Appreciation of the Mystery, is a study that looks at the serious petition and focus on a key component of the faith as presented within Paul’s prayer to the Lord for the church of Ephesus.   Appreciation of the Mystery is based on Ephesians chapter three verses 14-21, which outlines the four primary points to establish a clear understanding of the Lord and how to effectively walk with God throughout our life in the faith.   Let’s start off with the verses and dive immediately into the explanation:

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Paul’s prayer begins with his demonstration of the seriousness of his request to the Father.  He does so by coming to the Father by kneeling to pray.  In those days, people prayed standing up, therefore, kneeling to pray was a sign of deep worship.  This behooves us to closely analyze the prayer and to comprehend the depth of the message.  It’s a serious prayer and validates a study title of appreciation of the mystery.  Paul’s prayer has can be broken down into four primary parts:  1) The mention of the Holy Trinity – Paul acknowledges the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in his prayer, 2) Asking for the strengthening of our spirit which is where the inner man is contained, 3) love being the prerequisite of understanding the depth of the love of Christ, and 4) being filled with the fullness of God.

First, let’s look at Paul’s address to the Holy Trinity.  Each member of the Holy Trinity is implored, and each works in the believer differently.   The ultimate supplication is asked brought before the Father which is in line with what Christ has already taught us in John 16:23 23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  Furthermore, it’s the Holy Spirit who works in the believer with the task that is to strengthen and transform, which is all possible through Christ Jesus.

Secondly, we must concentrate on the request to strengthen the inner man, which is the spirit, the area of man where God interacts and communes with.  Therefore, what Pau is asking is for the Lord to build the area of the man which can be directed and instructed by the Holy Spirit.  A strong believer has a strong inner man, a spirit that is boldened by the Holy Spirit and does the will of the Father.

Thirdly, Christ’s dwelling in our hearts is the key to the development of love, which is the fullness of the faith by having love for one another.  The Father loved the world and sent His Son, the Only Begotten to die for our sins.  It’s this love that we as believers, those who are transformed by the Holy Spirit must resemble our Lord Jesus Christ and have compassion and love for others as our Father has for us.  The only way this may be enacted is if Christ dwells in our heart.

Fourthly, Paul speaks about the fullness of God which is the aspiration that he has for the church to experience, just as it was in the Old Testament where God’s presence filled the temple.  1 Kings 8:10-11 states: 10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Ultimately, Paul’s primary message connected to our title of Appreciation of the Mystery, summarize his prayer is to be strengthened in the faith, to be instructed by the Holy Spirit, be grounded in love, which is also the ultimate Spiritual Gift, and live in the full presence of the Lord.  If you haven’t already accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and don’t know where you will spend your eternal life, prayer this prayer to receive the Lord: Lord Jesus I know that I am sinner and I ask you forgive me of my sins.  I believe that you were crucified for my sins and through your blood I have redemption and salvation.  Please come into my heart and I receive you as my God.  I pray in Jesus name. AMEN