Audio - Paul’s Prayer for the Church

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The Sixteenth Sunday After Trinity
Paul’s Prayer for the Church
September 23, 2007
 
TEXT:  NKJ Ephesians 3:13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height -- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
 
Paul was a dead man walking in sin until his conversion on the road to Damascus—and he knows better than anyone that he passed from death to life through the message of the Gospel—he is saved by grace—and he wants everyone to know how it is that the power of God that saved him might also save them—earlier in this letter to the Ephesians Paul told the Church that we all pass from death to life in Christ—or we remain dead forever
 
NKJ Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
 
NKJ Ephesians 3:13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
 
As we begin our text, Paul is asking that the Gentiles do not lose heart because he is in a Roman prison awaiting the result of his appeal to Caesar—he reminds the church that it is an honor for a Christian to suffer on behalf of the church—Paul knew this from Jesus’ statement
 
NKJ Matthew 5:11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
 
Peter also proclaims this teaching in his epistles
 
NKJ 1 Peter 4:14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
 
And Paul teaches Timothy the same lesson
 
NKJ 2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
 
Paul’s writings provide further explanation of the suffering of Christians—we should consider as part of this lesson Paul’s letter to the Corinthians—here Paul explains how our suffering in this body—our outward man—can take place—while our inward man (our spiritual being within) is renewed day-by-day
 
NKJ 2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
 
TEXT:  NKJ Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
 
As Paul begins his prayer, he calls God “the Father of ‘OUR’ Lord Jesus Christ—until Christ came, God’s children consisted of the Jews and those circumcised as Jews (demonstrating that they have become part of the household of the Jews)—Christ changed this—now we are His brothers and sisters—part of His spiritual family (brought together by the Spirit within us)—it is only by the Spirit that we know that Jesus is the Christ
 
NKJ 1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
 
The Holy Spirit dwells within us—and our body is a temple
 
NKJ 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
 
We are part of the family of God who belong in heaven
 
NKJ Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
 
TEXT:  NKJ Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
 
Paul is praying that God’s children would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit that dwells within each and every believer—and that God would be glorified by the result of that inner strength of the Holy Spirit—this summarizes what Paul said earlier in his letter
 
NKJ Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
 
We are strengthened by the Spirit—and the Spirit comes through our faith and the power of the Word and sacraments
 
TEXT:  NKJ Ephesians 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height --
 
Paul asks that Christ (the Spirit of Christ—the Holy Spirit)—dwell in our hearts—our heart is the very core of our inner being—both physically and spiritually—Paul asks that we would be “rooted” in love—that everything that we are comes from the roots of love—that the foundation of our faith be strengthened and that our strength be the strength of God—and consider what we know about God
 
NKJ 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
 
It is good here to consider Jesus’ condensing of the commandments to just two
 
NKJ Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
 
God is our strength—God the Holy Spirit dwells within us—God is Love—if we are filled with the Spirit of God—we are filled with God—and we are filled with Love—the Spirit—God—Love—guides us in all things—therefore we do all things in love—with love—and motivated by love—that’s how we can determine men of faith
 
NKJ Matthew 7:20 "Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 21 " Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
 
In Paul’s dissertation on love in his letter to the Corinthians—he starts by telling us that not everyone who speaks love has love—they speak rhetoric—not the fruits of faith
 
NKJ 1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
 
TEXT:  NKJ Ephesians 3:18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height --
 
How will we be able to comprehend the dimensions of the love of Christ?—will this come later when we are in heaven?—as John describes in his Book of Revelation?
 
NKJ Revelation 21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,... 15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.
 
The Lamb is Christ—the Lamb’s wife is the Church—and the New Jerusalem is our glimpse of heaven through the eyes of the Apostle John—John tells us we will see the immensity of the Church in heaven
 
Another possibility of what Paul is teaching might be an extension of his earlier description of the Church on earth of which we are members—built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets—Jesus being the Cornerstone
 
NKJ Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
 
TEXT:  NKJ Ephesians 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
 
We are filled to the very brim—bursting with the Spirit of Christ—Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to teach us, guide us, and fill us with the goodness of God
 
NKJ John 16:13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
 
How did Paul know all this about Jesus?—Paul was a master of the Old Testament—he knew the teachings of Jesus—Paul had surely heard of the things preached by John the Baptist concerning Jesus, the Christ
 
NKJ John 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
 
TEXT:  NKJ Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
 
The conclusion of the matter—there are no limits on the power of God—He can do more than we could ever ask—and He can do more than we can ever imagine—ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!