Filled with the Fullness of God

The prayers of Paul in the Epistles teach us how to pray as the New Testament Church.  See more on New Testament patterns of prayer and prayers.  What I am focusing on today is being filled with the fullness of God.  At the end of this prayer in the Amplified Bible, I love the wording.

I want to filled through all my being with God Himself, filled through all my being unto all the fullness of God and have the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.  This is the goal of the prayer.  The steps to get there can be found within the verses.

First I will list various translations of the prayer.  Then at the end, I pull the steps to getting completely filled with God out of these verses..

Ephesians 3:16-19

Amplified – May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

Phillips – I pray that out of the glorious richness of his resources he will enable you to know the strength of the spirit’s inner re-enforcement

MontgomeryNT – praying him to grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in your inmost being;

TLB – that out of his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you the mighty inner strengthening of his Holy Spirit.

BBE – That in the wealth of his glory he would make you strong with power through his Spirit in your hearts;

I am strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man as He indwells my innermost being and personality.  I know the strength of the Spirit’s inner reinforcement out of the glorious richness of His resources.  Out of His glorious, unlimited resources He gives me mighty inner strengthening of his Spirit.  Through the wealth of his glory He makes me strong with power through His Spirit in my heart.

V. 17

Amplified – May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts!  May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,

Phillips – that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith. And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves.

MontgomeryNT – that Christ may make his home in your hearts through your faith; that you may be so deeply rooted and so firmly grounded in love,

TLB – And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love;

BBE – So that Christ may have his place in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and based in love,

Christ will actually dwell, settle down and make His permanent home in my heart – through faith.   He will actually live in my heart through my faith.  He will be more and more at home in my heart, living within me as I trust in Him.  He has His place in my heart through faith.

The key to Christ settling down and making Himself at home in me is FAITH.  He said He is there.  He is there in me unchangeably every day on all occasions.  I put faith in Him who is already there, and  He becomes more real to me.  I treat Him as though I actually believe He is there.  This is true faith and honors Him.   They used to call this practicing His presence.  Jesus calls it abiding in Him (John 15:4-5).

As I dwell in Him and He in me, my roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; I am rooted deep in love and founded securely and firmly grounded in love.

V. 18

Amplified – That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];

Phillips – may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ

TLB – and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is;

As I am rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, I can have the power to be strong and apprehend and grasp what is the breadth and length and height and depth of it.

Firmly fixed in love myself, I can grasp how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ.

When my roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love, I am able to feel and understand how long and wide and deep and high His love really is.

V. 19

Amplified – [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

Phillips – and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension.  May you be filled though all your being with God himself!

TLB – and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.

NJB – so that, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond knowledge, you may be filled with the utter fullness of God.

After I am rooted and founded in love and have the power to grasp it bounds then I can come to know practically through experience for myself the love of Christ which far surpasses mere knowledge.  I have to experience and know for myself this love.

Then I can be filled with the utter fullness of God, filled up with God Himself, filled through all my being with God Himself, filled through all my being unto all the fullness of God and have the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.

These are the steps to being completely filled with God:

1. It starts with me being strengthened with His Spirit in my inner man through His glory until He indwells my inmost being and personality.
2. Christ through my faith makes His home in me.  As I trust in Him and put faith in Him in me, He actually settles down and dwells in me.  I put faith in Him who is always in me, who said He will never leave me or forsake me.
3. As I dwell in Him and He settles down and dwells in me, my roots go down deep into the soil of His love till I am founded securely and grounded firmly.
4. Then I have power to grasp the bounds of His love, I am able to feel and understand how long and wide and deep and high His love really is.
5. First I will know and experience His love for myself.
6. Then I can be filled through all my being unto the fullness of God and have the richest measure of divine Presence and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.
7. Then His love can flow out of me unhindered to the world around me.