In Paul’s prayer, he asked that God would grant the Ephesian believers to be strengthened. His prayer was not an ordinary prayer; he described four aspects of this strengthening. First, he prayed that it would be “according to the riches of His glory” (v. 16). What is glory? Glory is the expression of the mystery, the content within God. In the Bible, glory refers to God being expressed. God expressed is glory. The children of Israel built the tabernacle at Mount Sinai. When the tabernacle was erected, the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle, and the children of Israel saw glory (Exo. 40:34). Solomon built the temple, and when the building was completed, the glory of Jehovah filled the temple. When the children of Israel saw glory, they saw God (2 Chron. 7:3). Ezekiel 1 and 10 show that God moved in the cherubim and walked through the cherubim. When Ezekiel described what he saw, he did not speak of seeing God; instead, he spoke of seeing the glory of God (1:28; 10:4). Therefore, glory is God expressed; God expressed is glory.
Since glory is God expressed, “the riches of His glory” must refer to the expression of the riches of God’s life and nature, the riches of His excellent attributes, the riches of the Godhead. All that is in the Godhead is rich, and the expression of the Godhead is full. Colossians 2:9 speaks of all the fullness of the Godhead, which refers to the expression of God’s riches. The Godhead refers to what is within God, and God’s glory refers to God’s expression without. The expression of the Godhead is glory. For example, electricity is the intrinsic matter within an electric lamp. The expression of the intrinsic nature of electricity in the light of the electric lamp is the “glory” of electricity. When we turn on the switch, the electricity in the lamp is expressed. Therefore, the outward expression of the Godhead is glory. Colossians shows that the inward content in the Godhead is the riches, and the glory that is expressed is the fullness.
In Ephesians 3 Paul did not pray for the expression of the Godhead; rather, he prayed that God would grant the Ephesian believers to be strengthened into their inner man. The phrase according to the riches of His glory means that God wants to be expressed. However, because He is restricted in the believers, He must strengthen them into their inner man. God does not want to remain only in Himself; He wants to be expressed, and glory is God expressed. The Lord Jesus is God, the expression of God, the effulgence of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3). When we speak of the glory of God, we are also speaking of the God of glory. Hence, the riches in Ephesians 3:16 are the riches of the Godhead, and the glory as the expression of the riches of the Godhead is the fullness.
Paul asked God to grant the believers to be strengthened into their inner man “according to the riches of His glory.” This means that he prayed that the riches of God’s glory would enter into the believers so that they would be strengthened to an extent that others could sense God’s expression. The glory of the expressed God can enter into the believers and become the strengthening power within them. In turn, they are strengthened to express God’s glory. In other words, if our strength does not express God’s glory, it is not the strength that is spoken of here. Some brothers are very strong; however, their strength does not express God’s glory but Adam’s. In the same way, some sisters are very strong, but their strength shows the flesh and their being full of will and opinions. This kind of strength is not according to the riches of God but according to the riches of their flesh.
We need to pray, “Lord, cause us not to be strong according to the flesh.” Many brothers and sisters are strong in a way that shows people the riches of the flesh; on the other hand, some brothers and sisters are strong in a way that truly shows people the riches of God’s glory. Hence, Paul said, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened...into the inner man.” This strengthening is for the believers to express God’s glory, that is, for God to express Himself in the believers. This prayer is exceedingly great.
The second aspect of the strengthening of the Ephesian believers is “through His Spirit.” Without the Spirit, God cannot be expressed through man. The third aspect is that the Ephesian believers would be strengthened “with power” into the inner man. This means that God’s power enters into man and becomes a motivating power to strengthen man. The fourth aspect is that they would be strengthened “into the inner man.” This strengthening is not a strengthening of the physical body but of “the inner man.” The purpose of this strengthening is that we may express God’s glory, which is God Himself.
Verse 17 says, “That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith.” This result is brought about by the inner man being strengthened. Paul did not speak of Christ earlier; he only spoke of glory and the Spirit, but the issue is Christ making His home in our hearts. Throughout the entire New Testament, in speaking of Christ living in us, there is not another verse like Ephesians 3:17: “Christ may make His home in your hearts.” In Galatians, for example, 4:19 says, “Until Christ is formed in you.” This refers to Christ’s making His home in our hearts. Hearts in Ephesians 3:17 is an important word, meaning that Christ can be sensed in us. He not only dwells in us, but He dwells in our heart, which has feeling and emotion. Our heart is where our feeling and emotion lie. The heart is the organ of our feeling and emotion, and it is where Christ dwells in us. The phrase may make His home in your hearts through faith means that when we first pursue God’s glory for our strengthening, we may not sense that Christ dwells in us; therefore, we need to allow Christ to make His home in our hearts “through faith.”