Monthly Archives: December 2020

Ephesians 3:18-19

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…may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul ended verse 17 with so that — so that you, being rooted and grounded in love….

Paul thought that what was coming next was so important that he preceded it with a plea to be strengthened by the Spirit of God in the inner man, Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith and being rooted and grounded. What comes next?

That you may have the strength to grasp something. Some truths are so powerful and deep that they take strength — spiritual, emotional, maybe even cognitive strength — to comprehend. Paul had already prayed for that foundational strength.

What is it that we should comprehend? Answer: the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

The love that Christ has for us surpasses the ability to really understand it. And yet, Paul prayed that we would comprehend it with all the Spiritual strength that God has provided.

The love of Christ for us is pure agape love. It is a love that reaches out to us in spite of our sinfulness and rebellion and it draws us in. It does not take account of wrongs and does not hold grievances against us. It is a love that doesn’t seek revenge or reduce its intensity because of the unworthiness of its recipients. It is the pure love of God.

Finally, in verse 19, Paul prays that we might be filled with all the fullness of God! I don’t even know where to begin thinking about this. Filled with the fullness of God?! Really? God’s design for us entails way more than we could ever conceive. We limit our perspective of what we can do for Christ as His power is at work in us. We’re still playing with baby toys rather than growing up to be adult sons, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. What is it that Christ would have us, His adopted and co-heir brothers, do for Him and what blessings might he be ready to pour out on us if we came to understand the big picture?

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 2:14 PM December 17, 2020.

Ephesians 3:17

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So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

In verse 16 Paul had prayed that the people would be strengthened with power in their inner being through the working of the Holy Spirit.

Now in verse 17, he gives the reason. He says, “So that…” What is the reason he prays for this inner strengthening? It is so that Christ (the Messiah) would dwell in our hearts through faith.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what faith is. So many people speak of faith in the abstract. It’s like faith in faith. Just believe. But the question needs to be asked, Believe in what?

In the Christian teaching, faith doesn’t stand alone. Faith believes some things to be true. Paul said in Acts 27:23, “ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.”

In Romans 4, speaking of Abraham, Paul says that he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (Romans 4:20-21)

The teaching of Christianity is that we are saved by faith, by believing what God says. God says He will give eternal life to those who believe Him. You either believe Him or you don’t. It’s not the prayer, the profession, or the obedience that saves. It is the believing. All of those other things follow.

So back to verse 17. We believe, and Christ dwells in our hearts. Then comes another “so that….” So that you may have the strength to do something (verse 18). We’ll get to that next time. But first, what is the condition for having the verse 18 strength?

Paul is praying that we would be rooted and grounded in love. When a plant is well-rooted, it is difficult to pull up. It’s foundation in the soil is firm. Grounded means established. The foundation is strong. Both words give different pictures of the same thing. Something that is rooted and grounded is firmly established. Such things are difficult to dislodge. It’s the opposite of sitting loosely on top of a pile of sand that the wind and water can erode and undermine.

The Spirit strengthens our inner man with power so that Christ will dwell in our hearts by faith. That will result in our being firmly established in love so that we are not easily shaken or moved from that position. Having been firmly placed in love, we then have the strength to do what verse 18 speaks about.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:53 AM December 14, 2020.

Ephesians 3:16

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That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

Ephesians

Ephesians 3:16

Beginning in verse 16, we enter into the content of Paul’s prayer. Petition 1 – God would grant you to strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person. He asked that this be provided according to the riches of God’s glory.

So, let’s pick this apart a little bit. First we need to consider how great and deep are the riches of God’s glory? I think we would all agree that they are infinite. His glory is infinite and the riches of his glory are infinite. It is according to this richness that he bases his request. In other words, use the vastness of your power and glory to provide what I’m asking for to these people.

What, then, does he request? He is asking that God would strengthen their inner being, their heart and soul. Further, he is asking that it be strengthened with power. Paul is asking that his people would have an inner strength provided by God Himself.

And finally, the mediator of this transfer of strength is the Holy Spirit. In other words, may God use His Holy Spirit to infuse power into you so that the inner man is strengthened.

Isn’t that something we all would like to see in our own lives and in the lives of our fellow Christians. Maybe we should pray for things like this rather than merely praying for health and safety.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:41 AM December 11, 2020.

Ephesians 3:14-15

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For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

In verse 14, Paul begins to explain how he is praying for the Ephesian Christians. He begins by telling them that he is going to give them the reason that he is praying. That reason is basically the content of the prayer which begins with the word “that” in verse 16.

He says in verse 14 that he bows his knees before the Father. Whether we physically position ourselves on our knees or not, doesn’t it show us the proper attitude with which we should come before God. The Bible tells us in other place to come boldly before the throne of grace, but that doesn’t mean proudly or carelessly. There should be a humility to our coming before the God of the universe.

Verse 15 is basically telling us that every one on earth can trace their history back to God the Father. He is the one who created Adam and Eve in the first place. He is the one who gave them life, and that life has been transmitted continuously until that life reached you and me.

Next time we’ll look at the prayer itself and see how it might be a template for how you and I can pray for one another.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 3:16 PM December 9, 2020.

Ephesians 3:12-13

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In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

The eternal purpose of God was realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, according to verse 11. Paul begins verse 12 with “in whom.” I’ve pointed out before that our position “in Christ” is our identity. When we trust Christ we are placed in Him. His history becomes our history. For example, we have died and were raised with Him. We are currently seated with Him in heavenly places. So, you need to learn to adjust your thinking to believe the truth that you are in Christ.

Paul says that in Him we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. It reminds me of what Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

We have access. And yet we take that access for granted. Access to the throne of the King is not something that is easily acquired. But if you are the King’s child, access is available.

So, since all of these things are true, Paul asks his readers and disciples not to lose heart over what he is suffering. The suffering which Paul is enduring on their behalf is their glory. We don’t use glory in our vocabulary much, but in the natural world, what might be your glory? Perhaps your position, or your family, or some achievement. Long hair is a woman’s glory. A young man’s strength is his glory. So, our glory is something we might be legitimately proud of. Not in the sinful sense.

We would never use the term suffering in relationship to glory, but here Paul says that his suffering is their glory, their point of boasting. It doesn’t make sense to us. In Galatians 6:14 Paul says the cross of Christ is his place of boasting.

Perhaps we need to do a little more meditating on this concept. It might free us from the bondage of the normal centers of our boasting and glory and center us more on the cross and that point of suffering which ultimately became the means for our salvation.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 2:03 PM December 7, 2020.

Ephesians 3:11

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This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,

This eternal plan which we discussed in the last post was according to the eternal purpose of God. I can’t stress this enough. God’s decrees and plans are eternal. His plans and purposes are not dependent on what people do. This eternal plan was realized in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, let’s summarize the last couple of verses. God has had an eternal purpose, realized and revealed through Jesus Christ coming into the world as a man. This mystery has been hidden for all generations until revealed to the apostles and prophets of the first century.

Paul’s preaching as well as our own is to bring this mystery to light. And what is the goal? That the multifaceted wisdom of God might be made down to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

A key part of this is to understand that making known the wisdom of God to the principalities and powers occurs through the church. The church is the body of Christ. The church is the people whom God has saved, filled with His Spirit and commissioned to worship together and proclaim the gospel. So, living as a Christian as part of the church involves more than just being a good testimony to those who are around us. It involves demonstrating to these powers, even those we wrestle against, demonstrating what God is like. How merciful and gracious He is in having taken enemies and turned them into friends, joint-heirs with Christ to rule and reign with Him.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 1:16 PM December 3, 2020.

Ephesians 3:8-10

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To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

This commentary is going to be a little longer than most because I want to cover the entire sentence that runs from verse 8 all the way through verse 10. I would suggest reading these verses a couple of times to get the flow of Paul’s logic, and then read through this commentary on those verses. You can spread your study over several days, but I didn’t want my comments to be broken up mid-sentence.

Paul is going to explain an amazing truth that has been given to him to explain. He begins by demonstrating his humility, calling himself the very least of all the saints. That’s saying something, isn’t it. Here is a highly educated Jewish leader, chosen by God to write a large portion of the New Testament, and he calls himself the least of all the saints.

What is the message he is to preach? He is going to proclaim the good news of the fathomless riches of Christ. A fathom is a measurement of depth of the ocean. Fathomless means there is no way to measure the depths of the riches of Christ. There is so much wealth there, it is impossible to get to the bottom of it.

By the way, he calls the opportunity to proclaim this good news, grace. In other words, he counts it as an undeserved gift of God to be able to declare this message.

What else is involved in this declaration? He says in verse 9 that he is going to bring to light something that has been hidden for ages. That’s what a mystery is in the New Testament. Where has this plan been hidden? It has been hidden in God who created all things. So what is Paul claiming? He is claiming that there is something that has been hidden in God Himself since before creation, and now he, Paul, is going to explain what that plan is. How does he know the plan? Verse 3 told us that it was given to him by revelation. God told him!

The question is, “Why?”. Why is this plan being made known now, and why to Paul? Verse 10 answers that question. So that the multi-faceted wisdom of God might be revealed and made known. To whom, Paul? Who are the recipients of this picture of the manifold wisdom of God?

The answer to that question is the principalities and powers. The rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. Wait a minute! Isn’t it the rulers and authorities that we wrestle against? “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12.

So, let me see if I understand this. In the wisdom of God, He revealed this mystery to Paul so that the principalities and powers of the universe would see and know the amazing wisdom of God!

And through what means is this knowledge to be transmitted to the principalities and powers? Through the church! The church is God’s instrument through the preaching of the gospel and through lives transformed by the power of God — transformed from rebellious traitors to Christ-like followers — the principalities and powers, who have been warring against God since the beginning, will see how amazing God is!

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:17 AM December 3, 2020.