Now to the God whose power can do … Continue reading "Commentary on Ephesians 3:14-21" In one sense, the whole Jewish nation could be traced back to Abraham and be called the patria of Abraham. Powerful pumps draw the materials out of the barrels, but the workers must carefully regulate the force of these pumps. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. W. B. Eerdmans. You don’t realize that He is everything you could ever look for. (2Chr 6:13). He further details our complete and unconditional acceptance by God because we are positioned in Christ by faith - and he rejoices in the hope of our calling, the riches of His inheritance in the saints, the exceeding greatness of His power towards us.. which is manifest in the Salvation of Jew and Gentile together in one new Man. None can ever ask too much Because God’s power is in those believers, Paul prays that God would enable them to employ the fullness of that power. Exploring Ephesians), Before (4314) (pros) expresses direction - toward, on the side of, in the direction of. -DJD True, we have instant access to Him day or night. (Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare), O'Brien in his excellent commentary on Ephesians has a note regarding "Father" writing that…, The one to whom he bows in homage is called Father, which in the ancient world was not only a term of intimacy but also one that had overtones of dignity and authority. And having said this, he fell asleep. I think he is praying that the Spirit might permeate their whole being, through and through. Ep 3:12); here he boldly and confidently avails himself of this access to make intercession for his readers in their need. 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. Ephesians 3:20-21, "Power Unlimited," is section 1 of 4 parts of The Bible Teaching Commentary that shows the awesome power and glory of God that is revealed in the church and Christ Jesus. Father is the same appellation Jesus always used in prayer, and the one He used in teaching His disciples to pray (Matthew 6:9-note). EXEGESIS: THE CONTEXT: The recipients of this letter were mostly Gentile Christians. Let's ask the Lord to develop our inner strength so that when life's blows and burdens press upon us we will not cave in. His earlier prayer for his readers (Ephesians 1:15–23) has already given us many insights into what we’re doing when we pray. In addition, in Scripture bowing one's knee in prayer is often associated with an intense emotion (see Ezra 9:5, 6, Da 6:10, Acts 20:36). There are some things he has told them in chapter 2 that he wants them to understand. And help us not to turn aside He starts the prayer in verse 1, stops and puts a parenthetical pause for 12 or 13 verses. And it might do them some good, and I know it’ll do you some good. The scope of the prayer staggers us. - David C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Paul's desire was that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that each one might be rooted and … So that they would get a proper perspective that Paul's afflictions were for the believers at Ephesus, so that ultimately their lives would be glorified, and give a proper opinion of their heavenly Father. But our Father is God. While we become the potential possessors of the fulness of Christ the moment we are reborn, yet the personal possession of that fulness is a continuous process after the initial appropriation of it by faith. We must ask that it be strengthened throughout the whole world, and we must be encouraged by what God is doing through his people everywhere. When people talk to you about God, ask them a question: what God are you talking about? Paul has already asserted that through Christ believers have access in one Spirit to the Father (Ep 2:18; cf. Bow (2578) (kampto) means to bend or incline some part of the body as gesture of respect or devotion (eg, bowing one's neck as sign of respect). This glorification is “in the church and in Christ Jesus.” That is to say, it is within the company of believers in union with Christ that God is glorified. So that when the Lord Jesus said after this manner therefore pray ye, our Father which art in heaven, he was giving something that was astoundingly new. Cancel. The idea behind pros of the subject facing God which speaks of the consciousness which Paul had when he prayed - he truly believed he was in the presence of the Almighty and that he was directing his prayer to the All Knowing God Who was listening while he prayed. Boice - Here is a great lesson in prayer. We come to a tender, loving, concerned, compassionate, accepting Father. And you, who never knew a home-life that you care to recall, be sure that the tenderest that man ever knew is not to be compared with that in which you are living, if only you knew it. All rights reserved). When you receive Jesus it means you have His eternal life. He is assured of their salvation (Ephesians 1:15). Come, fill our hearts with inward strength, Ephesians 3:14-19 (taken from “The Message”, Eugene Peterson, Navpress) Context to Paul’s Prayer: Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus. And if you've been to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, undoubtedly you have witnessed pious Jewish men standing and rocking back and forth as they intone their prayers. Consequently, the word family cannot include anyone other than the subjects of redemption. But it is certainly consonant with that. You have got to jump all the way back to verse 1. Biblical Commentary Ephesians 3:14-21. (The Wealth, Walk and Warfare of the Christian). It is that the portion or portions of the universe generally distinguished from planet earth. 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. EPHESIANS 2. This posture helped to remind him of the awesome majesty and nobility of the One he knew he could address as Father. Family (3965) (patria from pater = father) represents persons of successive generations who are related by birth. Verse Thoughts. Introduction (Ephesians 3:14-15) B. True, no request is too great or too small to be brought to Him. He desired that they might genuinely know and experience Christ’s love and thus exhibit it toward each other. This text comes at a hinge point in Ephesians. By faith and love in every breast; (NLT - Tyndale House), Phillips: (from whom all fatherhood, earthly or heavenly, derives its name) (Phillips: Touchstone), Wuest: from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, (Eerdmans). Chicago: Moody Press). We do not come to God to appease Him as the pagans do to their deities. To bend one's knees as a symbol of religious devotion is not instructing us on a physical posture necessary for prayer but instead suggests an attitude of submission, reverence and passion. Have you been listening or maybe you haven’t allowed God to teach you in your spirit. No. London : Banner of Truth Trust, 1964), ALL THE FATHERHOODS OF EARTH DERIVE THEIR MEANING AND VALUE FROM THE GREAT FATHERHOOD. Ephesians 3:14-15 New International Version (NIV) A Prayer for the Ephesians. So I’m not surprised, then, that the Apostle should want to pray about this giving thanks and also urging the Lord through the Spirit to bring to pass in our Christian experience this wonderful relationship that we have with the Lord. Paul's desire was that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that each one might be rooted and grounded in love - so that they may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height of God's amazing love and to know the superabounding love of Christ which passes all understanding. Go back to chapter 2. Cross-References Psalms 95:6 – Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker Ephesians 1:10 – To be put into effect when the times reach their fulfill… It can serve as a marker of closeness of relation or proximity. And so we see that Abraham stood before the Lord when he prayed for Sodom (Ge 18:22), Solomon stood when he prayed to dedicate the temple (1Ki 8:22). Prayer for Power (Ephesians 3:16-17) C. Prayer for Knowledge (Ephesians 3:18-19a) D. Prayer for Fullness (Ephesians 3:19b) E. Doxology (Ephesians 3:20-21) The following statements are taken from official documents, newspapers and magazines widely read during their day. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. More than our thoughts or wishes know, Ephesians 3:14–15. But in the days of the Apostle Paul, in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ, it was not common at all. (Ephesians 3:1-13 Dispensation of Grace Audio/Pdf ). Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The Scriptures clearly teach that God should be approached with reverence and awe. He reminds us of the depths of depravity from which we have been saved and the heights of ecstasy to which we have risen and it is for THIS reason that Paul bows the knee to the Father. That is that we had the right to call upon God as our Father. But at the start of this third chapter of Ephesians.. just as Paul was about to explain the reason that he was bowed in prayer before the Father, his thoughts were interrupted, and a parenthetical passage was inserted, which delved into great detail about the Church age.. the dispensation of the grace of God, and the precious mystery that had been hidden for ages and generations, but had now been revealed to him - that Gentiles should be brought into God's family and be made fellow heirs with Christ - that Jew and Gentile alike might become part of the same body and be made partakers of God's promise in Christ - through believing the glorious gospel of God. Such glorification is possible because the church is Christ’s body (Ephesians 1:23; 4:15-16; 5:30). (Word Studies). So, the Apostle here is thinking about the reality when he says “for this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 6. (Ephesians 3:14: A Prayer for Fullness - 1). The sentence begun at Ephesians 3:1 and interrupted at Ephesians 3:2 is now taken up again. As children derive their name from their father, and their relationship to him is determined by their name, so, the apostle says, the whole family of God derives its name from him, and those in it are known and recognized as his children. The section closes with a doxology, giving glory to God (Ephesians 3:20-21). Large petitions with thee bring, Knees (1119) (gonu) refers to the specific part of the leg and by synecdoche ( figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole) signifies the whole person as in Php 2:10 (note) In the early church kneeling became customary for individual and public prayer expressing subjection, abasement, and petition. Comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of what? Ephesians 3:14-15 NIV. True, we get solid support from loved ones and Christian friends, but it is our spiritual inner man, "strengthened with might through His Spirit," that sustains us and keeps us from crumbling. Paul does not mean to refer to the single family unit as we do in our own culture. 4. He does not want us to go through life thinking that we have to add something to Christ's finished work in order to be acceptable by the Father.. or that we have to wait to receive these amazing spiritual blessings. (Eph. -- Isaac Watts, INNER STRENGTH - A large company extracts contaminating substances from steel drums by suction. Paul’s Prayer (Ephesians 3:14-21) A. Chicago: Moody Press). Remember, he started this prayer in verse 1. Help me to put away all thoughts that I have to add something to the finished work of Christ - and may I appropriate all that is mine in Him. It is interesting to note that the word for prostrating oneself before another in adoration and worship begins with the preposition pros (proskuneo - see 4352). The whole family in heaven, therefore, cannot mean the angels, but the redeemed already saved, and the family on earth must mean the company of believers still living on earth. See Ephesians 3:14b-17a (printed below) I kneel before the Father—(15) from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name—(16) and pray that he would grant you, in accordance with the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (17) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. He knows that God has been waiting all the while with a Father’s heart of love and anticipation. The tenderest, noblest home-life is, at the best, but "broken light"; and yet it is a type, an emblem, an embodiment of God's love to us, its prototype and ideal. The first three chapters focus on the Ephesians need to become more aware of God’s love. (John 1:11, 12, 13). 2. 1985. Young's Literal: of whom the whole family in the heavens and on earth is named. 1999), Because God is our heavenly Father, we do not come to Him in fear and trembling, afraid that He will rebuff us or be indifferent. And if they say no, then go ahead and say it, “Your God is not my God.” That’ll give you an opportunity to have a little conversation, a little theological conversation. At the start of the third chapter of Ephesians Paul was about to kneel before the Lord and earnestly pray for the Christians in Ephesus.. that according to God's riches in glory they would be strengthened in the inner man with all might.. through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. (Amplified Bible - Lockman), Barclay: of whose fatherhood all heavenly and earthly fatherhood is a copy, (Westminster Press), NET: from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named. (NIV - IBS), NLT: the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. He suggests that the way we ought to approach God is with the spirit of humility. The Spirit works to strengthen us and renew our minds as we read God's Word and pray. Pater is one of the titles for God and is a name which combines the aspects of supernatural authority and care for His people. Reprinted by permission. When we pray we must go beyond our own small interests or the concerns of our own limited circle of Christian friends and instead pray for the church of God at large. from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, Ephesians 3:15 (NASB) * [3:14–15] Every family: in the Greek there is wordplay on the word for the Father (patria, patēr). Ephesians 3:14-21 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. You see.. for two whole chapters Paul had outlined in brilliant detail our position in Christ, the superabundant spiritual blessings we have in heavenly places, which are the inherited right of all who trust in Christ for salvation. Paul says, "For this reason, I don’t want you to just know it. Likewise, when adversity and hardship come into our lives, unless God empowers us from within we will be unable to withstand the pressures from without. He details the righteousness with which we are covered; he proclaims our position in Christ, where we are seated with Him in heavenly places; and He explains our divine election and adoption as sons. How much more does our heavenly Father accept His children, regardless of what they have done or not done? [11] Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. The word family is a collective term for the descendants of the same father, immediate or remote. Greek: Toutou charin kampto (1SPAI) ta gonata mou pros ton patera, Amplified: For this reason [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, (Amplified Bible - Lockman), Barclay: It is for this cause that I bow my knees in prayer before the Father, (Westminster Press), NET: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, (NET Bible), NLT: When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father (NLT - Tyndale House), Phillips: When I think of the greatness of this great plan I fall on my knees before God the Father (Phillips: Touchstone), Wuest: On this account I bow my knees to the Father (Eerdmans). Inspired by the Holy Ghost.. Paul's prayer for all believers was that they might be filled with all the fullness of God, to His praise and glory. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. ] For this reason, therefore (that our new identity makes us the dwelling place of God), Paul prays for the Ephesians to use the power that their great status in Christ provides. In his authentic epistles, Paul had said that salvation is obtained through faith, not by “works of the law”. Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, (NASB: Lockman). True, no earthly child in our culture goes down on his knees before his human father. The way in which Jewish people often prayed in Paul's day was by standing and looking up into heaven although there are OT and NT examples of people kneeling in prayer. EPHESIANS ‘THE WHOLE FAMILY’ Ephesians 3:15Grammatically, we are driven to recognise that the Revised Version is more correct than the Authorised, when it reads ‘every family,’ instead of ‘the whole family.’ There is in the expression no reference to the thought, however true it is in itself, that the redeemed in heaven and the believers on earth make up but one family. 1999, Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. In the epistle to the Ephesians we are still working together today with the great statement in Chapter 1 in which Paul is setting forth for us the great, fundamental facts of our faith in Jesus Christ. The prayer is buttressed at each end by two reassuring phrases. True, God is our Father, just as He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And learn the height, and breadth, and length The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians), Bowing our knees before the Father signifies submission to a higher authority (see Ps 95:6-note). Ephesians 3:15 “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named”. Ephesians 3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, (NASB: Lockman), Greek: ex ou pasa patria en ouranois kai epi ges onomazetai, (3SPPI), Amplified: For Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named [that Father from Whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name]. Patria can refer to people linked over a relatively long period of time by line of descent to a common progenitor (a family or clan) or a relatively large body of people existing as a totality at a given moment and linked through ancestry and sociopolitical interests (a nation). His captain saw he was wounded and barked out an order, "Gimme your gun, Private, and get to the rear!" The preposition pros, with the accusative case (as in Eph 3:14), denotes motion towards, or direction and is also often used in the New Testament in the sense of with; and that not merely as being near or beside, but as a living union and communion; implying the active notion of intercourse. He talked about the riches of their salvation, the reasons of their salvation and the revelation of their salvation. And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Now he says, since you are God’s dwelling on this earth, for this reason, I bow my knees before the Father. If not, what is he doing? Paul approaches the Father with boldness and confidence, knowing that He is more willing for His children to come to Him than they ever are of going to Him. What does verse 15 mean? Derives its name (3687) (onomazo from onoma = name) means to name or call by name. You are members of God's family. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. “After whom” (Vincent p. 382). Does this mean that Paul is praying for the salvation of the Ephesian saints? Because the Father will surely respond to the petition of even his lowliest servant, as Paul himself was (Ep 3:8), his prayer may confidently be addressed to him. "They should convince us that the realization of our riches in Christ is based on something very stable and sure; objectively upon "the riches of his glory," and subjectively upon "the power that worketh in us." Is your God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? W. B. Eerdmans. (Acts 7:60), In an hour of great need Luke records that…, Peter sent them (the widows) all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise." For what reason? Victor, MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Help us, O Lord, when troubles come is greater than the pressure of troubles around you. God is the Father of those who trust in Christ for salvation and Satan is the spiritual father of those who do not (Study this contrast in fathers in John 8 and compare with 1John 3:10) All men belong to one of these two families whether they are Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free. Discussion Questions 1. Chicago: Moody Press). Phillips comments on "bow the knee" writing that…, According to court etiquette in Paul's day, when someone approached the throne he bowed the knee. Ephesians 3:14-15. Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. Chapters 1-3 are an expansive statement about God’s overflowing and saving grace. Let’s go to Ephesians 2. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. What reason? So that they would not lose heart, become discouraged or become fainthearted. The joys that cannot be expressed. 1 John 5:12 says, "He who has the Son has the life." When we get down on our knees, well that is an outward attitude of humility. It does not properly refer to angels, for he is not speaking of them, but of the family of the redeemed. 5. What is the main point of 14-21? S Lewis Johnson has an interesting analysis of the relationship of this prayer to what Paul has taught previously writing that…, I rather think that the Apostle intended at this point (beginning of Ephesians 3) to launch into the prayer, which he finally does launch into with Ephesians 3:14 and following, in the third chapter. Earth (1093) (ge) refers to the surface of the earth as the dwelling place of mankind, in contrast with the heavens above and the world below. Heaven (3772) (ouranos) in a physical sense, it means the over-arching, all-embracing heaven beneath which is the earth and all that is therein. “From whom”: From the Father. the knees that the Apostle mentioned suggest humility and earnest entreaty. In Ephesians 24 we have new life in Jesus Christ. 3. Of course, we can get down on our knees, and that doesn’t mean that we are humble or that we are engaged in earnest entreaty. Ephesians 3:14-15 KJV For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named KJV: King James Version Johnson comments concerning father writing that, In a sense, this is Paul’s lesson from the Lord’s Prayer. So Paul is interested in present glory and future glory of the Ephesian believers. And I’d like to tell you why I think that he probably intended to begin the prayer as he begins chapter 3: “For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.” (Ephesians 3:1-note) Because this word translated in Ephesians 2:22-note, “an habitation of God,” is the same root that we find in Ephesians 3:17-note, that Christ may “dwell” in your hearts by faith. As I’ve often said, and others… we don’t really catch the full force of this, because the idea of having a heavenly father as God is very common to us. (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Christians are no more or less the children of God than were believing Israelites, as well as believing Gentiles, before the coming of Christ. Do you realize what you have in Jesus Christ? The power of Christ in You You can figure out what the reason is. To discover the reason that Paul bowed his knee before the Father, causing him to pray one of the most beautiful prayers for the body of Christ, we need to revisit his thoughts throughout chapters 1 and 2. At the start of the third chapter of Ephesians Paul was about to kneel before the Lord and earnestly pray for the Christians in Ephesus.. that according to God's riches in glory they would be strengthened in the inner man with all might.. through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Thomas S. Myers Plugging Into The Power of God Part 1 Ephesians 3:14-16 *During the Civil War, a Union soldier from Ohio was shot in the arm during the battle of Shiloh. (Psalm 95:6-note), when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. It is important to understand the context of this passage in order to understand its meaning. I want you to live in it, in the reality of what I have just taught you." The ideas which came to expression in the digression in Ephesians 3:2-13, are also no doubt in view in some measure. This is Paul’s second prayer in Ephesians. Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word and the amazing truths that it contains. In chapter 2 and the first half of chapter 3, Paul talked about the great transformation that God has wrought in their lives, from death to life (2:1-10)—and how Christians are no longer divided into Jew and Gentile, but are now one in Christ Jesus (2:11-22). (NET Bible), NIV: from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. Paul after digressing to explain God's eternal purpose in Ephesians 3:2-13, now resumes the thought of verse 1 (by repeating the same words) as he began his prayer. As we know from experience, the realization of Christ's abundant life in us is a process. We know the wealth which God has purposed and provided for us in Christ, but can it be procured? Give me the opportunity to share this wonderful truth of salvation by grace through faith in Christ with others.. and may many come to faith in Him today and in the days that lie ahead - this we ask in Jesus name, AMEN. What purpose? Denoting source and origin. This must have been quite an experience for the Roman soldier chained to Paul! (Phillips, J. If they take out too much air, the drums will collapse like paper cups because the outer pressure will exceed the inner pressure. May we not only know and appropriate all that is ours in Christ Jesus as recorded in those first few chapters of Ephesians and other beautiful passages.. but may we also bow our knees in prayer that the one new man in Christ may appropriate all that is ours in Him - and may we share this good news with others so that they too will come to know Christ as Saviour - and that their Salvation does not depend on what they do but on what Christ has already done. Then he picks it back up in verse 14. “For this cause, I Paul”—and notice verse 14 begins, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So I think that word habitation of the Lord by the Spirit had gripped him, and he intended to pray now that Christ would dwell in our hearts in this deep way suggested by this word, and that would be the burden of his prayer… Now these same people of whom he says these things are the ones of whom he says in verse 22 “In whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” This is an almost infinite distance between children of wrath and now the dwelling place of the Lord God himself. And this is traceable to the grace of God. Note however that Paul is not teaching teach that God is the spiritual Father of every being in the universe. This letter has already informed us that God has only one family, composed of both Jewish and Gentile believers (). Bible Study Questions form the fourth section. Of thine unmeasurable grace. As we have learned their are two spiritual families, with two spiritual fathers, God and Satan. This isn’t the first time in Ephesians that Paul has written about prayer. The phrase could also mean “God’s whole family” (cf. (Acts 9:40), Comment: The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Let us have our hearts set at rest on that question. It is possible to be a "carnal Christian" (KJV, 1 Corinthians 3:1) and still be a … Then we will be unable to withstand the pressure of temptation or trouble. No matter how much of that fulness one has enjoyed today, there is more beyond, and every to-morrow should be for us unto still greater fulness. Note that the word “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “Father.” Aramaic is the language which the Jews spoke in Palestine in the first century. Reprinted by permission. God has only one family. Paul is still living in the newness and uniqueness of that. Ephesians 3:15. Paul wants us to stand fast on the truth of God's word and know that our salvation does not depend on us and what we do - but that it depends on Christ and all that HE did at Calvary - and for that reason Paul bowed his knee in prayer before the Father. Chicago: Moody Press, Ephesians 3:14: A Prayer for Fullness - 1, Ephesians 3:1-13 Dispensation of Grace Audio/, O'Brien, P. T. The Letter to the Ephesians. It follows that "every family" would fit best with every believer, whether in heaven or still on earth, has the family privilege to make appeal to the Father in heaven.