Reading: “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.”—Ephesians 3:16 

Recall what we’ve learned the last two days. For a man to be filled with the fullness of God he must possess an experimental acquaintance with the love of Christ. But how shall one come to that abiding believing knowledge of the love of Christ? The answer is found in the third petition of this great prayer: “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.”

If we will be filled with the fullness of God then it will be as we possess an experimental acquaintance with the love of Christ, and we will possess such an acquaintance only as we are strengthened by God’s Spirit in the inner man. This is Paul’s prayer for spiritual strength.

Notice in this request, first, weakness is recognized. Paul knew that no matter how well he explained the truth, no matter how well he pressed that truth upon the Ephesian church, no amount of his motivating discourses could ever empower this people to do what God said they must do. And so he prayed for strength to overcome this weakness.

Second, the source of strength is identified: “That He would grant you.” God can and will grant strength to a praying people and the proof of His willingness is contained in the next phrase: “that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory.” This text reads literally, “according to the riches of the glory of his strength.” The source of our strength is God’s own strength. Moses said, “The LORD is my strength” (Exodus 15:2) and we must recognize the Lord is our strength as well.

“The right manner of growth is to grow less in one’s own eyes.”—Thomas Watson