To Know the Love of Christ
Why Every Christian Should Pray Ephesians 3:14-21 (Part II)
In part I, I explained how knowing the Love of Christ fills us with all the fullness of God; but what does being ‘filled with all the fullness of God’ mean? I am sure we can find scripture in other books of the bible to help since scripture interprets scripture. However, I want to understand what Paul meant in Ephesians, specifically. In the context of the prayer, then of the whole letter, what did Paul mean by it?
It Means Deep Confidence In God’s Love
The prayer Ephesians 3:14-20 starts with ‘for this reason’, so we need to look back at the previous passages to see what is the reason for such a prayer. Reading chapters 1 and 2, we get the overwhelming sense that Paul is laboring hard to help the readers understand how abundantly generous and intentional God is towards those in Christ, both Jews, and gentiles. He joyously planned to redeem us from eternity past.
Once we were all in the most hopeless human condition, which is being alienated from God. We were children of wrath, dead in [our] trespasses and sins, enslaved to this world, to the prince of the power of the air, to the passions of our flesh and the desires of the body and the mind (Ephesians 2:1-3). But God, out of the abundance of his mercy and his love for us, made us alive in Christ. He rescued us, redeemed us, and calls us his children purely by Grace (Ephesians 2:4-5). Not only that, but he is pouring so many spiritual blessings on us, that we could drown in them. He has indeed blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3-14; 2:4-10). Chapter 3 starts with a specific exhortation and encouragement to the Gentiles. Paul wants them to know that they are fellow heirs and citizens of the household of God, along with the Jews. This was according to the eternal purpose of God fulfilled in Christ Jesus. In other words, gentiles are not second-class children or citizens, grafted in as a plan B.
Connecting chapters 1-3:13 with 3:14-20 in a paraphrase may sound like this: “Father, because it is your Eternal Will to lavish them with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, I pray that they may know in greater measures the immeasurable love of Christ and thus be filled with all the fullness of God’. It leads me to conclude that being filled with all the fullness of God, includes a deep (and growing) confidence in God’s love.
It Means God Is At Work In Us
Paul’s explicit explanation in Ephesians 3:14-20 of how God works in the hearts of believers also helps us understand what being filled with all the fulness of God means. Believers filled with all the fullness of God are ones whose hearts are continually being transformed by the Triune God; the Father granting greater measures of faith, the Holy Spirit empowering us to grow deeper, wider, further, and higher into knowing and loving Christ.
It Means We Live Like God’s Children
Looking now at the passages following the prayer, we see that Paul is ‘therefore‘ urging the reader to ‘walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called’ (Ephesians 4:1). In chapters 4, 5, and 6, he exhorts them to sacrificially walk in love and the unity of the Spirit, imitating the Father and the Son. The ‘therefore’ at the beginning of Chapter 4 tells us that this exhortation is rooted in the previous passages.
Again, connecting chapters 1-3:13 with 3:14-20 and 4-6 in a paraphrase may sound like this: Because it is God’s Eternal Will to lavish you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and because he can do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us (including filling you with all the fullness of God), live accordingly.
This can be tricky to understand, so here is a metaphor. Think of a marathon runner who has somehow been given supernatural human abilities, so that it is impossible for his adversaries to outrun him. This empowers him to show up for the race and run, knowing the prize at the end is his. In the same way, we know that God joyously gave us everything that we need to ‘walk in a manner worthy’ of our calling so that it is impossible for our adversaries (the flesh, the devil, and the forces at work in the world) to ultimately defeat us. This should empower and encourage us to endure and keep on keeping on.
A High Calling
It is a high calling to be a child of God who deeply trusts in the Love of God, flourishes spiritually like a tree planted by streams of water because God is at work in us, and lives a life that shows it. This is a work only God can do in us. So, let’s pray Ephesians 3:14-21, and with Paul, say: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
