Ephesians Chapter 3
Eph. 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, (KJV)
3:1 For this reason [because I preach that you and believing Jews are joint heirs] I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles-- (Amplified Version)
A. When Paul wrote this letter, he was in prison in Rome awaiting trial before Nero, waiting for the Jewish prosecutors to come with their bleak faces and their envenomed hatred and their malicious charges. In prison Paul had certain privileges, for he was allowed to stay in a house which he himself had rented and his friends were allowed access to him; but night and day he was still a prisoner chained to the wrist of the Roman soldier who was his guard and whose duty it was to see that Paul would never escape. (William Barclay)
B. If a man is in prison for some great cause he may either grumblingly regard himself as an ill-used creature, or he may radiantly regard himself as the standard-bearer of some great cause. The one regards his prison and a penance; the other regards it as a privilege. When we are undergoing hardship, unpopularity, material loss for the sake of Christian principles we may either regard ourselves as the victims of men or as the champions of Christ. Paul is our example; he regarded himself, not as the prisoner of Nero, but as the prisoner of Christ. (WB)
C. “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ”,.... Not actively, whom Christ had apprehended by his grace, and made a prisoner of hope; but passively, who was made a prisoner for Christ, on account of preaching Christ, and his Gospel: he was not a prisoner for any capital crime, as theft, murder, &c. and therefore be was not ashamed of his bonds, but rather glories in them; and a prison has often been the portion of the best of men in this world: from hence we learn, that this epistle was written when the apostle was a prisoner at Rome; and the consideration of this his condition serves much to confirm the truths he had before delivered, seeing they were such as he could, and did suffer for; and which must engage the attention of the Ephesians to them, and especially since his sufferings were on their account: (John Gill)
D. “for you Gentiles”: because he preached the Gospel to the Gentiles, which the Jews forbid, that they might not be saved; and because he taught them, that circumcision and the rest of the ceremonies of the law were not binding upon them; which gave great offence to the Jews, who were the means of bringing of him into these circumstances, and particularly the Asiatic Jews, the Jews of Ephesus; who having seen and heard him there, knew him again when in the temple at Jerusalem, and raised a mob upon him, having bore a grudge against him for his ministry at Ephesus, by which means he became a prisoner; so that he might truly say, he was a prisoner for the sake of them; (John Gill)
E. Paul starts with this statement and then interrupts to bring in a statement from v. 2 to v. 14
F. He digresses to discuss a mystery . . . A literary parentheses to explain a dispensation parentheses: The Church itself is a parentheses in God’s dealing with Israel. (Chuck Missler)
Eph. 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3:2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was entrusted to me [to share with you] for your benefit;
A. To understand the connection or thought in this passage it has to be noted that verses 2-13 are one long parenthesis. The “for this cause” of verse 14 takes up again and resumes the “for this cause” of verse 1. Someone has spoken of Paul’s habit of “going off at a word.” A single word or idea can send his thoughts off at a tangent. When he speaks of himself as “the prisoner of Christ,” it makes him think of the universal love of God and of his part in bringing that love to the Gentiles. In verses 2-13 his thoughts go off on that track; and in verse 14 he comes back to what he meant to say when he began. (William Barclay)
B. Dispensation = oikonomia = economy or dispensation; oikos = house + nomos = law; law of the house; stewardship; management Thus, the Stewardship of God’s grace: God’s principles do not change; His methods of dealing with mankind do change over the course of history. (CM)
C. 7 Dispensations. This is the changing from the Law to the Church. (CM)
D. Classic Dispensations:
a. Each dispensation involved grace as a basis of salvation.
b. Abel and Abraham brought little lambs to sacrifice to the Lord.
c. The Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world already come. John 1:0
E. If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God. Here begins the digression. The words, "if ye have heard," etc., do not denote an uncertainty, but are a delicate reminder. Doubtless they had heard of the matter when he was at Ephesus, and, as he remarks in Eph_3:3, he had already written briefly on it. Grace is here used in a more restricted sense than in Eph_1:2—in the sense of Divine favor, honor, privilege—the same as in Eph_1:8, "To me... is this favor given." Which is given me to you-ward. The grace or favor meant is that whereby Paul was constituted the apostle of the Gentiles. Deeply though he felt his being sent away from preaching to his countrymen (Act_22:18), he took kindly to the new sphere allotted to him, and magnified his office (Rom_11:13). (Pulpit Comm)
F. “If ye have heard”.—The original word rendered “if” conveys, in such collocation as this, a supposition which is only a supposition in form—a half-ironical reference to a thing not doubtful. The sense is “if (that is),” or “if, as I suppose,” “ye heard the dispensation,” &c. The passage bears on the question whether the Epistle was an encyclical letter, or one addressed to the Ephesian Church. The argument which has been drawn from it in the former direction is not so strong as appears in the English; for the original implies no doubt that the readers of the Epistle had heard, and the hearing might have been not about St. Paul, but from St. Paul himself. Still, there is a vague generality about the expression, which suits well an address to the Asiatic churches generally, but could hardly have been used to a church so well known and beloved as Ephesus, where “the signs of an Apostle” had been wrought abundantly. (Ellicott)
G. “The dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward”. The grace of God is spoken of as given to St. Paul, not so much for his own sake, as for ministration to them of the dispensation described in the next verse. We find there that the revelation of salvation to the Gentiles was the “dispensation,” that is (much as in Ephesians 1:10), the peculiar office in the ministration of the grace of God to the world, assigned to St. Paul by His wisdom. (Comp. 1Corinthians 1:17-24, “God sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel . . . We preach Christ crucified . . . unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”) (Ellicott)
Eph. 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
3:3 and that by [divine] revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I have already written in brief.
A. The apostle wishes the Ephesians to understand that it was not an opinion of his own, or a doctrine which he was taught by others, or which he had gathered from the ancient prophets; but one that came to him by immediate “revelation” from God, as he had informed them before in a few words, referring to what he had said Ephesians 1:9-12. (Adam Clark)
B. “Mystery” = musterion: sacred divine secret, hitherto unknown, humanly unknowable, and now divinely revealed. (Chuck Missler)
C. He refers to the “revelation” which was made to him when he was called to the apostolic office, that the gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles, and that he was converted for the special purpose of carrying it to them; see Acts 9:15; Acts 22:21. (Barnes)
D. “Unto me the mystery” - The hitherto concealed truth that the gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles;
E. By revelation he made known to me the mystery. Paul draws the line of distinction between himself and those fanatics, who ascribe to God and to the Holy Spirit their own idle dreams. The false apostles boast of revelations, but it is a false boast. Paul was persuaded that his revelation was true, could prove it to others, and speaks of it as a fact of which no doubt could be entertained. (John Calvin)
F. Here we may observe that the coalition of Jews and Gentiles in the gospel church was a mystery, a great mystery, what was designed in the counsel of God before all worlds, but what could not be fully understood for many ages, till the accomplishment expounded the prophecies of it. It is called a mystery because the several circumstances and peculiarities of it (such as the time and manner and means by which it should be effected) were concealed and kept secret in God's own breast, till be an immediate revelation he made them known to his servant. (Matt Henry)
Ecclesiology: Paul’s theme in Christ and the church, the eternal plan of God to gather together all things in Christ Jesus.
The letter begins in eternity past and carries us to eternity future!
In every sense, Ephesians is Paul’s greatest word on the church, teaching us what the church is in the mind of God, and what it ought to be in practice before the eyes of man. (CM)
Eph. 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
3:4 By referring to this, when you read it you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
A. “Whereby, when ye read” - By the bare reading of which you may understand the view which I entertain of the plan of salvation, and the knowledge which I have of God’s method of saving people, particularly of his intention in regard to the salvation of the Gentiles. (Albert Barnes)
B. That is, this open door for the Gentiles to receive salvation is something that the Old Testament prophets did not foresee. This age of the church is something that was not seen by the Old Testament prophets. They felt that the coming of Christ would bring the immediate kingdom of God. They figured that the Messiah would usher in the kingdom age immediately and the Old Testament prophets did not really see this age of grace, when God would be drawing from among the Gentiles the body of Christ.
C. They really didn’t understand all that they saw or all that God revealed to them. They really wrote of things that they did not completely understand. But they wrote as the Holy Spirit inspired them. And thus, they themselves did not know the things that they were writing about or what their full significance was. (Chuck Smith)
What Is the Mystery? (CM)
Jew + Gentile: known to the Twelve.
Peter’s sheet – “Kill and eat”
Paul a prisoner for this very reason.
Lord Himself even hidden from angels.
Israel restored to covenant relationship. Gentiles brought to place of special blessing through them.
Church = God calling out a people for the heavens to be the Body and Bride of His Son throughout ages to come, and through whom He will administer the affairs of the redeemed universe.
Eph. 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
3:5 which in other generations was not disclosed to mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the [Holy] Spirit;
“Not made known in other ages” thus not in OT. (CM)
None of this either in OT or coming kingdom; OT predicted call of Gentiles. (CM)
A. “Which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations”. Though not a new purpose, the knowledge of it is new. Abraham, David, and the prophets, however much they knew of Christ and the fullness of blessing in him for all the families of the earth, did not know the full extent of God’s grace to the Gentries—did not know that the middle wall was to be wholly broken down, and all inequality removed. This might seem to throw some doubt on the reality of this doctrine; but it was on purpose that God kept it secret, and those by whom he has now revealed it are worthy of all regard. (Pulpit Commentary)
B. “As it has now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit.” It is not revealed to Paul only, although he has got the privilege of announcing it to the Gentiles, but to the whole body of "holy apostles and prophets." The designation, "holy apostles," is rare; it is used here to magnify the office, to show that those whom the Head of the Church had set apart for himself were fit instruments to receive so important a revelation. "Prophets" here are undoubtedly New Testament prophets (see Eph_2:20), the contrast being with "sons of men in other generations." Reference may be made to the experience and decree of the Council of Jerusalem, guided by the Holy Spirit. (Pulpit Commentary)
Eph. 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
3:6 [it is this:] that the Gentiles are now joint heirs [with the Jews] and members of the same body, and joint partakers [sharing] in the [same divine] promise in Christ Jesus through [their faith in] the good news [of salvation].
A. Paul already had mentioned the concept but now explains the tremendous impact of this “sacred secret.” (Most complete definition we have.)
B. Fellow members of One body: No distance of disadvantage now. Fellow partakers of the promise: Holy Spirit. (CM)
C. Here in v. 6, he states the mystery clearly: that believing Gentiles and Jews are one body in Christ. This mystery had not been made know before this time; but now God had revealed in to His apostles and NT prophets by the Spirit. (CM)
D. Paul’s ministry was to the Gentiles, and his message was that of grace, Paul’s special task was to share the truth to one body, the mystery of the church.
E. The Church: a. It came into being after the ascension. b. Formed by baptism of the Spirit. c. Completed at the Rapture. (CM)
Eph. 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
3:7 Of this [gospel] I was made a minister by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power.
You and I may pause a moment to admire the grace given to this great Apostle, who, while we behold him as an eminent servant, of the Lord, he considered himself as less than the least of all saints; yea, the chief of sinners! 1Ti_1:15. Grace always humbles. The higher a child of God is advanced in divine knowledge, the lower he lays before God in humility. The more he limits of Christ, the more contemptible he thinks of himself But profitable as such views are of God’s best servants, the subject Paul is here upon, is too sublime, to lose a moment in looking at the servant, while we hear of the Person, and unsearchable riches of the Master. Paul calls it a mystery, and the fellowship of the mystery. And what a mystery, indeed, the whole forms?
Eph. 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
3:8 To me, [though I am] the very least of all the saints (God’s people), this grace [which is undeserved] was graciously given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the incomprehensible riches of Christ [that spiritual wealth which no one can fully understand],
A. Saul had adapted the name of Paul which means ‘little” in Latin. (CM)
B. Understanding the deep truths of God’s Word does not give a man a big head; it gives him a broken and contrite heart. (CM)
C. “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints” - This is one of the class of expressions unique to Paul. The ordinary terms of language do not express the idea which he wishes to convey, and a word is therefore coined to convey an idea more emphatically; compare the notes at 2Co_4:17. The word used here - e??a??st?´te??? elachistoteros - does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. It is a comparative made from the superlative. Similar expressions are found, however, in later Greek writers; see Bloomfield and Rosenmuller for examples. The word means here, “who am incomparably the least of all the saints; or who am not worthy to be reckoned among the saints.” It is expressive of the deep sense which he had of the sinfulness of his past life; of his guilt in persecuting the church and the Savior; and perhaps of his sense of his low attainments in piety; see the notes at 1Co_15:9. Paul never could forget the guilt of his former life; never forget the time when he was engaged in persecuting the church of God. (AB)
D. “The unsearchable riches of Christ” - On the word “riches,” as used by Paul, see the notes at Eph_1:7. The word rendered “unsearchable,” a??e?????´ast?? anexichniaston, occurs but once elsewhere in the New Testament Rom_11:33, where it is rendered “past finding out;” see the notes at that verse. It means that which cannot be “traced out,” or explored; which is inscrutable, or incomprehensible. The meaning here is, that there was a “sufficiency” in Christ which could not be traced out or explored. It was wholly incomprehensible. The fullness of the riches in him could not be appreciated. There is no more emphatic expression in the New Testament than this. It shows that the heart of the apostle was full of admiration of the sufficiency and glory that was in the Savior; that he wanted words to express it; and that he considered it the highest honor to be permitted to tell the world that there were such riches in the Redeemer. (AB)
Eph. 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
3:9 and to make plain [to everyone] the plan of the mystery [regarding the uniting of believing Jews and Gentiles into one body] which [until now] was kept hidden through the ages in [the mind of] God who created all things.
A. “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery”,.... Or "the dispensation of the mystery" as the Complutensian, and several copies, and the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, read. The mystery is the Gospel; the fellowship of it is the communication of grace by it, a participation of the truths and doctrines of it, communion with Father, Son, and Spirit, which the Gospel calls and leads unto, and that equal concern and interest which both Jews and Gentiles have in the privileges of it. Now men are naturally in the dark about these things, and the ministry of the word is the means of enlightening them, and is indeed the grand design of it; and the ministers of the Gospel do instrumentally enlighten persons, though it is God only that does it efficiently; and for this, gifts of grace were bestowed upon the apostle, even for the enlightening of all men, not every individual person in the world, but some of all sorts, particularly Gentiles, as well as Jews. (John Gill)
B. “Which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God”; in the heart of God, in his counsel and covenant; which shows the original and source of the Gospel, and expresses the richness and valuableness of it, as well as its safety and secrecy: here it was hid in some measure from the elect angels, and from Old Testament saints, and altogether from natural men, and especially from the Gentiles, whose times of ignorance God winked at, or overlooked: and this was kept so from ages past, from the beginning of time, till now, and was laid up in the breast of God from all eternity (JG)
C. “who created all things by Jesus Christ”; not as an instrument, but as a co-efficient cause: and this is to be understood, not of the new creation, but of the old, and of all things in it; for without Christ, was not anything made that is made. (JG)
Eph. 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
3:10 So now through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God [in all its countless aspects] might now be made known [revealing the mystery] to the [angelic] rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
A. One of God’s present purposes is to reveal His manifold wisdom to the angelic hosts of heaven. (CM)
a. they rejoice at repentance of one lost sinner Lk 15:10
b. they watch activities of local churches 1 Cor. 11:10
B. The precise line of thought is this: God from eternity, had a purpose to put Jew and Gentile on precisely the same footing, but concealed it for many ages, until he revealed it in the apostolic age, when he appointed Paul his minister to announce it. (CM)
Eph. 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
3:11 This is in accordance with [the terms of] the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
The Church is not a divine afterthought; it is part of God’s eternal purpose in Christ. To ignore this truth is sin against the Father who planned it, the Son whose death made it possible, and the Spirit who today seeks to work in our lives to accomplish what God has planned. (CM)
Eph. 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
3:12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him [that is, our faith gives us sufficient courage to freely and openly approach God through Christ].
A. “In whom we have our boldness and access”. ?a?????s?´a literally means "boldness" or "freedom of speech," but is used here in a more ample sense for want of restraint, ease of feeling, comfortable self-possession, in our access to God. Contrast with Adam hiding himself among the trees of the garden, and the lost calling on the mountains to fall on them, and the rocks to cover them. The "we" in this verse includes both Jews and Gentiles. The "access," or introduction (see Eph_2:18), is like that of the high priest into the holy of holies—we have boldness to enter into the holiest of all (Heb_10:19).
B. “In confidence through the faith of him”. The confidence of being welcomed and accepted when we go into God’s presence springs from our faith in him. We believe in him as the Propitiation, as our Peace, as the Reconciler, and we go before God with confidence. The clause, "through faith in him," influences the whole verse. And, as before, we have at the beginning of the verse, "in whom"—an express-ion denoting generally our union with Christ, and at the end, "through the faith of him"—a specification of the instrument by which flint union is formed and by which it operates.
Eph. 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
3:13 So I ask you not to lose heart at my sufferings on your behalf, for they are your glory and honor.
A. “Wherefore I desire” . . .—The verse is parenthetical—a reflection suggested by the greatness of the trust and the littleness of the minister dwelt upon in Ephesians 3:8-12, and inserted as a warning to the Ephesians not to be disheartened at the present “tribulation” of his imprisonment, as if it were a failure of his mission. (Ellicott)
B. “To faint” is “to play the coward,” as “thinking it a strange thing” that trouble should fall on him or them. It might well seem strange, when for four years at least, at Caesarea and Rome, the marvelous activity of St. Paul’s Apostolic career was apparently cut short. (Ellicott)
C. “At my tribulations for you, which is your glory”.—There is a peculiar beauty in the thought suggested by the words “which is your glory.” The suffering, triumphantly borne and actually turned to the furtherance of the gospel, is certainly a “glory,” in the proof which it gives of the power of the truth and the grace of Christ. But the more obvious idea would have been to comfort the Ephesians by the declaration that St. Paul’s tribulations were to himself a cause, not of pain, but of joy and glory—as is, in fact, done in Colossians 1:24, and in the celebrated passage, 2Corinthians 11:23-31. Here, however, instead of so doing, St. Paul pursues the same line of thought as in 1Corinthians 4:10—there half ironically, here seriously—that, while the suffering falls on himself, the glory passes to the Church, for which he suffers, and in which he is content to sink himself. Hence he bids the Ephesians find encouragement and glory for themselves, instead of a cause for “fainting,” in the afflictions endured on their behalf and overcome in Christ. As he identifies himself with them, so he would have them take what might be his glory to be their own. (Ellicott)
Eph. 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
3:14 For this reason [grasping the greatness of this plan by which Jews and Gentiles are joined together in Christ] I bow my knees [in reverence] before the Father [of our Lord Jesus Christ],
A. This does not mean you have to get on your knees to pray. Abraham and Solomon stood while praying. It’s the posture of the soul that is important. (CM)
B. Have you noticed that Biblical prayers are often brief?
a. Moses’ great pray for Israel: 3 Verses
b. Elijah on Mt. Carmel: 1 verse
c. Nehemiah’s great prayer: 7 verses
d. Jesus’ pray in John 17: can be read in 5 minutes
C. “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father”,.... That is, pray unto him for the perseverance of the saints; for nothing is more desirable to the ministers of Christ than that; which is the pure gift of God, and is what he has promised, and therefore should be prayed to for it; for what God has designed and promised to his people, he will be sought to; and the apostle's view might be also to stir up these saints to pray for themselves: the gesture he used in prayer was bowing the knees; a man is not tied to any particular gesture or posture in prayer, the main thing is the heart; mere postures and gestures are insignificant things with God; though where the mind is affected, the body will be moved; and this gesture may be expressive of reverence, humility, and submission in prayer: the object he prayed unto is the Father; that is, as follows, (John Gill)
D. “of our Lord Jesus”; though these words are wanting in the Alexandrian copy, and Ethiopic version, yet are rightly retained in others; for God is the Father of Christ, not by creation, nor adoption, but by generation, being the only begotten of the Father; and as such he is rightly prayed to, since not only Christ prayed to him as such; but he is the Father of his people in and through Christ; and there is no other way of coming to him but by Christ; and all spiritual blessings come though Christ, and from God, as the Father of Christ. (JG)
Eph. 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth [a]derives its name [God--the first and ultimate Father].
A. “Of whom the whole family” The whole "family of God," means all his children; and the idea is, that they all bear the same name, derived from the Redeemer; all are Christians. No matter where they are, in heaven or in earth; no matter from what nation they are converted, whether Jews or Gentiles, they all have one name, and one Redeemer, and all belong to one family; (AB)
B. “In heaven” - Spirits of just people made perfect. It does not properly refer to angels, for he is not speaking of them but of the family of the redeemed. (Albert Barnes)
C. “Is named” - This means substantially the same as is. They are all of one family. They all have one father, and are all of one community. The expression is taken from the custom in a family, where all bear the name of the "head" of the family; and the meaning is, that all in heaven and on earth are united under one head, and constitute one community. (AB)
Eph. 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
3:16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality],
A. Notice that all of Paul’s prison prayers deal with the spiritual condition of the inner man, and not the material needs of the body. (CM) [Surely his physical means were many.]
B. The inner man of the lost sinner is dead, but it comes alive when Christ is invited in.
C. What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit empower the inner man? Our spiritual faculties are controlled by God and we are exercising them and growing in the Word. (CM)
D. In no part of Paul’s letters does he rise to a higher level than in his prayers, and none of his prayers are fuller of fervor than this wonderful series of petitions. They open out one into the other like some majestic suite of apartments in a great palace-temple, each leading into a loftier and more spacious hall, each drawing nearer the presence-chamber, until at last we stand there. (MacLaren)
E. For Paul’s prayer is God’s purpose, and what He means with all who profess His name is that these exuberant desires may be fulfilled in them. So let us now listen to that petition which is the foundation of all, and consider that great thought of the divine strength-giving power which may be bestowed upon every Christian soul. (MacLaren)
Eph. 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love,
A. Three pictures in three verbs: (CM)
a. “Dwell” = to settle down and feel at home such as Oaks of Mamre with Abraham.
The Lord did not feel at home at Lot’s house! He sent the angels. (Does He feel at home in yours?) The Lord did not come to us as temporary visitor, but a permanent resident. With unrestricted access to your life. (CM)
b. “Rooted” – A tree must get its roots deep into the soil if it is to have nourishment and stability. (CM)
c. “Grounded” = (architectural term) sound foundations. The storm that blows reveals the strength of the roots, or the soundness of the foundation. (CM)
B. “In your hearts”; the seat and center of the moral life, corresponding to ‘inner man’ (Eph_3:16), but viewed rather on the side of the affections. Here is Christ’s home; (Popular NT)
Eph. 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
3:18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; (Popular NT)
A. “May be fully able”, or, ‘may be strong enough,’ suggesting difficulty, and the need of exertion.
B. “To comprehend”. Php_3:12-13 : ‘apprehend,’ a rendering which is perhaps too weak, since, both here and there, more is meant than an intellectual apprehension, namely, a spiritual perception and inward experience.
C. “With all saints”, the whole body of believers is meant, and it is implied, not only that all saints have this common study, but also that they pursue it in common. Evidently Paul’s petition is applicable to all who believe in Christ
D. “What is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height”. The Apostle here sets forth the ‘greatness’ (chap. Eph_1:19) of the object he has in mind, borrowing the terms of mathematical magnitude (sacra illa Pauli mathematica). It is not necessary therefore to find a specific reference in each of the terms, still less to accept any one of the many mystical explanations. Whenever any of these are used, the details must be proven from other passages, the choice being largely a matter of individual fancy. The important question is: To what object does the Apostle refer? The simplest answer is: to Christ’s love (Eph_3:19), and the connection found in that verse sustains this view. Other explanations: God’s love, the fulness of God, the Church of Christ, the work of redemption, the mystery, the temple of God, God Himself; all of which are less natural than the view given above. Some have even found here an allusion to the temple of Diana.
Eph. 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
3:19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
A. “To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” - It is only by the love of Christ that we can know the love of God: the love of God to man induced him to give Christ for his redemption; Christ’s love to man induced him to give his life’s blood for his salvation. The gift of Christ to man is the measure of God’s love; the death of Christ for man is the measure of Christ’s love. God so loved the world, etc. Christ loved us, and gave himself for us. But how can the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, be known? Many have labored to reconcile this seeming contradiction. If we take the verb ????a? in a sense in which it is frequently used in the New Testament, to approve, acknowledge, or acknowledge with approbation, and ???s?? to signify comprehension, then the difficulty will be partly removed: “That ye may acknowledge, approve, and publicly acknowledge, that love of God which surpasseth knowledge.” We can acknowledge and approve of that which surpasses our comprehension. We cannot comprehend God; yet we can know that he is; approve of, love, adore, and serve him. In like manner, though we cannot comprehend, the immensity of the love of Christ, yet we know that he has loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; and we approve of, and acknowledge, him as our only Lord and Savior. In this sense we may be said to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge. But it is more likely that the word ???s??, which we translate knowledge, signifies here science in general, and particularly that science of which the rabbins boasted, and that in which the Greeks greatly exulted. The former professed to have the key of knowledge; the secret of all Divine mysteries; the latter considered their philosophers, and their systems of philosophy, superior to every thing that had ever been known among men, and reputed on this account all other nations as barbarians. When the apostle prays that they may know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, he may refer to all the boasted knowledge of the Jewish doctors, and to all the greatly extolled science of the Greek philosophers. To know the love of Christ, infinitely surpasseth all other science. This gives a clear and satisfactory sense. (AC)
B. “That ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” - Among all the great sayings in this prayer, this is the greatest. To be Filled with God is a great thing; to be filled with the Fulness of God is still greater; but to be filled with All the fullness of God, pa? t? p????µa t?? Te??, utterly bewilders the sense and confounds the understanding. Most people, in quoting these words, endeavor to correct or explain the apostle, by adding the word communicable; but this is as idle as it is useless and impertinent. The apostle means what he says, and would be understood in his own meaning. By the fullness of God, we are to understand all those gifts and graces which he has promised to bestow on man, and which he dispenses to the Church. To be filled with all the fullness of God, is to have the whole soul filled with meekness, gentleness, goodness, love, justice, holiness, mercy, and truth. And as what God fills, neither sin nor Satan can fill; consequently, it implies that the soul shall be emptied of sin, that sin shall neither have dominion over it, nor a being in it. It is impossible for us to understand these words in a lower sense than this. But how much more they imply, (for more they do imply), I cannot tell. As there is no end to the merits of Christ, no bounds to the mercy and love of God, no limits to the improvability of the human soul, so there can be no bounds set to the saving influence which God will dispense to the heart of every believer. We may ask, and we shall receive, and our joy shall be full. (AC)
Eph. 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
3:20 Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,
Paul seems to want to use every word possible to convey to us the vastness of God’s Power as found in Jesus Christ. (CM)
DOXOLOGY. The study and exposition of the amazing riches of the grace of God gives birth to an outburst of praise toward the Divine Source of all this mercy, past, present, and to come. (Pulpit Comm)
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. In thinking of God it is as if we thought of space—however far our conceptions may travel, there is still infinity beyond. Paul had asked much in this prayer, and thoughts can always travel beyond words, yet the excess of God’s power beyond both was infinite. This excess is denoted by a double term of abundance (p????sa? ??pe`? pa´?ta and ??pe?e?pe??ss???), as if the apostle wished to fill our minds with the idea of absolute infinity of gracious power in God. According to the power that worketh in us, which is none other than the power "which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead" (Eph_1:20). The power that is actually at work in us has only to be exerted a little more to accomplish wonders of sanctification, and confer on us immense spiritual strength. (PC)
Eph. 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
3:21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.
“Unto him be the glory in the Church in Christ Jesus, world without end. Amen”. To God the whole credit of the scheme of grace and the work of grace as carried out in his people is due ("Not of works, lest any man should boast"); therefore let the Church acknowledge this, and cordially and openly ascribe to God his due. Let this feeling be universally encouraged and cherished in the Church, and let it find in the Church services suitable occasions of breaking forth in song and prayer. Again the apostle’s favorite formula comes in" in Christ Jesus," to denote that this act of adoration is to be done in immediate connection with the work and person of Christ; for it is he who has brought about the whole condition of things from which the act of adoration springs. And this ascription of praise is not transitory; this view of the Divine character and actings will never become obsolete or be superseded by other views; it will claim their cordial ascriptions forever—literally, to all the generations of the age of the ages.
Is His power active in your life? Get your hands on your spiritual wealth by opening you heart to the Holy Spirit, and praying for strength for the inner man . . . for new depth of love . . . for spiritual apprehension . . . and spiritual fulness. (CM)
