Ephesians 3:17-19 — "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."Before we look at Paul's requests, see this. Paul says in verse 16 that God gives...  Read More

Ephesians 3:14 - "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..."Notice Who Paul is bowing his knee to. He does not just say God, even though He is God. He says to Abba. To Daddy. Do you have that relationship with your Heavenly Father?Now I know that when I mention the Fatherhood of God, it can produce a very mixed response in people. Some have had troubled relationships...  Read More

Ephesians 3:14 — "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,"Notice Paul's posture in this prayer. Paul is actually in prison when he writes this. He may not have been physically able to kneel. Yet he says that he is going to pray by getting on his knees. It's as if he is making a statement of humility and submission with this posture.There have been definite times in m...  Read More

Ephesians 3:16-19 — "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that...  Read More

Galatians 5:16 — "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."Is the answer to temptation more guardrails? I once had the chance to teach a group of young men about purity. We were wrestling with how a young man keeps his way pure. One guy stopped me in my tracks. He told me flatly that he could not conquer his addictions. So I began offering practical solution...  Read More

Ephesians 3:4 (NKJV) "By which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ."Paul describes the mystery of Christ. Jesus came, and He was a mystery to those who saw Him in the first century. He comes to us today from the pages of the written Word, and we still do not quite know what to make of Him, Who He is, what He means to us.Remember, when Paul uses the word "myster...  Read More

Ephesians 3:1-2 (NKJV) "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you." Paul knew he was called and equipped to share the gospel. But notice, it was not a general calling. It was specific. He says in 3:1, "the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles." In 3:2, "given to me for ...  Read More

Ephesians 3:1, 13 (NKJV) "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles... Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory."Paul writes Ephesians from prison, not from an ivory tower somewhere. He is in a hard place... I can imagine him being kind of confused in prison, asking, "Why am I still locked up? There is a hunger inside o...  Read More

"Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory." (Ephesians 3:13)Paul finishes this section by telling the Ephesians not to lose heart over his tribulations, difficulties, pressure, and pain. But when he says "for you, Gentiles" in Ephesians 3:1 and again in Ephesians 3:13, he isn't trying to guilt them into feeling sorry for him. He's actually saying s...  Read More

"To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." (Ephesians 3:8)Paul was in prison, and anybody could have looked at him and said, "He's wasting his life in there." But Paul knew not only who he was, he knew his purpose, and that gave him confidence. Not arrogance, but confidence that God was usi...  Read More

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9)Ephesians 3:1-13 actually reads like an unplanned detour. He was headed somewhere else entirely in chapter two, and you can see where he picks back up in Ephesians 3:14. However, here he pulls back the curtain on something...  Read More

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)I don't have to remind you that ours is a negative, pessimistic society. We live with negativity all around us. All you have to do is turn on the news and you see negative programming, negative journalism, negative event...  Read More