A Prayer for the Ephesians

14 For this reason I kneel(A) before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches(B) he may strengthen you with power(C) through his Spirit in your inner being,(D) 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts(E) through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted(F) and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,(G) to grasp how wide and long and high and deep(H) is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge(I)—that you may be filled(J) to the measure of all the fullness of God.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 3:15 The Greek for family (patria) is derived from the Greek for father (pater).

14-19 My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

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14 For this reason [[a]seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ], I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 For Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named [that Father from Whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name].

16 May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

17 May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,

18 That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];

19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, [b]through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses [c]mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] [d]unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and [e]become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 3:14 Many manuscripts consider that Paul here resumes the thread of verse 1.
  2. Ephesians 3:19 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  3. Ephesians 3:19 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  4. Ephesians 3:19 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  5. Ephesians 3:19 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.

Prayer for Strengthened Love

14 For this reason[a] I kneel[b] before the Father,[c] 15 from[d] whom every family[e] in heaven and on earth is named. 16 I pray that[f] according to the wealth of his glory he will grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, 17 that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, 18 you will be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,[g] 19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you will be filled up to[h] all the fullness of God.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 3:14 sn For this reason resumes the point begun in v. 1, after a long parenthesis.
  2. Ephesians 3:14 tn Grk “I bend my knees.”
  3. Ephesians 3:14 tc Most Western and Byzantine witnesses, along with a few others (א2 D F G Ψ 0278 1505 1881 2464 M lat sy), have “of our Lord Jesus Christ” after “Father,” but such an edifying phrase cannot explain the rise of the reading that lacks it, especially when the shorter reading is attested by early and significant witnesses such as P46 א* A B C P 6 33 81 365 1175 1739 co Or Hier.
  4. Ephesians 3:15 tn Or “by.”
  5. Ephesians 3:15 tn Or “the whole family.”
  6. Ephesians 3:16 tn Grk “that.” In Greek v. 16 is a subordinate clause to vv. 14-15.
  7. Ephesians 3:18 sn The object of these dimensions is not stated in the text. Interpreters have suggested a variety of referents for this unstated object, including the cross of Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem (which is then sometimes linked to the Church), God’s power, the fullness of salvation given in Christ, the Wisdom of God, and the love of Christ. Of these interpretations, the last two are the most plausible. Associations from Wisdom literature favor the Wisdom of God, but the immediate context favors the love of Christ. For detailed discussion of these interpretive options, see A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians (WBC), 207-13, who ultimately favors the love of Christ.
  8. Ephesians 3:19 tn Or “with.”