November 23, 2025 • 40 mins
Neil Silverberg continues the In Christ series by taking us into Paul’s soaring prayer in Ephesians 3:14–21. Rather than asking God to change circumstances first, Neil shows how Paul prays people into the truth—beginning with the Father, aiming at the inner life, and expecting the Spirit to work from the inside out. What if our first prayer was for power in the inner being, for Christ to truly make a home in us, for roots that go down into love, and for nothing less than the fullness of God?
Walking phrase by phrase, Neil traces Paul’s four cascading requests. First is inner strength—real resilience that holds when the outer self is wasting away. Second is faith that welcomes Jesus into every “room” of life, not as a guest but as the owner with the keys. Drawing on the beloved picture from My Heart—Christ’s Home, he invites us to let Christ rearrange the mind’s library, the appetites’ dining room, the living room of friendships, and even the closet of secrets. Third comes being rooted and grounded in love—not striving to love God more, but receiving strength to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love with all the saints. Neil weaves in a memorable window from church history—the Puritans’ “kisses of God”—to illustrate how doctrine is meant to be felt as well as understood. Finally, Paul asks that we be filled with all the fullness of God, a Spirit-given saturation that displaces self-rule with holy desire and satisfaction in God.
The message crescendos with Paul’s doxology: God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, and he does it according to the power at work within us. Neil anchors this in God’s sovereignty, omnipotence, and glory, and shows how Scripture lifts our expectations—from the Red Sea to the storm on Galilee. Along the way, he calls us to kneel before the Father, invite Christ’s lordship over our thoughts and appetites, lean into the church to comprehend love together, and worship with confidence that God’s power is not a force we wield but a Person who lovingly rules us.
If your prayers have grown small or tired, let this teaching in the In Christ series expand your frame. Listen, let the words wash over you, and then try praying Ephesians 3:14–21 over someone you love this week.
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Neil Silverberg (00:03):
Well, for several weeks now we've been
walking through the book ofEphesians.
Paul wrote this letter to afirst century congregation.
We call this series in Christbecause Paul never called
believers Christians.
That's never on his lips.
He only refers to them as inChrist.
(00:24):
Believers are in Jesus Christ.
And we've heard that repeatedagain and again.
And it's important becausethat's how Paul identified
believers.
But this letter is not onlyabout being in Christ, it's a
treasure trove of instructionand how believers ought to pray
for other believers.
It's amazing.
(00:44):
Remember the lengthy prayerthat closed the first chapter?
I think Mark spoke to that.
Well, this section, this firstsection of Ephesians ends as
well with a prayer of Paul.
And it's so powerful.
I've been praying this prayerfor years over the believers
that I work with, and I love topray this prayer.
(01:05):
So we're going to go through ittonight.
And these are apostolicprayers.
We want to notice how Paul andthe apostles, how they prayed
for people.
It's important to take note ofthat.
When Paul came to a region andpreached the gospel, he didn't
leave them with Bibles.
They couldn't do that.
They didn't have it.
But he prayed for them theseapostolic prayers that were
(01:28):
powerful.
And so this morning we're goingto impact the apostles' second
prayer in chapter 3.
Turn with me to Ephesianschapter 3 and we'll plunge into
this.
Hallelujah.
I'm excited about it.
Ephesians 3, verses 14 through20.
And this message is entitledRooted and Grounded in Love.
(01:50):
Would you mind standing with meas we read God's word?
Ephesians 3, 14 through 20.
Verse 14, for this reason I bowmy knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heavenand earth is named, that
according to the riches ofglory, he may grant you to be
(02:12):
strengthened with power throughhis spirit in your inner being,
that Christ may dwell in yourhearts through faith, that you,
being rooted and grounded inlove, may have strength to
comprehend with all the saintswhat is the breadth and length
and depth, height and depth, andto know the love of Christ that
surpasses knowledge, that youmay be filled with all the
(02:35):
fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to dofar more abundantly than all we
could ask or think, according tothe power at work within us, to
him be glory in the church andin Christ Jesus throughout all
generations, forever and ever.
Let me read that one more time,verse 20.
What a powerful statement.
Now to him who is able to dofar more abundantly than all we
(02:59):
ask or think, according to thepower at work within us.
To him be glory in the churchand in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, forever andever.
And everyone said, Amen.
You may be seated.
Praise God.
One of the things I've enjoyeddoing over the years that I've
(03:20):
been teaching is studyingcarefully church history.
I've been so enriched bybecoming acquainted with how
brothers and sisters throughoutthe ages interpreted the
scriptures and lived out theirfaith.
And church history is acompendium of teaching on that
regard.
One group of believers I becamefamiliar with as I've studied
(03:45):
church history is the 17th and16th century Puritans.
They are called Puritansbecause they sought to purify
the church.
And they were a specific group.
The pilgrims that we'refamiliar with were a part of the
the uh Puritans, but they theywere called separatists because
(04:07):
they believed that the Church ofEngland was not redeemable and
they should separate.
And they came over to theseshores with that intention.
Other Puritans were known asnon-separatists.
They wanted to reform theChurch of England from within.
All of these Puritans wereknown for their sound Bible
exposition and their theologicalpreciseness.
(04:30):
But along with their emphasison theological correctness, they
were known for their intimacywith God.
And this is something we see inwhen they are when we read a
certain document that thePuritans left us called the
Kisses of God.
I don't know if you've everheard it, the Kisses of God.
(04:51):
What did they mean by thephrase the kisses of God?
Listen, the Puritans, forPuritans, the Kisses of God
meant a profound, intimateexperience of God's love and
favor, a feeling of heighteneddivine communion that was both
spiritual and emotional.
It wasn't long before seekingan experience, it wasn't seeking
(05:12):
an experience over doctrine,but about a holistic, heartfelt
engagement with God, wheredoctrinal truth was meant not
only to be understood, butdeeply felt and enjoyed.
I love that.
It represented the intense,joyful connection a believer
could have with God, much likethe intimate and loving uh
(05:34):
greetings in biblical stories orthe love shared between
spouses.
Now, where did they get thisidea of the kisses of God?
As the story goes, a Puritannamed Thomas Goodwin was walking
down a road one day, and aheadof him was a father walking with
his son hand in hand.
And they continued to walk handin hand, but suddenly the
(05:58):
father stopped and he scooped uphis little boy in his arms and
started profusely kissing him.
And this went on for about aminute.
And he then placed him back onthe road, held his hand, and
continued to walk.
And the Puritan Thomas Goodwin,who observed this, realized
that his father didn't love theson more when he scooped him up
(06:22):
and profusely kissed him withkisses.
He just wanted a moment wherehe could demonstrate the depth
of his love for his son.
And the Puritans called thisthe kisses of God, based on the
verse in Song of Solomon 1,verse 2.
Let him kiss me with the kissesof his mouth, for your love is
(06:44):
better than wine.
Let him kiss me with the kissesof his mouth.
I don't know how many men canrelate to that in this room, but
they saw it as a validexperience for both men and
women.
Jonathan Edwards was consideredto be a Puritan, and it says of
him, Jonathan Edwards, one ofthe leaders of the first great
(07:07):
awakening, reported profoundspiritual experiences in which
he perceived the glory and graceof Jesus as overwhelming and
indescribable.
How many want that?
He viewed these encounters asmoments of divine revelation,
during which he all intenselysensed God's majesty, love, and
(07:30):
beauty, often accompanied bydeep emotion, tears, and a
heartfelt longing to be emptiedand annihilated before God so he
might be filled with Christalone.
Now, Jonathan Edwards isconsidered to be the greatest
intellect that America everproduced.
Many believe that.
But look at what he says.
He viewed these encounters asmoments of divine revelation,
(07:52):
during which he intensely sensedGod's majesty, love, beauty,
and accompanied by deep emotion,tears.
You can be intellectual and youcan be emotional.
Did you know that?
I believe that what Paul waspraying for these believers at
Ephesus will experience.
That's what he's praying.
He's praying that they willexperience what he has talked
(08:15):
about in theology.
By the way, Randy Alcorn, anauthor, said in the following
letter to the Colossians, whichhas a similar prayer to that of
the Ephesians.
He says, as we look at thisprayer, I want to take notice of
what Paul didn't pray for.
Please note this.
This is what Paul didn't prayfor.
An elder's bout with cancer,the flu bug going around
(08:38):
Colossi, an Asia Minorrecession, kidney stones, back
problems, good weather for thechurch picnic.
No.
Did they not have thoseproblems?
They did, sure.
They had diseases, discomforts,financial strains, bad weather.
(09:02):
And did they pray for them?
No doubt.
But scripture records that uhprayers that seldom concern such
things.
They involve intercession forpeople's love for God, knowledge
of God, walk with God, andservice to God.
That's what they were concernedwith praying.
No, essentially, there are twoposition positions, two
(09:26):
petitions, I'm sorry, that Paulprayed in this prayer.
I want you to consider themwith me.
First, he prays that God maystrengthen them with power
through the Spirit in the innerman.
And I hope to persuade you ofhow much that is needed.
And then, secondly, they mighthave they might have power to
grasp the limitless dimensionsof the love of Christ.
(09:48):
By the way, I've heard it saidand I agree with it, that the
best way to understand aperson's theology is by
listening to him or her pray.
What a person prays about thenature of God, the nature of
man, is revealed by the way theypray.
So we need to be reminded whenwe pray, when we read these
words, that Paul isn't writing atheological treatise.
(10:11):
He is praying for God's people.
You know, a number of years agowhen I was living in Alabama,
somebody brought me a book, andit was called The Odes of
Solomon, a small little book,The Odes of Solomon, and it
purports to be a prayer book andprayer lyrics to songs the
early church sang, especially inthe late first century, early
(10:34):
second century.
And it blew my mind when I readit because they were so
theological.
They didn't just pray, I'mbeing blessed, I hope you're
being blessed too.
They they prayed deep.
It was intellectual, it wastheologically sound.
And this is what apostolicprayer is it's how the apostles
(10:56):
prayed for their converts.
And again, when Paul came to aregion and preached the gospel,
he didn't leave a Bible withthem, he had no Bible to leave
with them.
Instead, he prayed for them,and these are the ways he prayed
for them.
We should be students of theseprayers.
Amen.
Now, this prayer has fourrequests which flows out of it.
(11:17):
I want you to follow this, butbefore we look at the four
requests, let's look at how Paulresumes his original prayer,
which actually starts in verseone of this chapter.
But we notice first his posturewhen he prays.
He prays on his knees, he bowshis knees.
And the normal notion posturein prayer was to stand.
(11:40):
Remember in Mark 11, it says,whenever you stand praying, so
Jesus said that.
So standing was a Jewish formof prayer, posture towards
prayer.
And he remember the Pharisee inLuke 18, the Pharisee was
standing before the Lord and inthe temple.
And remember, but also uh therewas uh moment in the Garden of
(12:06):
Gethsemane when Jesus fell onhis face and prayed.
Remember that?
Matthew 26.
In Scripture, bowing the knees,though, signifies that they may
have prompted Paul to mentionit.
The kneeling posture representsan attitude of submission, of
the recognition that we are inthe presence of someone who is
(12:27):
much greater than us.
This is why the psalmist saidwhen he proclaimed in Psalm 95,
Come, let us worship and bowdown, let us kneel before the
Lord our Maker.
Remember how when Ezra heard ofthe intermarriage of the
Israelites with foreign women,he fell on his face, on his
(12:49):
knees, rather, and stretched outhis hands in confession to the
Lord.
So, and then when Daniel heardthat King Darius had signed the
edict forbidding anyone to prayto any God but the king,
remember he continued kneelingthree times a day and giving
thanks before God.
And not only does Paul tell ushis posture is to bow, but he
(13:12):
also tells us that his prayer isdirected to the Father.
And this is critical.
This is the Father of whom allfathers in heaven and earth
derive his existence, allfathers.
This highlights that allrelationships and structures,
both seen and unseen, are rootedin God's fatherhood.
(13:34):
The family in heaven and earthis often interpreted to refer to
the family of God, whichincludes both Old Testament and
New Testament saints who areunited as join heirs in Christ.
This is why the Lord taught uswhen we pray to begin our prayer
saying, Our Father.
We must know that the God weare praying to is not some uh
(13:58):
distant, impotent being.
He's a God that is Father whohas forgiven us our sins, and
now he has made us children ofGod.
So let's look at these fourparts of the request that Paul
offers to God for.
Number one, the first requestis for inner spiritual strength.
(14:18):
Take notes of these.
You need these in your life.
Inner spiritual strength.
That according to the riches ofhis glory, he may grant you to
be strengthened with powerthrough his spirit in his inner
being.
At its core, this is a prayerfor power.
And already in this letter,Paul has actually asked for
(14:39):
believers for power forbelievers.
Remember in chapter one, whatis the immeasurable greatness of
his power towards us whobelieve, according to the
working of his great might?
In Philippians, he he askedthat he might know uh the power
of his resurrection.
That was Paul's prayer for thebelievers.
They would know the power ofhis resurrection.
(15:00):
And by the way, this is not aprayer for naked power, like
some invisible force that'sgoing to take us by surprise,
although in revival that doeshappen.
The sphere in which this poweris to be known is in the inner
being, deep in our hearts.
What exactly does he mean bythat phrase, the inner being?
(15:24):
To answer that, look at anotherpassage where Paul uses the
same phrase, the inner being, in2 Corinthians 4 16.
He says, So we do not loseheart, though our outward man is
wasting away, our inner beingis being renewed day by day.
Wow.
When he says our outer self iswasting away, he is referring,
(15:48):
no doubt, to the many years ofphysical hardship and
persecution Paul endured.
For example, he was beaten fivetimes.
Five forty lashes, but exceptfor one, 39 was the limit, and
he five times was uh experiencedthat pain.
(16:10):
But that's not all what Paulmeans when he plays says that
our outer man is wasting away.
He is no doubt referring to thesimple fact that he's aging.
How many have discovered you'reaging?
And don't you love it?
I'm sold.
(16:31):
I did that intentionally.
If you were if you weresleeping during the sermon,
you're up now.
The best way to describe theaging process is wasting away.
Our outer self is wasting away.
(16:52):
But while that's going on, atthe same time, our inner self is
being renewed day by day.
The believer alone lives outthis dichotomy of the outer self
wasting while the inner man isbeing renewed.
Paul points out this dichotomy,not only here in 2 Corinthians
(17:13):
4 and in the scripture inEphesians, but he is uh talks
about it in 2 Corinthians 12,how he was given a messenger of
Satan to buffet him, remember?
So to keep me from beingconceited, 2 Corinthians 12,
keep me from being conceitedbecause of the surpassing
greatness of the revelation.
Thorn, a thorn was given to mein the flesh, a pet messenger of
(17:37):
Satan to harass me, to keep mefrom being conceited.
Three times I pleaded with theLord about this that it should
leave me, but he said, My graceis sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect inweakness.
Someone recently asked me whatthat means.
It means exactly what it says: Grace makes anything uh (17:53):
undefined
tolerable and gives us theability to deal with it.
Therefore, I will boast themore gladly of my weaknesses, so
that the power of Christ mayrest upon me.
For the sake of Christ, I amcontent with weakness.
Listen to this man.
(18:13):
For the sake of Christ, I amcontent with weakness, insults,
hardships, persecutions, andcalamities.
For when I am weak, then am Istrong.
The second request is that Paulprays for a deepening of their
faith.
First he prayed for power, nowhe prays their faith would be
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deepened, so that Christ maydwell in their hearts through
faith.
Such an important request.
This is more than residentfaith that comes with salvation.
Paul is writing to Christians,and Christ took up his residence
in their hearts when theyaccepted him.
Right?
And this is Christ being athome in one's heart.
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Two words translated by the oneEnglish word dwell.
The one means a temporarydwelling, like staying in a
hotel.
But the other means permanentresidence.
Which one do you think Pauluses?
The Holy Spirit doesn't comejust to bless you and leave, he
(19:21):
comes up to take permanentresidence and to dwell in your
hearts forever.
In his book, My Heart, Christ'sHome, author Robert Munger
describes, pictures theChristian life as a house
through which Jesus goes fromroom to room.
(19:43):
He says, in the library, whichis the mind, Jesus finds trash
and worthless things, which heproceeds to throw out and
replace with his word.
Thank God.
In the dining room of appetite,he finds many sinful desires
listed on a worldly menu.
In the place of such things asprestige, materialism, and lust,
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he puts humility, meekness,love, and all other virtues for
which believers are to hungerand thirst.
He goes through the living roomof fellowship, where he finds
many worldly companions andactivities through the workshop,
which where only toys are beingmade, into the closet where
hidden sins are kept, and so onthrough the entire house.
(20:26):
Only when he has cleaned everyroom, closet and corner of sin
and foolishness could Christsettle down and be at home.
To have Christ dwell in ourhearts through faith means for
him to be at home in everycorner of our life because we
believe his promises andtherefore become obedient to his
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word.
The third request is thatbelievers be rooted and grounded
in love.
Rooted and grounded in love.
And I want to focus on this.
Being made strong inwardly byGod's Spirit leads to Christ
being at home in our hearts,which leads to love that is
incomprehensible.
(21:08):
Love is incomprehensible.
The result of our yielding tothe Spirit's power and
submitting to Christ's Lordshipin our hearts is love.
When He freely indwells ourhearts, we become rooted and
grounded in love.
That you, being rooted andgrounded in love, may have
(21:28):
strength to comprehend with allthe saints what is the breadth
and length and height and depth.
We are to be settled on astrong foundation of love.
He was not asking that theywould love God more, he was
asking that we would apprehendGod's love more.
It took divine strength to berooted and grounded in love.
(21:53):
By the way, this is a prayerfor the corporate church, not
for individual believers alone.
It's for the corporate church.
We need to remember that.
Believers will personallybenefit from this prayer, but we
best understand it if weapproach it from a corporate
perspective.
It's not about me and Jesus,it's about us and Jesus.
(22:15):
I remember when I was a newbeliever and I first read Acts
1.8, you shall be my witnesses,and I started my individual
career for God.
But it's not a personal prayerfor me alone.
(22:36):
It's for us.
The promises were for us andJesus.
We cannot comprehend thefullness of love until we are
totally immersed in love, unlessit is the very root of our
being.
Someone asked famous jazztrumpeter Louis Armstrong to
explain jazz.
And he replied, Man, if I'vegot to explain it, I ain't got
(23:00):
it.
That's a theologian.
Same thing applies to love.
It can't truly be understoodand comprehensive until it is
experienced.
Yet what Paul is talking aboutis not simply an emotional or
(23:22):
subjective.
It is to be rooted and groundedin love.
It requires being rooted andgrounded in God.
When we are saved, God's loveis poured out within our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who isgiven to us.
What seems to be acontradiction, Paul says that to
know the love of Christsurpasses knowledge.
(23:44):
This is an experience thatpasses knowledge.
Knowing Christ takes us beyondhuman knowledge because it is
from an infinitely highersource.
Again, Paul is not speakinghere of knowing the love we are
to have for Christ, but the loveof Christ, his very own love
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that he must place in our heartsbefore we can love him or
anyone else.
We are commanded to lovebecause he has given us love.
God always gives us what hecommands in return.
And love is one of the greatestgifts that's been given to the
church.
(24:27):
The fourth request is that hewould be filled, they would be
filled with all the fullness ofGod.
Think about that.
Paul's praying for believers tobe filled with all the fullness
of God.
What does that mean?
It means the innerstrengthening of the Holy Spirit
leads to the indwelling ofChrist, which leads to the
(24:48):
abundant love, which leads toGod's fullness in us.
This is an indescribablerequest.
To even begin to grasp themagnitude of that truth, we must
first think of everycharacteristic of God.
Paul is not exaggerating whenhe prays for this fullness
because he asks for itrepeatedly throughout this
(25:08):
letter.
The Greek word for fullness isthe word plero, P-L-E-R-O, and
it means to make full or befilled to the full.
It's used throughout the NewTestament, and it speaks of
total dominion, total dominanceby another force, total
dominance.
To be filled to the fullness ofGod means to be totally
(25:34):
dominated by God.
It is to be emptied of self andfilled with God.
How many want to be filled withGod so that he has dominant
control over your life?
That should be our prayer forall of us.
This is clearly stated in theEphesian letter.
(25:55):
Here, Paul talks about thefullness of God.
In Ephesians 4, 13, he talksabout the fullness of Christ.
In Ephesians 5.18, he talksabout the fullness of the
Spirit.
And we are to experience allthree of those: the fullness of
God, the fullness of Christ, thefullness of the Spirit.
This is to be totally satisfiedwith God alone.
(26:18):
And the only way it'll happenis if we ardently pursue Him.
That's how it will happen.
If we pray for Him tostrengthen us with power by His
Spirit, by the inner man, Christwill be at home in each room of
the heart, like we readearlier.
If Christ occupies our heart,we will have confidence and
(26:38):
security and we'll be able tolove others.
The ability to know God's loveand thus love others leads to
the fullness of God in us.
What a God we have who loves usso much that he will not rest
until we are completely filledwith Him.
Now, Paul ends with a doxology,an ending that is completely
(27:07):
sufficient for this passage.
Now to him who is able to dofar more abundantly beyond all
that we ask or think, accordingto the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the churchand in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, forever andever.
Amen.
There is one way to concludethis apostolic prayer, but with
(27:31):
an anthem of praise.
And we see three things in thedoxology: God's sovereignty,
God's omnipotence, and God'sglory.
God's sovereignty, omnipotence,and glory.
Let's start with God'ssovereignty.
It means that God can do more,far more abundantly than we ever
(27:54):
ask or think.
Has God ever blown your mindwith what he does?
It's good to have your mindblown.
He says our prayers can beanswered far beyond even what we
ask or think.
I got a couple examples ofthat, from the old one from the
(28:15):
old, one from the New Testament.
First, from the old.
Israel escapes Egypt in theExodus, and they come, and where
does God lead them to?
Right against the Red Sea,where they are up against the
sea on one side, and there's noway they can get for go forward.
And to make matters worse, whenPharaoh sees and hears that
(28:36):
they're now caught, he mustershis chariots and goes after
Israel.
And so Israel sees theirenemies coming from one angle
and the Red Sea blocking theway.
And you know what God does?
He does what no one imagined,exceedingly abundantly beyond
what we could ask or think.
He opened the Red Sea.
(28:57):
You think Israel said, We know,we're standing here, we know
what God's going to do.
He's going to open the Red Sea.
We're his people.
They had no idea.
And God did something far moreabundant than they could ever
ask or think.
A similar water story appearsin the New Testament when Jesus
(29:18):
is taking a snooze on the boat.
He had told the disciples to goto the other side.
He's taking an afternoon nap.
And suddenly, which is commoninto the Sea of Galilee, the Sea
of Galilee is a storm comes upon it, and they're about to be
capsized.
And Jesus is super superfluous.
And they wake him.
(29:42):
And remember how they wakedhim?
They said, Lord, do you notcare that we are perishing?
It was an indictment againstGod.
Do you not care?
And he woke up and said, Whyare you afraid?
And he said, literally inGreek, he said, Shut up to the
wind and the rain.
The one who controls the rainsand winds can do that.
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And then what happened?
A great calm came over, andthey were uh delivered from the
storm.
Again, God did what was farmore abundant than they could
ask or think.
But we need to be clear wherePaul says this power operates.
(30:27):
He says, according to the powerthat works within us.
It's not out there only, butit's in here that the primary
place that G Paul tells us theSpirit is working.
It's primarily sanctifyingprayer.
God doesn't work from withoutto within, but starts within and
(30:53):
works without.
And we see that in thePhilippian epistle.
You know, Paul says in verse 12of chapter 2 of Philippians,
therefore, my beloved, as wehave always obeyed, so now not
only is in my presence, but muchmore in my absence, work at
your salvation with fear andtrembling.
Why?
For it is God who works in youboth to will and to work for his
(31:17):
good pleasure.
It's God.
So Paul speaks in this passageof God's power working with us.
It's not a power we control,it's a power that controls us.
If we have the Holy Spiritdwelling within us, we have the
most powerful force in theuniverse dwelling in us.
(31:38):
Do you know that?
And then Paul says it's alsoGod's omnipotence is revealed in
the doxology.
Here's a theological definitionof omnipotence that I love.
God is an omnipotent, means Godpossesses unlimited power and
is all-powerful, capable ofdoing anything logically
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possible and consistent with hisown nature.
This concept implies divinecontrol over the physical and
spiritual realm, the ability tocreate, and the power to fulfill
his will, which is understoodto be good and wise.
For believers, God'somnipotence is a source of great
comfort.
We should be comforted by hisomnipotence because it signifies
(32:24):
that he is in complete control.
And he will use his power forgood according to his love and
wisdom.
He used his omnipotence tobring Jew and Gentile together,
as we saw in chapter 2 and 3,and form them into a dwelling of
God through the Spirit.
And then God's glory isrevealed in this doxology.
(32:49):
His sovereignty, hisomnipotence, now his glory.
The Greek word for glory is theword doxa.
It means glory, majesty, andhonor.
Ultimately, everything Goddoes.
How many know everything Goddoes is for his glory?
The power of God displays hisglory.
(33:10):
All that God has done is toresound to his glory forever.
When we worship, we are givingGod the glory that is due to
Him.
We don't come to worship toreceive something only.
We come to because God isgetting the glory, and we want
to join in with every createdbeing in the universe to give
(33:30):
him glory.
Notice how Paul puts God'sglory in the church before
Christ Jesus.
He says, Paul does not put thechurch before Christ in
Ephesians 3.21.
Rather, he connects them in asingle unified expression of
glory.
The phrase in the church and inChrist Jesus indicates that God
is glorified through theunified community of believers.
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And we are in union withChrist.
This highlights how the churchis God's masterpiece of grace, a
testament to his glorythroughout the generations,
visible in uniting all believersunder Christ.
Wow.
Notice the phrase allgenerations, to all generations
(34:13):
in the doxology.
That's a long time.
We talked much in this churchabout how God is a generational
God.
Why do we talk about it?
Because God is a generationalGod.
Why is that important?
Because He wants everygeneration to receive the glory
to his name.
Every generation.
(34:33):
And this is followed by thephrase forever and ever.
If you thought to allgenerations was long, how about
the phrase forever and ever?
It's even longer.
This means there will be no endto God receiving glory.
There is no end.
Fourteen times in the NewTestament, it says, to Him be
(34:55):
the glory forever and ever.
To Him be the glory.
But it appears prominently inthe Psalms.
Psalm 145, Psalm 145, 6, Yourthrone, O God, is forever and
ever.
And how about Psalm 145?
I will extol you, my God andKing, and bless your name
forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you andpraise your name forever and
(35:17):
ever.
His glory is in Christ.
You know what God glories in?
Glorifying Himself.
That's what He glories in.
And there are a number ofplaces in the New Testament that
reveal how the glory of God isseen in Jesus.
But my favorite is the book ofHebrews, chapter 1, verse 3.
It says, He is the radiance ofhis glory.
(35:40):
He is the radiance of it.
You know what the Greek wordfor radiance is?
It's the Greek word for shiningor brightness.
What the rays of the sun are tothe sun, so it is that God
shine.
The Son of God is thebrightness of the Lord shining.
How many of you have ever seenthe sun?
(36:03):
You've not really seen it.
I mean you can glance up in amoment for a moment and look at
it, but go out sometime in Juneor July in Knoxville, and at
noon look up and stare at thesun for 30 minutes.
You've never seen the sun, norhave I.
(36:25):
Why?
It's too bright.
But the sun is seen by itsrays.
And it this tells us not onlyabout the sun, but tells us what
the Christian life is,essentially.
The Christian life is likegetting a tan.
I'm serious.
(36:45):
Because you just lay there andlet the sun's rays bake your
skin.
And when you get back,everybody knows in the office
that you were in FortLauderdale.
Which I was just there.
Can you tell?
But he goes on and says, He isthe radiance of his glory, the
exact representation of hisnature.
(37:08):
The exact representation.
Now I want to blow your mind.
The word in Greek, there's onesingle word that's translated in
the English Bible by the exactimprint of his nature.
It's the Greek word character.
And it was used of theimprinting of coins.
You know, I have a quarter inmy pocket.
(37:29):
I've never seen the original,but I don't need to.
Why?
Because the original wasstamped by the uh imprint by the
original.
And when it's stamped, it wasthe the uh imprint was
permanent, and it was thereforeuh no need to see the original.
(37:49):
Remember how Jesus said in theupper room, I'm going back to
the Father, and Philip said,Show us the Father and we'll be
satisfied.
Remember his response?
Have I been so long with you,Philip, and yet you've not known
me?
All that has seen me has seenthe father.
How do you say then, show usthe father?
(38:12):
Do you not believe that I am inthe father and the father is in
me?
So he is the imprint of hisnature.
The character of God is fullyrevealed in one place, and it's
in the Son of God.
So this morning, we are blessedto be rooted and grounded in
(38:37):
love.
We are blessed to bestrengthened with power by the
Spirit in our inner man.
Now I want to pray this prayeras a prayer, and as Jordan comes
and plays, I want you to stand.
We're gonna pray this prayertogether.
Take a moment and let'sconsider what it means to pray
(39:00):
this prayer by faith.
How many of you believe if wepray this prayer because it's
biblical, God's gonna hear ananswer?
So join with me and follow withme.
Verse 14 of Ephesians 3.
For this reason, I bow my kneesbefore the Father, from whom
(39:25):
every family in heaven and onearth is named, that according
to the riches of his glory, hemay grant you to be strengthened
with power through his spiritin your inner being, so that
Christ may dwell in your heartsthrough faith, that you, being
rooted and grounded in love, mayhave strength to comprehend
(39:49):
with all the saints what is thebreadth and length and height
and depth, and to know the loveof Christ that surpasses
knowledge, that you May befilled with all the fullness of
God.
Now to him who is able to dofar more abundant than all that
(40:09):
we ask or think, according tothe power at work within us.
To him be glory in the churchand in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, forever andever.
Amen.
Lift your hands.
Let's worship.
Thank you, Father.
Thank you, Father.
Thank you that you've heardthis prayer because you inspired
(40:30):
it by your Holy Spirit hundredsthousands of years ago and we
prayed it in faith.
Lord, we know you're going todo it.
We trust you to fulfill thatwhich you we've just prayed.
And Lord, not let it not justbe a one time prayer.
Help us to live this prayer outby praying it daily for those
we love in Christ, for brothersand sisters that we don't know.
(40:51):
Lord, help us to pray thisprayer faithfully in Jesus'
name.
Amen and amen.
Well, for several weeks now we've been
walking through the book ofEphesians.
Paul wrote this letter to afirst century congregation.
We call this series in Christbecause Paul never called
believers Christians.
That's never on his lips.
He only refers to them as inChrist.
(00:24):
Believers are in Jesus Christ.
And we've heard that repeatedagain and again.
And it's important becausethat's how Paul identified
believers.
But this letter is not onlyabout being in Christ, it's a
treasure trove of instructionand how believers ought to pray
for other believers.
It's amazing.
(00:44):
Remember the lengthy prayerthat closed the first chapter?
I think Mark spoke to that.
Well, this section, this firstsection of Ephesians ends as
well with a prayer of Paul.
And it's so powerful.
I've been praying this prayerfor years over the believers
that I work with, and I love topray this prayer.
(01:05):
So we're going to go through ittonight.
And these are apostolicprayers.
We want to notice how Paul andthe apostles, how they prayed
for people.
It's important to take note ofthat.
When Paul came to a region andpreached the gospel, he didn't
leave them with Bibles.
They couldn't do that.
They didn't have it.
But he prayed for them theseapostolic prayers that were
(01:28):
powerful.
And so this morning we're goingto impact the apostles' second
prayer in chapter 3.
Turn with me to Ephesianschapter 3 and we'll plunge into
this.
Hallelujah.
I'm excited about it.
Ephesians 3, verses 14 through20.
And this message is entitledRooted and Grounded in Love.
(01:50):
Would you mind standing with meas we read God's word?
Ephesians 3, 14 through 20.
Verse 14, for this reason I bowmy knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heavenand earth is named, that
according to the riches ofglory, he may grant you to be
(02:12):
strengthened with power throughhis spirit in your inner being,
that Christ may dwell in yourhearts through faith, that you,
being rooted and grounded inlove, may have strength to
comprehend with all the saintswhat is the breadth and length
and depth, height and depth, andto know the love of Christ that
surpasses knowledge, that youmay be filled with all the
(02:35):
fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to dofar more abundantly than all we
could ask or think, according tothe power at work within us, to
him be glory in the church andin Christ Jesus throughout all
generations, forever and ever.
Let me read that one more time,verse 20.
What a powerful statement.
Now to him who is able to dofar more abundantly than all we
(02:59):
ask or think, according to thepower at work within us.
To him be glory in the churchand in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, forever andever.
And everyone said, Amen.
You may be seated.
Praise God.
One of the things I've enjoyeddoing over the years that I've
(03:20):
been teaching is studyingcarefully church history.
I've been so enriched bybecoming acquainted with how
brothers and sisters throughoutthe ages interpreted the
scriptures and lived out theirfaith.
And church history is acompendium of teaching on that
regard.
One group of believers I becamefamiliar with as I've studied
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church history is the 17th and16th century Puritans.
They are called Puritansbecause they sought to purify
the church.
And they were a specific group.
The pilgrims that we'refamiliar with were a part of the
the uh Puritans, but they theywere called separatists because
(04:07):
they believed that the Church ofEngland was not redeemable and
they should separate.
And they came over to theseshores with that intention.
Other Puritans were known asnon-separatists.
They wanted to reform theChurch of England from within.
All of these Puritans wereknown for their sound Bible
exposition and their theologicalpreciseness.
(04:30):
But along with their emphasison theological correctness, they
were known for their intimacywith God.
And this is something we see inwhen they are when we read a
certain document that thePuritans left us called the
Kisses of God.
I don't know if you've everheard it, the Kisses of God.
(04:51):
What did they mean by thephrase the kisses of God?
Listen, the Puritans, forPuritans, the Kisses of God
meant a profound, intimateexperience of God's love and
favor, a feeling of heighteneddivine communion that was both
spiritual and emotional.
It wasn't long before seekingan experience, it wasn't seeking
(05:12):
an experience over doctrine,but about a holistic, heartfelt
engagement with God, wheredoctrinal truth was meant not
only to be understood, butdeeply felt and enjoyed.
I love that.
It represented the intense,joyful connection a believer
could have with God, much likethe intimate and loving uh
(05:34):
greetings in biblical stories orthe love shared between
spouses.
Now, where did they get thisidea of the kisses of God?
As the story goes, a Puritannamed Thomas Goodwin was walking
down a road one day, and aheadof him was a father walking with
his son hand in hand.
And they continued to walk handin hand, but suddenly the
(05:58):
father stopped and he scooped uphis little boy in his arms and
started profusely kissing him.
And this went on for about aminute.
And he then placed him back onthe road, held his hand, and
continued to walk.
And the Puritan Thomas Goodwin,who observed this, realized
that his father didn't love theson more when he scooped him up
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and profusely kissed him withkisses.
He just wanted a moment wherehe could demonstrate the depth
of his love for his son.
And the Puritans called thisthe kisses of God, based on the
verse in Song of Solomon 1,verse 2.
Let him kiss me with the kissesof his mouth, for your love is
(06:44):
better than wine.
Let him kiss me with the kissesof his mouth.
I don't know how many men canrelate to that in this room, but
they saw it as a validexperience for both men and
women.
Jonathan Edwards was consideredto be a Puritan, and it says of
him, Jonathan Edwards, one ofthe leaders of the first great
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awakening, reported profoundspiritual experiences in which
he perceived the glory and graceof Jesus as overwhelming and
indescribable.
How many want that?
He viewed these encounters asmoments of divine revelation,
during which he all intenselysensed God's majesty, love, and
(07:30):
beauty, often accompanied bydeep emotion, tears, and a
heartfelt longing to be emptiedand annihilated before God so he
might be filled with Christalone.
Now, Jonathan Edwards isconsidered to be the greatest
intellect that America everproduced.
Many believe that.
But look at what he says.
He viewed these encounters asmoments of divine revelation,
(07:52):
during which he intensely sensedGod's majesty, love, beauty,
and accompanied by deep emotion,tears.
You can be intellectual and youcan be emotional.
Did you know that?
I believe that what Paul waspraying for these believers at
Ephesus will experience.
That's what he's praying.
He's praying that they willexperience what he has talked
(08:15):
about in theology.
By the way, Randy Alcorn, anauthor, said in the following
letter to the Colossians, whichhas a similar prayer to that of
the Ephesians.
He says, as we look at thisprayer, I want to take notice of
what Paul didn't pray for.
Please note this.
This is what Paul didn't prayfor.
An elder's bout with cancer,the flu bug going around
(08:38):
Colossi, an Asia Minorrecession, kidney stones, back
problems, good weather for thechurch picnic.
No.
Did they not have thoseproblems?
They did, sure.
They had diseases, discomforts,financial strains, bad weather.
(09:02):
And did they pray for them?
No doubt.
But scripture records that uhprayers that seldom concern such
things.
They involve intercession forpeople's love for God, knowledge
of God, walk with God, andservice to God.
That's what they were concernedwith praying.
No, essentially, there are twoposition positions, two
(09:26):
petitions, I'm sorry, that Paulprayed in this prayer.
I want you to consider themwith me.
First, he prays that God maystrengthen them with power
through the Spirit in the innerman.
And I hope to persuade you ofhow much that is needed.
And then, secondly, they mighthave they might have power to
grasp the limitless dimensionsof the love of Christ.
(09:48):
By the way, I've heard it saidand I agree with it, that the
best way to understand aperson's theology is by
listening to him or her pray.
What a person prays about thenature of God, the nature of
man, is revealed by the way theypray.
So we need to be reminded whenwe pray, when we read these
words, that Paul isn't writing atheological treatise.
(10:11):
He is praying for God's people.
You know, a number of years agowhen I was living in Alabama,
somebody brought me a book, andit was called The Odes of
Solomon, a small little book,The Odes of Solomon, and it
purports to be a prayer book andprayer lyrics to songs the
early church sang, especially inthe late first century, early
(10:34):
second century.
And it blew my mind when I readit because they were so
theological.
They didn't just pray, I'mbeing blessed, I hope you're
being blessed too.
They they prayed deep.
It was intellectual, it wastheologically sound.
And this is what apostolicprayer is it's how the apostles
(10:56):
prayed for their converts.
And again, when Paul came to aregion and preached the gospel,
he didn't leave a Bible withthem, he had no Bible to leave
with them.
Instead, he prayed for them,and these are the ways he prayed
for them.
We should be students of theseprayers.
Amen.
Now, this prayer has fourrequests which flows out of it.
(11:17):
I want you to follow this, butbefore we look at the four
requests, let's look at how Paulresumes his original prayer,
which actually starts in verseone of this chapter.
But we notice first his posturewhen he prays.
He prays on his knees, he bowshis knees.
And the normal notion posturein prayer was to stand.
(11:40):
Remember in Mark 11, it says,whenever you stand praying, so
Jesus said that.
So standing was a Jewish formof prayer, posture towards
prayer.
And he remember the Pharisee inLuke 18, the Pharisee was
standing before the Lord and inthe temple.
And remember, but also uh therewas uh moment in the Garden of
(12:06):
Gethsemane when Jesus fell onhis face and prayed.
Remember that?
Matthew 26.
In Scripture, bowing the knees,though, signifies that they may
have prompted Paul to mentionit.
The kneeling posture representsan attitude of submission, of
the recognition that we are inthe presence of someone who is
(12:27):
much greater than us.
This is why the psalmist saidwhen he proclaimed in Psalm 95,
Come, let us worship and bowdown, let us kneel before the
Lord our Maker.
Remember how when Ezra heard ofthe intermarriage of the
Israelites with foreign women,he fell on his face, on his
(12:49):
knees, rather, and stretched outhis hands in confession to the
Lord.
So, and then when Daniel heardthat King Darius had signed the
edict forbidding anyone to prayto any God but the king,
remember he continued kneelingthree times a day and giving
thanks before God.
And not only does Paul tell ushis posture is to bow, but he
(13:12):
also tells us that his prayer isdirected to the Father.
And this is critical.
This is the Father of whom allfathers in heaven and earth
derive his existence, allfathers.
This highlights that allrelationships and structures,
both seen and unseen, are rootedin God's fatherhood.
(13:34):
The family in heaven and earthis often interpreted to refer to
the family of God, whichincludes both Old Testament and
New Testament saints who areunited as join heirs in Christ.
This is why the Lord taught uswhen we pray to begin our prayer
saying, Our Father.
We must know that the God weare praying to is not some uh
(13:58):
distant, impotent being.
He's a God that is Father whohas forgiven us our sins, and
now he has made us children ofGod.
So let's look at these fourparts of the request that Paul
offers to God for.
Number one, the first requestis for inner spiritual strength.
(14:18):
Take notes of these.
You need these in your life.
Inner spiritual strength.
That according to the riches ofhis glory, he may grant you to
be strengthened with powerthrough his spirit in his inner
being.
At its core, this is a prayerfor power.
And already in this letter,Paul has actually asked for
(14:39):
believers for power forbelievers.
Remember in chapter one, whatis the immeasurable greatness of
his power towards us whobelieve, according to the
working of his great might?
In Philippians, he he askedthat he might know uh the power
of his resurrection.
That was Paul's prayer for thebelievers.
They would know the power ofhis resurrection.
(15:00):
And by the way, this is not aprayer for naked power, like
some invisible force that'sgoing to take us by surprise,
although in revival that doeshappen.
The sphere in which this poweris to be known is in the inner
being, deep in our hearts.
What exactly does he mean bythat phrase, the inner being?
(15:24):
To answer that, look at anotherpassage where Paul uses the
same phrase, the inner being, in2 Corinthians 4 16.
He says, So we do not loseheart, though our outward man is
wasting away, our inner beingis being renewed day by day.
Wow.
When he says our outer self iswasting away, he is referring,
(15:48):
no doubt, to the many years ofphysical hardship and
persecution Paul endured.
For example, he was beaten fivetimes.
Five forty lashes, but exceptfor one, 39 was the limit, and
he five times was uh experiencedthat pain.
(16:10):
But that's not all what Paulmeans when he plays says that
our outer man is wasting away.
He is no doubt referring to thesimple fact that he's aging.
How many have discovered you'reaging?
And don't you love it?
I'm sold.
(16:31):
I did that intentionally.
If you were if you weresleeping during the sermon,
you're up now.
The best way to describe theaging process is wasting away.
Our outer self is wasting away.
(16:52):
But while that's going on, atthe same time, our inner self is
being renewed day by day.
The believer alone lives outthis dichotomy of the outer self
wasting while the inner man isbeing renewed.
Paul points out this dichotomy,not only here in 2 Corinthians
(17:13):
4 and in the scripture inEphesians, but he is uh talks
about it in 2 Corinthians 12,how he was given a messenger of
Satan to buffet him, remember?
So to keep me from beingconceited, 2 Corinthians 12,
keep me from being conceitedbecause of the surpassing
greatness of the revelation.
Thorn, a thorn was given to mein the flesh, a pet messenger of
(17:37):
Satan to harass me, to keep mefrom being conceited.
Three times I pleaded with theLord about this that it should
leave me, but he said, My graceis sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect inweakness.
Someone recently asked me whatthat means.
It means exactly what it says: Grace makes anything uh (17:53):
undefined
tolerable and gives us theability to deal with it.
Therefore, I will boast themore gladly of my weaknesses, so
that the power of Christ mayrest upon me.
For the sake of Christ, I amcontent with weakness.
Listen to this man.
(18:13):
For the sake of Christ, I amcontent with weakness, insults,
hardships, persecutions, andcalamities.
For when I am weak, then am Istrong.
The second request is that Paulprays for a deepening of their
faith.
First he prayed for power, nowhe prays their faith would be
(18:34):
deepened, so that Christ maydwell in their hearts through
faith.
Such an important request.
This is more than residentfaith that comes with salvation.
Paul is writing to Christians,and Christ took up his residence
in their hearts when theyaccepted him.
Right?
And this is Christ being athome in one's heart.
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Two words translated by the oneEnglish word dwell.
The one means a temporarydwelling, like staying in a
hotel.
But the other means permanentresidence.
Which one do you think Pauluses?
The Holy Spirit doesn't comejust to bless you and leave, he
(19:21):
comes up to take permanentresidence and to dwell in your
hearts forever.
In his book, My Heart, Christ'sHome, author Robert Munger
describes, pictures theChristian life as a house
through which Jesus goes fromroom to room.
(19:43):
He says, in the library, whichis the mind, Jesus finds trash
and worthless things, which heproceeds to throw out and
replace with his word.
Thank God.
In the dining room of appetite,he finds many sinful desires
listed on a worldly menu.
In the place of such things asprestige, materialism, and lust,
(20:04):
he puts humility, meekness,love, and all other virtues for
which believers are to hungerand thirst.
He goes through the living roomof fellowship, where he finds
many worldly companions andactivities through the workshop,
which where only toys are beingmade, into the closet where
hidden sins are kept, and so onthrough the entire house.
(20:26):
Only when he has cleaned everyroom, closet and corner of sin
and foolishness could Christsettle down and be at home.
To have Christ dwell in ourhearts through faith means for
him to be at home in everycorner of our life because we
believe his promises andtherefore become obedient to his
(20:46):
word.
The third request is thatbelievers be rooted and grounded
in love.
Rooted and grounded in love.
And I want to focus on this.
Being made strong inwardly byGod's Spirit leads to Christ
being at home in our hearts,which leads to love that is
incomprehensible.
(21:08):
Love is incomprehensible.
The result of our yielding tothe Spirit's power and
submitting to Christ's Lordshipin our hearts is love.
When He freely indwells ourhearts, we become rooted and
grounded in love.
That you, being rooted andgrounded in love, may have
(21:28):
strength to comprehend with allthe saints what is the breadth
and length and height and depth.
We are to be settled on astrong foundation of love.
He was not asking that theywould love God more, he was
asking that we would apprehendGod's love more.
It took divine strength to berooted and grounded in love.
(21:53):
By the way, this is a prayerfor the corporate church, not
for individual believers alone.
It's for the corporate church.
We need to remember that.
Believers will personallybenefit from this prayer, but we
best understand it if weapproach it from a corporate
perspective.
It's not about me and Jesus,it's about us and Jesus.
(22:15):
I remember when I was a newbeliever and I first read Acts
1.8, you shall be my witnesses,and I started my individual
career for God.
But it's not a personal prayerfor me alone.
(22:36):
It's for us.
The promises were for us andJesus.
We cannot comprehend thefullness of love until we are
totally immersed in love, unlessit is the very root of our
being.
Someone asked famous jazztrumpeter Louis Armstrong to
explain jazz.
And he replied, Man, if I'vegot to explain it, I ain't got
(23:00):
it.
That's a theologian.
Same thing applies to love.
It can't truly be understoodand comprehensive until it is
experienced.
Yet what Paul is talking aboutis not simply an emotional or
(23:22):
subjective.
It is to be rooted and groundedin love.
It requires being rooted andgrounded in God.
When we are saved, God's loveis poured out within our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who isgiven to us.
What seems to be acontradiction, Paul says that to
know the love of Christsurpasses knowledge.
(23:44):
This is an experience thatpasses knowledge.
Knowing Christ takes us beyondhuman knowledge because it is
from an infinitely highersource.
Again, Paul is not speakinghere of knowing the love we are
to have for Christ, but the loveof Christ, his very own love
(24:06):
that he must place in our heartsbefore we can love him or
anyone else.
We are commanded to lovebecause he has given us love.
God always gives us what hecommands in return.
And love is one of the greatestgifts that's been given to the
church.
(24:27):
The fourth request is that hewould be filled, they would be
filled with all the fullness ofGod.
Think about that.
Paul's praying for believers tobe filled with all the fullness
of God.
What does that mean?
It means the innerstrengthening of the Holy Spirit
leads to the indwelling ofChrist, which leads to the
(24:48):
abundant love, which leads toGod's fullness in us.
This is an indescribablerequest.
To even begin to grasp themagnitude of that truth, we must
first think of everycharacteristic of God.
Paul is not exaggerating whenhe prays for this fullness
because he asks for itrepeatedly throughout this
(25:08):
letter.
The Greek word for fullness isthe word plero, P-L-E-R-O, and
it means to make full or befilled to the full.
It's used throughout the NewTestament, and it speaks of
total dominion, total dominanceby another force, total
dominance.
To be filled to the fullness ofGod means to be totally
(25:34):
dominated by God.
It is to be emptied of self andfilled with God.
How many want to be filled withGod so that he has dominant
control over your life?
That should be our prayer forall of us.
This is clearly stated in theEphesian letter.
(25:55):
Here, Paul talks about thefullness of God.
In Ephesians 4, 13, he talksabout the fullness of Christ.
In Ephesians 5.18, he talksabout the fullness of the
Spirit.
And we are to experience allthree of those: the fullness of
God, the fullness of Christ, thefullness of the Spirit.
This is to be totally satisfiedwith God alone.
(26:18):
And the only way it'll happenis if we ardently pursue Him.
That's how it will happen.
If we pray for Him tostrengthen us with power by His
Spirit, by the inner man, Christwill be at home in each room of
the heart, like we readearlier.
If Christ occupies our heart,we will have confidence and
(26:38):
security and we'll be able tolove others.
The ability to know God's loveand thus love others leads to
the fullness of God in us.
What a God we have who loves usso much that he will not rest
until we are completely filledwith Him.
Now, Paul ends with a doxology,an ending that is completely
(27:07):
sufficient for this passage.
Now to him who is able to dofar more abundantly beyond all
that we ask or think, accordingto the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the churchand in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, forever andever.
Amen.
There is one way to concludethis apostolic prayer, but with
(27:31):
an anthem of praise.
And we see three things in thedoxology: God's sovereignty,
God's omnipotence, and God'sglory.
God's sovereignty, omnipotence,and glory.
Let's start with God'ssovereignty.
It means that God can do more,far more abundantly than we ever
(27:54):
ask or think.
Has God ever blown your mindwith what he does?
It's good to have your mindblown.
He says our prayers can beanswered far beyond even what we
ask or think.
I got a couple examples ofthat, from the old one from the
(28:15):
old, one from the New Testament.
First, from the old.
Israel escapes Egypt in theExodus, and they come, and where
does God lead them to?
Right against the Red Sea,where they are up against the
sea on one side, and there's noway they can get for go forward.
And to make matters worse, whenPharaoh sees and hears that
(28:36):
they're now caught, he mustershis chariots and goes after
Israel.
And so Israel sees theirenemies coming from one angle
and the Red Sea blocking theway.
And you know what God does?
He does what no one imagined,exceedingly abundantly beyond
what we could ask or think.
He opened the Red Sea.
(28:57):
You think Israel said, We know,we're standing here, we know
what God's going to do.
He's going to open the Red Sea.
We're his people.
They had no idea.
And God did something far moreabundant than they could ever
ask or think.
A similar water story appearsin the New Testament when Jesus
(29:18):
is taking a snooze on the boat.
He had told the disciples to goto the other side.
He's taking an afternoon nap.
And suddenly, which is commoninto the Sea of Galilee, the Sea
of Galilee is a storm comes upon it, and they're about to be
capsized.
And Jesus is super superfluous.
And they wake him.
(29:42):
And remember how they wakedhim?
They said, Lord, do you notcare that we are perishing?
It was an indictment againstGod.
Do you not care?
And he woke up and said, Whyare you afraid?
And he said, literally inGreek, he said, Shut up to the
wind and the rain.
The one who controls the rainsand winds can do that.
(30:05):
And then what happened?
A great calm came over, andthey were uh delivered from the
storm.
Again, God did what was farmore abundant than they could
ask or think.
But we need to be clear wherePaul says this power operates.
(30:27):
He says, according to the powerthat works within us.
It's not out there only, butit's in here that the primary
place that G Paul tells us theSpirit is working.
It's primarily sanctifyingprayer.
God doesn't work from withoutto within, but starts within and
(30:53):
works without.
And we see that in thePhilippian epistle.
You know, Paul says in verse 12of chapter 2 of Philippians,
therefore, my beloved, as wehave always obeyed, so now not
only is in my presence, but muchmore in my absence, work at
your salvation with fear andtrembling.
Why?
For it is God who works in youboth to will and to work for his
(31:17):
good pleasure.
It's God.
So Paul speaks in this passageof God's power working with us.
It's not a power we control,it's a power that controls us.
If we have the Holy Spiritdwelling within us, we have the
most powerful force in theuniverse dwelling in us.
(31:38):
Do you know that?
And then Paul says it's alsoGod's omnipotence is revealed in
the doxology.
Here's a theological definitionof omnipotence that I love.
God is an omnipotent, means Godpossesses unlimited power and
is all-powerful, capable ofdoing anything logically
(32:01):
possible and consistent with hisown nature.
This concept implies divinecontrol over the physical and
spiritual realm, the ability tocreate, and the power to fulfill
his will, which is understoodto be good and wise.
For believers, God'somnipotence is a source of great
comfort.
We should be comforted by hisomnipotence because it signifies
(32:24):
that he is in complete control.
And he will use his power forgood according to his love and
wisdom.
He used his omnipotence tobring Jew and Gentile together,
as we saw in chapter 2 and 3,and form them into a dwelling of
God through the Spirit.
And then God's glory isrevealed in this doxology.
(32:49):
His sovereignty, hisomnipotence, now his glory.
The Greek word for glory is theword doxa.
It means glory, majesty, andhonor.
Ultimately, everything Goddoes.
How many know everything Goddoes is for his glory?
The power of God displays hisglory.
(33:10):
All that God has done is toresound to his glory forever.
When we worship, we are givingGod the glory that is due to
Him.
We don't come to worship toreceive something only.
We come to because God isgetting the glory, and we want
to join in with every createdbeing in the universe to give
(33:30):
him glory.
Notice how Paul puts God'sglory in the church before
Christ Jesus.
He says, Paul does not put thechurch before Christ in
Ephesians 3.21.
Rather, he connects them in asingle unified expression of
glory.
The phrase in the church and inChrist Jesus indicates that God
is glorified through theunified community of believers.
(33:50):
And we are in union withChrist.
This highlights how the churchis God's masterpiece of grace, a
testament to his glorythroughout the generations,
visible in uniting all believersunder Christ.
Wow.
Notice the phrase allgenerations, to all generations
(34:13):
in the doxology.
That's a long time.
We talked much in this churchabout how God is a generational
God.
Why do we talk about it?
Because God is a generationalGod.
Why is that important?
Because He wants everygeneration to receive the glory
to his name.
Every generation.
(34:33):
And this is followed by thephrase forever and ever.
If you thought to allgenerations was long, how about
the phrase forever and ever?
It's even longer.
This means there will be no endto God receiving glory.
There is no end.
Fourteen times in the NewTestament, it says, to Him be
(34:55):
the glory forever and ever.
To Him be the glory.
But it appears prominently inthe Psalms.
Psalm 145, Psalm 145, 6, Yourthrone, O God, is forever and
ever.
And how about Psalm 145?
I will extol you, my God andKing, and bless your name
forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you andpraise your name forever and
(35:17):
ever.
His glory is in Christ.
You know what God glories in?
Glorifying Himself.
That's what He glories in.
And there are a number ofplaces in the New Testament that
reveal how the glory of God isseen in Jesus.
But my favorite is the book ofHebrews, chapter 1, verse 3.
It says, He is the radiance ofhis glory.
(35:40):
He is the radiance of it.
You know what the Greek wordfor radiance is?
It's the Greek word for shiningor brightness.
What the rays of the sun are tothe sun, so it is that God
shine.
The Son of God is thebrightness of the Lord shining.
How many of you have ever seenthe sun?
(36:03):
You've not really seen it.
I mean you can glance up in amoment for a moment and look at
it, but go out sometime in Juneor July in Knoxville, and at
noon look up and stare at thesun for 30 minutes.
You've never seen the sun, norhave I.
(36:25):
Why?
It's too bright.
But the sun is seen by itsrays.
And it this tells us not onlyabout the sun, but tells us what
the Christian life is,essentially.
The Christian life is likegetting a tan.
I'm serious.
(36:45):
Because you just lay there andlet the sun's rays bake your
skin.
And when you get back,everybody knows in the office
that you were in FortLauderdale.
Which I was just there.
Can you tell?
But he goes on and says, He isthe radiance of his glory, the
exact representation of hisnature.
(37:08):
The exact representation.
Now I want to blow your mind.
The word in Greek, there's onesingle word that's translated in
the English Bible by the exactimprint of his nature.
It's the Greek word character.
And it was used of theimprinting of coins.
You know, I have a quarter inmy pocket.
(37:29):
I've never seen the original,but I don't need to.
Why?
Because the original wasstamped by the uh imprint by the
original.
And when it's stamped, it wasthe the uh imprint was
permanent, and it was thereforeuh no need to see the original.
(37:49):
Remember how Jesus said in theupper room, I'm going back to
the Father, and Philip said,Show us the Father and we'll be
satisfied.
Remember his response?
Have I been so long with you,Philip, and yet you've not known
me?
All that has seen me has seenthe father.
How do you say then, show usthe father?
(38:12):
Do you not believe that I am inthe father and the father is in
me?
So he is the imprint of hisnature.
The character of God is fullyrevealed in one place, and it's
in the Son of God.
So this morning, we are blessedto be rooted and grounded in
(38:37):
love.
We are blessed to bestrengthened with power by the
Spirit in our inner man.
Now I want to pray this prayeras a prayer, and as Jordan comes
and plays, I want you to stand.
We're gonna pray this prayertogether.
Take a moment and let'sconsider what it means to pray
(39:00):
this prayer by faith.
How many of you believe if wepray this prayer because it's
biblical, God's gonna hear ananswer?
So join with me and follow withme.
Verse 14 of Ephesians 3.
For this reason, I bow my kneesbefore the Father, from whom
(39:25):
every family in heaven and onearth is named, that according
to the riches of his glory, hemay grant you to be strengthened
with power through his spiritin your inner being, so that
Christ may dwell in your heartsthrough faith, that you, being
rooted and grounded in love, mayhave strength to comprehend
(39:49):
with all the saints what is thebreadth and length and height
and depth, and to know the loveof Christ that surpasses
knowledge, that you May befilled with all the fullness of
God.
Now to him who is able to dofar more abundant than all that
(40:09):
we ask or think, according tothe power at work within us.
To him be glory in the churchand in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, forever andever.
Amen.
Lift your hands.
Let's worship.
Thank you, Father.
Thank you, Father.
Thank you that you've heardthis prayer because you inspired
(40:30):
it by your Holy Spirit hundredsthousands of years ago and we
prayed it in faith.
Lord, we know you're going todo it.
We trust you to fulfill thatwhich you we've just prayed.
And Lord, not let it not justbe a one time prayer.
Help us to live this prayer outby praying it daily for those
we love in Christ, for brothersand sisters that we don't know.
(40:51):
Lord, help us to pray thisprayer faithfully in Jesus'
name.
Amen and amen.
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