Ephesians Teaching Series

This beautifully constructed letter can best be understood by paying attention to its amazing structure.

7. Eph 3:14-21 A Prayer we would All Love to Receive

  • Of all the prayers prayed over people in the Bible, this must be the pinnacle.
  • This is such a good prayer to pray over one another!

Play Audio:

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Goal:

That all of us would know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
so that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The Story So Far

1. The Epic Poem that Opens Ephesians

  • One long sentence, v.3 all the way to v.14!!
  • Exquisitely constructed jewel of a sentence
  • Poetic in its structure

2. Paul’s Prayer —For Us!

  • Paul takes the three core parts of the epic poem and turns them into a prayer
  • 1. Past, 2. Present and 3. Future
  • Then we looked at the first 10 verses of ch 2

Weeks...

  1. 2:1-10 An new identity (with a card!)
  2. 2:11-22 Christ has broken down the walls, and taken the hostility on himself
  3. 3:1-13 God has now revealed the secret, hidden through the ages, that the unity of his people will break the power of darkness

A Prayer we would All Love to Receive

  1. The First Prayer
  2. The Second Prayer
  3. The Third Prayer
  4. Praise

1. The First Prayer

Prayer for a foundation for living a new life

  1. Power
  2. Love
  3. Strength to grasp these truths

Outline of 3:14-19

  1. I kneel before God and pray:
  2. That he would give you
    1. power in your inner being
    2. Christ’s love and presence in your hearts
  3. That you would grasp the truth of
    1. The immeasurable greatness of the God who promises these things
    2. his love that surpasses knowledge
  4. As a result you will be filled up with God

Ephesians 3:14-21

  1. Τούτου χάριν κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
  2. wἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται, from whom every group in heaven and on earth is named,
  3. ἵνα δῷ ὑμῖν κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory,
δυνάμει κραταιωθῆναι διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ, with power to be strengthened, through his Spirit,
εἰς τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον in your inner being,
  1. κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν for Christ to dwell, through faith, in your hearts
ἐν ἀγάπῃ· ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι,in love, being rooted and grounded
  1. ἵνα ἐξισχύσητε καταλαβέσθαι σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις that you may have strength to comprehend with all the saints
τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ ὕψος καὶ βάθος, what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
  1. γνῶναί τε τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς γνώσεως ἀγάπην τοῦ Χριστοῦ, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
ἵνα πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ. that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
  1. Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ Now to him who has the power
ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν to do all things far more abundantly than we ask or think,
κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν, according to the power that works mightily within us,
  1. αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν. throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Translation and structure by Andrew Fountain

Prayer (say aloud with me)

Dear Father
I pray that you would grant ........

  • To be strengthened with your power in their inner being
  • For their roots to go deep into your love, and love to be their foundation

2. The Second Prayer

Outline of 3:14-19

  1. I kneel before God and pray:
  2. That he would give you
    1. power in your inner being
    2. Christ’s love and presence in your hearts
  3. That you would grasp the truth of
    1. The immeasurable greatness of the God who promises these things
    2. his love that surpasses knowledge
  4. As a result you will be filled up with God

Job 11

  1. But oh, that God would speak
    and open his lips to you…
  2. Can you find out the deep things of God?
    Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
  3. It is higher than heaven—what can you do?
    Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
  4. Its measure is longer than the earth
    and broader than the sea.

3. The Third Prayer

Eph 3:19b

“…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Prayer (say aloud with me)

Dear Father
I pray that you would give ........ some idea of

  • the breadth and length and height and depth of your power and love
  • and to know your love for them that surpasses knowledge
  • and to be filled with all your fullness

4. Praise

Outline of 3:14-19

  1. I kneel before God and pray:
  2. That he would give you
    1. power in your inner being
    2. Christ’s love and presence in your hearts
  3. That you would grasp the truth of
    1. The immeasurable greatness of the God who promises these things
    2. his love that surpasses knowledge
  4. As a result you will be filled up with God

Three parts to Paul’s prayer:

  1. Power
  2. Love
  3. Understanding the truth of how these belong to us

Newlife Church

  • Our goal is to see God’s kingdom come in Toronto, demonstrating
    • the love of the Father,
    • the truth of Jesus Christ,
    • and the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • Let’s close by praising God by reading v.20-21 together:
Last updated on 4 Jun 2023
Published on 4 Jun 2023