Compare Paul’s earlier prayer request, Ephesians 1:16-19, with his plea for believers in Ephesians 3:14-19. In what ways are the two requests similar?
Behind the English translations of Ephesians 3:14-15, is an important play on words. When Paul says that he bows before “the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (ESV), he is exploring the phonetic connection between the Greek word for Father, pater, and the Greek term for family, patria. In Ephesians, Paul celebrates the comprehensive nature of God’s plan of salvation, which involves all things (Ephesians 1:9-10) for all time (Ephesians 1:21). And here he lays claim to “every family in heaven and on earth” as belonging to “the Father.” Every family (patria) takes its name from the Father (pater). This is very good news!
Image © Linda Lovett at Goodsalt.com
Ponder this thought: Your family, despite its imperfections and failings, belongs to God. Your family is not in the cruel grip of fate, but in God’s caring hands. God loves imperfect families. They bear the divine name. They carry the mark of His ownership.
In Ephesians 3:16-19, Paul asks God to grant believers an abundant spiritual experience marked by inner strength through the Spirit’s presence (Ephesians 3:16), intimacy with Christ, who is also portrayed as dwelling within (Ephesians 3:17), and a settled, secure spiritual identity (“rooted and grounded in love,” Ephesians 3:17, ESV).
As Paul seeks to offer praise to God for the expansive reach of blessings offered to believers, he includes not three dimensions, but four — “breadth and length and height and depth” (Ephesians 3:18, ESV). He does not clearly identify to what these dimensions apply, though they obviously describe the vast size of something important. This leaves an interesting puzzle for Bible students. Do these dimensions describe God’s wisdom (compare Job 11:5-9, which uses four dimensions), God’s power (compare Ephesians 3:16-17), or, perhaps, the spiritual temple of Ephesians 2:19-22 (compare Ezekiel 43:13-16, which uses four dimensions; Amos 7:7-8; Revelation 11:1-2)? It may be best to see these four dimensions as describing the immensity of “the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:19), viewing the phrase “to comprehend … the breadth and length and height and depth” (Ephesians 3:18, ESV) as parallel to the next phrase, “to know the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:19, ESV; compare Romans 8:35-39). However we see his words, they are good news.
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