The Love Of Christ
THE LOVE OF CHRIST
EPHESIANS 3:14-19
The love of Christ, which Paul prays that his readers might know, “surpasses knowledge” and will fill them “with all the fullness of God.”
Reflection on what God has done for the Gentiles always had the effect of driving Paul to prayer (see 1:3-14, followed by 15-19; 2:11-22, followed by 3:1,14-19). He intended to begin the prayer in these verses in 3:1, but Paul was diverted by contemplation of the grace that God had given to him. His interrupted thought is resumed in 3:14. He prays with great intensity because of God’s magnificent plan, which he just considered.
Paul’s posture and his designation of God are unusual. In Judaism, where it was customary to stand for prayer (see Matthew 6:5; Luke 18:11,13), kneeling was a sign of deep emotion and earnestness (see also 1 Kings 8:54; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; 9:40; 20:36; 21:5). Paul regularly addressed his prayer to the Father (1:17; 2:18), but in this instance he reflects on what the description “Father” means in the context of God’s open secret that the gospel is for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews. God is the Father of the whole universe. In the same way that the clans of Asia Minor called themselves by the name of their supposed ancestor, all races—earthly and heavenly—may trace their lineage to the Creator in whom the concept of fatherhood is seen in its perfection.
The content of Paul’s prayer in these verses repeats the concerns of his prayer in 1:17-19—that the inward life of his readers may be transformed and strengthened. Here Paul also prays that they might have an intimate knowledge of the love of Christ, which is made possible through Christ’s presence in and with believers (3:18f.). A true knowledge of God cannot be attained without the experience of love in the fellowship of the church (Paul emphasizes the words “with all the saints” by their position in the sentence). The love of which Paul is speaking is intensely practical. It comes to expression in the love a person shows to Christ and to other people for Christ’s sake in their experience of sorrow, trial and suffering. To the extent that his readers know the love of Christ, Paul is confident they will attain the fulfillment that God intends for them and will find themselves in harmony with God’s eternal purpose. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly in love.