Ephesians 3:14–21

Original Meaning

Father of All (3:14–15)

THE POSTURE OF kneeling in prayer is one of several postures described in the Bible.7 In addition to showing reverence and the readiness to obey, it may show heightened feeling and intent, which certainly fits with the wording of this prayer.8 Paul possibly alludes to Isaiah 45:23 (“Before me every knee will bow”).9 If so, what will be true of all in the eschaton is already taking place with Christians.

Paul again emphasizes God as Father. He refers to God as Father forty-two times in his letters, of which eight are in Ephesians.10 No other description of God is used so frequently in the New Testament. No doubt this goes back to Jesus’ teaching his disciples to address God as Abba, the Aramaic word for “father” used by both children and adults but considered by Jews to be too familiar to use without qualification in relation to God.11 God is the Father of believers, but both a narrower and a broader use of “Father” also occurs. More narrowly God is viewed as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which marks out the uniqueness of Jesus’ relation to the Father.12 In 3:15 (and 4:6) the broader sense occurs: God as the Father of all humanity.13 The emphasis in Ephesians on a cosmic Christ and a cosmic role for the church is based in an understanding of God as a cosmic Father. The anticipation that all things will be brought together in Christ (1:10) presupposes that God is the Father of all.

English translations cannot easily show the wordplay between “Father” (pater) and “family” (patria). The NIV “his whole family” is more commonly rendered “every family” (NASB, NRSV), which appears to be the better translation (the NIV also adds “his”).14 Several alternatives exist for understanding “every family in heaven and on earth,” but most likely it is an attempt to be as inclusive as possible to emphasize the cosmic scope of God’s reign and purposes. Paul saw the divisions among the human race as existing under the one God. The implication for the unity the letter seeks is obvious.15

Bridging Contexts

THIS PRAYER IS as appropriate to pray today as it was two thousand years ago, and its theological ideas are directly are applicable for our lives. The most difficult part in this process takes place on an emotional level. Paul’s emotions soar and lead him to spiritual heights in worship. How can these emotions be transferred so that we feel the same impact for our own worship? Emotions come out of deep convictions and personal involvement. Unless the theology takes deep root, the emotions—while they can be faked—cannot be authentically reproduced.

Still praying. It seems obvious that this passage asks us, like Paul, to pray and praise. A theology with any conviction should drive us to prayer and worship. Theology is not for grand ideas and academics, but for expressing our relation with God. It is not merely talk about God, it is addressed to God. “Worship is an act of inner agreement with God.”26 Prayer is “the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. It is the soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul. It is the Spirit of God pronouncing his works good.”27 This is what Paul does in 3:14–21. The highest point of view is the realization of what God has done in Christ. In anticipation of the day when every knee will bow to him, we do it now.

Ephesians as a whole is a lesson in worship. Like 1:3–23 the prayer and doxology here are descriptive and theological in character, concerned more with God than individual need. They are rooted in the character of God, focused on Christ, and pointed toward eternity. They are wholistic rather than myopic. In such prayers, the comments about God increase understanding and commitment. They draw us nearer to God and make us more receptive to him.

The doxology invites us to meditate on God, the One who is much more powerful than we anticipate. This is not an invitation to think up self-centered grocery lists of tasks for God to do. Rather, it is a call to realize God’s unanticipated power to effect change in us, in keeping with the power already working in us.

God our Father. Once again we find a worldview in which God is at work, a worldview that clashes with our normal expectations. The God of Ephesians is involved in the lives of his people. The central message of the Bible is that God lives with us. This message is present throughout the whole Old Testament, from the Garden of Eden to the tabernacle, the temple, and the destruction and rebuilding of the temple. The presence of God is heightened in the New Testament—a message that goes from the name “Immanuel” at Jesus’ birth (Matt. 1:23) to the promise of his presence until the end of the age (28:20). In John’s Gospel and letters believers remain with God and Christ, and God and Christ with them (e.g., John 15:4–7). In Acts humans live, move, and have their being in God (Acts 17:28). Paul’s “in Christ” language also underscores a theology of the presence of God. We need this theology to motivate our Christian lives.

The focus on God as Father requires attention. We noted above three ways this imagery is used: a narrower sense limited to Christ, the customary sense in reference to believers, and in a few texts like 3:14–15 of all people. We would do well to think of these as concentric circles, with Christ being at the center, then believers, and then all humanity.

For some people the image of God as Father is problematic. The inadequacy of human fathers often makes the image an obstacle rather than a help. Several commentators argue that God as Father is the archetypal image from which all fatherhood is defined—that the image is not applied to God from human experience, but to humans from God.28 This argument has validity, but it is of little help to those who have experienced the failure of human fathers in destructive ways. The church must assist such people to recover what it means to call God “Father.”

More problematic theologically is the use of such a patriarchal image to describe God. Modern feminist concerns work to redefine God or use matriarchal images in worship. The issue here is not the use of inclusive language on the horizontal level; we should make every effort to include all persons in worship and teaching. The problem arises over whether “Father” should be changed to a neutral term like “Creator” and whether God can be addressed as “Mother.” This question is not unrelated to the first issue of the inadequacy of human fathers, for often women recoil against masculine language precisely because of the abuse done to them by men.

These questions are not easy, partly because of the conventions of the English language and partly because of the metaphorical character of all language. No adequate treatment can be given here,29 but several comments are in order:

(1) The use of the title “Father” has nothing to do with maleness. God is not a man, and gender does not provide an appropriate description of God. The title “Father” has to do with origin, love, security, and care.

(2) While all language is metaphorical, matriarchal images for God in the Bible are rare and, when they do occur, are similes (using “like” or “as”), which seems to place them in a different category from the use of “Father” as a specific title.

(3) Although practice may be changing quickly, in English masculine language has the potential to be generic, but feminine language is specifically feminine.

(4) The use of Abba and the frequent use of “Father” by Jesus and throughout the New Testament (and the church’s history) makes the term too important to cast aside. The relational aspects of “Father,” “Son,” and “Holy Spirit” are too important to be replaced by “Creator,” “Redeemer,” and “Sustainer.”

(5) Use of feminine language for God is particularly open to abuse because of associations with birthing and nature, as is evidenced in ancient fertility cults, certain Gnostic sects, and in modern neopaganism associated with the new age movement. However, even biblical terms like “Father” can be abused and twisted away from their intent. Application of this title will need to be sensitive both to people and to the range of theological problems.

That God is the Father from whom every family is named means partly that we all have the same origin and value. We belong to a larger human family, all members of which, as the first part of their definition, owe their allegiance to God. We all belong to each other. The built-in arrogance of every race, nationality, and clan has no ultimate basis. In 2:11–22 racism was obliterated through the work of Christ. In 3:14–15 we are shown that racism never had any basis in the first place.

A life at work. This prayer assumes that the Christian life is not automatic. Life from God comes as a gift, but it is not magic. It is a life of engagement with God’s Spirit, who makes Christ and his purposes known. Life is relational, and relations require time and investment. God intended from the first for humans to live in relation to him. With God’s Spirit taking up residence in us, that intent is realized.

Paul’s prayer does not spell out how the Spirit’s work occurs. Clearly with regard to daily living, the Spirit comes as gift, just as initial conversion is a gift. Nothing we do can cause God’s Spirit to merge with our spirit (cf. Gal. 3:2–3). But the implication that we do nothing is a colossal error. The Spirit will not empower unwilling, inattentive spirits.

Paul’s prayer indicates God’s people should be aware of the need for the Spirit, attentive to God’s purposes and leading, at work on the interior life, and ready to be obedient. The entire letter—both the theological descriptions in the first three chapters and the ethical instruction in the last three chapters—assumes that instruction, understanding, decisions, and effort are all required for people to enjoy the work of the Spirit. The doxology in 3:20 emphasizes that God is at work in us, but implies that we need to be more aware and more expectant of his work. Ephesians 5:18 instructs us to be continually filled with the Spirit. We are responsible and active in this process. Passivity does not fit with Christian faith.

A problem. Paul prays for power and strength for his readers and asserts that God is both able and at work in them. This is a lofty goal and description. But if this is so, if the Spirit is supposed to empower Christians, why don’t we experience this power more? Why are the church and its people so ineffective? This is a problem we must face, but only two answers can be given:

(1) The theology is wrong; it sounds nice, but God is neither able nor at work.

(2) The theology is right, but we abort the process.

In answer, the problem is with us, not with God. The Spirit of Christ does not work in us without our willingness, nor does he move us to the desired goal overnight. He lives with us, and this life is a growth process. We are finite, limited, and prone to failure. The real problem is that we do not care enough. We do not have the necessary discontent within ourselves that will lead to change.30 We like the privileges without the bother. But nothing in this life happens that way. What the Spirit seeks is the willingness to hear. Faith does come by hearing.

The centrality of love. That love is structurally central in the prayer is no accident. To experience Christ is to encounter his love and to be put on a path of understanding love. Now we see how the hostility mentioned in 2:14, 16 was killed. The love of Christ destroyed both the hostility between humanity and God and that between various groups of human beings. The love of Christ is shorthand for the love of God experienced in Christ.

With good reason love is one of the five words summarizing the Christian faith.31 In fact, the whole of Christianity is caught up in the words “truth” and “love,” and as we will see, these two words dominate the second half of the letter. As both source and goal, love will define and regulate all Christian action. Therefore, love ought also to be central in our lives.

Contemporary Significance

MOST OF THE application of this text flows easily from the comments in the previous two sections. Action is now required.

Learn to worship. This text requires us to place a priority on prayer and worship. We do not do either particularly well. To some degree the church of our day has forgotten how to worship. We find ourselves unhappy with traditions and older forms and unsatisfied with the superficiality of new music and practices. In too many cases the congregation become spectators. Churches should be much more intentional in learning about prayer and worship. Meaningful worship does not merely happen; it results from attention, thought, and effort. More is required than worship planning. We need worship education and authentic worship experience. We need a worship that involves people, rather than one that asks them to watch. This rediscovery of worship presupposes a mature spirituality that can do the job. Ephesians provides both the theological resources and the models to begin the task.

God as Father. The fatherhood of God is the foundation that determines our responsibility to other people. We cannot ignore the needs of others if we share a common origin in God and a common value before him. We live in a world bloated with suffering and poverty. We cannot fix the problems of the world, and providing help to people is not easy. But the fatherhood of God requires us to care and get involved, to speak and act to help out.

In addition, the fatherhood of God will not allow us to draw a circle around Christians as the limits of our responsibility. We enjoy an unparalleled unity with those in Christ, but a broader unity with all human beings exists as well. We may not ignore non-Christians or relate to them by some lower standard. We are human first and then Christian, made authentically human by being Christian. Many things exist that are human and not Christian, but nothing is Christian that is not also human. We must do justice to our humanity in order to do justice to our Christianity.

In that vein the issue of racism must again be confronted. Two fatal blows to racism are encountered in Ephesians: (1) Christ’s death, which destroys hostility and creates oneness;32 (2) the fact that God is Father of us all. Racism is an enemy against which the church must speak and act. Not only is racism an attack on other groups, it is also an attack on God, for the people being disparaged are his people, people he created and about whom he cares.

But not God as male. As indicated above, I would insist on the importance of calling God “Father.” At the same time the church should go out of its way to remind people that God is not male, something it has neglected to do. We do not need to compound the language problem by sloppiness in communication. Occasionally we should introduce prayers with words such as “You who are neither male nor female.” Occasional use of biblical similes that use feminine imagery (e. g., Isa. 66:13) will help. Great sensitivity needs to be exercised in caring for people with appropriate language about God, avoiding both the error of bashing people with patriarchal imagery and the error of reimaging the faith. Both errors are idolatrous and in effect attempt to create God in our own sexual image. Our primary concern must be communication that will connect the biblical God to a hurting world. Language creates a world, a perception of reality, within which we live, and the world we create should both honor God and extend grace to all those around us.

Permeated with Christ. The imagery of the text also challenges our conceptions about faith. Rather than a small Jesus tucked away somewhere in our souls, the text assumes the presence of one who gives shape and strength at the core of our being, who takes up residence in and redefines us. Nothing is wrong with the language of Christ living in us, even though I have de-emphasized its use in favor of the much more frequent Pauline language of our being in Christ. Both ideas are powerful, and behind both stands the conviction that Jesus is Lord, the one to whom our lives are given and by whom they are determined.

If we are permeated with Christ, such cherished ideas as independence, self-determination, and self-fulfillment must be abandoned, at least as they are understood in our society. Christ’s indwelling means we are not our own (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19–20; Gal. 2:20). W. Wink correctly described worship and prayer as reminders of “who owns the house.”33 Christians are to live as if they know Christ owns the house. Regarding independence, we are independent of everything but Jesus Christ, and on him we are totally dependent. Regarding self-determination, we in our uniqueness are determined by him. Regarding self-fulfillment, we seek to fulfill God’s will. This negation of self, however, is in actuality a finding of one’s true self in relation to God, for that is the purpose of creation. In losing life, we find it. In trying to keep it for ourselves, we lose it. True freedom and true self-actualization are found in life with Christ.

This is the language of discipleship. To be permeated by Christ is to be stamped by his character, to be clothed with him (Rom. 13:14). Such imagery underscores the way Christ shapes our lives. The thought that we can believe in Christ without being like him is absurd. If Christ’s indwelling does not transform, we must question strenuously whether Christ is present. The application of the text of Ephesians requires us to test the validity of our faith (see 2 Cor. 13:5). Christians worry about the assurance of their salvation, and other Christians seek to remove all doubt. Maybe we should let doubt do its work. Maybe we should be more concerned about the validity of faith than the assurance of salvation. Honest doubt can be healthy.

Contemplation. Paul prays that the Spirit will strengthen our inner being. Philip Spener said, “Our whole Christian religion consists of the inner man or new man, whose soul is faith and whose expressions are the fruits of life.”34 Application of this passage involves contemplation and reflection. Rather than merely chasing after our physical needs and desires, we must attend to our interior lives. Our inner being requires as much care and exercise as our physical bodies.

Moreover, Melanchthon’s statement “To know Christ is to know his benefits” is mirrored in this text,35 but is made more specific. To know Christ is to know his love. From knowledge of God’s love an ethic of love will be shaped in the following chapters, but human love is not the concern here. We must experience God’s love and the wonder and worship that result from it. That love provides the nurture and stability for life, which creates confidence and trust. The words for knowing imply meditation on the wonder of God’s love, from which comes praise.

We should also contemplate God’s power. The beginning of the doxology (v. 20) is in essence an invitation to consider how great God’s power is. Again we see how much Christianity is focused on the mind. Ours is a thinking religion. Its goal is not abstract reasoning or academic pursuits separated from practical doing, but an informed mind that shapes life. The message of Ephesians requires heart, head, and hands. Christians need time for reflection, for remembering, for searching into matters too deep for knowledge. The suggestion not to bother with subjects too grand for comprehension is ill-advised. In being stretched by what is beyond us, we grow. Inquiry after the unknowable God provides the knowledge and wisdom we need for life.

Christians need a regular schedule of reading, thinking, discussing, and praying that informs them about faith and life and helps them grow a soul. Most of us think we are too busy for such time-consuming exercises, but the inner being is not strengthened by osmosis. Our busy schedules are often filled with secondary—if not needless—concerns. Some activities may need to be laid aside, but the contemplative part of faith is not one of them.

Your God Is Too Small. This was the title of a book written years ago by J. B. Phillips, a book that still merits attention.36 That title could have been drawn from Ephesians 3:20. Surely this is the real problem behind the failure of Christians to understand and live their faith. The problem is theological; our image of God—the idol in our minds—does not merit contemplation, devotion, or obedience. Our God is too remote, disinterested, and inept. In fact, he is too much like us (cf. Ps. 50:21). We neither expect anything from him—unless it is a handout—nor are we engaged with him.

Our view of God can never include all that he is, and his ways and thoughts will always be far above us. But the God of the Bible is not too small. Here is the God we need for life. Our contemplation and learning always have one goal, that of the Shema—to love the Lord our God with all our heart, our soul, and our strength (Deut. 6:4–5). The goal is not knowledge about God, but knowledge of God, the experiential knowledge that leads to love for God. Such experiential knowledge changes behavior.

This is one reason why Ephesians is so theocentric. Paul wants his readers to know how great God is, how magnanimous and loving his acts are, how powerful he is, and what he has accomplished through Christ. If people understand how mighty, loving, and active God is, then true worship and transformation of life follow.

The path to knowledge. As important as study, contemplation, and discussion are, they do not provide the essential ingredient. The Holy Spirit is the key to the knowledge we need. He is the revealer, the one who makes known to us the “deep things of God … that we may understand what God has freely given us” (1 Cor. 2:10–12). The power of the Spirit is less for great deeds than for great understanding, from which godly living flows. The Spirit’s work is not independent of our activity or a substitute for our effort; rather, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Rom. 8:26). He works with us to strengthen our inner being. We do not cause his activity; the point of 3:20 is that the power of the Spirit—the Spirit given to all believers—is already working in us. What we seek is our spirit being brought into line with God’s Spirit’s. What is required is the openness to allow God to work, the willingness to hear, and attention given to life with God.

Glory in the church. The exalted ecclesiology of Ephesians has important practical consequences. The church is not an optional part of Christianity. Rather, it is the place now and throughout eternity where God is given honor and glory. Just as Christ is the evidence of God’s redeeming love, the church is the evidence of God’s transforming and uniting power (cf. 2:7). An exalted ecclesiology is not the same as a glorified and exalted church. God is glorified, not the church, except in being the recipient of God’s love. Church history is marred by too many times and places where the church thought it was exalted. Whenever the church felt it had power, it was most in danger. This is still true. The church exists for worship and service and must perform those acts with the same humility as her Lord. Then God is given honor and glory.

In writing this commentary, one of the most difficult tasks has been in dealing with the contrast between what Ephesians describes and the reality I and most Christians experience. So often the church demonstrates more evidence of human depravity than of God’s transforming and uniting power. A common problem for Christians is finding a suitable church. So many people become so disillusioned in that search that they retreat to a controllable, privatistic faith.

No quick fix exists for the failure of the church other than the theology of Ephesians and the rest of the New Testament, but two points must be made. (1) Failure to meet with other Christians for worship and instruction is not a legitimate option. Individualistic Christianity does not exist. We need other people to help us understand God. (2) The current failure of the church cannot be tolerated. The church does not have to look like any of our present conceptions, but Christians must develop a better understanding of God, of faith in Christ, and of unity, and then put that understanding into practice. No doubt the biggest obstacle is the human ego, but should that obstacle be so determinative for Christians who gather around an empty cross? Christians in the pews as well as the pulpits need to protest the arrogance, superficiality, and division that mark our churches. We do not have to agree on all points to respect each other, to be driven by God’s love, to recover the meaning of faith, to exhibit life in Christ, and to worship God.

God our Father,

We acknowledge that we and every other person has his or her origin in you.

We owe you our lives.

Forgive us for the arrogance of thinking we are better or more important than other people.

Let your Spirit work in us to strengthen us. We want your Spirit to merge with ours.

Make the presence of Christ so real that we sense your love and live from your love.

Help us understand how deep your love is so that it changes us into your very image.

You who are all powerful beyond anything we can conceive, we praise you. Every accolade of worth we throw at your feet. You alone are God. From your worth all other worth is determined.

For the gift of life in Christ we and all your people worship you. Together and forever we will sing your praise. Amen.

Original Meaning

Prayer for Power to Know Christ and his Love (3:16–19)

THE MAIN INTENT of Paul’s prayer is clear: He wants his readers strengthened by God’s Spirit so that they may know intimately Christ’s presence and love. If this happens, all else will fall in place. The ethic of chapters 4–6 has its foundation in this prayer.

This prayer and its doxology (3:20–21) are connected by the words “power” and “glory.” Paul’s prayer (v. 16) is for God to give power from his wealth of glory (NIV, “glorious riches”), and his doxology is about the One who has power to give more than we ask or think and to whom glory belongs (v. 20).

“Power” and “Spirit” are so commonly associated in both Testaments that they are virtually synonymous. The Spirit is the power of God at work in people.16 Paul prays for his readers that the Spirit will be so strong an influence at the controlling center of their being that their lives will show it. “Your inner being” (v. 16) is not the same as the “new being” in 2:15 or 4:24. This is an unusual expression, occurring elsewhere only at Romans 7:22 and 2 Corinthians 4:16. The former might well be paraphrased “in the depths of my being,” while the latter contrasts “outer being” and “inner being.” The expression is synonymous with “heart,” the controlling center from which life is comprehended and choices are made.17

Although the NIV begins verse 17 with “so that,” the indwelling of Christ does not result from the Spirit’s strengthening; it is the manner in which the Spirit strengthens. In other words, verse 17 explains verse 16. Christ indwells us through the work of the Spirit. The Spirit’s empowering or indwelling and the indwelling of Christ are not separate things.18 In 2:20–22, the church was called “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” This lofty description of the church is now paralleled by an equally lofty description of the individual believer, who has experienced salvation and transformation. By the Spirit’s work Christ takes up residence in the person. Paul prays here that Christ will permeate one’s whole being. It is the equivalent of the command in 5:18 to be continually filled with the Spirit.

We know Paul preferred to speak of our being in Christ rather than of Christ being in us. Ephesians 3:17 is one of only five Pauline texts that speak of Christ being in us (the others are Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 2:20; 4:19).19 Of these Galatians 4:19 is closest to Ephesians 3:17: Like a woman in childbirth Paul endured labor pains until Christ was formed in them.

The NIV’s “established” hides the similarity of this text to two others. If translated more literally as “rooted and founded,” we note its closeness to both 2:20–22 and to Colossians 2:6–7. In the latter verse Paul instructs Christians to live in Christ, being rooted in him, built on him, and strengthened20 in faith. Here in 3:17 he prays that the readers will be strengthened with Christ, who indwells them through faith, and that by being rooted and established in love, they will come to know love. The mixing of botanical and architectural images is not unusual.

“In love” in 3:17 could be taken with Christ’s indwelling, but the NIV is correct to take it with “rooted and established.” God’s love is the wellspring from which believers are nourished and the foundation on which they find stability. Being rooted and established in love enables them to perceive love, and from knowing love they are filled with the fullness of God. Love is both the source and the goal. When Christ permeates people, they know they are rooted in his love. From the experience of love they know love and are transformed.21

Of the five words summarizing the Christian faith,22 “faith” and “love” are explicit here, but grace is implied in verse 16 and “truth” and “hope” in verse 19. Love plays a central role in describing the believer’s experience with Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 13:13).

Two different words for strengthening appear in 3:16 and 18 (NIV, “have power”). The Spirit strengthens by the indwelling Christ, who enables perception. Just as love is both the source and the goal, Christ is the goal (v. 17) and the source of the power of God at work in us (v. 19). Paul’s concern for unity returns with the mention of “all the saints” (v. 18). While the text is about individuals knowing, it is not about individualistic knowing. At every turn Christianity is a corporate religion, and only as people comprehend together can they experience what God has for them.

How the four dimensions “wide,” “long,” “high,” and “deep” (3:18) should be understood is more problematic than the NIV suggests. The Greek text does not have “is the love of Christ,” but merely “… grasp with all God’s people what is the width, breadth, height, and depth.” Most commentators supply as an object “the love of Christ,” though some suggest other options such as “the wisdom of God,” “the fullness,” or “God’s purpose.”23 But since verse 19 is essentially an explanation of verse 18, the goal is more likely that they will comprehend Christ’s love.

The first half of 3:19 is a good example of an oxymoron (a combination of words that appears contradictory): Paul prays that they may know the love that is beyond knowing. This is language from someone who has been surprised and overwhelmed with Christ’s love.

Love brings movement; it causes things. To know Christ’s love is to be transformed by love and expanded into the fullness of God. The expression “all the fullness” occurs elsewhere only at Colossians 1:19 and 2:9, both indicating that all that God is dwells in Christ. We saw in connection with 1:23 that “the fullness of God” refers to the way God makes his presence and power felt.24 In experiencing Christ Christians experience the fullness of God, his presence, and power. In experiencing that fullness they themselves are made full by Christ. That is, they partake of God’s own being and are made like him. This is an ongoing process. The thought of Colossians 2:9–10 is parallel: God’s fullness dwells in Christ and in him Christians are made full. The implication in Ephesians is that as believers encounter God’s love in Christ, they will be filled with love. This same thought is put in the form of an imperative in 5:1–2.