(13) Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. (14) В¶ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (15) Of 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 by his Spirit in the inner man; (17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (19) And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. (20) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, (21) Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
I include all that remains in this Chapter under one view, because the several parts are woven into one piece, and form a beautiful whole. The Apostle begins the paragraph with desiring that the Church would lose sight of everything which related to his personal state and circumstances. That he was a prisoner, it was true; but, at the same time, he was the Lord's free man. And though, the enemy shut him in, yet no enemy could shut the Lord out. And, as to his afflictions, they were all sanctified. And, as the Lord sweetened them to his soul, they ought to be the subject of real joy to their hearts. Having thus dispatched all consideration as to himself, he now proceeds to show them the affection he had for them in his heart, and how he was continually employed for them. It forms a lovely representation of the faithful pastor and minister of Christ's flock, and serves at least to show what such should be, though, it is to be feared, few are so, in the present awful day of a declining ministry.
He first tells them, that he bowed his knees unto the God and Father of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, as the Father of the whole family of Christ, in heaven and in earth. There is somewhat very blessed in this. God the Father is, indeed, in every sense of the word, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For He is revealed, under this character, in the Scriptures of truth. This is the name, in the essential nature of the Godhead, as One of the Holy Three which bear record in heaven. It is his name also in the economy of the Covenant of grace. And it is his name as the God the Father of the Church, for it is He who hath given the Church to Christ before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4. Jesus sweetly speaks of this as his particular pleasure and delight. John 17:6. Well might Paul, therefore, say that of Him, the whole family in heaven and earth is named. And well might he bow the knee before Him. I also would say, Lord! bow the knee of my heart before Him, who is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Oh! that I may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hath sent. John 17:3
Secondly. What a blessed prayer this is ? Paul having mentioned his adorable name, before whom be bent the knee, next seeks strength and grace from God the Holy Ghost, for forming all his of prayers aright, and for helping him in his infirmities of prayer, that he might make all his supplications according to the will of God. How truly Scriptural this is? Paul well knew, that without the influences of the Spirit, he could neither know how to pray, nor what to pray for. Neither prayers could he present, nor praises offer, until God the Spirit taught him. To God, therefore, he looks for those influences. And he felt full confidence, that the Lord would grant him, according to his riches in glory, grace to be so strengthened, that his inner man would find, the blessed, communications of the Spirit to this end.
And what was the great subject of his prayer. It was short, but comprehensive. It all centered in Christ. All Paul prayed for himself; and all he asked for the Church, was Christ. Christ and his fullness, Christ and his all-sufficiency. That Christ (said he) may dwell in your hearts by faith. Reader! do not overlook the fullness and comprehensiveness of Paul's prayer. Christ cannot dwell in the heart of the unregenerate. Christ cannot dwell in the heart of any whom the Father hath not given to his dear Son. So, that in every heart where Christ dwells, there the Lord hath given testimony, that that precious soul is a child of God, given by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and regenerated by the Holy Ghost. Reader! is it not your prayer, as it is mine, that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith?
And where Christ dwells in the heart by faith, there all the other blessings follow. Rooted in Christ, we are one with Christ. Grounded in love, we feel all the sweet influences of love. And, though the love of Christ is unsearchable, and past finding out, yet we can in some measure comprehend, that it reacheth from one eternity to, another; and though its dimensions are infinite, in breadth and length, and depth, and height, and it is a love which passeth knowledge, yet is it a special, peculiar, free, and gracious love, and runs through all time, and to all eternity, to his people. Oh! the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge! Reader! what are your apprehensions of this love ? Hath Paul's prayer been heard for you? Hath God granted you a token of this love ?
The Apostle's prayer in recommendation of the Church to God, and his referring all unto him, that is alone able to answer it, is very striking and beautiful. The ability of God, not only to answer, but to exceed all beyond thought or expression, is most just and true. Oh! who shall say what God can perform ? Who shall limit the Holy One of Israel! Reader! You and I may safely refer all to Him, and leave all with Him. He that hath given the greatest of all possible gifts, what can he, what will he not give ? Well might the same Apostle elsewhere say, For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Romans 11:36.