Ephesians 3.14-19
For this purpose
I am bending my knees to the father, by whom every clan in heaven and on earth is being called, so that he shall give you, in line with the abundant supply of his honor, power to be strong supported by his spirit
into the inner person
, to make your home in
the Anointed
through trust in your hearts, having been
rooted and established in love
, so that ya'll may be in a position to fathom with
all the esteem ed ones
what is the breadth, length, height and depth and so to comprehend what
goes beyond the knowledge
of the
Anointed's love so that you shall be fulfilled in all the fullness of God.
{all you/your are plural}
The text presents a helpful insight into leadership. The context of this six verse sentence clarified that the leader’s focus was on others, not himself. Verse 13 stated the author’s concern that his readers not lose heart over his imprisonment.
So what can help us not lose heart when people we love suffer or are persecuted? It is a covenantal relationship between the community of faith and God as understood in the spirit of the Anointed. It sounds like a mystical ambiguity, yet we are given practical instruction to experience the reality.
Strength to live our covenantal commitment is supported by God’s spirit as we engage it with our “inner person.” The purpose of this inner and communal dialogue with God’s spirit is to help us be at home embodying the disposition of the Anointed, as revealed in Jesus.
Two metaphors are given for this coping mechanism for our lives; one is from plant life and the other is from construction. “Rooted” points to the living nature of our love from and for God and each other, “the esteemed ones.” Rooted in the deepest of all loves,
agape, the life force of God’s spirit flows through the community and our inner world. “Established,” the Greek word used to reference the laying of a building’s foundation, reminds us that covenantal love is foundational to community.
The hope is that we all come to grasp the full richness of this covenantal connection and learn what goes beyond knowing. Going beyond knowledge requires not going less than knowledge. It is that point at which the best we can give to God builds on our thoughtful study yet is not bound by it. In an ancient writing, the
Pirke Avot, has a remarkable line: “Do more than study.” Not do less, but if we only study the scriptures and spirituality, the life force cannot flow from the root and the building has less of a foundation upon which to stand. We are called to be a people of vibrant loving action established and rooted in our thoughtful engagement with each other and with God.
John David Bowman: “A college & seminary educator as well as pastor providing over 50 years of church leadership, I'm retired living in Lititz, PA and an active member of the Elizabethtown CoB. I am still married to a wonderful person, Sharyn Halterman Bowman, with whom we have two adult children and two grandchildren.”
