Ephesians 3:14-19
As we go through this series we are going to not only learn about what Paul prayed. We are also going see “how” Paul prayed. It will be an opportunity for us to take notes on how it can help improve our prayer life.
Ephesians 3:14-19
“14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 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, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
I.
Preceding
the Prayer
A.
“For this
reason…” - What reason is Paul
referring to? Paul is referring to the mystery of God’s plan to unite both Jew
and Gentile together as one through Christ, the Church. This was the point that
Paul was ultimately making in chapter 2. It was for this reason that Paul prays
for the saints.
B.
“I kneel before
the Father…” - Paul was in prison.
This means he was chained to a guard. Was Paul literally kneeling before God in
prayer? Maybe. However, I believe this is less about a position of prayer and
more about a posture of prayer. It is less of a position of the body and more
of a position of the heart.
God is our father. We do have access into the throne room of God because of our
relationship with Christ. While this is true, God is also the sovereign supreme
ruler of the universe. It is not social norm to kneel before our earthly
father. However, it would be if he was king.
That is our relationship with God. He is our father, but He is also our
sovereign king. We should approach Him both intimately and respectfully in
prayer.
C.
“I pray…” - Here Paul begins his prayer and he does so with two
imperatives that he wants the Ephesian Christians to understand:
“That according to the
riches of his glory He may grant you…”
Imperative 1: “According to the
riches of His glory…” - The word
“according” can be swapped out for “in proportion.” Meaning that God gives “in
proportion” to the riches He has in glory. How rich is God? He is eternally rich.
In other words, when God gives, He lavishes. He will always give us more than
enough.
Imperative 2: “That He may grant you…” - That word “grant” is the word
“didimi” which means to give as an expression of generosity; unmerited favor.
It is by God’s grace.
Paul is requesting that God would give not according to our merits, not
according to what we deserve, but according to God’s goodness and favor. He is
tapping into God’s grace for us in our life. The prayer that Paul is praying is
according to God’s grace.
Imperatively Reads: I pray that God would lavish you with His favor…
II.
Paul’s
Progressive Prayer
A.
“To
be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit…” - His
prayer is first that we would be strengthened with power on the inside. The
world around us is so focused on being strong and competent on the the outside.
If we are not careful, we will adopt the same mindset and try to change
ourselves on the outside. However, that is not how God works. He wants us to be
strengthened on the inside; specifically from the inside out.
He prays that we would be strengthened with power. What power? That is the
power of the Holy Spirit. He prays that inwardly, we would be strong in the
Holy Spirit. What does that mean? It means that we would be stronger in the
spirit than in the flesh. As believers here on this side of heaven, we are in a
constant struggle between the flesh and the spirit. Paul eloquently speaks
about this in Romans 8. Everyday, we are either walking according to (pleasing)
the spirit, or we are walking according to (pleasing) the flesh. Paul prays
that they would be strengthened as believers by walking in the Spirit and that
they would be weak in the flesh.
Sometimes we are wondering why we are constantly struggling with the same sin,
the same attitude, the same thoughts, the same lies, etc. We try to change our
thinking, we try to change our behavior, but inevitably we go back to doing it.
Why? It is because we are approaching it the wrong way. We cannot change our
outward behavior and imagine that we will be free inwardly. No! We must allow
the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out by walking according to His
ways. Then we will begin to see our outward behavior to change.
B.
So
that… “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” - This is interesting because Paul is speaking to
Christians. As Christians, we receive Christ in our life when we are born
again. Paul was the one who reveals that truth! (Scripture) So it can’t mean
that Paul is referring to salvation here. So what is it that Paul is talking
about?
The word “dwell” is the greek word “katoikeo” which means to have “permanent
residence” (permanently occupy a house); live in. It is not a picture of a
visitor coming over and and hanging out for a while, but of someone making your
house their home.
If we were to refer to our heart as a home, would Jesus be a visitor or the
owner of your home? Is it His furniture, His pictures, His food in your home?
Or is it still all of your stuff? When we allow Jesus to dwell in our heart, we
are allowing Him to change our thoughts, our desires, what we consume, our
routine, etc. In other words we are giving Him access to become the Lord of our
life.
John 14:23 - “Jesus
answered him, “If
anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we
will come to him and make our home with him.”
It is possible for Jesus to be in our heart (savior) but not dwell in our heart
(Lord). This is what Paul was praying for. That we would give Jesus access to
be Lord in our life by allowing Him to dwell in our heart.
C.
So
that… “you would be rooted and grounded in love through faith…” - As a result
of being strengthened inwardly by the Holy Spirit and Christ dwelling in your
heart, Paul’s prayer is that we would be “rooted" and “grounded” in love.
In other words: the result of you being strengthened inwardly through the power
of the Holy Spirit is that Christ will dwell and make your heart His home
through faith, resulting in you being rooted and grounded in love.
Your root system and the foundation you build your life and how you treat
others is done so through in and on love. Jesus says to love God and to love
others. Because God is love, and because Jesus is dwelling in your heart, it is
expressed out in love. When Jesus dwells inside of you, you will want to love
others.
D.
So
that… “you may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth and length and height and depth…” - If you are strengthened with power by walking
according to the Spirit, then Christ will dwell in your heart as Lord, then you
will be established in love, so that… you may have the strength (ability) to comprehend
greatness of God’s love.
Being established in love gives us the ability to comprehend (make your own
through pursuit) or take possession of God’s love for us. Paul is praying that
we would get a better grasp of God’s incredible and immense love for us. That
we, who already know Christ’s love, might experience it on deepening levels;
all the way to the core of who we are (our identity). The dimensions of God’s
love (breadth, length, depth) is something that is not naturally discerned, it
is something that God must supernaturally reveal to us.
Breadth - For all people
Length - For all eternity
Depth - The pit in which He pulled us out of
Height - In Heaven where we are positioned with Christ
E.
So
that… you may “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” - Paul’s desire is that we would grasp God’s love for
us. The purpose of us grasping His love is so that we would know it. Hold on,
doesn’t it say that His love surpasses knowledge, which means no matter how
hard we try we will never understand it? If that is true, how then can we know
this unknowable love of Christ? That word “know” does not mean to know in our
minds but to know in our hearts. It means to experience it. Paul’s desire is
that we would grasp the love of Christ so that we can experience His love that
can never be fully known or understood.
If we can be established in God’s love, we can grab a hold of it.
If we can grab a hold of it then we can experience it for ourselves.
If we can experience the immeasurable, unknowable love of God for ourselves,
then…
F.
So
that… you can “be filled with the fullness of God.” - The ultimate result of Paul’s prayer is that we
would be filled with the fullness of God. If we allow the Holy Spirit to
strengthen us on the inside with power, then Christ will dwell in our hearts,
and experiencing God’s immeasurable love for us in a personal way, then we will
be filled to measure with fullness of God.
So what is the fullness of God? It is the totality of who God is. Colossians
tells us that Jesus Christ is fullness of God in bodily form. We are filled
with Jesus and we become more like Jesus.
What does that mean? It means that God will fill us up to our capacity with who
He is. The idea of being filled is not just to the brim, but that it overflows.
The fullness of God is in Jesus Christ. Therefore, when we are being filled
with the fullness of God, we are becoming more like Jesus. At the end of the
day, that is the end goal! That we would mature more and more to look more like
Jesus than we did before. The end goal is to be completely filled with with God
so that His character and His love define who we are.
III.
Perspective
of Paul’s Prayer
A.
Paul’s prayer
is that we as his readers would be filled with the fullness of God. However, he
did not begin his prayer with that. He began his prayer with petitioning God to
be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in our inner being. So, how? How can we be
strengthened by the Holy Spirit in the inner man? By walking according to the
Spirit.
IV.
Takeaways
from Paul’s Prayer to the Ephesians
1.
Walk
according to the Spirit
2.
Allow
Jesus to make your heart His home
3.
Experience
God’s Love in a personal way
4.
Grow
in the fullness of God
