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Date: October 9, 2022
Introduction: What we have this week is the closing of Paul’s prayer that he began in Ephesians 3:14-19.
Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”
“Now to Him”
Who does this refer to?
I’ll give you a hint, He’s the One that Paul mentioned can strengthen our inner man/heart with His Own power!
This refers to God the Father!
Paul’s statement here is directed to God the Father, Who alone has the power to strengthen our heart to faithfully live to please the Lord and combat discouragement.
What do we call what one does when they are directly talking to God?
Prayer!
In this closing where Paul is directly speaking to God in prayer, Paul is going to say some amazing things about God.
What Paul is going to do is teach us that prayer is more than just asking God for things but also talking about God’s great character by showing us how to pray like he does.
“who is able to do”
What does it mean to be able to do something?
You posses the power, knowledge, and skills to undertake something!
Illustration: Riding a bicycle
“far more abundantly”
What does it mean for something to be far?
There’s a great distance between one point and another!
Or, it can mean that there’s a great amount of something.
What does it mean to have more?
You have extra related to something.
Example: ice-cream (who would like more after they’ve already had some?)
What does the word “abundantly” mean?
The something that you have, you have a really big amount of.
It may be so much that it’s hard to even think of it ever ending
When we put all these ideas together, Paul is talking about something that God has in an amount that is far greater than we could ever imagine.
What is it that Paul has identified concerning God that is “far more abundantly”?
God’s ability!
(“who is able to do”)
God has this abundant ability that is far greater than any ability we could ever know.
How is it that God uses this ability?
Remember Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians.
He does not want them to be discouraged.
Instead, he wants them to be empowered so that they would look like Christ in their actions and love others like Christ loves.
“beyond”
What does the word “beyond” mean?
It’s outside of our reach
Illustration: losing something under the couch where you can see it but your arm is not long enough to reach it
“all that we ask”
There are two things that are beyond our reach, but not God’s!
You cannot out-ask God, when it comes to His ability to make you like Jesus and to love like Jesus does!
This is so encouraging because, I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I can get so discouraged that I don’t act enough or love enough like Jesus does!
None of us can wear God out in asking Him to help us to become like Jesus!
“or think,”
God is able to do far more than we could ever imagine in our own thinking to help us to become like Christ!
You can only think of so many ways to be like Jesus.
But God has more and this is a good thing because we need God’s help to be more like Jesus.
This is so encouraging because it reminds us that we are not alone in God’s plan for us to become like Jesus if the Lord Jesus is your Savior.
Who “is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” from Ephesians 3:20?
Answer: God the Father
Dig Deeper Idea: Ask the clubbers for their ideas as to what this means
You may then want to ask them what they might do with the kind of unlimited power that God demonstrates
After taking some answers, ask the clubbers what is it that God does with His unlimited power?
Answer: God the Father helps us to become more like Jesus Christ in our actions and loving others
This would be a good place to explain that while we might use this kind of power for ourselves, God uses His great power to help us
according to the power that works within us,”
What is “the power that works within us”?
The answer is found in Ephesians 3:16.
The answer is a Person.
Who is “the power that works within us”?
It’s the Holy Spirit!
How is it that the Holy Spirit comes to be “within” a person?
By receiving the Lord Jesus as your Savior!
Remember, this is a blessing of being saved: having the Holy Spirit live within you.
If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you have constant access to God’s power through the Holy Spirit Who lives inside of you to help you to be like Jesus Christ is your actions and love.
According to Ephesians 3:20, Who is the “power that works within us”?
Answer: the Holy Spirit!
Dig Deeper Idea: How can one get the Holy Spirit in their life?
Answer: By receiving the Lord Jesus as your Savior
Ephesians 3:21 “to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.
Amen.”
“to Him”
Who does this refer to again?
God!
The same One that was referred to in Eph 3:20 and Who is able to strengthen our hearts so that, instead of being discouraged we would be more like Jesus!
“be the glory”
What word comes before “glory” in this verse?
“the”
This word “the” makes this glory stand apart.
It’s not just any glory!
It’s glory that stands out from all the others.
If this is part of Paul’s initial prayer to God for the Ephesians, what is it that Paul asks for here?
That God would get the glory that He deserves.
What is glory?
Illustration: have you ever heard the phrase, “he had his moment of glory”?
Usually, we use that phrase to refer to when someone receives a lot of praise for something that they’ve done.
Example: winning the Super Bowl.
Glory refers to giving God the praise that He deserves because He is great beyond all comparison.
According to Ephesians 3:20, what is God able to do that He deserves all the praise for?
He’s able to do more than we can possibly imagine!
In other words, He has unsurpassed power!
You know the way that God chooses to use this power?
He chooses to use it so that we would become more like Jesus Christ.
He chooses to use His power so that we would be encouraged to remain faithful to Him instead of discouraged.
According to Ephesians 3:20, Because God has all-power that He uses to help us become more like Jesus Christ in our actions and loving others, what is it that He deserves?
Answer: all the glory!
“in the church”
Where is it that God is to receive glory from?
The Church!
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