This truth is so profound that it can only scratch the surface of our spiritual understanding. I pray that I may be filled to the fullness of Christ, day by day, as I saturate myself in Your Word and seek only to do those things that are pleasing in Your sight and in line with Your will for my life. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spiritnot a brute strength but a glorious inner strengththat Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. As we continue reading verse 19, we see that the amazing secret to being filled with God to overflowing (i.e., with "the fullness of God", as the NIV says) is simply this: we become aware of the depth of His love for us. Get beautiful Bible art delivered to your inbox. Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. Anyway, I added Ephesians 3:16-19 to our blessings and benedictions nursery art series. I want my children to understand how much God loves them, and I also want them to understand how much God loves the people around them. 16I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, 17and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. NASB. Strength from the Spirit of God in the inner man; strength in the soul; the strength of faith, to serve God, and to do our duty. In all honesty I have no idea what this means. The dimensions of Christ's love for His Church are unfathomable and enfold all those who will trust in His name for salvation, whether they be Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female, black or white, young or old. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. Just as a thimble can be filled to over-flooding with water when dipped into the vast shoreless ocean without exhausting the ocean's capacity, so we too can be filled to a measure of the fullness of God. 2:5) and has unified themboth Jews and Gentilestogether with Christ and made them sit with Him in heavenly places (Eph. In my own faith walk, even though I did not know this Scripture when I put my faith in Jesus, I did so because I believed that He was really God, and that God loved me very much. 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth. I pray that I may be filled to the fullness of Christ, day by day, as I saturate myself in Your Word and seek only to do those things that are pleasing in Your sight and in line with Your will for my life. All Rights Reserved. If Gods love surpasses knowledge, how can we know it? When we think of it this way, it seems clearer what God is talking about. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lords holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledgethat you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. MSG Ephesians 3:16-19 16 I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit - not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength - 17 that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Some days I am inspired by my childrens childlike faith. that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love. 16I pray that he will use his glorious riches to make you strong. Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. 17Then Christ will live in you through faith. 19Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Sorry, you don't have permission to view that book. The inner man is the spiritual aspect, while the outer man is the physical aspect. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. Gods love surpasses knowledge so I know we cant completely understand it on this earth, but I pray every day to better understand how wide and long and high and deep is His love. to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love. Plumb the depths! (73) Jesus tells a parable about a tree that did not bear fruit (Luke 13:6-8). I immediately thought of this scripture passage. Test its length! When I pray for my children, I often pray the words of these verses. . THEME: Sinful lust. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Today, we way to consider verses In the Greek, the "so that" is not there, so the question is whether "so that" is clearly implied or not. The second part of verse 17 is a clear transition in the prayer. Appropriate to the succeeding phrase the inner man, since it signifies faculty or virtue not necessarily . Ephesians 3:16-19 In-Context 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. Ephesians 3:16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, Colossians 1:11 Helpful? But this is a mystery that staggers the understanding and surpasses human knowledge, and in which we stand in awe and wonderment. The answer is yes, there are two things we can do. Roots anchor and stabilize the tree. Ephesians 3:16-19 The New International Version (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. He begins by pointing out that when we came to faith in Jesus (i.e., when we were "rooted and established"), it was in love and because of love. The Cowboys lead the all-time series 19-18-1, including a 5-3 edge in the postseason. Then you will be filled with everything God has for you. so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faiththat you, being rooted and grounded in love. 14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. But just as we will never fathom the depth of the riches of His grace towards us, so we can never have ALL His fullness, but we can be filled to our level of completeness. youll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christs love. And may you have the power to understand, as all Gods people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. We have His perfect love available to us whether or not our need for love is met by the people around us. Here Paul bows his knees to God (v. 14), being in great awe of His grace, by which He has given believers a new identity in Christ. In other words, he is saying that each of us needs a "personal revelation" of God's love for us as individuals. Im baffled! The punch line comes in the final verse of this passage, so please hang in there with the comments on the earlier verses, because the wait is well worth it. that he may grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person. and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. An error occurred while accessing favorites. in order that he may give you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power by his Spirit in the inner man; that the Christ may dwell, through faith, in your hearts, being rooted and founded in love, in order that ye may be fully able to apprehend with all the saints what. . May his Holy Spirit give you his power deep down inside you. A trees roots go deep into the ground searching for water. Must he needs fill himself with a thousand trifles, fancying thereby to complete his happiness? The owner ordered that it be cut down, and implied that a new one would be planted in its place. May you know how wide and long and high and deep it is. Sorry, an error was encountered while loading comparison. Rise to the heights! Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. the breadth, and length, and height, and depth. Often that involves years of frustration on our parts, and possibly some pain, as when Saul was blinded by God on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), because there was no gentler way for God to override Saul's preconceived ideas about what the Kingdom of God looked like. Then you will be filled with everything God has for you. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth. Your Faithlife account signs you in to all our sites. I love the thought of having these words in my home as a visual reminder to pray and as a reminder of God's love! Ephesians 3:16-19 Paul's prayer can be outlined using two grammatical features. Your email address will not be published. Some translations and commentaries suggest that the strengthening of our inner beings is so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith; while others suggest that "Christ dwelling in our hearts" is actually the second prayer that Paul makes for the Ephesians. Sorry, an error was encountered while loading the book. I pray these verses for my family almost every day. When I am rooted in Christ's love, I will grow as a person. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spiritnot a brute strength but a glorious inner strengththat Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. Ephesians 3: 16- 19 . Wherefore, though he endured much tribulation for the sake of preaching this Gospel, this should not at all sink their spirits, or move them away from the hope of it; but they should rather glory that they had such a faithful preacher and defender of it, Eph 3:13. May you know how wide and long and high and deep it is. Rise to the heights! Through His blood, I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting. All rights reserved. 17Then Christ will live in your hearts because you believe in him. God's great love for us as demonstrated in sending His own Son to be the sacrifice for our sins undergirds everything. Ephesians 3:16-19 The Message 14-19 My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. The more we rest in Him, the more we find that we are being filled to a measure of all the fullness of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Published by permission. I think that what this part of the prayer means is that it is only through our constant exercise of faith that in any practical sense we are aware of Jesus' presence in our hearts, and to the extent that we are aware of Jesus living in our hearts can He be said to "dwell" there. Roots are also necessary for growth. Your roots will grow down into Gods love and keep you strong. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God. And may you know his love, even though it cant be known completely. Explore verse 16Im asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. Well send you a new verse every day to download or share. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all Gods people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. Lord, out of your glorious riches strengthen their hearts and give them faith. . I ask him to strengthen you by his Spiritnot a brute strength but a glorious inner strengththat Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Believers in Christ need fresh supplies of strength to enable them to exercise grace, to perform duties, to resist Satan and his temptations, to oppose their corruptions, and to bear the cross, and undergo afflictions cheerfully, and to hold on and out to the end: this is a blessing that comes from God, and is a gift of his free grace; a "grant" from him who is the strength of the lives of his people, of their salvation, of their hearts, and of the work of grace in their hearts: the means whereby the saints are strengthened by God, is "his Spirit"; who strengthens them by leading them to the fulness of grace and strength in Christ, by shedding abroad the love of God in their hearts, by applying the promises of the Gospel to them, and by making the Gospel itself, and the ordinances of it, useful to them, causing them to go from strength to strength in them: the subject of this blessing is the "inner man", or the Spirit, or soul of man, which is the seat of grace; and this shows that this was spiritual strength which is here desired, which may be where there is much bodily weakness, and for which there should be the greatest concern; and that this strength is not naturally there, it must be given, or put into it. 19Christs love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. This last phrase, in the inner man, is joined to the beginning of the next verse in the Arabic, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, "in the inner man Christ may dwell". Ephesians 3:14-19-14-19 The Message (MSG) My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. And as he desired their perseverance, so he prays for it, and for several things in order to it; the posture in which he prayed was by bowing the knee; the person to whom he prayed is described by his relation to Christ, as his Father, of whom, or of Christ, the whole family of God in heaven and earth are named, Eph 3:14,15. May we never get away from the foundational truth of being a Christian: God is incredibly in love with us! They live scattered lives, sometimes concerned with their relationships with God, but a lot more of the time with all of the concerns of this world. Test its length! Then Christ will live in you through faith. This often comes through an event in our lives which makes us question our beliefs, resulting in a new set of beliefs which allow fruit to burst forth. The petitions made by him are for internal strength from the Spirit of God, that so they might be enabled to persevere, Eph 3:16, and also, that Christ might continue to dwell in their hearts by faith, which would keep them from falling; and likewise, that they might have a lively sense, and a full persuasion of their interest in the love of God; even so as to comprehend with others its breadth, length, depth, and height, which would engage them to press forward, and to hold on, and out, and not faint at tribulations, Eph 3:17,18, And particularly he prays; that they might know more of the love of Christ, which is not fully to be known, and which would constrain them to follow him, and cleave to him with full purpose of heart; and that they might have a full supply of all grace to support, influence, and assist them, Eph 3:19, and for his own, and their encouragement, with respect to having the petitions made, the apostle ascribes glory to God by Christ, as it should be done in the church throughout all ages of time, under this consideration, as being able to do for his people abundantly more than they are able to ask of him, or can think of asking of him, or receiving from him, Eph 3:20,21. Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And how desirable to have a fixed sense of the love of God in Christ to our souls! Other days they have questions just like most of us do. In verse 19, Paul takes his prayer for us from the level of a mere academic exercise to the level of the heart. And I pray that you may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. And I pray that your love will have deep roots. For me, this passage is among the most powerful and important in the entire Bible. As I have grown in my awareness of God's love for me over the last few years, I have been amazed at how things that used to worry or irritate me or throw me into depression don't as much as they used to. In heavenly places ( Eph do n't have permission to view that book understand. 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