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G. Eph. 3:14-21
The Central Prayer
The love of Christ
The fullness of God
Verse 14 begins with the words "For this cause", with which Paul began in verse 1,
but he had to pause in order to give the reason why he was "the prisoner of Christ Jesus
in behalf of you Gentiles", and to enlarge upon "the dispensation of that grace of God
which was given to you-ward (R.V.). So the introduction "For this cause" takes us back
to chapter 2 where Paul speaks of a building, growing into a holy temple of the Lord,
which will be a habitation of God in the Spirit. The picture in chapter 2 is of the whole
church being built up, to become a temple, but when we come to chapter 3, we notice that
it is the individual believer who is the object of prayer; for in verse 17 Paul prays that
"Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith".
Before Paul utters the prayer in verse 17 he prays that the Ephesians may be
strengthened, and a moment's reflection will enable us to realize that, if Christ is to dwell
in our hearts through faith, then our hearts need to be prepared to receive such a visitor.
In our daily lives, if we expect an important visitor, what great preparations do we make!
Surely if we are to entertain the Lord Himself, suitable preparations are essential. Paul
says, you will need power, through the Spirit, and later he says, we need to be strong if
we are to apprehend (or comprehend) the four dimensions of the love of Christ. In this
prayer, we are facing the fact that we need to have practical experience of fellowship with
Christ in anticipation of the time when we shall be seated with Him at God's right hand.
Is it not true that life on this earth is to prepare us for the life we shall enjoy hereafter?
The prayer is divided into three sections by the Greek word hina, which means "in
order that". Charles Welch's structure brings this to our attention:
V Prayer 1: v.14 Prayer to the Father
j. v.15 Every family in heaven and earth
W Threefold k v.16 In order that
\ According to the riches
petition
50: vv. 16, 17 He may grant \ of glory. Strengthened
and
| with might
threefold k v.18 In order that
|
enduement. 50: 5: 18 You may comprehend / To have strength enough
k v.19 In order that
\ Able to do according to
l vv. 19, 20 You may be filled | power that worketh in us
/
V Doxology i v.21 Glory to Him
j v.21 All the generations of the ages of the ages.
"For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father, from Whom every family in heaven and on earth is
name" (Eph. 3:14, 15 R.V.).
We notice that the R.V. differs from the A.V. for the words in verse 14 "of our Lord
Jesus Christ" do not appear in the Revised Version as they do not appear in various texts.
Also in verse 15, instead of "the whole family", the Revised Version reads "every
family", which is the literal translation.