the amazing beauty and majesty of the "manifold wisdom" of God... though God be "never changing", the view must change, as He is so grand and beautiful, so infinite and over-whelming, that (even) as we orbit Him and He graciously reveals Himself, the vast view shimmers in such a way as to (only) make possible for us to catch glimpses of the endless array of color, dimension, light and texture that is God and His wisdom induced acts - (to begin to grasp) that God is so immense, (that) it will take eternity to behold the excruciating beauty and majesty that is God...
...and yet, though we will see Him in eternity, eternally, we will, we can, never exhaust, never come to an end of, His gracious revealing... and this is the amazing beauty and majesty of Him and His manifold wisdom... like the seemingly infinite ways a sun can rise and set and in so, day after day, without fail, be inexhaustibly breathtaking... so much more so, is (our), God
- psalm 90:2; 102:27; 145; heb 1:3-4,12; james 1:17; eph 3:10; col 1:15-20; revelation 1:8, 4:8, 21:6

"...the manifold wisdom of God..." ...like pieces in a mosaic!
God's wisdom is not merely great, but great and greatly varied. that through the ages, each time God reveals to us His presence and His wisdom it is great in its greatness, its scope and its variety as one revealing of His-self builds on another

prayer: this idea of God's great and varied wisdom ushers us into this beautiful God-the-Spirit-inspired prayer - certainly Paul's prayer for the readers of this letter, but even more profoundly, God's prayer for His children as expressed thru Paul's pen.

(also see John 14-17, Jesus' encouragement and prayer for us)
vs 15
· family

vs 16
· glorious; riches

· strengthen - confirm; to make one strong, that gives the recipient mastery or the "upper-hand" as to prevail over opposition; which operates by the Lord in-working faith

· power - moral power, excellence of soul
o Ephesians 3:16 - inner being
o 2 Cor 4:7-9 - jars of clay
o Colossians - 1:9-14 endurance


· inner being or man - soul and conscience
vs 17
· dwell - settle down as a permanent resident, one's personal residence - "to be exactly home!". influence of divine power - to dwell in his soul, as to pervade, prompt, govern it


· heart - "the center of our being" - "desire-producer that makes us tick" i.e where we make our "desire-decisions" that establish who we really are.


· faith - a strong and welcome conviction or belief; confidence


· rooted and established - to cause to strike root, to strengthen with roots; to render firm, to fix, establish, cause a person or a thing to be thoroughly grounded; make stable - not shaken; foundation


vs 18
· have power - "strength at work," such as overcoming difficulties in understanding ("getting past knowledge-gaps").


· grasp - seize tight hold of, overtake, comprehend; to lay hold of with the mind; to understand, perceive, learn, comprehend

· power - inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature; ability to perform, divine power considered as acting upon the minds of men

why is paul, or better yet, God, praying such a prayer?
1.that we would be confident - understanding - rooted and established - in all that this letter has laid out - this prayer is prayed for the purpose of our gaining knowledge and insight, strength and confidence - wisdom in knowing who God is, what He has done, that which we are (made of) and to instruct and remind us that we are able (in and because of Him)


2. that we would realize that these truths - understood - rooted and established - are able to lead us to live the life we have been called to in the manner in which God has intended, being made new every day. why?

3. the rest of the letter is about precisely that - living this life in Christ - by the power of the Holy Spirit through the washing and training of the word, in a way that shows the world around us that God is God and that we are His children and He is working in us

redeeming life and its circumstances

ephesians offers incredible instruction and wisdom on a myriad of life's most important issues and life's circumstances, but God isn't looking for compliant children, He's looking for dynamic lives transformed by Spirit and truth - lives that reflect the love and discipline of those saved, grateful, and empowered living wisely obedient lives that reflect our gratitude and love