Faith and trust

Rooted in Love Through Faith: The Mystery of Trust

Praying for faith from a prison cell — Paul's intercession that believers be strengthened in the inner man through the Spirit.

BibleVibe Editorial5 min read
Translation：ESV
Ephesians 3:1-20
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For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles,— if so be that ye have heard of the dispensation of that grace of God which was given me to you-ward; how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to wit, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God who created all things; to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him. Wherefore I ask that ye may not faint at my tribulations for you, which are your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God. 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, unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:1–20 — Paul's prayer that the Ephesian believers may be strengthened with power through the Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they may know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.

📖 Ephesians
🕰️ Mid-1st century AD (c. AD 60–62, Roman imprisonment)📍 Ephesus/Corinth/Athens📍 Rome
Narration

Context

Paul writes to the church in Ephesus from confinement, calling himself 'the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles' (Eph 3:1). The letter was composed during his first Roman imprisonment, likely around AD 60–62, the same period that produced Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. From the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, the strongest cross-references confirm this Pauline setting: Colossians 1:24 (Paul's sufferings for the body of Christ), Philippians 1:13 and 1:16 (his imprisonment for Christ), Ephesians 4:1 (the worthy walk), Ephesians 6:20 (an ambassador in chains), 2 Timothy 1:8 (not ashamed of the Lord's imprisonment), Philemon 1:9 (Paul the prisoner), and Philippians 1:7 (his defense of the gospel). The immediate occasion is pastoral. Paul is opening a parenthesis about the 'mystery' now revealed: that Gentiles are 'fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel' (Eph 3:6). This disclosure is what justifies his apostolic mission to the nations (v. 8) and is what he asks the Ephesians not to lose heart over (v. 13). The Jewish historian Josephus, in Antiquities 20.9.1–2, records the presence of Jewish communities in Asia Minor and the tensions with Gentile populations that Paul's letters so carefully address — a social backdrop that makes the theological claim of Gentile inclusion both daring and pastoral.

Spacetime Setting

Written during the early church's Pauline missions, Ephesians 3 emerges from a Period 1 worldview centered on the spread of faith across the Roman world.

Meaning

The hinge of the passage is the phrase 'through your faith in him' (Eph 3:12, present in the early manuscript tradition). Faith here is not intellectual ascent but relational trust — the channel through which believers come 'with boldness and access' into the Father. Three movements structure Paul's prayer: First, the mystery disclosed (vv. 1–7). What was hidden 'in other generations' has now been revealed by the Spirit: the wall between Jew and Gentile is demolished, and a single multiethnic people shares one inheritance. Paul calls himself 'less than the least of all saints' (v. 8), a phrase that compounds 'least' with a still smaller word, expressing the astonished humility of one chosen to carry such news. Second, the cosmic purpose (vv. 8–12). The mystery is not a doctrinal curiosity; it is God's strategy to display 'the manifold wisdom of God' through the church to 'principalities and powers.' Faith gives access (v. 12) — a priestly word — so that what was once forbidden territory becomes home. Third, the prayer for inner strength (vv. 14–20). Paul bows his knees to the Father 'from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.' He asks for three specific gifts: (a) strengthening 'with power through his Spirit in the inward man'; (b) that 'Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith'; and (c) that they be 'rooted and grounded in love' so as to grasp the dimensions of Christ's love and be 'filled unto all the fullness of God.' Faith, then, is the soil in which Christ takes up residence and the love into which the believer is rooted. The whole arc moves from revelation to indwelling to fullness — and the consistent engine is faith.

Application

1. Practice the daily bow. Paul 'bows his knees' before he asks. Before you pray for the thing you need — courage, healing, clarity — first acknowledge the Father from whom every family is named. Posture shapes the soul. Even sitting at a desk, a deliberate moment of 'bowing the heart' recalibrates faith from demand to trust. 2. Strengthen the inward man, not just the outward life. The verse 'strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man' (v. 16) is a diagnostic. Many believers focus on circumstances; Paul focuses on inner capacity. Practical rhythms — Scripture meditation, fasting, silence, Spirit-led worship — build the muscle of the inner man so it can bear what the outer world demands. 3. Make room for Christ by faith. 'That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith' (v. 17) uses a word for settled residence, not a passing visit. Ask: what room in my heart is cluttered? Bitterness, anxiety, comparison, secret sin? Faith actively clears space. Each act of trusting God in a small moment is an invitation for Christ to settle deeper. 4. Be rooted before you reach. You cannot 'apprehend the breadth and length and height and depth' (vv. 18–19) by striving. You apprehend by being rooted and grounded in love. Roots grow slowly, in hidden places. Seasons of obscurity, of slow growth, of 'nothing happening' are often the most formative for the roots of faith. 5. Receive a love that surpasses knowledge. You do not need to fully understand the love of Christ to be filled by it. In fact, Paul insists it 'surpasses knowledge.' Stop trying to comprehend and start resting in. The fullness of God is the overflow of a love that exceeds the container of your mind — meet it with the larger container of your heart.

Reflection

There is a striking paradox at the heart of Ephesians 3. The apostle who asks for inner strength on behalf of others writes the prayer from a prison cell. The man who proclaims 'boldness and access' approaches his own suffering as an occasion for intercession, not complaint. The theology of faith he unfolds is not abstract doctrine but the air he breathes while wearing a chain. Faith, in this letter, is not the absence of limitation. It is the presence of trust that grows precisely inside limitation. Paul's chains did not disqualify his prayer; they authenticated it. If you are in a season of confinement — physical, financial, relational, emotional — this passage does not ask you to pretend the chains are not there. It asks you to let those very chains become the posture from which you bow your knees to the Father. The prison becomes a chapel. The diagnosis becomes a doorway. The limitation becomes the place where the inward man is finally, quietly, irreversibly strengthened. And the goal is never simply private comfort. The mystery Paul carries is corporate: a multiethnic, multi-generational family named after the Father. Faith is the means by which we enter that family, the soil in which we are rooted in its love, and the channel through which we display to 'principalities and powers' a wisdom the watching world cannot otherwise see. To trust Christ in the small, hidden, unseen places is to participate in the showing-forth of God's manifold wisdom. So today, bow. Breathe. Make room. Rest in a love that outstrips your capacity to understand it. Let the inner man be strengthened. The fullness of God is not earned; it is welcomed, by faith, in the ordinary posture of trust.

FAQ

What does 'faith' mean in Ephesians 3?

In Ephesians 3, faith is not intellectual agreement but relational trust — the channel of 'boldness and access' to the Father (v. 12). It is also the soil in which Christ 'dwells in your hearts' (v. 17), and the root system by which believers are 'rooted and grounded in love' so as to know the love of Christ (vv. 17–19).

What is the 'inner man,' and why does Paul pray for it?

The 'inner man' is the believer's spiritual life — the integrated heart, mind, and will — as distinct from outward circumstance. Paul prays for strengthening 'with power through his Spirit in the inward man' (v. 16) because external trials, persecutions, and weaknesses require an interior, Spirit-given capacity to endure and to host Christ's presence.

What is the 'mystery' Paul refers to?

The 'mystery' is that Gentiles are fellow-heirs, fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (v. 6). Hidden in former ages, it is now revealed by the Spirit, and through the church God displays 'the manifold wisdom' to principalities and powers (v. 10).

Why does Paul call himself 'less than the least of all saints' (v. 8)?

It is Paul's astonished self-description: once a persecutor of the church, now entrusted to preach 'the unsearchable riches of Christ' to the Gentiles. The humility is not false modesty but the genuine reflex of one overwhelmed by grace — and it grounds his prayer, since he asks for others only what he himself has received.

How does Paul's prayer apply to believers today?

Believers today can pray for their own 'inner man' to be strengthened by the Spirit; cultivate faith as the soil in which Christ dwells more fully; clear inner rooms of bitterness, anxiety, and hidden sin; and cease striving to comprehend, resting instead in a love of Christ that surpasses knowledge — so as to be 'filled with all the fullness of God' (v. 19).

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