Ephesians 3:16, commentary and pictures

Paul bows the knee to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, asking that believers be granted according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. God gives this inner might to everyone who is saved, so that Christ may be revealed in and through them. That strength enables Christ to dwell in the heart by faith, holding the life rooted and grounded in love and growing toward fuller knowledge of His immeasurable love and the fullness of God. Being so rooted, believers with all saints comprehend the breadth and length and depth and height, know by living experience the love of Christ which passes knowledge, and are filled with all the fullness of God. This true knowledge of God revealed in Christ transforms the character, recreates the soul in His image, and gives power to behold His glory and be changed into that image.

Prayer Setting and Wording

Paul bends his knees to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, asking that believers be granted according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. This is instruction to be understood, part of what God has revealed for diligent students to grasp, in contrast to spiritualistic ideas of God to be shunned and to unrevealed mysteries that human minds could not handle without tarnishing His glory. It is a loving prayer of commendation and encouragement for the saints, to be read together with Christ's message to the church at Ephesus. The inner strengthening is the cherishing of truth that works by love and purifies the soul, meaning the inner person is made strong to take hold of divine power by faith in Jesus Christ even when feeling is lacking. This is the true knowledge of God that He invites all to receive, beside which all else is vanity and nothingness, and it is the strength in which followers in human nature are to live the pure and noble life of keeping the Father's commandments and always doing the things that please Him as Jesus did.

The prayer belongs to the mystery hidden in God from the beginning of the world, who created all things by Jesus Christ, now disclosed so that by the church the manifold wisdom of God according to His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus the Lord might be made known to principalities and powers in heavenly places. In Him there is boldness and confident access by faith, so believers need not faint at tribulations for them which are their glory. This promise of making known the fellowship of the mystery is for believers now.

The request continues so that Christ may dwell in hearts by faith, and believers being rooted and grounded in love may be able with all saints to comprehend the breadth and length and depth and height and to know by living experience the love of Christ which passes knowledge and cannot merely be explained but comes into the heart, and to be filled with all the fullness of God. That strengthening draws the mind to God and heaven, with His righteousness and truth wrought within and following on to know the Lord. The God who grants this out of the riches of His glory in the inner life is love, His nature revealed in His holy law, the high and holy One inhabiting eternity whose ways are everlasting and who does not change. It closes with glory to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that is asked or thought according to the power working within, supplying what is failed to be presented in asking according to necessity, to whom be glory in the church by Christ Jesus through all ages. When the church remembers that no man's mind is complete and no man's judgment is unerring, that none of the capabilities God entrusts to human agents are to be ignored, that God works with other minds as well as one's own and carries on His work by different gifts and appointments, and that each worker must give others credit for being worked by the Holy Spirit, it will be a growing church.

The third chapter of Ephesians is a message to be given to believers now because the end is near, to be practiced, to be read to hearers and impressed upon minds together with the fourth chapter of Ephesians, calling for a great reformation in lives, words, works, and spiritual understanding because many have become hard-spirited as strangers to the working of the Holy Spirit, needing daily to breathe the atmosphere of heaven. It speaks distinctly of the gospel work to be done in the world, magnifying truth through a sanctifying, cleansing, and refining influence carried out by all who are united to Christ through faith in truth that works by love and purifies the soul, all who embrace the truth being children of God and members of one family. It calls for earnest worldwide work to proclaim truth and the message of warning and salvation, carrying the same burden Paul carried, in a short time, unitedly and as with one voice. It exposes transgressions hindering the last message, arouses to the true position and to swift judgments coming upon the world against Satan's plans, warns that God will not be trifled with, and urges hearing His voice today and turning fully for mercy and abundant pardon, because there will be no second probation and coming suddenly He must not find His people unready. It belongs personally to every shepherd of the flock and every minister in every conference whether formally ordained or not as a present privilege of grace and power, calling for more than casual interest in lost souls and requiring earnest travail for souls, earnest heart searching, and earnest prayerful seeking to know God and the power of His grace, so experience is not tame and commonplace but marked by grace and the decided working of God's power with human effort.

Spirit Strengthens Inner Person

That granting according to the riches of glory to be strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man stands as Paul's prayer for believers. It is what is done in everyone who is saved, so that Christ may be revealed in and through them. That inward strengthening enables Christ to dwell in the heart by faith and upholds a life rooted and grounded in love toward the standard Christ expects.

It belongs to the Christian privilege of sons and daughters, reached through faith in God's promises. Through faith in the Father's promises and through Christ's merits there is access to God's power, even to share in the fullness of the Spirit that the Father gave to Christ. It is available to every believer and is received by trusting God's word rather than relying on feelings, with daily communion with Jesus sustaining it. With it come being grounded in love, understanding the vast dimensions of Christ's love, and being filled with all the fullness of God.

The inner man is the place of unseen struggle for supremacy where self must be fought and conquered. When self is conquered it is hid with Christ in God, and through that inward victory the world is conquered. The crucifixion of fleshly lusts gives mastery over the devil.

This might makes healthy Christians, keeping the heart guarded and the parts of the soul working together in harmony. Through constant communion with God and feeding on His Word as bread of life and water of salvation, Christ supplies life blood to the heart and with the Holy Spirit gives nerve power as Christ lives in the heart by faith. Begotten again with lively hope and a new nature, the soul is enabled to rise higher and still higher, to grow in love, to understand more of Christ's love, and to be filled with God's fullness.

It is a heavenly benefit provided by Christ's death and received through faith in His merits and power to save, by which a person becomes a partaker of His grace. It requires the heart to be subdued by grace, openly receiving Christ as Saviour, submitting will and wisdom and ways to God, and receiving wisdom from above, because the heart is deceitful and easily drawn from God. The Spirit so received into the heart by faith is how Christ dwells in believers and marks the beginning of eternal life.

Christ Dwells by Faith

The strength granted according to the riches of glory by the Spirit in the inner person makes Christ dwell in the heart by faith. That indwelling belongs to a life rooted and grounded in love, growing toward fuller knowledge of the vastness of Christ's love and toward being filled with all the fullness of God. It is growth in love and understanding, from the inner strengthening outward into comprehension of immeasurable love.

Christ dwelling in the heart by faith is contemplating Christ, beholding Christ, and ever cherishing Him as the best and most honored friend, whom one would on no account grieve or offend. Such cherishing brings divine grace, and such abiding is abiding in Christ with His words abiding within, so that one goes forth and brings forth much fruit. This indwelling is sought through Bible study and prayer, by which the inner person is strengthened through the Holy Spirit for Christ to come in and dwell.

The prayer is made with bowed knees to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, asking this grant according to the riches of His glory. To be strengthened is for the inner person to be made strong to take hold of divine power by faith in Jesus Christ even when feeling is lacking. That gives the wanted experience when a person does not know what to do or feel, drawing the mind to God and heaven, with His righteousness and truth wrought within and following on to know the Lord. God answers prayer offered in trusting faith on the scale of His glorious riches, so that one who trusts the promises without seeing or feeling an answer, believes every petition enters the heart of Christ, gives thanks for the blessing as already received, and goes about duty assured help will be sent when most needed, receives abundant fulfillment. He hears and provides the blessing when needed even before its result is seen or felt, supplying according to necessity what was failed to be presented in asking, according to the power working within, to whom be glory in the church by Christ Jesus.

To be strengthened is to receive Christ into the inner sanctuary of the soul and to have Christ formed within, the hope of glory, which alone can expand the mind. The Holy Spirit alone can do this work, yet blindness, unbelief, pet idols, favorite sins, and a defiled soul temple hold Him back so that He can do little. Then the only response before the immensity of the gift through Christ is to bow the knee and pray for inward strength to comprehend with all saints the breadth and length and depth and height, to know the love that passes knowledge, and to be filled with all the fullness of God.

To be strengthened is also to cease trusting in man and to make God the efficiency through most earnest prayer for wisdom. In that dependence one learns the Lord's way as no human voice or counsel can teach. The human agent sees that transgression of the law cost the blood of the Son of the infinite God, hates the sins that wounded Jesus, and keeps a contrite heart while viewing Jesus as a compassionate and tender High Priest. So fitted, one is prepared to prepare a people to stand in the day of God.

Rooted Love and Fullness

Being rooted and grounded in love, those strengthened within are able with all saints to comprehend the breadth and length and depth and height, to know by living experience the love of Christ which passes knowledge and cannot merely be explained, and to be filled with all the fullness of God. That same strengthening enables grasping the vastness of Christ's love and enduring as seeing Him who is invisible. Christ thereby dwells in the heart by faith as the result of might granted by the Spirit in the inner man according to the riches of glory.

This rooted comprehension is the true knowledge of God that He invites all to receive, beside which all else is vanity and nothingness. The knowledge of God revealed in Christ transforms character, recreates the soul in God's image, and gives power to behold the Lord's glory and be changed into that image. That strength is the strength in which followers in human nature are to live the pure and noble life of keeping the Father's commandments and always doing the things that please Him as Jesus did.

The Spirit-given strength enables believers to stand against temptation and to be rooted and grounded in truth so they can withstand the enemy's temptations as a deeply rooted tree withstands a storm. Professing faith in Christ without it leaves them without that strength. The prayer burns to know deep spiritual things and should be the prayer of all who seek to comprehend the Word, asking from glorious abundance for power for the inner life. The patient, persevering, diligent seeker who stretches every spiritual muscle in study is rewarded and finds an infinity beyond.

Transformed Character in Unity

The inner strengthening makes believers sound in the faith with Christ as leader and not the fallen angel. It cures a hard, judicial, sharp, critical, faultfinding spirit that climbs into the judgment seat to pronounce sentence and in striving for first place makes hearts sore. It cures with equal power the equally dangerous false religion of sentimentalism, restoring first love and first works. These are wonderful promises and privileges to be studied and appreciated, calling believers to put away self-love and desire for supremacy. Strife, discord, pride, and self-exaltation show how far the church falls short of the standard Christ expects for a life rooted and grounded in love.

The strengthening supports growth in love and unity as self is put aside, the human will yields to God's will, the person is cleansed from defilement, and Jesus abides in the soul, and with God's power and blessing the church reaches unity among different nationalities. God gives the grace of Christ and the Holy Spirit so a person is strengthened with all might in the inner man. That strength keeps integrity firm in trials and keeps the spirit noble while heaven watches and Satan watches to catch unguardedness and gain advantage through impetuous action. It enables fighting the Lord's battle manfully, doing as Christ would do with no inconsistency between faith and practice, refusing to become wrought up over constantly arising vexatious troubles, keeping calm, thinking of Jesus, and doing what pleases Him.

The strengthening enables patience under insult and provocation, calm self-control, and noble action that represents Christ and pleases Him. It keeps the nerves from being worn threadbare, educates thoughts to look to Jesus to right every wrong, builds up in faith, stands with the worker in critical work with suffering humanity, and gives continual increase of faith and trust and assurance against being confounded. The Spirit gives strength within to those who recognize weakness and entire dependence on God. The meek, pure, and childlike who feel weakness and wrestle with God for blessing as Jacob did receive fresh anointing, are surrounded by heaven's influence and atmosphere, go about doing good, make influence a positive force for Christ, and show what workers may become.

Being strengthened makes a person first a faithful steward over self, searched and tried by God and approved by Him, not having own righteousness but having Christ's righteousness, accepted as a vessel unto honor. This comes as the heart is searched and often compared with the Word of God as a mirror. This daily strengthening helps followers become more like Christ and form characters fit for entrance into the holy city, while indwelling power helps in work and God's love enters the inner life of the home. Inner might given in answer to prayer makes a person strong for God, to cease building up self and dwelling on past difficulties, to love brethren, to talk faith and hope and courage, and to have God's peace in the heart. God grants strength with might by His Spirit according to the riches of His glory so that a very weak person can still speak and labor for Him, with rich grace making the heart glad, for the Lord knows how to strengthen believers and give His Spirit so they can be of good courage in Him.

Ministry Service and Witness

The grant to be strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man according to the riches of glory belongs personally as a present privilege to every shepherd of the flock and every minister in every conference, whether formally ordained or not. It calls for more than casual interest in lost souls, requiring earnest travail for souls, earnest heart searching, and earnest prayerful seeking to know God and the power of His grace. Religious experience is then not tame and commonplace but marked by grace and the decided working of God's power with human effort. It means unreserved surrender to God and consecration of life, especially for those who minister in word and doctrine as ensamples to the flock, no longer content to remain dwarfs in spiritual things, aiming at nothing short of perfection of Christian character and living unselfish and blameless lives as a living rebuke to selfishness and affection for earthly treasure.

It is a lesson for all teachers, all ministers of the gospel, and all who occupy responsible positions in the work of God, that inner strengthening by God's Spirit is necessary before anyone can be trusted with responsibility. Where the principles of the law of God are not demonstrated in life, where perversity, imperfection of character, and wrong spirit or action appear in the family, in the school, in the church, or in the world, there is deficiency and departure from righteousness that separates the soul from God. That departure shuts out the quickening, discerning influence of the divine mind, leaves the human mind unmolded by God, and hides the power of God in spiritual discernment, in choice of words, and in care to preserve the fragrance of the Holy Spirit. Unless such a one becomes converted he should take up some other calling or other work where character will not lead others in the wrong direction.

The chapter to which the verse belongs is a message to be given to believers now because the end is near, calling for earnest worldwide work to proclaim the truth and the message of warning and salvation. It carries the same burden Paul carried, to be done in a short time, unitedly and intelligently and as with one voice. It exposes transgressions that hinder the last message of warning, arouses to the true position and to the swift judgments coming upon the world against Satan's plans to keep God's forces out of the work, warns that God will not be trifled with and that His judgments are reproof, and urges hearing the Lord's voice today and turning fully to Him for mercy and abundant pardon, because there will be no second probation and coming suddenly He must not find His people unready.

This inward strengthening through the Holy Spirit according to the riches of His glory is needed to make faith earnest and effective and to face the dangers of the last days. Knowledge and persuasive arguments alone are powerless for good unless the Spirit works in the mind and heart. Divine strength according to glorious riches is to be grasped by faith for courage in the Lord, taking comfort and hope in Christ at the right hand of God as Advocate making intercession for tried, tempted ones who knows every necessity. Practicing it means committing the keeping of the soul to God as unto a faithful Creator, speaking courage and strength and faith, letting no breath of doubt or word of unbelief escape the lips, and bearing a living testimony for God under all circumstances, with courage, strength, and faith. That strengthening is sought through Bible study and prayer, by which Christ comes to dwell in the heart, and the Lord knows how to strengthen believers and give His Holy Spirit so they can be of good courage in Him.

The prayer expresses God's gift of spiritual strength within for service, as prayed for Daniel that he might become strong in his service to God. It means being imbued with strength by the Holy Spirit in the inner life to work for Christ for the people for whom He died. That strengthening is given in God's time, after weakness and sickness have passed, and it comforts with His love, while until then simply resting in His arms is doing His will. The chapter speaks distinctly of the gospel work to be done in the world, magnifying truth through a sanctifying, cleansing, and refining influence. That work is carried out by all who are united to Christ through faith in truth that works by love and purifies the soul, the strengthening coming through the leaven of truth that enables Christ to dwell in the heart by faith for growth in love and knowledge of Christ's love, and all who embrace the truth are children of God and members of one family.