Lesson 7 – Ephesians Chapter 3:17-21

Last week we talked about being good stewards with the grace that God has given us. Paul was a good steward and continually preached everything that God had given him, regardless of any suffering that came from it.

God used Paul to bring Jews and Gentiles together through the blood of Jesus Christ. This was from God’s wisdom and it is on display for all the angels to see.

We also saw a glimpse into Paul’s prayer life, along with reminders for us to be in prayer for those around us, and even those who aren’t with us.
Let’s continue by picking up in Ephesians 3:17a, Paul is praying for the Ephesians, and he has asked God to bless them from the abundances of His riches, and we know there is no end when it comes to God’s riches. Paul says…

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;”

The Greek word “dwell” literally means to “settle down and be at home,” or to inhabit a house. So, I have to ask, “Is Jesus at home in your heart?”

In a way, Paul is saying, “My prayer is that Christ would be comfortable in you. And where He’s comfortable and at home in you, you will be blessed.” (Which means happy)

My Mom always believed in Jesus, but she didn’t have a rich vibrant relationship with Him until late in life. She finally discovered what it meant to be a born-again believer, and received Jesus into her heart. If you asked her who Jesus was to her, she would say that He was her “best friend.” That was music to my ears the first time I heard her say that.

To have Jesus dwell in your heart, and know that He is at home with you, I think at that point you could call Jesus your “best friend” as well. This only happens through faith. Jesus comes into the house of our hearts the moment He saves and seals us, but as we continue down the narrow path with Him, will He be at “home” with us?

When a person is saved from sin through the saving work of Christ, a sanctification process begins to take place. Being sanctified means that a person is set-apart unto God. Being a Christian doesn’t mean you are sinless, but that over time by God’s grace, you sin less and less. God loves all His children, but there are some in His family who aren’t quite as committed to Him as others. I can’t imagine God is happy or satisfied in a heart such as that.

As we examine this Scripture, it would behoove each one of us to take a close look into our own heart, just be honest with ourselves, and ask, “Is Jesus at home in my heart?” If that’s not the case, God has the grace to change it.

John 14:23
“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

Every believer should see to it that God is at home with you.

Eph. 3:17b-19
“That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be 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.”

Being rooted and grounded…

These two metaphors, being rooted and grounded can direct us on just the right path, showing us that in our Christian walk, Jesus should be at the center of our whole being. A good indication of this would be if Jesus is at home in your heart.

The Greek translation for “rooted” means to render firm, to fix, establish, cause a person or a thing to be thoroughly grounded.

Col. 2:6
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”

No root, no shoot, no fruit…

A tree with deep roots is established, it stands firm in the ground, making it very hard to take down. Satan, on the other hand, wants to tear down every believer, to destroy what God has built up.

If you’ve ever cut down a tree, and then tried to remove the trunk and the roots, you quickly find out that it is no easy task because it’s firmly planted in the ground.

To be rooted and grounded, the believer is to commit themselves to a daily in-take of God’s Word, thus allowing it to take root into their spirit and soul, causing strong spiritual growth to take place. This will establish them in their faith. Why should we do this? Because the battle we face every day is fierce and it never goes away.

Jeremiah 17:8
“For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

The Christian experiences heat from the ensuing battles and times of trials and testings. Having deep spiritual roots will help when the heat comes… and it will come.

Grounded… To lay the foundation, to make stable, or one who is firmly established.

Luke 6:48
“He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”

Being rooted and grounded, grammatically speaking in this text, it’s found to be in the “perfect tense” which indicates that this is a past action with continuing results. In other words, this is a picture of the believer working out their salvation, and through the actions they take they see results… being rooted and grounded. It’s nice having continuing results, but it takes time and effort on our part.

In love… being rooted and grounded in love, this means we’re settled on a strong foundation of love. We’ve talked about love before and I know we’ll talk about it again, because it shows up in Scripture over and over. Love is vital to our salvation… “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” (Jn. 3:16)

The benefit to being rooted and grounded in love is that you…

May be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height…

Paul has built us up to this point, explaining how Jesus is to be at home in our heart, and that being rooted and grounded in love and having the strongest foundation you could ever build on will lead us to an exclusive comprehension that “the world” simply cannot understand, only believers can.

Jon Courson, “I suggest to you the answer lies in this phrase, “being rooted and grounded in love.” What is rooted? What is grounded? What is love? The tree of Calvary was rooted. The cross was grounded. Therefore, the only way I can truly know the love that passes knowledge is by focusing my eyes upon the Cross of Calvary and seeing the breadth and the length, the depth and the height of the love of God.”

What is the width and length and depth and height?

The early church Father Jerome (3rd century) said that the love of Christ reaches up to the holy angels and down to those in hell. Its length covers the men on the upward way and its breadth reaches those drifting away on evil paths.

One commentator writes, “I do not think that breadth and length and height and depth represent four specific types or categories of love but simply suggest its vastness and completeness. In whatever spiritual direction we look we can see God’s love.”

Rom. 8:35,37-39
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God…

We know from Romans 8, that nothing will ever separate us from the love of Christ. We are reminded of Christ’s love for us every time we take communion together. But, God’s love for us is so great that it is really beyond our total understanding… which passes knowledge.

We are blessed to be loved like this, and it is a love that no human is capable of. Stability in God’s love brings fulfillment, knowing that God loves us brings the realization that we are safe in His hands.

Phil. 4:7
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

How does God’s love and peace take up residence in our soul? We really can’t answer that, but it is a comfort to possess it.

That you may be filled with all the fullness of God…

This is also incomprehensible to God’s children. It is incredible and indescribable as well. There is no way on this side of eternity we will ever fully understand this truth.

There’s the story of a man who got off a freight train in a Pennsylvania depot, he was a railway tramp. He roamed the streets panhandling there for a year. He said, “One day I touched a man on the shoulder and said, ‘Hey, mister, can you spare a dime.’ As soon as I saw his face, I was shocked to see that it was my own father. I said, ‘Father, Father, do you know me?’ Throwing his arms around me and with tears in his eyes, he said, ‘Oh my son, at last I have found you! I’ve found you! You want a dime? Everything I have is yours.’ Think of it. I was a tramp. I stood there begging my own father for ten cents, when for eighteen years he had been looking for me to give me all he had.”

This story reminds me of the “Prodigal Son.” This is a very small picture of what God wants for us. When we are separated from Him, His Spirit is searching for us. Then when we are united with Him through the blood of Christ, everything He has is ours. Oh, what a great inheritance awaits God’s children.

Eph. 3:20
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”

Paul closes his prayer with a doxology. The dictionary defines doxology as “an expression of praise to God, especially a short hymn sung as part of a Christian worship service.

Now to Him, or the KJV says, Now unto Him… Paul has been declaring thus far, that when it comes to God’s children and His provision for them, there are no limitations.

According to the power that works in us…

Each believer receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion, Christ indwells them, and with that He empowers them. Then God’s love begins to conquer our hearts.

Psalm 24:3-5
“Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.” (NLT)

God fills us with His own fullness, thus we are truly God’s possession. With this… He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Until our hearts are right with God, the way He works in us is limited, but when we are in line with God and His will, there are no limitations in the way He will work in our lives.

John 14:12-14
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it!”

The worldly-minded Christian says, “Oh good, I’m gonna pray for a Corvette.” The Christian who is in line with God’s will says, “Here I am Lord, send me.”

But even in our most sincere prayers, we fall short.

Rom. 8:26
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” (NLT)

God does do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Have you ever received a blessing from God and you say to yourself, “Wow, I didn’t even pray for that and God blessed me.” Our Father in heaven knows our every need and takes care of us. Does this mean we’ll never have any sickness or trials and tribulations in this life? Of course not. Everything that happens on this side of eternity God knows about, and there is a plan and purpose to everything… we just don’t always get the answers to prayer that we want.

Getting back to our text, no human or angel would ever think that Jews and Gentiles could ever function together in one body. But with God’s power of love in each believer’s life, Paul was confident that Jewish and Gentile believers can function and love one another. This is amazing, and though it’s not naturally possible for man, God can do anything.

God is able to do more than we could ever ask or conceive. The problem is that some Christians fail in their pursuit of God and all His riches. When it comes to kingdom work, there’s always a price to pay, and Paul knew this more than anyone.

II Cor. 6:3-10
“We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.”

When we’re willing to take up our cross daily, we can expect God to do great things, the key is not to worry about the cost, let it all be to the glory of God.

Jon Courson, “I suggest that when a person is truly walking in the Spirit, it may take a little while for him to realize he’s in heaven when he finally gets there because he’ll just continue worshipping and rejoicing and experiencing the Lord as he did on earth… minus the constraints of time, limited energy, and ever-present flesh. Oh, happy day that will be!”

Eph. 3:21
“To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

To the Jews and Gentiles, as members of the body of Christ, the Church, it is our spiritual duty to conduct ourselves as a church that reflects the love of Christ… that this would bring glory to God.

II Tim. 4:18
“Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.”

Rom. 11:36
“For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”

This doxology serves as a fitting conclusion not only to this prayer, but also to the book’s first three chapters.