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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eph_3:14-19
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Eph_3:14 "For this reason" Paul returns to his initial purpose (cf. Eph_3:1, i.e. his prayer): Notice the doctrinal section opens with a prayer to the Triune God (cf. Eph_1:3-14) and closes with prayer.
▣ "I bow my knees" Standing, not bowing, was the usual position for Jewish prayer. This shows Paul's intensity (cf. Mat_6:5; Mar_11:25; Luk_18:11-12; Luk_22:41; Act_7:60; Php_2:10).
Eph_3:14-15 "Father. . .family" This is a play on the Greek name pater and patria. Notice the emphasis on the Father, as in Eph_1:3-14. The Creator God is the paradigm for all living beings and their social units (i.e. tribes/nations).
Eph_3:14-17 "Father. . .Spirit. . .Christ" Notice the work of the Trinity as in Eph_1:3-14. It is true that the term "Trinity" is not used in the NT. However, there are numerous passages where the three divine persons are mentioned in a unified context (cf. Mat_3:16-17; Mat_28:19; Joh_14:26; Act_2:33-34; Act_2:38-39; Rom_1:4-5; Rom_5:15; Rom_8:9-10; 1Co_12:4-6; 2Co_1:21-22; 2Co_13:14; Gal_4:4-6; Eph_1:3-14; Eph_1:17; Eph_2:18; Eph_3:14-17; Eph_4:4-6; 2Th_2:13; Tit_3:4-6; 1Pe_1:2; Jud_1:20-21). See Special Topic: The Trinity.
The KJV translation adds "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," but this phrase is not in the ancient Greek manuscripts P46, à , A, B, C, nor the Greek texts used by Jerome and Augustine. The addition does occur in the uncial manuscripts à c, D, G, K, and the Greek text used by Chrysostom.
The concept of three divine persons with one divine essence (i.e., monotheism) is difficult to understand. Yet, if Jesus is deity and the Spirit is a person, then Bible believers are forced to affirm a triune unity. See Special Topic The Trinity at Eph_1:3.
Eph_3:15 "in heaven and on earth" This refers to believers alive and dead (cf. Php_2:10).
Eph_3:16-19 Paul's prayer can be outlined using two grammatical features.
1. Three purpose clauses (hina)
a. Eph_3:16, God would grant (aorist subjunctive)
b. Eph_3:18, God would fully enable (aorist subjunctive)
c. Eph_3:19 b, God would fill (aorist subjunctive)
2. Four aorist infinitives
a. Eph_3:16, "you to be strengthened"
b. Eph_3:17, "Christ to dwell in your hearts"
c. Eph_3:18, "you to comprehend"
d. Eph_3:19, "you to know"
This paragraph reflects Paul's prayer for the believers in all these churches that they be stable and established by God's power through Christ's acts and the Holy Spirit's empowering to resist (1) the false teachers and (2) the persecution of a fallen world.
Eph_3:16 "according to the riches of His glory" "Riches" is one of Paul's favorite terms to describe the grace of God in Christ (cf. Eph_1:7; Eph_1:18; Eph_2:4; Eph_2:7; Eph_3:8; Eph_3:16). God's nature is the key to God's power and provisions.
▣ "in the inner man" Spiritual growth is internal, but it is stimulated by external pressure. Paul often uses the contrast between the inner man and the outer man. The inner man is the spiritual aspect, while the outer man is the physical aspect. The inner man is already part of the New Age, the kingdom of God, but the outer man is still dying and struggling with the old age, the old fallen nature, and the fallen world system (cf. Eph_2:1-3).
Eph_3:17 "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" This is an aorist active infinitive which points toward a specific act of faith. There is a fluidity in the NT between the indwelling of the Son and the Spirit. The Spirit's task (cf. John 14-16) is to
1. reveal the need for Jesus (i.e., human sin)
2. reveal Jesus (i.e., the gospel)
3. draw to Jesus
4. baptize into Jesus (cf. 1Co_12:13)
5. form Jesus in believers (i.e., Christlikeness), see Special Topic: Heart at Col_2:2
See Special Topic: Jesus and the Spirit at Col_1:26.
▣ "being deeply rooted" This is a perfect passive participle which could be translated "have been and continue to be rooted by God." Paul uses this agricultural metaphor only here and in Col_2:7. These two perfect passive participles are a way of showing his confidence in these believers and these churches.
▣ "and grounded" This is a second perfect passive participle. This is a construction metaphor. The same mixing of agriculture and construction metaphors is found in Eph_2:20-22 and 1Co_3:9.
Eph_3:18-19 "to comprehend. . .to know" These are both aorist infinitives (i.e., there are four aorist infinitives in this prayer, Eph_3:16-19). This emphasis on knowledge counteracted the exclusive intellectual claims of the Gnostic false teachers. It may refer to the newly revealed mystery of God, the uniting of Jews and Gentiles in Christ (cf. Eph_3:9).
Eph_3:18 "may be able" This is the second purpose clause. Paul is praying that all believers be strengthened and enabled to fully understand the gospel (i.e., "comprehend" and "know").
▣ "with all the saints" This term is always plural, except in Php_4:21, which also has a corporate context. To be a Christian is to be in community. Also, notice that God's will is the maturity of all believers (cf. Eph_4:13). See Special Topic: Saints at Col_1:2.
Eph_3:19 "surpasses" Christ's love is greater than human knowledge! Huperballô. See Special Topic: Paul's Use of Huper Compounds at Eph_1:19. This word is used in Eph_1:19; Eph_2:7; and Eph_3:19. Another huper compound is used in Eph_3:20 (huperekperissou), which is also used in 1Th_3:10; 1Th_5:13.
▣ "filled up to all the fullness of God" This is the third purpose clause in this prayer. This does not refer to the indwelling Christ or Spirit, Eph_3:17, but is a play on the false teachings of the Gnostics, who emphasized fullness (plçrôma) as special knowledge which enabled one to pass through all the angelic spheres (aeons) to heaven. Christ is the true "fullness of God" (cf. Eph_1:23; Col_2:9).