For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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Notes

This prayer brings us into the very heart of New Covenant life: communion with the Father, indwelling by the Son, empowerment through the Spirit, and fullness in God. Paul does not pray for changed circumstances but for a deeper experience of God’s indwelling power. He bows before the Father—not in ritual, but in reverence—acknowledging Him as the source and name-giver of every family in heaven and earth.

Paul prays first for strength through the Spirit in the inner being. This is not physical endurance, but spiritual vitality. The Spirit’s presence is not theoretical—it is experiential. He strengthens us so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. This is not a second step of salvation—it is the daily life of the New Covenant: Christ in you
(cf. Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27).

Rooted and grounded in love, the saints are now invited to explore the vast dimensions of that love—wide, long, high, deep—immeasurable and eternal. This is not intellectual knowledge only; Paul prays that we would know what surpasses knowledge. This paradox is the soul of worship: encountering the infinite love of Christ not merely with the mind but in the heart.

And then comes one of the most breathtaking phrases in all of Paul’s writings: “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” This is not a future promise—it is a present possibility through the Spirit. What the tabernacle and temple once contained, the believer and the Church now embody
(cf. John 1:16; Ephesians 2:22).

The doxology that follows is not just poetic—it is revelatory: God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or think, not merely around us but within us, through His power already at work. And this power leads to glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus—a glory that will never fade, spanning all generations, anchored in eternity.

This is the apex of the first half of Ephesians: the Church as the temple of God, filled with Christ, rooted in love, and radiant with divine fullness. The New Covenant is not a modified law system—it is a Spirit-filled communion, where Christ lives in us, love defines us, and God’s glory is displayed through us.

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For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—surely you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.

This mystery is that through the gospel, the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power. Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to proclaim to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to illuminate for everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was hidden in God, who created all things.

His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Him and through faith in Him, we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.

So I ask you not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

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Notes

This section opens up the glory of the New Covenant: the unveiling of the mystery that had been hidden for ages—now revealed in Christ, through the Spirit, and proclaimed by the apostles. Paul, writing from prison, sees himself not as a victim of Roman chains but as a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of the Gentiles. His calling is not a burden—it is a stewardship of grace.

What was once concealed is now declared: the mystery of Christ. Not simply that Gentiles would be blessed—that was hinted in the Abrahamic promises—but that they would be fellow heirs, members of the same body, and full sharers in the promise. This is radical equality in the Messiah, not by circumcision, not by Mosaic law, but by grace through faith
(cf. Romans 16:25–26; Colossians 1:26–27).

Paul’s calling is to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ—the infinite grace, beauty, and glory of the risen Lord—and to make known the administration of this mystery, which had been hidden in God from before time began. Now, through the Church, God is putting His manifold wisdom on display—not only before the world but before spiritual powers in the heavenly realms.

The Church is God’s cosmic demonstration of His eternal purpose. Through redeemed Jews and Gentiles made one in Christ, the principalities see the wisdom of the cross, the victory of grace, and the unfolding plan of God—accomplished not in law, but in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And here is the fruit of this mystery: boldness and access. We do not approach God trembling under condemnation. We come with confidence, because the veil has been torn and the Spirit now dwells within
(cf. Hebrews 10:19–22; Ephesians 2:18).

This is the New Covenant unveiled: not just personal salvation, but global reconciliation, eternal purpose, and Spirit-empowered access to the living God. Paul’s suffering is not a detour—it is part of the design. Grace has made him a servant of the mystery, and the mystery is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

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Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh—called “uncircumcised” by those called “circumcised” (which is done in the body by human hands)—were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and to reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, by which He put the hostility to death.

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

So then, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.

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Notes

This section unveils the New Covenant miracle: the complete inclusion of Gentiles and the formation of one unified people in Christ. Paul calls the Gentile believers to remember their former status: separated from the Messiah, cut off from Israel’s blessings, and alienated from the covenants of promise. They had no hope and no God, not because God was absent, but because they were outside His covenant mercy.

But now—in Christ Jesus—the distance has been abolished. Gentiles have been brought near not by Torah, circumcision, or temple ritual, but by the blood of Christ. His cross is the fulfillment of Passover, sacrifice, and peace offering. It is the end of hostility—not only between man and God, but between man and man
(cf. Isaiah 57:19; Colossians 1:20–22).

The dividing wall of hostility—symbolized both physically in the Jerusalem temple and spiritually through the Law—has been torn down. Christ abolished the law of commandments and decrees not by violating it but by fulfilling it in His flesh. The New Covenant does not renovate the Old; it replaces it with one new man in Christ
(cf. Hebrews 8:13; Romans 10:4).

Now, through Christ, both Jew and Gentile have access to the Father by one Spirit. The curtain has been torn. The barriers are down. The Spirit is not restricted to the temple—He now builds His dwelling in the Church. No longer outsiders, Gentile believers are now fellow citizens, family members, and living stones in a growing temple. Christ is the cornerstone, and the apostles and prophets—bearers of the New Covenant message—form the foundation
(cf. 1 Peter 2:4–5; 1 Corinthians 3:16–17).

This is not a religion. This is a new creation, a living temple, a household of God filled with the Spirit. The dwelling place of God is no longer a building but a people—redeemed, reconciled, united, and indwelt.

This is the peace Christ purchased: one new humanity, one reconciled body, one holy temple. All of it made possible not by effort but by the cross, not by ritual but by the Spirit, not by Sinai but by Zion.

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