Abounding Love and Limitless Power | Ephesians 3:16-21

 

16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3: 16-21

For the past year or so, this passage has become one of my life verses. It sums up so well what living should be like and the hope that we have in the Lord. Paul is writing this to the Ephesians, but it should be our prayer for ourselves and all other believers. To me, it is encouragement in how great our God is and how much we can and must rely on him. It is a calling to come back to the Lord, to evaluate his place in your heart. It also gives glory to our almighty creator, who is worthy of all honor and praise.

Verse 16: There are two parts to this verse. The first is that Paul is praying for other people. He is going to the Lord on the behalf of the someone else and requesting that he empower them. That is so awesome! Have you ever prayed a prayer like this for someone else? I don’t think I ever have, but Paul does it in every letter he writes! From this we can see the value and the power that comes when we pray for other people. The second is that Paul is already giving the Lord praise. He is acknowledging how great the Lord is and how reliant we are on his strength. We are just peasants, but the Lord shares his heavenly riches with us! How amazing!

Verse 17: When the Lord shares those riches with us, he is sharing his Spirit. When we accept that gift, Christ is in our hearts and we begin to build our foundation on him. This foundation brings us strength to weather the storms of this life. ( See Wise and Foolish Builders for more on having a firm foundation!)

Verse 18: From this, we are welcomed into the abounding love of God! This love is tangible; it has width, height, length, and depth. It is wide enough to cover all of your sins, high enough to reach to the heavens, long enough to stretch into eternity, and deep enough to root itself in the most hidden corners of your heart! How beautiful is it to be enveloped in a love as great as this!

Verse 19: Paul is praying that the Ephesians would understand even an ounce of this great love. Imagine living a life in response to being loved so greatly! How would you live differently than you do now? Paul says that you will be complete because you are now filled with life and and power! And what does it mean to live completely and fully? It means to listen to God and follow his plan, because if he loves you that much, he surely has a plan for you!

Verse 20-21: These verses gives glory to God. It is saying that he has infinite power that can do anything. One translation replaces “infinitely” with the phrase “exceedingly abundantly”. Abundance is already more than enough, but to be exceeding in how abundant it is? The God we worship is overflowing with power and for that he is worthy of all praise!

So, why is this my favorite passage? I love this because it talks about how great our God is! It is a daily reminder to me that God is powerful and that power is at work in me! It also reminds me how much God loves! I cannot begin to imagine how amazing that love is, all I know is that I am more than covered by it! And because of those two things, I am able to live my best life. I can live free knowing my sins are covered and I can live confidently knowing my power comes from the Lord. I do not wallow in my sin, in my pity, or in my shame. I wake up daily, excited for what is coming with a smile on my face. These things can only come from one place: God. I do not understand it, but I do know it. I cannot comprehend it, but I simply accept this beautiful gift the Lord has given me! Live your best life! Live a life in response to the power and love God pours over you!