Presentation 07

Studiesin

Ephesians

Chap 1-3Chap 4-6

See what you are in ChristBe what you are in Christ

DoctrineTruth

Application

The Structure of the Book

Confidencein

God’s PowerChap 3 v14-21

If we pay close attention to the content and intensity of a person’s prayer, we discover a great deal about their anxieties and ambitions.

This prayer exposes the pastoral heart of Paul, but more than that, it reveals the deepest longings of God for his people, 'that you may be filled with the measure of the fullness of God.' We should visit this prayer template regularly to ask if we share God's ambitions of grace for our lives.

Introduction

Paul prays that the wonderful plan he has described would be more completely fulfilled in his readers lives.Prayer and preaching should always go together. Jesus after giving his disciples foundational instruction for the growth and development of the church in John 13-16, waters that instruction with prayer- John 17. Paul follows this pattern and it is this prayer we overhear.

1. The prayer’s introduction v14-16a

2. The substance of the prayer v16b-19

a. Strengthened with might

b. Rooted and grounded in love

c. Knowing Christ’ love

d. Filled up to God’s fullness

3. The prayer’s conclusion v20-21

Introduction

The prayer holds a key position in the construction of the epistle. It stands prominently between the preceding chapters of instruction and the succeeding chapters of exhortation. Having unfolded God’s plan, and before exhorting his readers to respond to it, Paul prays for God’s help in th implementation of the plan. This prayer has been called, a staircase that ascends to heaven.

The Prayer’s Introduction v14-16a

Instruction

ExhortationPrayer

It is hard for us to grasp what a fresh and wonderful concept God’s Fatherhood was to these early Christians. Andrew Murray writes:

“Do not think of how little you have to bring to God, but of how much He wants to give you... He who lets God be Father always and in everything will experience most gloriously that a life in God's infinite Fatherliness and continual answers to prayer are inseparable.... The chief lesson in the school of prayer is to be able to say ‘Abba Father’. He that can say this, has the key to all prayer”.

It is significant that when Jesus disciples asked him to teach them how to pray he began with the words “Our Father”. Commenting on this Thomas Watson writes;“The little word ‘Father' spoken in faith overcomes God”.

Approaching the Father: “kneel before the Father” v16

Paul also appears to be suggesting that the very notion of Fatherhood is derived from the Fatherhood of God. God is seen as the source of all Fatherhood. Our earthly fathers are but a pale reflection of the fatherhood of God. And if our earthly fathers care for our well-being how much more will God. Our Lord Jesus teaches the same truth also arguing from the lesser to the greater:

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11.11-13

Approaching the Father: “kneel before the Father” v16

Why does Paul begin with this petition? God’s plan is so vast, so staggering, so overwhelming that we are tempted to believe it is unachievable. Take one example in 2.14ff we read of God's purpose to reconcile those who had been sworn enemies. All their old hostility will be dealt with and they are now going to sit together as friends.

‘Oh’, we say, ‘that could never work!’ Thirty years ago this was precisely the reaction of our friends in the Presbyterian Church in Iran. They had a Jewish convert church, a Muslim convert church, an Armenian convert church, and Assyrian convert church. They said it was unrealistic to expect people from different ethnic groups who belonged to the same denomination to worship under the same roof. A whole variety of things had made them suspicious of one another.

1.Prayer for strength“Strengthened with might” v16

Christians all over the world are saying, "It can't be done! God's plan looks good on paper but it won’t work”. Such responses produce inertia among the people of God. It causes us to settle for a garden shed when God wants to build a five star hotel in our lives. We keep sending back to God his plans!

A competition was held for an opera house in Sydney, Australia. Ove Arrup won. His drawings were submitted to a panel of structural engineers, who said the structure could not possibly be built. For a while it seemed as though the architects reputation would be in ruins... But what was declared impossible was shown to be possible.

1.Prayer for strength“Strengthened with might” v16

Paul says don't send God back his plans. For he has the resources to make them work. For this reason Paul prays that “out of his glorious riches God may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” v16-17.

But doesn’t Jesus by his Spirit already dwell in their hearts? Is Paul suggesting that they can have more of Jesus than they already have, a more powerful version, a Jesus Mark 2 or 3? No! There is however a variable, what Charles Hodge, the great Princeton Theologian, called the DEGREE of Christ's indwelling. He meant the influence which Christ has upon our hearts. This is something which varies. It can be influenced by such things as understanding, faith and obedience.

1.Prayer for strength“Strengthened with might” v16

Paul’s prayer now moves onto the 2nd step on the staircase. Love is identified as God’s resource for strengthening the believer’s heart.

2. Prayer for love “Rooted and grounded in love” v16

Jesus does not indwell our hearts in splendid isolation. He has with him the grace and fruit of the Spirit. When Jesus comes to stay he brings his own furniture with him. He brings everything he needs to make our lives completely his own. And as we display his furniture in our lives he feels more and more at home. This furniture is stored in the basement. We must seek the Spirit’s help to bring it up into the living quarters. Are we content to live in an unfurnished house, when all the time the most remarkable furniture is at our disposal?

Why is love singled out from all other virtues? 1. It is a binding virtue. Paul is concerned with the growth and strengthening, not merely of individual Christians but, of the whole church fellowship and so he identifies what will bind them together.

Paul wants the church to be like a well rooted tree, a well founded house. A tree without roots offers no protection, a building with poor foundation will fall. A church which fails to use the resource of Christ’s love will be like a brush whose bristles are not bound together.

“clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” Col 3.12-14

2. Prayer for love “Rooted and grounded in love” v16

2. love is further singled out because its an evangelistic virtue? What did Jesus say? "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, because you love one-another”. John 13.5. This was the launching pad for the churches mission. Tertullian describes the response of the unbelieving world towards the church.

“But it is mainly the deeds of love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us, "See, they say, how they love one another" for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred”. When the world outside, sees a loving, caring fellowship and they say “that's unnatural”. They're right. It is supernatural! This love knows no boundaries, it crosses cultural and social divides, and reaches out to those who have declared themselves to be our enemies. How will we know when our church fellowship is being strengthened by the Spirit of God and shaping up to God's master plan? We will love one another.

2. Prayer for love “Rooted and grounded in love” v16

The third step in the staircase is found in v18-19. We live in a day when there is a lot of anti-intellectualism in Christian circles, when the Christian mind is being allowed to rust and in its stead ‘experience’ has become the all-consuming goal of many.The Christian mind and Christian experience are being set over against each other. That is wrong! They're not mutually exclusive! The Puritans realised that. Rarely has there been a period in church history when prolific scholarship was united to a thirst for experimental Christianity.

"Seeking knowledge for knowledge's sake is a barren preoccupation. Seeking experience for experience's sake is a dangerous and distracting preoccupation. But to pursue knowledge which will shape experience is a gloriously fruitful occupation."

That reflects Paul’s instruction here where he prays for knowledge which will shape their experience.

3.Prayer for knowledge: “to know this love” v19

What kind of knowledge does Paul have in view? Knowledge of being loved: this contributes to a stable personality. Ask a psychiatrist what prevents so many children from growing into wholesome personalities. One answer given is a lack of the right kind of love. For out of love comes acceptance and out of acceptance comes security.

“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness”. Jeremiah 31.3

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3.1

3.Prayer for knowledge: “to know this love” v19

It is not a knowledge of human love Paul is praying for but a knowledge of Christ's love. What glorious security that brings to the child of God. The church is no accident or afterthought, not the arbitrary whim of a selfish Creator or a stage needed by God to display his skill. It is the product of God's love. “Christ loved the church and gave himself for it".

Paul says, ‘I want you to get a taste of this, you are a loved child.’ There is no room for inferiority complexes in the light of God’s love. As we begin to grasp the quality and enormity of that love, we begin to grow. We feel increasingly secure in his love. In the book, "I dared to call him Father“ a young Muslim girl describes her conversion to Christ. She endured terrible hardship. But one thing sustained her. Her awareness of God's love. It created the secure environment in which she grew in grace.

3.Prayer for knowledge: “to know this love” v19

How do we become aware of the enormity of God's love? Not by private research. Paul says its a group project, "with all the saints“ v18 . Of course isolated Christians can know Christ’s love. But our grasp of it is limited by our limited experience. It takes the whole people of God to begin to grasp the whole love of God. A book on preaching contains18 chapters, each written by different authors. The wealth of material on display would have been lost if only one author had written it.

Similarly, Paul says each one has a chapter to write in the book of God's love. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences with a unique contribution to make to one another’s understanding of Christ's love. Paul's prayer is that they might learn from one another and so fill out their understanding. And even when they had done that, they will have only scratched the surface of God’s love. It is so comprehensive that it surpasses knowledge. 

3.Prayer for knowledge: “to know this love” v19

What does this mean? A number of interpretations exist. One describes the fullness that fills God himself. God's perfection is in view. Paul is praying that we might be filled up to that fullness of God, which human beings are capable of receiving without ceasing to be human. The great object of creation was to make man a reflector of God’s image. The fall seemed to frustrate that goal. But then God rolled out his plan of redemption to make us like Jesus. Each step of Paul’s prayer leads us towards this goal. This is why we are strengthened, this is why we need to see the richness of resources that are ours in Christ, this is why we need to be bound together in love, this is why we need the security of the love of Christ. ‘Ah’, says Paul, ‘I have been praying for the fulfilment of God's great plan of redemption, that he may have a people who are transformed into his likeness’. 

Prayer for fullness “that you may be filled will all the fullness of God.” v18

Perfection in holiness, is not gained here on earth, but it is a goal we must never lose sight of. Phil 3.12 R.M. McCheyne writes, "Lord while I am here on earth make me as holy as it is possible for a sinner to be." Do we share his ambition. Nothing influences our usefulness to God as much as our likeness to Jesus. There is no greater blessing for the Christian than to be shaped in Christ's likeness, to be filled with all the fullness of God! We have climbed the top of the spiral staircase of prayer with Paul. We have seen him pour out his heart, asking that the church might enter into the fullness that God has prepared for her. Will we allow his petition to influence the deepest aspirations of our hearts? 

Prayer for fullness: “that you may be filled will all the fullness of God.” v18

Paul is not finished. There is challenge and encouragement in these closing verses. We cannot excuse ourselves from rising to the tremendous possibilities of Christian experience described here by Paul.

The real issue in not whether such a life is possible - it is - but whether we are willing for it to be made into a reality in our experience. If we are willing, God is able to raise us to unimagined heights. God has unlimited resources at his disposal. Are we prepared to allow him to do what he wants? He has published his intentions. He awaits our co-operation. If we give it, he is able to surprise us beyond all measure. It is in this way that we give to him what John Calvin describes as;

“A great revenue of glory”. 

The Prayer’s Conclusion: v20-21