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of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
  • KJV And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
  • NKJV to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
  • NASB and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.
  • NLT May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Paul prays they would know Christ's surpassing love and be filled with God's fullness. It seeks experiential knowledge of an immeasurable love.

Overview

The climax of the prayer is 'to know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge.' This is a paradox: to know experientially a love too great to be fully comprehended. The goal is that 'you may be filled with all the fullness of God' — to be saturated with God's own life and character through union with the loving Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • Eph 1:23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
  • Col 2:9–10For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
  • Col 1:10so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
  • 2 Cor 5:14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.
  • 1 Jn 4:9–14This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
  • John 1:16From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
  • Phil 4:7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
  • Rev 7:15–17For this reason, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
  • Gal 2:20I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
  • Rev 22:3–5No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him.
  • Eph 5:2and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
  • 2 Pet 3:18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
  • Eph 3:18will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth
  • Phil 2:5–12Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
  • Matt 5:6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
  • John 17:3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
  • Eph 5:25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
  • Rev 21:22–24But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
  • Ps 43:4Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.
  • Phil 1:7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.
  • Ps 17:15As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ephesians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ephesians 3:19YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EphesiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Every spiritual blessing is 'in Christ,' the head over all things for the church, in whom Jew and Gentile are made one new man by his blood.

How Ephesians 3:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.