Ephesians 3:14-21

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Ephesians 3:14-21
• Sermon
• Prayer of Closing

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Sermon Title: The Ascending Prayer for the Church

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21

I. Context and Purpose of Paul's Prayer

A. Paul resumes the phrase "for this reason" (cf. Ephesians 3:1), interrupted earlier by the digression on the mystery of Christ B. The prayer flows from the work of chapters 1–3

1. Chapter 1: Salvation from God's perspective
2. Chapter 2: Salvation from man's perspective
3. Chapter 3:1–13: The church's role in displaying God's manifold wisdom C. The eternal purpose realized in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:11) is the crux underlying this prayer D. The church — composed of Jew and Gentile unified in Christ — is the instrument through which God's wisdom is made known to rulers and authorities in heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10)
4. Angels observe this drama; they are not omniscient (cf. 1 Peter 1:12)
5. Christ is the center of history; the church, as his body, shares in that centrality

II. The Posture and Address of Paul's Prayer (vv. 14–15)

A. Paul bows his knees — an unusual posture signifying exceptional earnestness

1. Normal Jewish posture for prayer was standing (cf. Luke 18:11, 13)
2. Kneeling seen in Ezra (Ezra 9:5) and Jesus in Gethsemane B. He prays to "the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named"
3. Better rendered "the whole family of God" — Greek: pasa patria (from pater, father)
4. Refers to the unified family of Jew and Gentile in Christ, not merely all nations
5. Includes both the church militant (on earth) and the church victorious (in heaven) C. Lesson for prayer: pray for the whole church of God with the same fervor as for one's own family

III. The Six-Step Staircase of Prayer (vv. 16–19)

A. Step 1 — Strength (Ephesians 3:16)

1. Strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in the inner being
2. Prayed first because suffering lies ahead for the church; strength is needed before the season begins
3. The Holy Spirit as parakletos — one called alongside to help, comfort, counsel, and advocate

B. Step 2 — Christ's Indwelling (Ephesians 3:17a)

1. Not merely initial salvation but ongoing, deepening possession of the believer's life
2. Greek katoikeo (to permanently settle and make one's home) versus paroikeo (temporary lodging)
3. As Christ permeates more of our being, we become more fully what he intends us to be

C. Step 3 — Rooted and Grounded in Love (Ephesians 3:17b)

1. Mixed metaphor: botanical (rooted, like a plant) and architectural (grounded, like a foundation)
2. Echoes Christ's parables of seeds and of houses built on rock or sand
3. Love is the essential foundation for the unified new humanity — Jew and Gentile together

D. Step 4 — Comprehending the Dimensions of Christ's Love (Ephesians 3:18)

1. Breadth, length, height, and depth — prayed to be known "with all the saints"
2. Illustrated by the skeleton found in a Spanish Inquisition dungeon: four Spanish words for these dimensions etched beside a cross on the cell wall
3. Cf. Psalm 103:11–12 — love as high as the heavens; sins removed as far as east from west

E. Step 5 — Experiential Knowledge of Christ's Love (Ephesians 3:19a)

1. A love that surpasses knowledge — not merely intellectual but experiential
2. Only in living for Christ is the full biblical sense of this love gained
3. As Christ's riches are unsearchable, his love is unknowable — we will spend eternity exploring both

F. Step 6 — Filled with All the Fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19b)

1. The most audacious step of the staircase (Boyce)
2. Likely means being filled with all that fills God — his own fullness
3. Parallels commands to be holy as God is holy, and perfect as the Father is perfect
4. God enables what he commands; he provides everything needed to accomplish his tasks

IV. The Doxology: Seven Stages of God's Ability (vv. 20–21)

A. Stage 1 — God is able to do (Ephesians 3:20)

1. Greek poieo — God is not idle, inactive, or dead; he is a God who acts
2. Contrast with idols: Isaiah 41:21–24 — idols are nothing; their work is nothing

B. Stage 2 — He can do what we ask

1. Our problem is usually that we do not ask enough
2. Cf. James 4:3 — asking wrongly; 1 John 3:21–22 — confidence before God when living in obedience

C. Stage 3 — He can do what we think or imagine

1. Even unspoken desires and imaginings are within God's power to accomplish

D. Stage 4 — He can do all that we ask or imagine

1. No incompleteness, no halfway; God finishes what he begins

E. Stage 5 — He can do more than all we ask or imagine

1. God's answers to prayer typically exceed our expectations
2. Testified to by Moses, Ruth, David, Abraham, and others

F. Stage 6 — He can do abundantly more than all we ask or imagine

1. Greek hyperperissou — superabundance; vastly more than more

G. Stage 7 — He can do far more abundantly than all we ask or imagine

1. The power at work within us is the same power that raised and exalted Christ
2. The same power that raised us and seated us with him (Ephesians 2:6)

H. Closing doxology (Ephesians 3:21)

1. Glory to God in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations
2. Ties back to Ephesians 3:10 — the church as the display case of God's manifold wisdom
3. The church must not sit idle; the call is to move forward and experience the full dimensions of God's love