Second Prayer for the Ephesians

Because of what Paul has written before, he now bows his knees with the purpose to pray for his readers. He prays for his readers to be strengthened with power in the inner man, or in other words, that Christ may dwell in their hearts. The purpose of his prayer is 1. that they comprehend the love of Christ and 2. that they are filled up with the fullness of God. He ends his prayer with a doxology.

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Ephesians 3:14-21

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Τούτου χάριν

For this reason

Deswegen

κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα,

I a bow my knees before the Father,

beuge ich meine Knie vor dem Vater unsres Herrn Jesus Christus,

inference

ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται,

from whom 1 every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

nach welchem jede Vaterschaft im Himmel und auf Erden genannt wird,

ideaexplanation

ἵνα δῷ ὑμῖν κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ δυνάμει κραταιωθῆναι διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον,

that He would grant you, according to a the riches of His glory, to be b strengthened with power through His Spirit in c the inner man,

daß er euch nach dem Reichtum seiner Herrlichkeit verleihe, an Kraft zuzunehmen durch seinen Geist am inwendigen Menschen,

κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν,

so that a Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

daß Christus durch den Glauben in euren Herzen wohne,

ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι, ἵνα ἐξισχύσητε καταλαβέσθαι σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ ὕψος καὶ βάθος,

and that you, being b rooted and c grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with a all the 1 saints what is b the breadth and length and height and depth,

damit ihr, in Liebe gewurzelt und gegründet, mit allen Heiligen zu begreifen vermöget, welches die Breite, die Länge, die Höhe und die Tiefe sei,

γνῶναί τε τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς γνώσεως ἀγάπην τοῦ Χριστοῦ,

and to know a the love of Christ which b surpasses knowledge,

und die Liebe Christi erkennet, die doch alle Erkenntnis übertrifft,

series

ἵνα πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ.

that you may be c filled up to all the d fullness of God.

auf daß ihr erfüllt werdet bis zur ganzen Fülle Gottes.

actionpurpose

Τῷ δὲ

a Now to Him

Dem aber,

δυναμένῳ ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν

who is b able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,

der weit mehr zu tun vermag, als wir bitten oder verstehen,

κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν,

c according to the power that works within us,

nach der Kraft, die in uns wirkt,

actionmanner

αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν.

a to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations 1 forever and ever. Amen.

ihm sei die Ehre in der Gemeinde und in Christus Jesus, auf alle Geschlechter der Ewigkeit der Ewigkeiten! Amen.

There are several views on the structure of Paul's prayer. I have chosen the view, that verses 16-17a list one prayer requests (that you be strengthened with power in the inner man [v16] or, stated another way, that Christ dwell in your hearts[v17a]) and verses 17b-19 list the two purposes of the prayer (1. that they comprehend the love of Christ and 2. that they are filled up with the fullness of God). Regarding the number of different interpretations, I think that the comment in the EBC applies well here: In any case, I doubt that Paul thought in terms of the number of requests, so I’ll not puzzle unduly about this.

Paul prays for his readers to be strengthened with power in the inner man, or in other words, that Christ may dwell in their hearts. The purpose of his prayer is 1. that they comprehend the love of Christ and 2. that they are filled up with the fullness of God.

I am taking these to be adjectival participles describing Paul's readers. Others see this as a separate prayer request.

Paul bows his knees with the purpose to pray for his readers.

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Phrase

Ephesians 3:14-21

The Prayer's Content

For this reason

I bow my knees before the Father,

from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

The Prayer's Purpose

and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,

that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Doxology

Now to Him

who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,

according to the power that works within us,

to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

phrasing

Phrase Greek

Ephesians 3:14-21

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Τούτου χάριν κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα,

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

Deswegen beuge ich meine Knie vor dem Vater unsres Herrn Jesus Christus,

ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται,

from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

nach welchem jede Vaterschaft im Himmel und auf Erden genannt wird,

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

daß er euch nach dem Reichtum seiner Herrlichkeit verleihe, an Kraft zuzunehmen durch seinen Geist am inwendigen Menschen,

κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

daß Christus durch den Glauben in euren Herzen wohne, damit ihr, in Liebe gewurzelt und gegründet,

ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι, ἵνα ἐξισχύσητε

may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

mit allen Heiligen zu begreifen vermöget, welches die Breite, die Länge, die Höhe und die Tiefe sei,

καταλαβέσθαι σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ ὕψος καὶ βάθος,

γνῶναί τε τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς γνώσεως ἀγάπην τοῦ Χριστοῦ,

and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

und die Liebe Christi erkennet, die doch alle Erkenntnis übertrifft, auf daß ihr erfüllt werdet bis zur ganzen Fülle Gottes.

ἵνα πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ.

Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

Dem aber, der weit mehr zu tun vermag, als wir bitten oder verstehen, nach der Kraft, die in uns wirkt,

ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν,

αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν.

to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

ihm sei die Ehre in der Gemeinde und in Christus Jesus, auf alle Geschlechter der Ewigkeit der Ewigkeiten! Amen.

Τούτου χάριν κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα,

ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται,

κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι,

ἵνα ἐξισχύσητε καταλαβέσθαι σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ ὕψος καὶ βάθος,

γνῶναί τε τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς γνώσεως ἀγάπην τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἵνα πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ.

Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ ὑπὲρ πάντα ποιῆσαι ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ ὧν αἰτούμεθα ἢ νοοῦμεν κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν,

G5238+1

αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν.

Diagram

studyinfo

components

Ephesians 3:14-21

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subjectverb

solid

drop

equal

revrocket

line

pred

κάμπτω

directobject

τὰ

γόνατά

prepphrase

pstack

cword

μου

πρὸς

τὸν

πατέρα

χάριν

Τούτου

obtuse

δῷ

indirectobj

ὑμῖν

κατὰ

τὸ

πλοῦτος

τῆς

δόξης

αὐτοῦ

shelf

vertical

infinitive

κραταιωθῆναι

δυνάμει

εἰς

τὸν

ἄνθρωπον

ἔσω

διὰ

τοῦ

πνεύματος

αὐτοῦ

participle

τὸν

Χριστὸν

κατοικῆσαι

ἐν

ταῖς

καρδίαις

ὑμῶν

διὰ

τῆς

πίστεως

ἐξισχύσητε

rocketship

ἐρριζωμένοι

τεθεμελιωμένοι

καὶ

ἐν

ἀγάπῃ

καταλαβέσθαι

σὺν

τοῖς

πᾶσιν

ἁγίοις

τί

predicate

τὸ

πλάτος

βάθος

μῆκος

ὕψος

καὶ

γνῶναί

τὴν

ἀγάπην

τοῦ

Χριστοῦ

ὑπερβάλλουσαν

τῆς

γνώσεως

τε

πληρωθῆτε

εἰς

τὸ

πλήρωμα

πᾶν

τοῦ

θεοῦ

ἵνα

text

πατριὰ

πᾶσα

ὀνομάζεται

ἐξ

οὗ

ἐν

οὐρανοῖς

ἐπὶ

γῆς

καὶ

smartline

dashed

free

ttext

v17a

v18b

v19a

v19b

table

δὲ

ἡ

δόξα

Τῷ

δυναμένῳ

ποιῆσαι

ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ

ὑπὲρ

πάντα

[τούτων]

κατὰ

τὴν

δύναμιν

equals

τὴν

ἐνεργουμένην

ἐν

ἡμῖν

αὐτῷ

εἰς

τὰς

γενεὰς

πάσας

τοῦ

αἰῶνος

τῶν

αἰώνων

ἐν

τῇ

ἐκκλησίᾳ

ἐν

Χριστῷ

Ἰησοῦ

καὶ

dblrocketship

αἰτούμεθα

νοοῦμεν

ὧν

ἢ

v20a

v20b

ἀμήν

Referring back to Chapter 2.

accusative subject

comparative genitive?

"The pronoun is genitive by attraction to its assumed antecedent, a genitive of comparison, τούτων." Ephesians - A verse-by-verse exegetical commentary on the Greek New Testament

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