Ephesians 3:
1. What stood out to me from this chapter?
For being a relatively short chapter of the Bible (only 21 verses) there is SO much good stuff in here. What caught my attention was this profound prayer that Paul offers for the Ephesians and "all the Lord's holy people." It is both very simple in nature and incredibly powerful in the outcome. It is a simple prayer, that people would receive the Holy Spirit as their source of strength and guidance, put their faith in Christ, and understand the deep love of God the Father in Christ. It's not long or drawn out, and it's not asking for riches or health or success in careers. It's a prayer for people in their relationship with God. Honestly, of all the recorded prayers in the Bible, I would put this as number 2 on the list of prayers we should all know about and pray ourselves. (Number 1 is the Lord's Prayer...if that needed clarification).
2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know?
First, in this prayer, Paul really emphasizes how we relate to each member of the Trinity. God the Father is the head of the family, Christ is the Son and is our Savior in whom we put our faith, and the Holy Spirit is sent to dwell within us. Since we just read the book of Galatians, I thought of a portion of Galatians 4 that really mentioned the members of the Trinity in a similar fashion. Second, since this is a prayer that I believe we as believers should be very familiar with, I thought right away of the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6 and also in Luke 11.
3. So what does this mean for my life?
This chapter and prayer was sort of a slap-in-the-face reminder that I need to be praying for others in this way. I do pray, and I do pray for others, but it's usually about healing their illness or helping them through something. While none of these prayers are bad, I often forget to pray for my friends (believers and unbelievers alike) that they would simply come to know Christ more and more and more. The mission statement of Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps is "To know Jesus Christ and to make Christ known to all." This mission is based on the same passion as Paul's prayer here in Ephesians 3, that people would know Christ in a life-changing way. I need to pray this prayer more often for others, as well as for myself.
4. What question do I have about this passage?
This is more of an English question than a theological question, but the two are related. What is the meaning of the word 'administration' as it appears in this chapter in verses 2 and 9? It seems to confuse me just a little bit. I get the overall picture of how Christ's salvation by faith in Him was kept a mystery until it happened and now it is revealed, but I don't know what the "administration" part is. If that word doesn't appear in your translation, click the link on the "Ephesians 3" above to read it in NIV on BibleGateway.com .
God's blessings.
In Christ,
Dan
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