Do You Know?
Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Before we go any further after reading this amazing prayer of Paul we must consider the kind of people Paul is addressing in his letter.
Paul is addressing the church at Ephesus. He is speaking to born again believers in Jesus. He is not speaking as an evangelist to lost people trying to get them saved. That means this fullness of God spoken of is not about being saved. It is about another wonderful privilege.
Paul is speaking of how Christ dwells in the heart that is true, but his reason for praying this way has to do with the believers being rooted and grounded in love.
What is so important that Paul would offer a prayer of this nature on their behalf?
Because when a person does not know how loved they truly are they struggle to trust as they should. You see the filling spoken of here has to do with the person of the Holy Spirit who is the essence of all the fullness of God.
For a person to trust the word of Christ regarding the gift of the Spirit which is the promise of the Father, they first must really know how greatly loved they are and how deeply they can trust Christ. To not know this hinders their ability to receive all that He might offer.
Not really knowing the amazing love of Christ leads to questioning whether or not everything Jesus is offering them is truly of benefit to them. Especially when it comes to the Holy Spirit and how odd they might find it to be. You might be surprised to know how many think of the Holy Spirit as more of risk than that of a privilege and honor.
It is the desire of God the Father, and Christ the Son, that believers be filled with all the fullness of God! In other words, that believers be filled with the Holy Spirit.
To me this is speaking of the baptism of the Spirit and the continual opportunity to be filled daily. The giving of the Spirit in such abundant measure is the riches of His glory, and only the Holy Spirit can strengthen the inner man with might.
I encourage you today to seek to grow in your knowledge of the love of Christ and begin to boldly ask to be filled with all the fullness of God. Be wide open to the Holy Spirit and let Him strengthen you with might in your inner man today and everyday.
