Victory Briefings

Victory Briefings


VB057 Paul’s Intercession for the Saints (Eph 3:14-21)

January 23, 2023

[VB057 Podcast Notes]


Ephesians 3:14-21
Paul’s Intercession for the Saints (3:14-21)

Remember there are two prayers in Ephesians (here and in 1:15-23), and they complement each other. The first is a prayer for enlightenment; the second is for enablement. Today we are going explore Paul’s second prayer of his letter to the Ephesians.


Eph 3:14-21 (NASB) –[14] For this reason I bend my knees before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, [16] that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and 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 height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God. [20] Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, [21] to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.


Paul wants the Ephesians (and us) to understand all that we have in Christ – and then to live what they have learned. We not only need light to begin, but power to continue our Christian life.


[14] For this reason I bend my knees before the Father.


It is interesting that Paul bowed his knees. Jews didn’t kneel, they stood with their hands raised toward heaven to pray. There has been much debate on physical position while praying praying.


Of course, it really isn’t important what your position is. I remember a story about a group of Christians who were arguing about this. One insisted that the only way to pray was on your knees. Another said that it had to be standing with your head bowed. A third declared that the only way to pray was to be seated in a chair looking up to God. One, who till then had been silent, testified of when he accidentally fell head first into a well. He said while hanging there upside down, he prayed a prayer which he said was the most effective he had ever prayed! So how your body is positioned isn’t that important – or hanging upside down is most effective – you decide, but think about the position of your heart when you pray.


[15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,


Family could be translated “fatherhood.” Every fatherhood get its origin and name from God the Father. (Or, every family derives its name, (character) that is, exists as a family with a father, because of Him.) God is the ultimate father. Most people have forgotten, or never have learned about a father-son relationship.


Paul prays for God’s family in heaven and earth; that’s where His family is. On earth we are members of the family and of the church. The body of Christ is on the earth. The family is on earth and in heaven. When we die we leave the body, but not the family. Our ministry on the earth is replaced by someone else, but we don’t leave the family.


There is no such thing in scripture as the universal fatherhood of God that saves all men. “You must be born-again” (Jn. 3:7).


[16] that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self,


The power is given to us “according to the riches of His glory.” All things in Christ “which He lavished upon us” (1:8).


The word “strengthened” is from the Greek word krateo, which means “ruling power.” God wants us to be strong with dominion power for making proclamations and decrees to blockade the enemy, and to advance the kingdom of God. With krateo, we enforce God’s strategies, using the keys of the kingdom to open and close, bind and loose things on earth as they are in heaven (see, Mt. 16:19).


We are kings in life, but often we do not know how to properly rule our own lives, let alone give anyone else help with theirs. It’s time to grow up! The word “power” in this verse is dunamis “built-in explosive power,” connected to our faith. By using our God-given faith we have the ability to rule with military force from our inner man. We are the master over our circumstances. We stand on our profession of the Word of God, and rule the enemy with our decrees.1


The Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters in darkness of a formless and desolate planet when God said, “LET THERE BE LIGHT” (see, Gen. 1:2-3)! He is the same Spirit that lives in and operates through you. He can handle the chaos in your situation.


Paul is giving us an example prayer to use for ourselves and others. Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ to be strengthened in their inner self. How carelessly some Christians treat the inner person! The Holy Spirit empowers us from within through the Word of God and prayer.


The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life is the evidence of salvation (Rom. 8:9). It is the power of the Holy Spirit that enables us to live in Christ. “You shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:8). Jesus performed His ministry on earth in the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 4:1,14; Acts 10:38), and we have this same resource for Christian living today. As you study the book of Acts, you can find 59 references to the Holy Spirit. Don’t leave Him out of your journey through life!


[17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,


He wants to dwell, “feel at home” in our hearts. Of course, The Anointed One does dwell in the heart of every true believer, but not every heart is a comfortable home for Him. Jesus loved to go to Bethany because his friends there loved Him, fed on His Word, and served Him. When the pre-incarnate Christ came to earth to talk to Abraham (Gen. 18), He sent two angels ahead to visit Lot (Gen. 19) because He did not feel at home in the house of a worldly believer. Does He feel at home in our hearts?


Jesus feels at home in our hearts when He finds faith and love. “Rooted” (v. 17) suggests a steady position, a habit of faith and love, like a tree rooted in the soil. Too many Christians want the fruit of the Spirit without being rooted in spiritual things.


[18] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth,


Comprehend” in v. 18 should be “apprehend-lay hold of.”2 Paul has already prayed that they might understand; now he prays that they might lay their hands on these wonderful blessings and grasp them for themselves. By faith we lay hold of God’s promises. Paul especially wants them to lay hold of God’s immeasurable love, a love that fills all things. Far too many Christians think of God as an angry Judge or a stern Master instead of a loving Father.


[19] and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.


Filled with all the fullness of God3 (v. 19) is God’s ultimate purpose for our lives. Read carefully John 1:16 and Col. 2:9-10. You are complete in Him! Why live like paupers when God has given us His fullness? An empty life is disappointing and dangerous. If the Spirit of God does not fill us, then the spirit of disobedience (2:2) goes to work and we fall into sin.


In vv. 20-21, Paul points out that as we pray, God’s Spirit goes to work in us; and 1 Thes. 2:13 (along with Col. 3:16) teaches that God empowers us through His Word. The early saints gave themselves to “prayer and the Word of God” (Acts 6:4), and God worked mightily in them and through them.


[20] Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,


Verses 20-21, Paul’s doxology closes this first section of the letter. God works in us! God works through us! God is glorified in us! What a wonderful salvation we have! This power works in us as we open our hearts to Christ, cultivate this abiding fellowship, pray, and submit to the Word. There is no reason for us believers to be “down in the dumps” when we are seated with Christ (2:6) and filled with God’s fullness.


[21] to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.


Paul’s doxology serves as a fitting conclusion not only to this prayer but also to this book’s first three chapters.



1Hammond, Studies In Ephesians, Our Step-by-Step Walk To Victory (Cornerstone, 1996)


2The Spirit-Filled Life Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 1573.


3The Spirit-Filled Life Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 1792. (Fullness – full number, a full ship with cargo and crew, a town with no empty houses.)


God bless you my friend,