Ephesians 3:16-19

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - Ephesians 3:14-19

The apostle's petition for the Church, which includes an exhortation: v. 14. for this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, v. 15. of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, v. 16. that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His spirit in the inner man; v. 17. that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, v. 18. may be able to comprehend with all... read more

Johann Peter Lange

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical - Ephesians 3:14-19

2. The Apostle’s petition with an exhortation for the church(Ephesians 3:14-19)14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [omit 15of our Lord Jesus Christ],33 Of [From] whom the whole [every] family in heaven and [on] earth is named, 16That he would grant34 you, according to the riches35 of his glory, to be strengthened with might by [through] his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by [through] faith; that ye, being rooted 18and... read more

Alexander MacLaren

Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture - Ephesians 3:16

EPHESIANS STRENGTHENED WITH MIGHT Eph_3:16 In no part of Paul’s letters does he rise to a higher level than in his prayers, and none of his prayers are fuller of fervour than this wonderful series of petitions. They open out one into the other like some majestic suite of apartments in a great palace-temple, each leading into a loftier and more spacious hall, each drawing nearer the presence-chamber, until at last we stand there. Roughly speaking, the prayer is divided into four petitions,... read more

Alexander MacLaren

Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture - Ephesians 3:17

EPHESIANS THE INDWELLING CHRIST Eph_3:17 We have here the second step of the great staircase by which Paul’s fervent desires for his Ephesian friends climbed towards that wonderful summit of his prayers-which is ever approached, never reached,-’that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.’ Two remarks of an expository character will prepare the way for the lessons of these verses. The first is as to the relation of this clause to the preceding. It might appear at first sight to be... read more

Alexander MacLaren

Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture - Ephesians 3:18

EPHESIANS THE PARADOX OF LOVE’S MEASURE Eph_3:18 Of what? There can, I think, be no doubt as to the answer. The next clause is evidently the continuation of the idea begun in that of our text, and it runs: ‘And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.’ It is the immeasurable measure, then; the boundless bounds and dimensions of the love of Christ which fire the Apostle’s thoughts here. Of course, he had no separate idea in his mind attaching to each of these measures of... read more

Alexander MacLaren

Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture - Ephesians 3:19

EPHESIANS THE CLIMAX OF ALL PRAYER Eph_3:19 The Apostle’s many-linked prayer, which we have been considering in successive sermons, has reached its height. It soars to the very Throne of God. There can be nothing above or beyond this wonderful petition. Rather, it might seem as if it were too much to ask, and as if, in the ecstasy of prayer, Paul had forgotten the limits that separate the creature from the Creator, as well as the experience of sinful and imperfect men, and had sought to... read more

Frederick Brotherton Meyer

F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary - Ephesians 3:14-21

the Greatest of All Desires Ephesians 3:14-21 The kernel of this prayer is in the clause that Christ may make His home in the believer’s heart through faith. The previous petitions lead up to this. Note the Apostle’s attitude-with bended knee; his plea with God-that He is the Father from whom all family love emanates; his measure-the wealth of God’s glorious perfection; the necessary preliminary to Christ’s indwelling-the penetration of our inmost being with the strength of the Holy Spirit.... read more

G. Campbell Morgan

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - Ephesians 3:1-21

God's dwelling in the Church is not finality. It is equipment for the fulfillment of the divine purpose. The apostle claims a stewardship in the mystery of the Church, and declares the astounding fact that "unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God." In his Corinthian letter the apostle showed that the Word of the Cross is the wisdom of God. Therefore, through the Church is to come the proclamation to the... read more

James Nisbet

James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:17

LOVE BASED ON KNOWLEDGE‘Rooted and grounded in love.’ Ephesians 3:17 Sentimental love is seldom the genuine article, since those who feel most say the least. And the idea that religion should be grounded on sentiment, and reserved for those who ‘have a genius for it,’ is utterly false. It was intended for all men, not merely to gratify natural tastes and aptitudes. It should act at first on the heart as a strong remedy, not as a soporific to lull it into false security. It is hardly a paradox... read more

James Nisbet

James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:19

THE LOVE OF CHRIST‘To know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.’ Ephesians 3:19 Well does St. Paul speak of ‘the love which passeth knowledge.’ We may go on to know more of it, but we can never know it all. I. We ourselves would always be conscious of this love which ‘our Saviour has to us,’ but too often the sense of it grows faint; it is intermittent or seems to be suspended altogether, so that we lose the strength and joy that it cannot fail to bring when we realise it; but thank... read more

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