Taught 11/2/2008
Ephesians 3:14-21
Praying for Experience
Pray
Intro
√ Praying for experience
You’ll remember that our last study we found that Paul began chapter 3 with a prayer for his friends in Ephesus….
…but, he then followed a divine rabbit trail for the next 12 verses where he expounded upon the mystery of the Church!
The New Testament marvel where Jews and Gentiles are united together in Christ into a living being…
…the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the Church!
So, in our study this morning we pick up where Paul left on in vs. 1, that is, with his prayer for the believers in Ephesus to experience the truths that he has just written about.
Ap. Praying for the best
This is the second of Paul’s prayers in his letter to the Ephesians and like his other so-called “prison prayers” you’ll note that he doesn’t pray for physical or material blessings.
Rather he prays for the spiritual needs of the Christians in Ephesus.
Not that it’s wrong to pray for our material needs, Jesus certainly encouraged us to do so (see the “Lord’s prayer).
But, Paul recognized that the greatest need his friends had was for growth of the inner man.
That’s because when the inner spiritual man is what it ought to be, the outer man will be taken care of! (ref. Matt. 6:33).
So, this prayer reminds us that we ought to spend more time praying for spiritual growth for ourselves and others rather than for the material things that so often fill our prayer lists.
Paul’s Prayer (vs. 14-15)
Eph. 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph. 3:15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
√ Paul’s prayer
You’ll note that vs. 14 begins just like vs. 1 when Paul first started his prayer…
“For this reason I…” ~ Eph. 3:1
“For this reason I…” ~ Eph. 3:14
What reason? Paul’s prayer for his friends in Ephesus sprang forth from his desire that they would fully experience what he had just described in chapters 1-3!
Peace with God, and with one another.
Unity in the Body of Christ between believing Jews and Gentiles.
Grace for every situation they might face in life.
Paul’s concern was that they would not just know about the amazing spiritual riches available to them in Christ…
…but also that they would experience them!
Ap. Christianity is a living faith
It’s not just a set of doctrines or creeds that we believe to be true, Christianity is supposed to be a vital living relationship with God!
If we don’t actually experience Christ on a personal level then we can’t know His power to live for Him…
…nor do we have anything to offer the unbeliever!
So, Paul prays that his friends would experience Jesus in an intimate and powerful way…
…primarily through their participation in the Church.
√ Praying
You’ll notice that Paul says that he bowed his knees to the Father.
Makes for an interesting picture!
Paul’s in jail chained between two Roman guards.
Can you imagine what it must have like for those guards chained to Paul!?
Did they have to bow when he did?
I wonder what effect if any Paul’s prayer life had on those chained to him? Was it in part his prayers that brought the Praetorian guard to faith in Jesus?
Reminds us that public prayer has a powerful effect on the unbeliever too!
In any event we read that Paul bowed his knees in prayer.
That is a of course a common position for people to assume when praying, but don’t make the mistake of concluding that is the only way to pray!
The Bible doesn’t command any specific position for prayer, rather we find people praying in all sorts of ways…
David sat before the Lord when he prayed (I Chr. 17:16).
Solomon stood when he prayed to dedicate the Temple (1 Kings 8:22).
Jesus fell on His face when He prayed in the garden (Matt. 26:39).
The point is that our physical position is not important when we pray…
…rather it’s our spiritual position!
That we’ve bowed our hearts and will to the Lord!
So, when you pray or worship don’t fall into the trap of religion and think that God is concerned with your physical position…
…He’s looking at your heart!
Ap. Beware of prayer techniques!
There’s a lot of strange teaching floating around the Church today that place an unbiblical emphasis on prayer technique rather than on relationship.
Your prayers won’t be any more effective whether you’re kneeling, standing, walking, of laying flat on your face!
So, let the Spirit lead you and pray as you’re led!
Paul’s Petition (vs. 16-19)
Eph. 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,
Eph. 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
Eph. 3:18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—
Eph. 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
√ Paul’s petition
There are four requests in Paul’s prayer, but they aren’t independent of one another, rather, they’re all linked together.
Each request leads to the next.
He prays for his friends in Ephesus that…
The inner man might be strengthened
Which in turn will lead to a deeper relationship with Christ.
That will enable the believer to experience God’s love to a great degree.
All of which will bring his friends to the full measure of what God has made available to them.
Can I just say that’s a great prayer!
Just as we learned in Paul’s first prayer back in chapter 1:15-23, this too is a great model prayer!
Every believer in every age will benefit when these requests are made on their behalf!
So, when you don’t know how to pray for someone follow Paul’s Spirit-led prayer as a model!
Strength ~ vs. 16
Paul prays…
“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 knew that it wasn’t easy to remain faithful to Christ in this life, after all he was writing from jail because of his faith!
So, he prays that his friends would be strengthened so that they might endure the hardships and trials of this life.
The word “strengthened” literally means…
“to be strong to overcome resistance”
Paul understood that the Christian life is one that is full of resistance, resistance in the form of…
Spiritual warfare
Emotional distress
Mental anguish
Physical persecution
In a very real sense the Christian is swimming against the current of a society divorced from God.
The enemy and the world system that is under his sway are constantly placing obstacles in our path in an attempt to keep us from living for Christ!
We’re inundated by anti-Christian messages and philosophies that resist our spiritual growth and undermine our faith.
Ex. Television programming
Think of all the shows on TV and then ask yourself how many actually encourage a Christ-like behavior and worldview?
How many promote sexual purity?
How many speak highly of the Christian faith, Church, and Christians?
How many clearly articulate the Christian worldview without bias?
How many present a Biblical model of a healthy family with a male father and a female mother who love and respect each other, and kids who love and obey their parents?
Few to none!
The reality is that our faith is under continuous attack, no wonder Christians are confused about what they should believe about God and what He desires for our lives!
Ex. TV shows ~ ER, House, etc.
How many times have you heard a dialogue between the “smart” doctor and a “simple” Christian patient that goes something like this…
Doctor ~ “You were born with a defective heart”
Patient ~ “I’m trusting God to get me through this surgery”.
Doctor ~ “How come I’m always having to fix the mistakes your God makes!?”
The point of the conversation is to discredit belief in God based on the logic that a good God wouldn’t create people with defective parts.
Here’s the problem with that logic and what you’ll never hear on TV…
“Actually doctor your theology is flawed and therefore your conclusion wrong. God didn’t design us with these flaws, rather He designed us perfectly and what you’re having to fix is the result of sin’s introduction into the human race.”
The point is that we’re constantly confronted with obstacles to our faith!
So Paul prays for his friends to be strengthened to overcome the resistance of the world because…
…without the strength of the Holy Spirit none of them would be able to overcome the resistance of the enemy.
The same is true today! We need to pray for one another, the ministries we support, our kids and friends, to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to overcome everything the Devil puts in our path!
Depth ~ vs. 17
Paul’s second request is…
“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love”
He uses three verbs to convey his request that they grow in the depth of their spiritual knowledge and experience.
Dwell
Rooted
Grounded
The verb “dwell” literally means…
“To settle down and feel at home”
Paul’s not talking about a salvation experience, the Ephesians were already saved, so Christ had already come to dwell in their hearts.
Rather, Paul’s prayer is that they might enjoy a deeper experience with Jesus where He’s welcomed to fully inhabit the believers life.
That they might move from a casual relationship with Christ to a truly intimate fellowship with Him.
Ex. Our home
Jacob vs. Ricky Bobby
Paul’s prayer is that his friends in Ephesus, and we too, would open up our heart’s to the Lord and allow Him the freedom to settle down and feel at home.
Ap. Is Jesus welcome in every part of your heart?
Or do you have hidden rooms and closets that you don’t invite Jesus into because you know He wouldn’t be comfortable?
√ Rooted and Grounded
To be “rooted” calls to mind the illustration of a tree, much like the imagery the Psalmist used in Psalm 1 of the godly man…
“He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.”
A tree with good deep roots is both well nourished and stable so that it can survive dry times and storms!
Paul’s prayer is that like a tree our faith might have deep roots…
…tapping into the nourishment of God’s word and the strength of the God’s love.
The verb “grounded” is an architectural term and is used of the foundations upon which a building is built.
Paul’s prayer is that our Christian life would be more than just an attractive structure…
…but that the unseen foundations of our faith would be strong enough to support the convictions and beliefs we proclaim.
A deep faith is necessary because our faith will be tested! Just as Jesus warned in the Parable of the Soils those with shallow roots don’t survive!
Ap. Deep roots
Only develop in times of drought!
That’s why the Lord allows us to go through seasons of drought ~ spiritually dry times.
So that we’ll be forced to drive our roots deeper into His word and His love where we’ll find the nourishment and stability needed to endure the trials of life.
Don’t be surprised then when you have dry times in your spiritual experience! That’s how we grow in faith.
Comprehension ~ vs. 18-19a
With those deep roots we can then experience the next blessing that Paul prayed for Christians…
“may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge…”
The word “comprehend” in the original Greek carries greater meaning than our English word.
It means to “grasp”, not just mentally, but also experientially.
That is, Paul’s prayer was that the Ephesian believers would not just get their mind around the awesome extent of God’s love for them…
…but that they would also experience that love!
Ap. Head to heart knowledge
It’s possible to understand something but never to actually experience it.
We call that “head knowledge” vs. “heart knowledge”
Maybe you’re like me, and the Ephesians, who knew and understood the theological truths of God’s love for Mankind…
…but don’t actually experience it.
You might be able to tell others with great conviction about how much God loves them…
…but you’re still not sure that He really loves you!
That’s what Paul wanted his friends, and you, to experience! God’s totally awesome and unending love!
Ap. Great prayer for yourself and others!
4) Fullness ~ vs. 19b
Paul’s last request is…
“…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” ~ NKJV
The NKJV is a little awkward here because as it is translated it wrongly implies that the believer can contain the fullness of God Himself!
Can’t happen because God transcends the universe that He created!
As Solomon rightly understood…
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!”
1 Kings 8:27
Back to our text, a better translation is found in the NIV where vs. 19 is rendered…
“…that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” ~ NIV
That is, Paul’s prayer is that each believer would be filled completely with the knowledge and love of God.
Ex. Filling a bottle with water from the ocean
You can fill the bottle up and say…
“The bottle is filled full of the ocean”
But you can’t say…
“The bottle is filled with the full ocean”
That’s because the ocean is too big to fit into the bottle!
Ap. Filled full of God!
In the same way as the bottle we’ve been filled up with the presence, power, and love of God.
The problem is that like the Ephesians most believers don’t experience the reality of His fullness in their lives…
…because they haven’t yielded the entirety of their being unto God.
So, Paul prayer is that the Ephesian believers, and you and I, begin to experience the fullness of God’s work in their lives.
Paul’s Praise (vs. 20-21)
Eph. 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,
Eph. 3:21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
√ Paul’s praise
Paul closes his prayer with a word of praise for all that God has done for those who trust in Him.
Notice that he isn’t satisfied to just write of all that God has done…
…he’s got to pull out every word he knows to communicate the vastness of God’s power and love for us.
He hasn’t just done all for us, He’s done…
“exceedingly abundantly above all”
His point is that the power that God has bestowed upon us, and the great love with which He loves us is so vast that we can’t measure it!
We’ll never run out of the power we need to serve God.
We’ll never overload the ability of the Holy Spirit within us to get us safely through this life.
We’ll never be able to use up God’s love for us.
We’ll never exceed His capacity to love us!
Rather, God’s power and love exceed what we can ask for or imagine!
Close
√ Praying for experience
Ap. His power and love are there ~ are you experiencing them?
If you aren’t experiencing the power and love of God the way that Paul describes it, it may be that like the Ephesians you’ve cut yourself off from the riches God’s given you through…
Unbelief
Unconfessed sin
Careless living
Worldliness in action or attitude
Any of the above can rob you of the power that God has given us in Christ.
If you want to enjoy His power and love to the full measure of what He’s made available to you then get right with Him this morning and deal with whatever is robbing you of His power.