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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ephesians 3:14-21

We now come to the second part of this chapter, which contains Paul's devout and affectionate prayer to God for his beloved Ephesians.?For this cause. This may be referred either to the immediately Eph. 3:13; That you faint not, etc., or, rather, the apostle is here resuming what he began at the Eph. 3:1; from which he digressed in those which are interposed. Observe, I. To whom he prays?to God, as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of which see Eph. 1:3. II. His outward posture in prayer,... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Ephesians 3:14-21

3:14-21 It is for this cause that I bow my knees in prayer before the Father, of whose fatherhood all heavenly and earthly fatherhood is a copy, that, according to the wealth of his glory. he may grant to you to be strengthened in the inner man, so that Christ through faith may take up his permanent residence in your hearts. I pray that you may have your root and your foundation in love, so that, with all God's consecrated people, you may have the strength fully to grasp the meaning of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 3:16

That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory ,.... Or according to, and out of that rich, plenteous, and glorious fulness of grace and strength in Christ Jesus. To be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man ; this is the petition which the apostle puts up on his bended knees to the Father of Christ, that he would strengthen these saints, that so they might not faint at the tribulations which either he or they endured. Believers in Christ need fresh supplies... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ephesians 3:17

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ,.... This is another petition put up by the apostle for the Ephesians, which is for the inhabitation of Christ in them: the inhabitant Christ is he who dwells in the highest heavens, who dwells in the Father, and the Father in him, in whom all fulness dwells, the fulness of the Godhead, and the fulness of grace; so that those in whose hearts he dwells cannot want any good thing, must be in the greatest safety, and enjoy the greatest comfort and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 3:16

That he would grant you - This prayer of the apostle is one of the most grand and sublime in the whole oracles of God. The riches of the grace of the Gospel, and the extent to which the soul of man may be saved here below, are most emphatically pointed out here. Every word seems to have come immediately from heaven; laboring to convey ideas of infinite importance to mankind. No paraphrase can do it justice, and few commentators seem to have entered into its spirit; perhaps deterred by its... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 3:17

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith - In this as well as in many other passages, and particularly that in Ephesians 2:21 ; (note), the apostle compares the body or Church of true believers to a temple, which, like that of Solomon, is built up to be a habitation of God through the Spirit. Here, as Solomon did at the dedication of the temple at Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 6:1 , etc., Paul, having considered the Church at Ephesus completely formed, as to every external thing, prays... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 3:16

Verse 16 16.That he would give to you. Paul wishes that the Ephesians should be strengthened; and yet he had already bestowed on their piety no mean commendation. But believers have never advanced so far as not to need farther growth. The highest perfection of the godly in this life is an earnest desire to make progress. This strengthening, he tells us, is the work of the Spirit; so that it does not proceed from man’s own ability. The increase, as well as the commencement, of everything good in... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ephesians 3:17

Verse 17 17.That Christ may dwell. He explains what is meant by “the strength of the inner man.” As “it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell,” (Colossians 1:19,) so he who has Christ dwelling in him can want nothing. It is a mistake to imagine that the Spirit can be obtained without obtaining Christ; and it is equally foolish and absurd to dream that we can receive Christ without the Spirit. Both doctrines must be believed. We are partakers of the Holy Spirit, in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:14-19

A prayer on behalf of the Ephesian Christians. I. THE SUPPLIANT . "For this cause I bow my knees." He has explained who he, Paul, was, in the remarkable parenthesis which concludes with the thirteenth verse. In resuming his sentence, so long interrupted, he naturally falls back on the first words, "For this cause." Thus taken up, it has only the meaning which it had before, the thought in the parenthesis being carried forward into the word, "I." He describes himself as a suppliant... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 3:14-19

Intercessory prayer. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of 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 by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ,... read more

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