In my many years of life, 40 years of ministry and more than 35 years of marriage, I have learned a lot. One thing that sticks out is this: If we truly love someone, we are never fully ready to let them go. We always want more. One more year. One more day. One more hour. One more minute.
For this reason, we should do all we can to share our love for others—and accept theirs—while we can.
This especially is true when it comes to our relationship with God. So far in Ephesians, we have studied how Paul has dealt with some pretty basic issues: Jesus died to break down the barriers that separate us from God and from each other; God loves all and wants us to do the same. Paul did not want to stop there. He knew there was much more to what Jesus wants for us.
In Ephesians 3:1-13, Paul explains the reasons for his concern. It was not simply from his being a Christian. Beyond that, Paul explains that God had called him “to preach to the Gentiles” (v. 8) and “to make plain to everyone (my emphasis, but also notice Paul’s continuing inclusion) this mystery” (v. 9). The mystery, Paul continues, is that “through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known” (v. 10).
To really know God is an awesome concept. God is above and beyond us—beyond our human powers of complete comprehension. It was this special thought and concern that drove Paul to prayer. We read in verse 14 that Paul actually was driven to his knees.
You may recall that, in Matthew 6:5, Jesus referred to those who “love to pray standing [emphasis added] in the synagogues and on the street corners.” Standing was typical position of prayer for Jews. One would kneel in submission to one who is superior. One would also kneel in cases of special requests—such as in our day when a man might kneel to propose marriage.
Perhaps one of those is the reason Paul knelt. He may have fallen to his knees at the very thought of the “manifold wisdom of God” and the request he was about to make in his prayer we find in verses 16-21.
And what a prayer it was—and is. Notice that, as we read in the way Jesus taught us to pray (in Matthew 6:9-13), it all starts with God. Paul starts, in verse 14, by confessing that the church (God’s “whole family”) derives both its name and its existence from God, the Father. Then, Paul prays that God, the Holy Spirit, would give strength and power to the church (v. 16). That is followed with an appeal that Jesus Christ would “dwell in (Christian) hearts” and that this would be “rooted and established in love” (v.17).
This prayer follows some interesting patterns. First, it revolves around the Trinity—the fullness of God. Receiving all that is God—and all God has to offer—means receiving the strength, power and love of God. Second, it moves from the inward to the outward. It begins with the capability. That capability is put into action. Finally, that action is used in the right way and for the right purposes.
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It is, indeed, only the strength and power of God that makes possible our living out Jesus’ love.
Some of the things Jesus calls us to do would take ability and courage beyond our human ability. So, to accept and live in fullness, we must open ourselves to God’s strength and allow Jesus’ love to dwell in our hearts.
As infomericals often tell us, “But wait! There’s more!” In the latter part of verse 17 and through verse 19, we read about the result of receiving all God has for us. The more we get, the more we learn about God’s love. A never-ending process, Paul writes about it in terms of our grasping “how wide and long and deep is the love of Christ” (v. 18). Paul describes this love as one that “surpasses knowledge” (v. 19).
For Jews, “knowledge” implied intimate experience and involvement with a fact, event or person. For Greeks, it was more rational. For both, in their respective ways, knowledge was something to be greatly desired. Paul, is telling them—and us—that experiencing the love of Jesus is beyond anything else they could experience or think of.
Significantly, Paul prayed with hope, confidence, excitement and vision for the future. In verse 16, Paul had asked that his prayer be answered out of God’s “glorious riches.” In verse 20, he expresses confidence in God’s ability “to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is in us.”
The ultimate end of Paul’s prayer is not simply for the benefit of the church in Ephesus. It was that God’s glory would show “in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations” (v. 21).
Let all God’s people say—no, let us live the “Amen”!
Questions to explore
• What does “being Godly” truly mean? Why is that so difficult for us?
• How open are you to greater spiritual strength and nearness to Jesus?
• How would your life give glory to God if you let Jesus live more fully in and through you?
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