3:19a

As mentioned above, verse 3:19a is the second part of Paul’s prayer about love.

love of Christ: Here, the phrase love of Christ means “Christ’s love for believers.” See love, meaning 1 in the Glossary for more information.

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge: The clause and to know this love that surpasses knowledge may seem to contradict itself. Generally, people cannot know something that surpasses knowledge. People cannot know something that is beyond knowing. But that is Paul’s prayer here. Paul used this statement to emphasize that human beings can never completely know or understand how much Christ loves them but they can experience that love.

know this love: The phrase know this love refers to experiencing Christ’s love. It is more than simply knowing about Christ’s love. It means that believers have experienced or seen how much Christ loves them.

surpasses knowledge: The phrase surpasses knowledge means “beyond knowing.” Christ’s love is so great that people cannot completely know or understand it.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. (Contemporary English Version)

General Comment on 3:18b-19a

In the Berean Standard Bible, the phrase “of the love of Christ” is placed at the beginning of verse 19. However, in some other English translations, such as the New International Version, this phrase is placed at the end of verse 18b. In some languages, it may be helpful to combine or reorder 3:18b-19a to create simplier sentences. See the meaning lines in 3:18b-19a for different ideas of how to translate these verse parts.

General Comment on 3:19a

Some English versions have a “—” at the end of 3:19a. This is to show the reader that what follows, 3:19b, is a comment inserted here by Paul. Other English versions, like the Berean Standard Bible, do not do this, so it is recommended that you do not use a “—” at the end of this verse part.

3:19b

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God: 3:19b is the purpose of Paul’s prayer in 3:17 and 18. Here is a summary of these verses:

(3:17a) I pray that Christ will live in your hearts…and

(3:18–19a) I pray that you will know Christ’s love

(3:19b) so that you may be completely filled with God’s character

filled with all the fullness of God: The clause filled with all the fullness of God means:

completely filled with the very nature of God (Good News Translation)

The words filled and fullness are figures of speech. To be full of God’s fullness means to have character qualities that are completely like his. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be the kind of people God wants them to be. He prayed that they would be mature, loving and wise, with strong faith, peace, joy and all the other characteristics God wants to give them.

In some languages it is not natural to use the verb “fill” when referring to “character.” If that is the case in your language, you can leave out the figure of being filled and translate the meaning directly. For example:

⌊I pray this so⌋ that you may become completely like God in your character.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

and so be completely filled with the very nature of God (Good News Translation)
-or-
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God (New Living Translation (2004))

Paragraph 3:20–21

This paragraph is a “doxology” or song of praise to God. Paul was expressing his praise for God in a very strong way.

It may be necessary to begin this paragraph with a phrase taken from 3:21. For example:

Let us glorify/praise God
-or-
May God be praised
-or-
Praise God
-or-
That God’s name would be huge

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