According to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 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 you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:11-21 NKJV

3:11 Followers of Jesus walking in unity is one of the key aspects of the eternal purpose of God. This phrase, “eternal purpose of God”, has a great poetic meaning. A better translation might actually be, “The proposal of the ages”.

The mystery of Christ is the great proposal. Walls of separation have been torn down by Jesus. We have been given free inclusion into the promise by His shed blood. Now we labor for the unity that will produce the pure and spotless bride Jesus longs to receive at His return.

The word accomplished in verse 11 (NKJV) conveys the same idea as the word predestination. Jesus already accomplished everything necessary for us to walk in the proposal of the mystery of Christ. Yet, we must say “yes” to this proposal if we are to actually walk in the blessings and promises of what the predestined promise accomplishes.

Predestination says, “God made a way for us.” Free will says, “We must choose to walk in the way.” Both are correct and do not contradict one another.

3:12 Our emphasis in this verse is “in Him”. In Him we have boldness and can be outspoken (or well-spoken) concerning this mystery. In Him we have access, or free admission, to this mystery. In Him we have confidence through faithfulness to this mystery (or, faith that He will accomplish His purpose according to this mystery).

3:13 Do not lose heart. Paul connects his own trials and sufferings to the proclaiming of this mystery. To Paul, any conflict or trouble that would arise due to the pursuit of seeing the benefits of this mystery produced in the Church are worth it all, because the mystery of Christ is the glory of the Church.

Paul is also revealing the heart of a spiritual father, in that he has labored and suffered for that which he understands and has obtained in Christ. This labor has cost Paul everything, yet he is joyfully giving away for free! Such a tremendous example! Like Jesus, Paul is also showing us the Father’s heart. We would all do well to learn from the Father’s heart as it is being put on display in Paul’s obedience to Christ.

3:14 “For this reason…” In light of this mystery, Paul contends for the Ephesians in prayer. I encourage us to take up these prayers as our own.

3:15 Paul continues with the language of the mystery of Christ, “the whole family in heaven and earth…”

3:16 Our attention is drawn back to the earlier things which Paul had written. “According to the riches of His glory…”

Here is the anchor of this prayer: O, that we would have great strength in the Holy Spirit, with the ability to exert His strength faithfully from a place of inner fellowship with Him!

3:17 It is through faith/faithfulness to Christ that He abides in our hearts. If you wonder why Paul might pray this prayer for people who are already redeemed, we must consider one simple fact. Our hearts must be guarded by the righteousness and faithfulness of Christ. This does not come naturally, and it must be developed through fellowship with Christ. The goal is to become immovable and steadfast in His love. The love of Christ in truth is our sure foundation.

3:18-19 The love of Christ is what gives us the ability to collectively understand the vast and eternal dimensions of His love. The process is love unto love, and love unto the fullness of God.

The first part of the process, love unto love, is a result of loving God based upon what we already know to be truth concerning Him. We love Him because we know Him. Yet, this love presses us beyond that which we presently know, that which is surpassing our knowledge.

In the second part of the process, love is unto being filled with the fullness of God. We cannot escape the fact that the context here is still presently concerning the mystery of Christ. (This is the context of the whole epistle).

It is in the pursuit of the mystery of Christ we discover both the necessity of unity with all the saints, as well as the necessity of being filled, presently and communally, with all the fullness of God. The idea of being filled with the fullness of God is such a fantastic idea that the reality of it doesn’t seem real or tangible.

We are rooted and established in love so that the body of Christ can be filled with the fullness of God, in all of His infinite glory and eternal being. With natural thinking, this should either be impossible or very exaggerated. Yet the language Paul is using here is very simple and direct. There is little to no wiggle room here to believe that Paul is speaking metaphorically.

3:20 “Exceedingly abundantly above…” There is a power bestowed on us by the favor of the Father, called grace, working within us by the Holy Spirit, that is able to bring into effect the fullness of God- in the body- that is so far out of the scope of our minds that we would never know to ask for it if it were not for God’s willingness to reveal His own mysteries. In every manner of speaking, including words that do not exist to be spoken, the Father is exceedingly, abundantly, above all things.

3:21 To the Father be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus. Again, here is the fellowship of humanity in God by the person and throne of Jesus Christ. All that the Father is, so is the Son. All that the Son is, He freely reveals to us. The promise of God is to reveal the fullness of God to all generations and ages, for all of eternity. This is great news!