Servings Per Verse: Unknown
ESV
So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.
*ETS:
Knowing that I am on a Divine assignment, and knowing that its primary emphasis is telling Gentiles the Gospel of Christ, I would ask you not to worry about any suffering I encounter because of my affiliation with you (i.e., Gentiles). Actually, when I pray, I do not pray to be exempt from trouble, rather I pray that all of God's children would come to know the strength and power of His Spirit within.
*DTFTD:
In the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul began to write concerning the content of his prayers for the saints at Ephesus (v17). As he wrote the Spirit inspired a pause, a parenthetical notation, an interjection of major proportion. The Spirit wanted every reader to know exactly who was being prayed for and why. The persons in the focus of Paul's prayer were Gentiles who experienced the resurrection power of God in converting the heart and making a new person in Christ. These new creatures knew the meaning of God's grace and faith in Christ. The saints in the focus of Paul's prayer were individuals instructed in the purposes of God, people who knew the Gospel's powerful elimination of the partition walls of legalism and racism. Inspired by the Spirit, Paul amplified the position of the saints in Christ Jesus, and exalted the privilege of his call to proclaim the message of their blessings in God's grace. Having established the identity of the persons in focus, Paul returns to the subject of his prayer.
First note, Paul did not pray for himself. Paul did not begin his letter to the Ephesians by saying, "I am in trouble! Help! Pray for me that I might be released from suffering!" We might imagine such a response to suffering today, but in the days of the apostles, when actions modeled faith for all generations, the content of recorded prayers focused on the strength to show the faith and glorify Christ. Second, note Paul's last line before returning to his prayer, Paul said, "Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory" (Ephesians 3:13). -Williams Trans. Paul wanted the saints to know the glory in suffering. Suffering may be personal, (i.e., you suffer for the glory of God). At other times the suffering may be substitutional (i.e., another suffers for the glory of God on behalf of your faith). Paul was suffering because of the faith of the Gentiles. Jewish leaders were persecuting him for preaching the elimination of the wall of distinction between Jew and Gentile. Paul gladly suffered for the faith of the Gentiles, and he expected them to be settled about the situation. Third, Paul prayed for the saints to be energized by the inner presence of the Holy Spirit. Paul knew the saints were not going to be exempt from suffering, and he also knew the life of Christ would only be seen through the working of the Spirit of God. Therefore, Paul did not establish a "deliverance from suffering" emphasis in his prayer, rather he emphasized an inner strength to face all difficulty with the courage of a conqueror.
What lessons may we learn from the text? 1. We must expect suffering as we talk to our world about Christ; 2. We must come to be mission minded - willing to suffer to get the Gospel out to the ends of the earth; and 3. We must be filled with the Spirit if we are to be equipped for the task of living and sharing our faith.
*EDS:
"Faith of our fathers! living still, In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword, O how our hearts beat high with joy Whenever we hear that glorious word! Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death."
Hymn. Henri F. Hemy, 1818-1888.
INGREDIENTS: The prayer of a sufferer filled with joy.Word Study: "I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are for your glory." (Eph. 3:13 _NIV). The word translated "discouraged" may be best understood as the ESV has it "lose heart." It may denote cowardice. Paul does not want the saints at Ephesus to back down nor back away from the expression of their joy in Christ, (thinking such would add to his affliction). "NO!" Paul would cry, "Bring it on! If I am suffering for the expression of your faith my joy will be far greater than any pain I may encounter!"
*ESV- English Standard Version; ETS- Essence of the Text in a Sentence; DTFTD- Devotional Thought For The Day; EDS- Essence of the Devotional in a Sentence.
