Known Secret Series

A month later, the man’s sister texted me: “My brother accepted Christ. Please continue to pray for him. Pray that he will grow in Christ. He accepted Christ on May 4.” I could only respond, “Wow, Amen!”

This is one of the two most powerful prayers of Paul in the Bible, including Ephesians 1:15-23.

God's love is like an ocean. You can see its beginning, but not its end. —Rick Warren.

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” – Saint Augustine

V 16, “to” strengthen (infinitive 1) V 17, “to” dwell (infinitive 2) V 19, “to” know (infinitive 3)

(through) His SPIRIT CHRIST (may dwell) …fullness of GOD

V 16, INNER being/man + HINA “IN ORDER TO grasp” (kata-lambano)

V 18, WIDE and LONG and HIGH and DEEP + HINA “IN ORDER TO be filled”

V 19, all the FULLNESS of God

Humanity (inner man) Infinity Divinity

Empowerment Extension Entirety

Now we come to the second of Paul’s great Trinitarian prayer for the Ephesians besides Ephesians 1:15-21 – Jews and Gentiles alike, introduced by three “purpose” infinitives (v 16, “to be strengthened;” v 17, to “dwell” in your hearts; v 19, “to know” the love of Christ, and two “ultimate purposes” (hina) in the last two infinitives!

The verb “strengthen” occurs three other times in the Bible, once as “waxed strong” (KJV) for the young John the Baptist’s growth in the wilderness, once for Jesus’s growth before he reached 12 (Luke 2:40), and lastly for Paul’s command to the Corinthians to act like a man and “be strong” (1 Cor 16:13). Strength means vigor, vitality and victory. It is Spirit-energized, enabled, and enlivened.

The second infinitive of purpose “to dwell” means abiding and not merely attending, residing and not renting, stopping, staying and settling with you. The ultimate purpose (hina) of Christ’s dwelling in order for us TO grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. The verb “grasp” (kata-lambano) is translated as “comprehend” in most translations. It is in the middle voice or “in oneself.” It means more than just appreciate, assess, admire, appreciate or affirm it, but to accept, acquire, appropriate, apprehend and apply the immeasurable, immutable, inexhaustible and infinities God’s love on or for oneself, just as Christ may “dwell in your hearts” (v 17). In the same way, “grasp” is not intellectual but personal, not in one’s thinking but being, not for one’s learning but one’s life. The Greek verbs for “dwell” (kat-oikeo) and “comprehend” (kata-lambano) both have the preposition’ ”kata” or “down” in English, and the verb “lambano” is “receive.”

The third infinitive of purpose is to “know” (v 19) God’s love that surpasses “knowledge” — in order to (HINA) be FILLED to the measure of all the fullness of God. Filled (pleroo) and fullness (plero-ma) are from the same root word. It means “the state of being filled to capacity” (dictionary.com), to be out-bursting, overflowing and optimizing. Full means comprehensive and complete, with nothing lacking, less or lost. Of course this fullness is not ability but in one’s aptitude. A person says, “Fullness means we are not missing anything. Fullness means that “we’re not missing any part of the person of Christ. In Christ we find everything we need for normal, everyday life.” (Andrew Farley) Another quote: “Spiritual fullness means complete salvation, full forgiveness, and absolute victory in Jesus Christ.” It means we are strong, supported and sufficient in Christ.