Ephesians 3:16

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

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Ephesians 3:16 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
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;
English Standard Version (ESV)
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
New Living Translation (NLT)
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
The Message Bible (MSG)
16 I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit - not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength -
American Standard Version (ASV)
16 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;
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
16 I'm asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he would give you inner strength and power through his Spirit.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
16 [I pray] that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
16 I pray that he will use his glorious riches to make you strong. May his Holy Spirit give you his power deep down inside you.

Ephesians 3:16 Meaning and Commentary

Ephesians 3:16

That he would grant you according to the riches of his
glory
Or according to, and out of that rich, plenteous, and glorious fulness of grace and strength in Christ Jesus.

To be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
this is the petition which the apostle puts up on his bended knees to the Father of Christ, that he would strengthen these saints, that so they might not faint at the tribulations which either he or they endured. Believers in Christ need fresh supplies of strength to enable them to exercise grace, to perform duties, to resist Satan and his temptations, to oppose their corruptions, and to bear the cross, and undergo afflictions cheerfully, and to hold on and out to the end: this is a blessing that comes from God, and is a gift of his free grace; a "grant" from him who is the strength of the lives of his people, of their salvation, of their hearts, and of the work of grace in their hearts: the means whereby the saints are strengthened by God, is "his Spirit"; who strengthens them by leading them to the fulness of grace and strength in Christ, by shedding abroad the love of God in their hearts, by applying the promises of the Gospel to them, and by making the Gospel itself, and the ordinances of it, useful to them, causing them to go from strength to strength in them: the subject of this blessing is the "inner man", or the Spirit, or soul of man, which is the seat of grace; and this shows that this was spiritual strength which is here desired, which may be where there is much bodily weakness, and for which there should be the greatest concern; and that this strength is not naturally there, it must be given, or put into it. This last phrase,

in the inner man,
is joined to the beginning of the next verse in the Arabic, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, "in the inner man Christ may dwell"

Ephesians 3:16 In-Context

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Cross References 3

  • 1. ver 8; S Romans 2:4
  • 2. S Philippians 4:13; Colossians 1:11
  • 3. Romans 7:22
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