This coming Sunday (Jan 14, 2024) I am reflecting on Ephesians 3:14-21 for my Lord’s Prayer series. Here are some of my own observations and applications. You can post your own thoughts about the passage in the ‘Comment’ section below. You can find the sermon videos posted here.
- Paul’s mission and purpose. In context, Paul is explaining his mission: “to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery.” (3:8-9) This is why he is suffering for the Ephesians (3:13). And this is why he kneels before the Father and prays this prayer (3:14ff).
- “Kneel before the Father”. As Jesus teaches in the Lord’s Prayer, Paul prays to our Father in heaven. “From whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” This is Paul’s way of saying ‘the God to whom we all owe our existence’. This is the general sense, that we are all the offspring of God (Acts 17:28), including all the angels above and all the humans and creatures on earth. Paul is not just praying to ‘our Father’ as believers, but ‘our Father’ as human beings, for everyone in the creation family of God.