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)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

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

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.

Read full chapter

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.”