascinating because bowing the knees was not the normal way first century Jews prayed. They usually stood to pray…
NAS Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions.
THE MAIN JEWISH PRAYER IN THE SYNAGOGUE, THE AMIDAH, IS a standing prayer…
NOW, LET ME QUICKLY MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THERE IS NO ONE WAY TO PRAY, no right or wrong way to pray. You can pray standing on your head. I regularly pray when I am swimming or walking. Over the years I have trained myself to pray throughout the day in whatever circumstance I am in…
AS HE INTERCEDED FOR SODOM AND GOMORRAH, ABRAHAM STOOD…
NAS Genesis 18:22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD.
WHEN DAVID PRAYED ABOUT THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE, HE SAT…
NAS 1 Chronicles 17:16 Then David the king went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house that Thou hast brought me this far?
WHEN JESUS PRAYED IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE, HE FELL ON HIS FACE…
NAS Matthew 26:39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”
BOWING PRIMARILY SIGNIFIES SUBMISSION. Aside from subordination, kneeling could signify servility or worship.” – Lincoln… I have always thought it is such a beautiful thing. Because of age and injury – and lack of exercise, I might add – bowing is out the question for many, but I think we would all agree that bowing is a beautiful, appropriate posture to have before the Lord…
NKJ Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
THIS SOLEMN INTRODUCTION IN V. 14 GIVES GREAT WEIGHT TO Paul’s prayer.
“Two elements make this introduction unusual: first, the reference to bowing the knee, and, secondly, the turning to one who is humbly addressed as Father and then identified as the one from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name (v.15).” – Snodgrass…
NAS Ephesians 3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
LET ME CAUTIOUSLY DANCE ON THE RAZOR-SHARP EDGE OF POLITICS for a moment, please…
MAKING A POINT ABOUT PRIORITIES WHEN I PREACHED, I OFTEN SAID THAT we are Christians first and Americans second. Some eyebrows were raised, I readily admit. Nothing against patriotism within reason, I assure you. However, I stood and stand strongly behind that statement. But at the same time, I sometimes regret saying this because it can imply an exclusivity that is not biblical. Yes, we are Christians first, but we are not just Christians; we are also Americans and members of the world community. We have responsibilities to people who are not Christians. Remember, as I remind myself, every human being was created by God and bears the image of God – everyone. I found a good paragraph this week that speaks to this point; here it is…
“THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD IS THE FOUNDATION THAT DETERMINES our responsibility to other people. We cannot ignore the needs of others if we share a common origin in God and a common value before Him. In addition, the fatherhood of God will not allow us to draw a circle around Christians as the limits of our responsibility. We enjoy an unparalleled unity with those in Christ, but a broader unity with all human beings exists as well. We may not ignore non-Christians or relate to them by some lower standard. Many things exist that are human and not Christian, but nothing is Christian that is not human. We must do justice to our humanity in order to do justice to our Christianity.” – Snodgrass…
THAT’S GOOD, ISN’T IT? Maybe some of us need to hear that. In my humble opinion, far too many Christians excuse their racism and bigotry by claiming to be holy unto the Lord. Racism and bigotry are not only attacks on other people, they are also attacks on God, for He died for those “other” people and cares about them…
I PRAY YOU’LL ACCEPT THESE OPINIONS, AND SEE THEM WITHIN THE CONTEXT of Ephesians 3:15…
“EVERY FAMILY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH DERIVES ITS NAME FROM GOD.” This is not the easiest verse to understand exactly. Scholars are divided as to the precise meaning. I humbly believe, however, that what I have said reflects the safest and therefore most likely meaning. While it may mean other things, I think it generally means that all people – Christian and non-Christian alike – owe submission to God as Creator and Source of life, and we Christians must see all non-Christians in this holy light. I’ll move on…
NAS Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man;
HERE IN V. 16 WE HAVE PAUL’S FIRST PETITION IN HIS PRAYER. A petition is a request, an appeal. He is praying that God would strengthen his readers. The NAS translation I am using is an excellent translation here of the Greek text: “to be strengthened with power”…
“THROUGHOUT PAUL’S LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS HE STRESSES GOD’S wealth that is poured out on the believer.” – Hoehner…
“THE RICHES OF HIS GLORY.” What an incredible phrase. “To the spiritual believer, the riches of God’s glory are rich indeed. From the beginning of the letter Paul has been exulting over those divine riches: God blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (1:3), His choosing us for Himself before the foundation of the world (1:4), His redemption and forgiveness (1:7), his making known to us the mystery of His will (1:9), His giving us an inheritance with His Son Jesus Christ (1:11), and so on throughout the first two and a half chapters.” – MacArthur…
“THE PHRASE ‘OF HIS GLORY’ TESTIFIES THAT THESE RICHES BELONG TO GOD because of who He is. They belong ultimately to His Person, which is to say, His glory.” – MacArthur…
NOTE ALSO IN V. 16 THAT PAUL IS NOT PRAYING FOR GOD TO GIVE US these riches; we already possess them. Paul is praying that believers would be strengthened by God according to the riches they already possess. What Paul is saying – and what he will continue to say in chapters 4-6 – is that he wants believers to live lives that reflect the incomparable blessings – “the riches of His glory” – we have already been given…
“THIS PRAYER OF PAUL’S IN VV. 14-19 PAVES THE WAY FOR THE PRACTICAL outworking of the Christian’s position in Christ, which is outlined in chapters 4-6 of this letter.” – Hoehner…
THINK OF THIS FOR A MOMENT: In our prayers for our loved ones, how many times do we follow this example? Not many, I’m afraid. But what a great, Christ-honoring prayer it is to pray for someone to be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in the inner man.” The sphere of the strengthening with power is the inner being. Too often, I think it’s safe to say, we pray for the outer being, for physical health, material wealth, physical safety…
“THIS PRAYER, LIKE PAUL’S COUNTERPART PRAYER OF 1:15–23, is loaded with terms for power (vv. 16, 18). Gods mighty activity is stressed, first, by means of the relatively rare Greek word rendered strengthen, and then by the addition of the words with power (a Semitic manner of expression), as Paul petitions God for their inner strengthening.” – Hoehner…
THIS RELATIVELY RARE GREEK VERB FOR “STRENGTHEN” (κραταιόω [kra-tai-a-o]) is used only 3 other times in the N.T., twice in Luke, speaking of the Lord Jesus. Here is one…
NAS Luke 1:80 And the child continued to grow, and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
THIS DIVINE EMPOWERING, AS WE WOULD IMAGINE, WILL BE EFFECTED through God’s Spirit…
VERSE 16 IS PAUL’S PETITION; V. 17 IS THE PURPOSE OF THE PETITION…
NAS Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
PAUL’S PRAYER FOR STRENGTH IN THE INNER MAN IS EXPLAINED AND amplified in v. 17. In your “heart” is equivalent to your inner being. Our innermost being is our “heart.” It is the innermost being, the heart that is the object of God’s working…
“ONLY GOD CAN REACH AND CURE THE INNER MAN.” – MacArthur…
VERSE 17 IS A MOST INTERESTING VERSE. Normally we think of the Holy Spirit indwelling our hearts, do we not? And isn’t Christ already in our hearts?…
“AT FIRST IT SEEMS STRANGE FOR PAUL TO PRAY THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL in the hearts of believers. Did he not already live within them? In answer, it is noted that the focus of this request is not on the initial indwelling of Christ but on His continual presence. The verb used in this prayer is a strong one, signifying a permanent indwelling rather than some temporary abode. It has already occurred in Colossians in relation to the fullness of the Godhead permanently abiding in Christ (cf. Col. 1:19; 2:9), while the notion of Christ being in you Gentiles is a prominent thought in this parallel letter (1:27).” – Hoehner…
YES, IT IS PROPER TO THINK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE PERSON OF THE Godhead that indwells us, but if we think this through, really it is all of God that indwells us…
SPEAKING OF THE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP OF CHRIST AND THE SPIRIT, one commentator wrote these words: “The indwelling of Christ in the heart and the strengthening by the Spirit coming into the inner being are not two different experiences. Paul is not always precise in distinguishing the work of Christ and of the Spirit in human lives. If he were using strict theological terminology he might speak simply of the Spirit in such a context. But such is the unity of the Christ preached to them and the Spirit who indwells, that sometimes he prefers to speak as he does in this verse.” – Foulkes…
WHICH I THINK IS YET ANOTHER INDIRECT SUPPORT FOR THE DOCTRINE OF the Trinity. As Pastor Matt has rightly noted in his recent sermons from Revelation, there are many instances in Scripture where it is all but impossible to tell if the focus is God the Father or God the Son, or God the Son or the God the Holy Spirit…
THE MEANING OF ALL THIS TO US IN APPLICATION, I THINK, IS THIS: “If Christ has taken up residence in our hearts, he is at the center of our lives and exercises His rule over all that we are and do. This indwelling is through faith, that is, as they trust Him He makes their hearts His home. The implication of the apostles’ prayer, then, is that the more the Spirit empowers their lives the greater will be their transformation into the likeness of Christ, a point that will be developed throughout the second half of the letter.” – Hoehner
THE GREEK VERB FOR “DWELL” (κατοικέω [ka-toi-ka-o]) IS INTENSIVE. It means a settled dwelling, an enduring not a temporary settling down…
NAS Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
NAS Ephesians 3:18-19 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
JUST BEAUTIFUL! A BEAUTIFUL PRAYER, and beautiful closing remarks. What a gift of God is Paul’s prayer of “Appreciation of the Mystery”…
“TO SPEAK OF CHRIST’S LOVE AS ‘SURPASSING KNOWLEDGE’ MEANS that it is so great that one can never know it fully. We can never plumb its depths or comprehend its magnitude. No matter how much we know of the love of Christ, how fully we enter into His love for us, there is always mote to know and experience.” – Garner…
IN VV. 18-19, PAUL RESTATES HIS PETITION FOR SPIRITUAL STRENGTH and power…
IN SUMMARY, “Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is that God would strengthen them in the inner person, resulting in Christ effectively dwelling in them for the purpose that they, having been rooted and grounded in love, might be able to comprehend with all the saints the wonders of Christ’s love, resulting in their experiential knowledge of Christ’s love that surpasses all knowledge for the final purpose of being filled up with God’s moral character which reflects God’s character.” – Hoehner…
ISN’T THAT MAGNIFICENT? Isn’t God great? And aren’t we all incredibly blessed?…
“AS WE ARE STRENGTHENED SPIRITUALLY AND ENJOY DEEPER FELLOWSHIP with Christ, we can have deeper experiences of God’s love and fullness.” – Garner
PRAISE THE WONDERFUL NAME OF THE LORD!…
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
