26/11/17 Ephesians 3:14-21 “that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God”
Ephesians 3:14 – For this cause I bow my
knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
For this cause – Particularly for this very reason (that
Paul wrote about in the previous 6 verses) Used in Ephesians 3:1.
bow my knees – This indicates deliberate prayer.
Note the probable
cause for Paul’s writings in today’s passage: Ephesians 3:13 – Wherefore
I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
That the readers
might be strengthened with might (Vs 16), that Christ would dwell in their
hearts by faith (Vs 17), that they might understand the measure of Christ’s
love (Vs 18-19), and to be rendered complete (filled) with the fulness of God
(Vs 19).
Ephesians 3:15 – Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is
named,
the whole – pas (generally translated as
“all”) thus “all the family”
family – patria (ancestry; families with a
common origin; the Israelites; nation; people) To do with the male ancestor. Thus
“every family”? What is meant by “family” though? It appears to be both angels
and man included here. While angels do not have families as does man, they
would still have specific groupings (with tasks appropriate for their calling
or rank). All, both man and angel, belong to whatever social grouping is theirs
according to the sovereignty of the Father who has created all things without
exception.
Ephesians 3:16 – That he would grant you, according to the riches of
his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
grant – give; bestow a gift; grant; deliver to;
commit to
riches – riches; abundance; fulness
might – dynamis
(power; might, strength; ability)
by – or through
inner – internal inner man; soul; conscience; the
seat of influence.
in – or into, infused or placed among? That
is, it may carry the idea of it becoming part of man’s inner being.
God provides for
our every need from His riches in glory.
Philippians
4:19 – But my God shall supply all
your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Christians are
strengthened in the midst of affliction. While the outward or fleshly man is
destroyed, the inner or spiritual man is renewed daily. Note the related
contrast in Vs 18 regarding the seen yet temporal world against the unseen
eternal world.
2
Corinthians 4:16-18 – 16 For which cause
we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is
renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but
for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight
of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal;
but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.
Christians are
promised the Holy Spirit to dwell with them and in them forever.
John
14:16-17 – 16 And I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17
[Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive,
because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Paul in his
conflict between the carnal man and the spiritual man notes that while he had
such a struggle, his inner man could still delight in the law of God.
Romans
7:22 – For I delight in the law of
God after the inward man:
In other words, in
spite of the physical conflict that they might be facing either now or in the
future, to focus instead on the inner strength (of the inner man) which is
being strengthened with might by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Do not fear the
physical threat; rather fear the spiritual threat!
Luke
12:4-5 – 4 And I say unto you my friends,
Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after
that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you
whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast
into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Real strength (from
the Holy Spirit) comes through trials and testings.
Romans
5:1-5 – 1 Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By
whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice
in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only [so], but
we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4
And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And
hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Ephesians 3:17 – That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that
ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Colossians
2:6-7 – 6 As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ye in him: 7 Rooted
and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving.
dwell – dwell; settle; inhabit; metaphorically to
govern.
Ephesians
2:22 – In whom ye also are builded
together for an habitation of God through the
Spirit. (“habitation” is the
noun form of the word used for “dwell”)
We no longer live
our own lives.
Galatians
2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
rooted – to cause to strike root; strengthen with
roots; render firm; fix in place; establish; cause a person or a thing to be
thoroughly grounded.
grounded – to lay the foundation; make stable;
establish
love – agape
grounded in love – Built upon a foundation of love which, in
turn, is built upon the correct foundations.
Ephesians
2:20 – And are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief
corner [stone];
Ephesians
1:4 – According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love:
Literally “the
Christ” – as per many other verses in Ephesians. Thus, “That the Christ may
dwell …” A title of authority rather than a name.
Ephesians 3:18 – May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is]
the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
May be able – May be eminently able; have full strength
comprehend – to lay hold of (to make something one’s
own); seize; take possession of; apprehend; lay hold of with the mind; understand;
learn; comprehend. Used for “obtain” in the following:
1
Corinthians 9:24 – Know ye not that they which
run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
breadth – breadth suggesting great extent
depth – depth; height; of the deep sea;
metaphorically deep extreme poverty; deep as of the things of God.
height – height: of measurement, of place, of
heaven, of rank or high station.
with all saints (literally “with all the saints”)
Ephesians
1:15 – Wherefore I also, after I
heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Colossians
1:4 – Since we heard of your faith
in Christ Jesus, and of the love [which ye have] to all the saints,
“May be able (have enough strength) to comprehend (apprehend) with all (the)
saints what is that breadth (great extent), length,
depth (like the
sea) and height;”
Ephesians 3:19 – And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
fulness of God.
to know – ginosko
(to learn to know; come to know; become known; understand; have knowledge of)
Similar usage as yada in OT. Root word for proginosko
which is the verb form of prognosis.
the love (agape)
of Christ –
Revelation
1:5b – Unto him that loved us, and
washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Romans
8:35 – Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
passeth – hyperballo
(surpass (especially in throwing, beyond any thing);
transcend; surpass; exceed; excel; exceeding) from hyper + ballo - to throw or let go of a thing without caring
where it falls; scatter; throw; pour out; put into; insert)
knowledge – gnosis (noun form and root word of
ginosko)
passeth knowledge – Matthew
11:27 – All things are delivered unto
me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the
Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the
Son, and [he] to whomsoever the Son will reveal [him].
That which
passes (transcends) knowledge
– Even the world didn’t understand what they were doing when they crucified
Jesus, yet those who have been saved by that cross of Christ may know freely
those same things. It takes faith to see what can’t be seen without that faith!
1
Corinthians 2:6-8; 10-12 – 6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among
them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of
this world, that come to nought: 7 But we speak the wisdom of
God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained
before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes
of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory.
10
But God
hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11
For what man knoweth the things of a man,
save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now
we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
ye might be
filled – pleroo (make full; fill to the full; render full or
perfect; complete; make complete in every detail; bring to realisation; fulfil)
Note pleroma – fulness as used in Romans 11:25.
Note Colossians 1:9 – For this cause we also, since the day we heard [it],
do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with
the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
all the fulness – pas (all) pleroma (fulness;
a ship inasmuch as it is filled with sailors, rowers, passengers, soldiers,
merchandise, freight – the ship’s manifest is completed; fulness of time;
abundance; that which fills a thing) Note the use of pleroma in Romans 11:25 – For I would not, brethren, that ye should be
ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that
blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the
Gentiles be come in.
filled with all
the fulness of God –
Colossians
2:9 – For in him (Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily.
Ephesians
1:22-23 – 22 And hath put all [things] under
his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over all [things] to the
church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Jesus is the
express exact-in-every-way image of the Father, so to be filled with all the
fulness of the Father would be accomplished through being filled with all the
fulness of the Son.
Hebrews
1:3 – Who being the brightness of [his]
glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high;
To be filled with
that fulness of the Son (who is the image of the Father), our desire should be
to be like Jesus, to be conformed to His image.
1
John 3:2 – Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he
shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
Romans
8:29 – For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
2
Corinthians 3:18 – But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Thus, we no longer
live our own lives, but live the life of Christ in us. That is, literally
filled with the fulness of Christ who is God.
Galatians
2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Thus, we become partakers
of the divine nature.
2
Peter 1:4 – Whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust.
There is some
suggestion that being filled with the fulness of God should really be
translated as being filled up to the measure of the fulness of God.
Ephesians
4:13 – Till we all come in the unity
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Ephesians 3:20 – Now unto him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh
in us,
Romans
16:25 – Now to him that is of power to
stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the
world began,
Jude
24 – Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the
presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Now – but; moreover; and; etc.
unto him that is
able – dynamai
(to be able to do something; capable; strong and powerful) Note “dynamo” or
“dynamite”.
exceeding
abundantly above – hyper
(over; beyond; more than) perissos (exceeding
some number or measure or rank or need; over and above; more than is necessary;
exceeding abundantly; much more than all; extraordinary; more excellent)
Thus, exceeding
abundantly above all measure (of that which we would be capable of asking for
or even thinking about).
power – dynamis
worketh – energeo
(to be operative; put forth power; working effectively; energised, or put
(power) into action. Thus “dynamic energy”?
according to the
power that worketh in us –
see Colossians
1:29 – Whereunto I also labour,
striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Ephesians
1:19-23 – 19 And what [is] the
exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the
working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ,
when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own right hand in
the heavenly [places], 21 Far above all principality,
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in
this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 And hath
put all [things] under his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over
all [things] to the church, 23 Which is his body, the
fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Ephesians 3:21 – Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ
Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen
the church – ekklesia
(gathering or assembly of people; an assembly of Christians for worship; the
whole body of Christians scattered throughout the whole earth; can include
those Christians already in heaven.
throughout all
ages – throughout (or unto)
all generations
world without
end – aion
x2 (of eternal ages; “of the age of the ages”?) Translated “for ever and ever”
in many places, such as Galatians 1:5; Philippians 4:20, where it is usually
part of a greeting or benediction. Translated “for evermore” in Revelation
1:18.
“Unto God be glory
in (or by) the Church by (or through) Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world
without end (throughout
all generations of the age of the ages).”
God will get all
glory and He will not permit any of His glory to be given to any other being.
Isaiah
42:8 – I [am] the Lord: that [is]
my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to
graven images.
Isaiah
48:11b – I will not give my glory unto
another.
It appears as if Paul is trying to persuade the Ephesians that no
matter what they were going through, or might be going through in the future,
God was in charge. If they could be filled with all the fulness of God, then
they would comprehend it better. Note Romans 12:1-2 – 1 I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable
service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The Romans were not only to serve God, nor offer sacrifices as per the
Old Testament law. They were, themselves, to become living sacrifices. As such,
they handed over all self-determination rights to God. A similar idea is in
Galatians 2:20. No longer does the Christian live his life; Christ now lives in
in him and for him. Consider it to be a spiritual enduring power of attorney,
where you have given over to another all the rights of your life. At this stage
of your Christian walk, you have foregone your rights as an individual. Free
will still exists; you can still sin – Paul notes this in Romans 7. But your
right to choose your life’s direction has now been handed over, and at this
stage I believe you can be assured of eternal security.
Far too many “Christians” today want all the benefits of being
Christian – heaven, eternal life – but they refuse to give up the “benefits” of
the old life. Such people cannot expect to have eternal security when they’re
keeping the door back into the world open behind them! Such people can still choose
to lose their salvation!
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