For whom is Paul praying? The Church
at Ephesus
To whom is Paul praying? “the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ”
What words, phrases, titles, names, etc. are applied to God by Paul?
God is the One from whom the whole family
in heaven and earth is named. The context
of Ephesians helps us to understand this truth about God. Paul was sent to preach the unsearchable
riches of Christ to the Gentiles (3:8).
As we have noted in earlier posts, the New Covenant was promised to
Israel. But through Israel it was to
come to the Gentiles as well. For a
variety of reasons, Gentile believers might see themselves as second-class
citizens of the Kingdom of God. Such a
view would be a denial of who they are and what they have “in Christ.” Thus, Paul cries out to the Father from whom
all in the family of God are named, whether those in heaven (primarily OT
saints, along with the beginnings of “graduates” from the age of the Church) or
those on earth (at this point, the Church).
Regardless of how many nationalities, there was only one “whole family.”
What moves Paul to pray?
It seems apparent that Paul actually began to
record this prayer back in Eph. 3:1. He begins, For this reason I. But then, by the Holy Spirit, he is led to
speak of his special “dispensation” (ministry) of preaching the riches of
Christ to the Gentiles. Then, in 3:14,
he again says, For this reason.
If this is the case, then the motivation for this prayer comes at the
end of Eph. 2: Now, therefore, you (Gentiles) are no longer strangers
and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the
household of God, and so forth (2:19-22).
The enmity between Jew and Gentiles has been abolished by the Prince of
Peace (2:14-18). All believers, whether
Jew or Gentiles, need to think according to this truth.
What requests does Paul present?
As with the previous
prayer, let us give an overview of the prayer.
The basic request: that He would grant you, according to the riches of
His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man
The
immediate effect on the believer:
that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
you, being rooted and grounded
in love
The
long term effect on the believer:
able
to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and
height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge
That you may be filled with
all the fullness of God.
To be filled with God’s fullness is the
fulfillment of our calling. Thus, this
is an invaluable prayer to pray!
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