Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out For This Reason!
The Questions
Ephesians 3:1-21
For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that he gave me for you. 3 The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. 4 By reading this you are able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. 5 This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. 8 This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, 9 and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. 10 This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. 11 This is according to his eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him.13 So, then, I ask you not to be discouraged over my afflictions on your behalf, for they are your glory. 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. 16 I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.20 Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Original Intent
1) How does Paul suggest we be filled with all the fullness of God? (verse 19)
In Ephesians 3:19, Paul prays his readers will be “filled with all the fullness of God”. “Fullness” comes from the Greek “pleroma” and “describes the full measure of something with an emphasis on completeness.” (Precept Austin.org) When Paul prays for the Ephesians to be filled with all the fullness of God, he begins by praying they would be “rooted and firmly established in love and be able to comprehend the length and width, height and depth of God’s love that surpasses knowledge.” (Ephesians 3:17-19) To experience this love beyond any measure is the beginning of being filled with all the fullness of God. Author Stephen Cole suggests, “Paul is praying we will attain to spiritual perfection, having all that God is fill us to overflowing. As our capacity to receive it grows, He keeps filling us again and again. The idea of fullness implies total dominance or control, so that God perfectly controls our minds, our emotions, and our will.” We can be filled with all the fullness of God when we give God all access and full control of all parts of our lives. The better we know Him and His love, the more willing we are to let Him in to fill us and change us. Paul follows this prayer to be filled with God’s fullness by reminding us that God can do much more than we can think or ask. (Ephesians 3:20) This extends to filling us with His love and with everything that God is and has for us. He can fill us to a fullness we can’t even fathom!
2) How does God do above and beyond what we can ask or even think? (verse 20)
In Ephesians 3:20, Paul exhorts the Ephesians to give glory to the God who is “able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.” It’s not lost on his readers that Paul writes this encouragement from a prison cell in Rome, where he sits because of his unceasing desire to preach the Gospel. Yet, Paul is focused on how the power of God in us can do far more than we think possible. Author Priscilla Shirer observes that Paul is “just spilling over himself, tripping over himself trying desperately to figure out how to communicate the greatness and the grandeur of God’s capacity and His ability to work miracles in our lives and to be engaged in the details of our everyday living.” Even in his difficult circumstances, Paul believes God’s power is beyond human comprehension. Author Thomas Constable asserts, “The basis for Paul’s confidence that God is able to do far beyond what he had prayed for or could even imagine was the work God had done to bring Jews and Gentiles together in one body.” Preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles became Paul’s life work, and he had daily proof that God could bring about unity and harmony in Christ beyond what Paul ever thought possible. Paul’s faith in God’s vast power was also based on his own conversion experience, which found him walking toward Damascus with intent to harm Jesus’ followers and instead encountering Jesus Himself. This experience turned his life upside down. Instead of persecuting Christians, he was now converting others to Christianity, which was abundantly more than he could ever have considered. Paul knew better than anyone how far God can go beyond our petitions and our thoughts; this knowledge caused him to give glory to God.
3) Why does Paul say his afflictions are for the glory of the Ephesians? (verse 13)
When the apostle Paul told the Ephesians his afflictions are their glory in verse 13, he wasn’t speaking flippantly. Paul’s mission since his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) had been to share the Good News of Jesus with the Gentiles. Fulfilling this mission caused him countless problems, including beatings, stoning, imprisonment, shipwrecks, and various physical dangers and discomforts. (2 Corinthians 11:25-26) Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians while under Roman house arrest, and the people worried about him. Paul told the Ephesians he didn’t want them to feel bad he was going through hard times for them because everything he faced was part of his heavenly mandate to bring the message of salvation to them. Through his hardships, they received the message of God’s redemptive love, and that was worth everything he suffered. Author Peter Pett notes Paul declared his trials are “either a cause for them to glory, or will result in glory for them, or both. Without his imprisonment there may well have been no letters, and what would we have done then?” Paul was as zealous to convert people to Christ as he had been to condemn Christians before his own conversion. Every trial he faced brought the Gospel to more people, which was cause for rejoicing.
Everyday Application
1) How does Paul suggest we be filled with all the fullness of God? (verse 19)
It still amazes me some days that God chose to redeem me and chooses to love me. I wouldn’t do it if I were Him. I would have given up on me a long time ago, but God’s ways are far above mine. (Isaiah 55:9) He not only chose me, redeemed me and loved me, but He has all kinds of blessings and good things in store for me. (Ephesians 1:1-14) Paul calls it “being filled with all the fullness of God”. (Ephesians 3:19) He wants to make me more and more like Him by filling me with His fullness. He wants me to look like Him so I can draw others to discover Him. The best part is, I don’t need to do anything in my own strength to accomplish this! I cannot fill myself with all the fullness of God. He fills me up with His love, His mercy, His grace, His compassion, and all the other things He is, so I will spill over with “His fullness”. He fills me to capacity, and then when I grow, He fills me to capacity again. Sometimes, He fills me just by pouring out His love and His goodness on me. Sometimes, He fills me by letting me struggle and grapple and pursue. Even when what I feel as being empty, He is actually in the process of filling me with hope and faith. I agree with Paul that “God’s love surpasses knowledge” (verse 19), and I am grateful He keeps filling me as I grow to be more like Him.
2) How does God do above and beyond what we can ask or even think? (verse 20)
I have always been a tea drinker. I believed all teas were about the same, until a friend gifted me a tin of gourmet cinnamon tea sachets. Once I tasted that brew, I was ruined for any other cinnamon tea! I tried going back to cinnamon tea in the grocery aisle, but it would no longer suffice. The store brand tea was flat and bitter compared to the gourmet blend with hints of citrus. I think of this experience when I read Paul’s words in verse 20, “God’s power in us can do more than we could ask or dream up”. Before my friend’s gift arrived, I had only known to ask for regular cinnamon tea, but this special blend was beyond anything I’d imagined! It is important to consider this truth when I am asking God for things or imagining how I want things to go. God has plans and purposes beyond what I can dream that are abundantly more than I can comprehend. He puts His power in me so He can do great things beyond my wildest imaginings to bring Him glory. I need to ask Him for what I can imagine, then trust Him to do more beyond that. He doesn’t want me to be limited by what I can think or what I know to ask for; I need to be open to all He has for me. Usually that doesn’t come in a package that says, “better than you can imagine.” It often comes wrapped in change, difference, discomfort, and unknown. This is why Paul prays for the Ephesians to be “strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit and to have faith.” (verse 16) He knows that trusting God is key. May we trust in Him to do abundantly more than we can even think to ask Him!
3) Why does Paul say his afflictions are for the glory of the Ephesians? (verse 13)
The internet is full of beautiful stories about people shaving their heads to show solidarity with loved ones losing their hair to chemotherapy for cancer. My tears fall with every pass of the razor when I watch those clips! When I was a kid, I had a pal who was one of the only red heads in our small town, and he suffered a lot of teasing and embarrassment as a result. His mom decided to dye her own hair red so he wouldn’t feel so alone. These stories of people willing to endure hard things for their loved ones are deeply inspiring to me. The love they have is powerful. Even more inspiring to me is the lengths the apostle Paul was willing to go so he could share the Gospel with the Gentiles. He suffered much more than losing hair! He opens his letter to the Ephesians by calling himself the “prisoner of Jesus Christ on behalf of the Gentiles“. (verse 13) He endured intense persecution to preach salvation to those who would listen. Jesus’ love for Paul was so radical and bursting with grace, Paul was compelled to give this love away. Christ got Paul’s attention when He revealed himself to Paul on the road to Damascus, and Paul lived his life from that moment on with the singular purpose of sharing God’s love with everyone he could. He was glad to suffer abuse if it meant the Gospel would be preached to more people. He wanted everyone to know how deep and how wide God’s love is. (verse 18) He experienced God’s powerful love, and it made him able to love others profoundly, even when it cost him dearly.
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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