Filled with the Fullness of God | Ephesians 3:14-21
Your friends Clark and Lois are looking for a church, and they want your advice. They’re east coast transplants (like some of you). They’ve tried dozens of churches already. Some are too big, others are too small and cliquish. They like the music at a few, the programs for kids at some, the preaching at others.
But they’re asking what you think they should do. What do you think they should look for in a church? Why do you belong to this church? And do you think they might be a good “fit” here?
Finding a church is hard. Connecting and belonging to a church is even harder. Broadly speaking, I think there are two kinds of concerns people have. Do I measure up? Do others measure up? We all tend toward one or the other end, and sometimes both.
Are you mainly aware of your weaknesses, failures, and deficiencies? Do you tend to think, “I don’t fit here; I’m not good enough; I have nothing to offer”? Do you wonder, Is there a place for me in the church, if I’m flawed and fallen? What if my deficiencies detract from the church’s strength?
Or are you mainly aware of the weakness and shortcomings of others? Do you constantly notice how everyone else could improve? Do you see how others are not doing their part or pulling their weight? Are the deficiencies of others derailing your dream for Christian community?
Whatever your insecurities or frustrations, Ephesians 3 offers hope for the church.
Ephesians 3:14–21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Build & Fill
The first half of Ephesians comes to end with this prayer. Or more accurately, this report of a prayer. Paul is telling the Ephesian church how he prays for them.
When you pray for someone, God hears you and God can act whether or not they know that you prayed (or what you prayed). But there is something uniquely edifying when you know how someone prayed for you.
When I pray with my kids at bedtime, they always ask that I pray for bad dreams. Many times, after I have already prayed, one will ask, “Can you pray for good dreams?” Either they weren’t listening. Or they missed it. But if I tell them that I already did, they will ask, “Can you pray again?” Why is that? It’s because they are comforted when they hear the content of the prayer.
This is why, if I’m going to text you that prayed for you, I try to include a specific report of how I prayed for you. When you hear how someone prays, you can agree in prayer. It’s no longer just that person’s prayer. It turns into two (or more) agreeing together in prayer.
And that’s the purpose of this text—to encourage and edify you by establishing your confidence in God, who builds his church in order to fill his church. That’s how I would summarize Paul’s prayer. He asks God to build his church so that God will fill his church.
And this is why there’s hope for the church and everyone in it—those inhibited by their own inadequacy and those frustrated by the weakness and inadequacy of others. It is God who empowers weak and sinful people to become his dwelling place on earth. That is the lens through which Paul views the church and the end for which he prays.
And this prayer is recorded in Scripture so that you will be edified by it and agree with it. For your encouragement, let’s consider three questions: 1) To whom is this prayer addressed? 2) For whom is this prayer offered? And 3) what does this prayer ask?
To whom is this prayer addressed?
The answer might seem obvious: Isn’t every legitimate prayer addressed to God? But Paul mentions specific truths about the God to whom he prays. “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom [the whole] family in heaven and on earth is named” (Ephesians 3:14–15).
It is significant that Paul addresses God as Father. This is how Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name” (Matt 5:9). And this is a practical privilege that belongs to every Christian because, as Paul said in Ephesians 1:5, “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons.” Praying to the Father is not like dealing with government bureaucrats or waiting on hold with customer service.
Paul is praying to the Father as a member of the family. And he adds something about the Fatherhood of God, which I think is best translated, “... the Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named.” The ESV translates this, “every family,” but I think “the whole family” fits better. In context, Paul is talking about and praying for the church (cf. 3:10, 4:12), the one new humanity reconciled to God through the death of Jesus on the cross (2:16). The whole family in heaven on earth refers to the entire church, including saints who are alive on earth and saints who have died and are with God in glory.
But why does Paul highlight this, out of all the attributes and characteristics of God? Our hope for the church comes from the fact that the church belongs to God. God is the Father of this spiritual family, and we bear his name. You don’t build the church. It doesn’t bear your name. It doesn’t belong to you. It bears God’s name, which comforts and assures us because God’s name, God’s own reputation is at stake in the church.
This was the basis of Moses’ intercession when the people of Israel rebelled. If God destroyed Israel, God’s own name would be dishonored among the nations. God acknowledges this in Ezekiel 20: “Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived …” (Ezekiel 20:8–9).
God’s commitment to act for the sake of his own name is our greatest hope. There is nothing in us to earn or deserve his attention or affection or assistance. Paul’s prayer here is grounded in the fact that 1) God has called his people by his own name and that 2) God is committed to upholding the glory of his name.
Paul also describes his own posture before God: “For this reason I bow my knees before [or in the presence of] the Father” (v. 14). Kneeling in prayer is a physical expression of humility, honor, and reverence. Paul’s posture acknowledges God’s greatness and transcendence. His hope is not himself or his ministry or the church, but in God.
God who is “rich in glory” (v. 16). Paul speaks this way elsewhere. In Colossians 1:11 he prays for the saints to be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might.” To the Philippians he expresses this confidence: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
This establishes the grounds or the basis of the appeal. Paul asks God to act according to—that is, in proportion to—God’s own abundance. The request is not limited to the extent of human need. He dares to ask according to God’s infinite ability.
Imagine asking for a loan. The banker asks, “How much do you need?” And you respond, “How much do you have?”
Paul does not pray, “We only need this much, and that should do it.” He says in effect, “I know you are infinitely rich in glory and goodness, and I’m asking that you act toward your people based on your fullness and abundance.” Because God is an inexhaustible source of glorious might, you can be bold in prayer.
When you are dealing with finite resources, you have to budget and ration. Your expenses have to be less than your income. Your running pace can’t exceed your cardio capacity and carb store. But when you pray, you lay your needs and requests before the God who has no limit.
Finally, Paul says in the doxology at the end: “Now to him who is able to do [or accomplish] far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory” (vv. 20–21). What an exclamation point at the end of a prayer! The sense in Greek is that God is able—not just to do—but to accomplish. It’s not just that he can work on it, but that he can achieve all these things.
But perhaps you’re one of those plagued by doubts. You hear this and think, “Sure God can do anything, but will he?” The question is not whether God will in fact do exactly everything we ask or imagine. Prayer, after all, is not a magic power to control the world (Lewis).
Our confidence comes from the fact that God has already acted toward us according to the immeasurable greatness of his power (1:19) when he made us alive with Christ (2:4–6). Don’t miss those words, “According to the power at work within us” (v. 20). This is not a hypothetical—like God could hypothetically do the unthinkable. No, God has done the unimaginable: When you were dead in your sins, God made you alive with Christ (2:4). That power is already at work in you, and you can be confident that God’s power will continue to work in you, transforming you in ways you cannot even imagine.
For whom is this prayer offered?
To be fully affected by this text, I think it helps to start at the end, where Paul says, “... to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:21).
The focus of Paul’s prayer is the church. And here he gives a time domain: throughout all generations, forever and ever. That means this prayer is not limited to the first century church in Ephesus. It is a prayer for the church through the ages. It’s a prayer for us today! This prayer is for you, for Emmaus Road Church corporately and for you individually.
This is most noticeably a prayer for the church as a whole. Everywhere Paul says you or your, that is the second person plural—you all.
He prays that God “may grant you all to be strengthened with power through his Spirit” (v. 17).
“That Christ may dwell in [the hearts of you all]” (v. 17).
“That [you all] may be fully able to grasp … and to know the love of Christ” (vv. 18–19).
And that “[you all] may be filled with all the fullness of God” (v. 19).
Every request is for all the saints collectively. In fact, he prays explicitly for a shared, corporate experience in v. 18: “That you all may be fully able to grasp with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth …”
At various times in church history, there has been an emphasis on individual spirituality. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, there were movements in the early church toward monasticism and asceticism. Monasticism (and related words like monasteries and monks) all come from the Greek word monos, which means “alone.” The belief was that you could experience deeper faith and richer fellowship with God if you isolated yourself from others. Those hermits and ascetics from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries are known today as the Desert Fathers because many of them literally lived in the desert.
American Christianity has often emphasized a version of individual spirituality. Several years ago, I got an email from someone interested in checking out our church. This person sent a long list of questions, wanting to know our position on each one. One of the things this person wanted to know was if we agreed that the most important time anyone could spend on earth was time spent alone praying and reading the Bible. Of course we would say personal Bible reading and prayer are good practices. But I would not be willing to say that the most important time you spend is all by yourself in isolation from others.
God’s plan has always been a group plan. And by God’s design, your knowledge and experience of God’s love will grow the most—not alone in the desert—but in community with God’s people.
That’s not to say that your personal maturity as a believer doesn’t matter. Paul does pray for you personally as an individual believer. I get that from v. 16, where Paul prays for you all (plural) to be strengthened “in your inner being [or inner man]” (singular).
The health of the church as a whole depends on the health of each individual part. Paul often refers to the church as a body. He does that in 1 Corinthians 12, in Romans 12, and right here in Ephesians 4. A single body is made up of many parts. But cancer can develop in any part—in organs like (lungs, liver, brain), tissue (skin or muscle), blood (leukemia), and even glands or bones.
So you need to hold these two perspectives together—the one and the many. God’s plan is a group plan, and you are individually part of it. If you’re tempted to think the church is not affected by your personal growth and maturity, don’t!
This prayer is for the church corporately and for each individual member of the church.
For what does Paul pray?
What then does Paul ask of God on behalf of the church? Here’s my summary: He asks God to build his church and to fill his church. To appreciate this fully, we have to put this in context.
In v. 14, Paul begins, “For this reason ….” Naturally, we might think that the reason for his prayer is found in the preceding verses. But look back at 3:1. There, Paul began with the exact same phrase—“For this reason”— but then he went off on a tangent about his suffering and ministry. So to find the reason that prompts this prayer, we have to revisit the end of chapter 2, which concluded like this:
“So then you [Gentiles] are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19–22).
In Christ, God has created one new humanity out of Jews and Gentiles. And in Christ, the lives of believers are joined together and built together into a “a holy temple” and “a dwelling place for God.” That’s the reality that moves Paul to pray as he does for the church—for you. And his overarching petition comes at the end, in v. 20: “That you [all] may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Paul is asking God to fill his new creation temple—the church—with his presence. This is a prayer of dedication.
And it’s built on a rich Old Testament background. When Moses finished building the tabernacle in Exodus it says, “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34–35).
When Solomon finished building the temple in Jerusalem, he prayed. 2 Chronicles 7:1–2 says, “As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house.”
Later, the prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the new creation temple: “Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. … As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.” (Ezekiel 43:1–2, 4–5).
Paul is praying for the fulfillment of that—asking God to fill his new creation temple (the church) with the fullness of his glory and presence.
Now, what must happen for God to dwell in the temple? Basically two things: construction and consecration The temple was built out of the finest and most glorious inanimate objects: gold, silver, bronze; cedar and cypress from Lebanon (1 Kg 5); precious stones and jewels. Here’s what David said about it: “The house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands” (1 Chronicles 22:5). The quantities of gold and silver, of timber, and of precious stones used for the temple in 1 Chronicles would be in the hundreds of billions of dollars today. And all those raw materials were skillfully fashioned into an ornate temple.
And once construction was completed, it was dedicated to God with sacrifices. Everything was consecrated and purified and set apart exclusively for worship. And that’s just for gold and silver and jewels, which are inherently beautiful. Those things are not morally sinful or rebellious toward God.
But what must happen for God to dwell in his new covenant temple, the church? In order for God to fill his church, God himself must build his church. And that’s what Paul prays for here.
In vv. 16–17, Paul prays, “That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you may be firmly rooted and established in love.” That is, he prays for Spirit-empowered faith in Christ. If God is going to dwell in a temple built out of people, the Spirit of God must empower those who once hated God to trust God and love God.
This work of the Spirit happens “in your inner man.” Your inner being is the immaterial part of who you are. You have a physical body and an immaterial soul. Each part is distinct but united. It is not that the soul is half of the person and the body is the other half. A whole human being is an embodied soul. And your inner person refers to your thoughts, desires, motives, and affections.
For your life to be joined with the lives of others as a temple where God dwells is not a matter of physical strength, but it is a matter of spiritual strength. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” The Spirit of Christ dwells in every man, woman, and child who trusts in and relies on Christ. And in order to trust in Christ—and persevere in faith—you must experience a supernatural work of the Spirit empowering you to trust Christ.
Paul is not praying for this as if Christ does not yet dwell in the Ephesians (or in you). He is acknowledging God’s purpose and the present reality, and asking that the church would be strengthened in faith and in love by the power of the Spirit.
Paul uses a double metaphor here when he speaks of being rooted and grounded in love. Rooted like a plant in fertile soil; grounded like a building on a firm foundation. Because of course the church is a living temple—rooted and grounded in love. Love for God and love for others is the soil from which the church grows.
Paul asks God to build his church again in vv. 18–19: “That you … may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.” Here he is praying for the Spirit-enabled experience of the love of Christ.
Verse 18 is a bit odd—it speaks of “the breadth and length and height and depth,” but never specifies the object. The height of what? The length of what? People have speculated all kinds of answers: the cross of Christ, the New Jerusalem, the power of God, or the wisdom of God.
The context points to the love of Christ. The prayer is that disciples of Jesus would grasp the vast dimensions and know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.
But how can we know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
When Israel completed construction of the temple, Solomon prayed and dedicated the temple to God and he asked, “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!” (2 Chronicles 6:18; cf. 2:6). I think this is what Paul has in mind as he prays for the church, the living temple where God dwells by his Spirit. If heaven—even the highest heavens—cannot contain God, how can God dwell in us? We are finite creatures! We are sinful beings!
In order for God to dwell in us, God himself must grant us the ability to comprehend that which is incomprehensible, to know that which surpasses knowledge. This does not mean that our knowledge is exhaustive. That would be impossible. Even in eternity, we will not be infinite beings with infinite and exhaustive knowledge. But knowledge does not have to be exhaustive to be accurate and true.
That’s what Paul is praying for you—that you would know rightly that which you cannot know exhaustively. To grasp more fully the love of Christ is not a matter of IQ or human wisdom. It is a supernatural gift of grace, which God makes available to you through the gospel and by his Spirit.
The people God fills are those who have been empowered by the Spirit to trust Christ and enabled by the Spirit to know the love of Christ.
Conclusion
What about you? Which temptations do you face when it comes to participating in the church? Are you mainly aware of your inadequacies and deficiencies? Or are you mainly bothered by everyone else’s?
Here is the remedy: agree with Paul in prayer! Look not to yourself or at those around you, but to God who is able to do far more exceedingly than all you can ask or imagine. And pray—pray for the church as a whole, pray for your GC and your Huddle. Pray for people by name. And ask God to build them up—to supernaturally strengthen their faith and to increase their knowledge and experience of Christ’s love. And ask God to fill us to the fullest possible measure, making his presence discernible.