Ephesians 3:14-21 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ephesians 3:14-21. Let’s go!
Ephesians 3:14 (NIV)
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,
On verse 14: Paul got on his knees when he prayed to God. Likewise, sometimes when you’re praying, especially when you’re by yourself, try physically kneeling if you can. When I get on my knees in prayer, it’s a reminder to humble myself before God. Kneeling reminds me of how small I am before God and how much I need God in my life.
Ephesians 3:15 (NIV)
15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
On verse 15: No matter how different the cultures, backgrounds and countries we come from, all of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ belong to the same family and are given the same family name. That “whole family” includes every believer on earth today and every believer who has already gone to heaven. The church of Jesus Christ is the largest, most diverse, most multicultural family that ever existed or ever will exist.
Ephesians 3:16-17a (NIV)
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.
On verses 16-17a: Three times in this passage Paul mentions the word “power”. He prays that God would strengthen his church in Ephesus with power (v16). Then he prays that they would have power to grasp how great God’s love is (v18). Finally he states that God can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine “according to His power that is at work within us” (v19).
What can we learn from this?
1. God made you to experience Him. Not just to know Him from afar but to experience Him up close. He wants you to know His power.
2. How can you know God’s power? By cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit, who lives in every Christian — as Paul says, “through His Spirit in your inner being” (v16). When you draw close to the Holy Spirit through extended time in prayer, worship and reading His Word, you begin to experience His power working in your life. It’s like firing up an oven.
3. The whole goal of receiving power from God is not so that we can chase after our selfish ambitions; rather, it’s “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (v17). God’s desire is that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. The word “dwell” here means to fill and take over a place. Christ wants to fill and take over every part of your life. He wants to infuse every aspect of your life with His hope, peace, confidence, wisdom, purpose and joy — “that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (v19). For that to happen, you need the Holy Spirit to empower you.
You can’t run a Ferrari on a small 9 volt battery. Similarly, we don’t have the power by ourselves to let Christ dwell in us as He should. We need the Holy Spirit to empower us. Only when the Holy Spirit is empowering us can Christ dwell, fill and take over our lives. When the Holy Spirit empowers you, that’s when all the lights come on and you can hear the engine that is Christ in your life roar. So seek to be empowered by His Holy Spirit. The more time you spend drawing near to the Holy Spirit, the more He will empower you.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 (NIV)
17 …And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
On verses 17b-19: Another important part of experiencing God’s power in your life is to love your church family. When love is the foundation of what we do (that is, when we are “rooted and established in love” – v18) and when we are united with other believers (“together with all the saints” – v17), three things happen:
– we begin to grasp how immeasurable God’s love is (that it’s higher, deeper, wider and longer than we can comprehend) (v18);
– we begin to really experience God’s love – not just hear about it or know about it intellectually, a “love that surpasses knowledge” (v19);
– the fullness of God begins to fill our lives more and more (v19). God’s intent was always that you and I would “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (v19).
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
On verses 20-21: God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. But how much He actually does in us is “according to the power that is at work within us”. In other words, how much God actually does in our lives will depend on how much we allow His power to be at work within us. If we maintain a close relationship with the Holy Spirit, that power will very much be “at work within us”, alive, and active. But if we remain distant from the Holy Spirit, we don’t allow God’s power to work within us the way God intended. God has made the most incredible power available to us. It’s the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20). But it’s up to us to give God the room to work that power in our lives.
Holy Spirit, please take all of me and fill me today. I want Your power to be fully working in me. May Christ dwell in my heart through faith. May I experience Your love more deeply. And may You have unlimited room to work in and through my life. To You be all glory and honour forever! In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
