That We Might Know
Notes
Transcript
Notes
Notes
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
Psalm110 1-3a “The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments.”
Prayer
Prayer
Adoration (the sovereign purpose of God’s will in our triune salvation; the perfection of his wisdom; the presence of his Spirit)
Confession (our failure to prize our inheritance/his presence with us)
Thanksgiving (his blood for our forgiveness)
Supplication:
Benediction
Benediction
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Sermon
Sermon
(read Eph. 1:15-23)
Brothers and sisters, how should we pray? What should drive our prayers, and what should we actually pray about?
Harry Wood was a quiet, dedicated member of a small congregation in a sketchy neighborhood in South Wales, pastored by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Harry had come to Christ late in life under the doctor’s preaching, but had a surprising depth of spiritual insight for someone who had been a believer for such a short time. After one especially rich prayer meeting, Harry expressed disappointment to Dr. Lloyd-Jones: he wished that he had been allowed to go ‘straight Home’—home to the Lord—from just such a meeting.
A little later, at a Monday night prayer meeting in 1931, Lloyd-Jones called on Harry to open the meeting by reading John 17—the High Priestly Prayer from which, last Sunday, we heard about the the eternal love of the Father given to us through the Son. After reading, Harry began to pray with such Spirit-empowered fervor that he seemed, to his pastor, to be more in heaven than on earth. Then, when he had finished praying and went to take his seat, Dr. Lloyd-Jones heard heavy breathing, and opening his eyes, only just had time to catch Harry as he fell to the the floor. He had gone home to the Lord.
The prayer and death of Harry Wood was one of the events which marked an extraordinary spiritual stirring in the congregation that year. The whole congregation seemed moved by a consciousness of the presence of God among them, including Lloyd-Jones himself. And that year, they added more than 120 members who were not previously believers.
But why bring up a story like this? Revival, as experienced by that congregation, is not something that we can manufacture—nor should we ever try. God is sovereign over those outpourings of his Spirit. That is not the point. But this longing for God’s presence—this consciousness of God’s presence—the point is, prayer is always a central part of it.
How did this work for Harry Wood at that prayer meeting in 1931? He read John 17, and responded to its rich truth with whole-hearted prayer. That truth stoked the flame of his desire for God’s presence, and so his prayer was as if he were catching a glimpse of God’s glory in heaven.
But again, how exactly would such prayer sound? What drives it, and what would we actually pray in such a prayer?
In Harry’s case, it was driven by truth—the immeasurable truth about God’s infinite perfections and astounding grace. This is always the fuel for the kind of prayer life which God desires, and there is no substitute for it.
For three Sundays now, we’ve been looking into the richness of God’s grace toward his people in Ephesians 1:1-14. Words cannot do justice to the treasure of what these verses have said to us. And it is these treasures that must fuel our prayer: God speaks his truth to us, and then we respond in prayer. That is why verse 15 of chapter 1 begins with the phrase, “For this reason”—it means, ‘because of what I’ve just explained to you about our salvation—because of the riches of God’s grace, I respond in prayer.’ That is what Paul is saying.
So then, this is the answer to the question, “What should drive and fuel our prayers?” After Paul’s example, rich theology of God’s holiness and grace.
But then, what would the content of such a prayer be? We’ve actually already seen half of the answer. That whole long sentence we finished last Sunday was actually something like a prayer of praise. Remember how it began in verse 3?
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
So then, first of all, our prayers should respond to the truth about God by recounting his greatness, and his merciful kindness toward us in Christ. So this is the first response: our prayers should begin with worshiping God.
But there is a second response. Look at chapter 1 verse 16. Paul says:
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
In other words, because of everything I just wrote to you about the triune grace of God, Paul says, I pray for you.
Although, actually, we must back up again to verse 15. There are actually two things which drive Paul to prayer here. The first, as we’ve seen, is the truth about God’s grace. But the second is this: “because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints.”
So it is not just the raw truth of God’s grace that sends Paul into prayer, but the fact that he sees this grace at work among the Ephesian believers. And what exactly did he see?
Their faith in the Lord Jesus: they had responded to the gospel message by trusting in God’s promises fulfilled in Jesus. Notice, he does not say, “because of your mature faith,” “because of your strong faith,” “because of your long-held, seasoned faith.” He just says, “because of your faith.”
So, Paul is not, here, rejoicing in the fact that, among all of the many congregations he has known, the Ephesians have a particularly strong faith. No. He is simply rejoicing in the fact that they have even the smallest true faith at all—a faith that can be shaken, troubled, beaten down, but that can never die because it has been sealed by the Holy Spirit himself.
And this a core, irreducible thing about being Christian: that you have true faith, however great or small it may be. You are a true Christian if you have trusted in the promises of God, if you are clinging to Christ for salvation.
There is a great temptation to think that other things can substitute for this. Friend, if I ask, “Are you a Christian, a believer?” and you respond, “Oh yes, I just love attending church, and the people are so nice and kind. Yes, I’ve been a Christian my whole life,”—then I’m worried about you. Many, many people love church as a social activity where you can be surrounded by people who show such kindness to you. But if the Lord of the Church is not personally your Lord, and the rock of your salvation, then you are lost.
But Paul, here, recognizes genuine faith in the Ephesian church. He has heard of it—probably through a trusted messenger such as Timothy or Tychicus—and it has caused him to give thanks.
But he recognizes a second thing also: their love toward all the saints. And again, here, this is not necessarily a love which is head and shoulders above what Paul encountered in other congregations. But rather, to be a true believer, at a very basic level, is to be one who loves fellow believers. Love is basic to the Christian life.
But here’s what we do sometimes. We walk up to Jesus and say, “You know, Jesus, I really like you. You’re pretty awesome. But that bride of yours… the Church… she’s kind of lousy.” Of course, we don’t say it in those words. But how easy it is to think that we love Jesus, who we don’t see, while at the same time refusing to love his people, who we do see:
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
And in this day and age, and especially after the COVID-19 lock-downs, I need to add: the word “see” here is very literal. You can’t practice love toward people that you don’t see in person. Not very much, anyway. And the whole shape of “seeing” your brothers and sisters, in the New Testament, is in the context of a local congregation—being members who see and love and care for one another.
And so the “shape” of biblical love is that it begins toward those in your congregation. From there, after you have loved those whom you know personally, that may be difficult to love, your love then overflows toward other believers, such as the saints of Christ Transformation Church, or of other congregations here in Portland. And then, finally, it overflows toward the world as well.
But within the heart of a true believer, there is always at least this small sprout of love which grows out of the little root of faith which springs from the seed of the gospel. And notice the logic here: Paul sees these two basic proofs of genuine Christianity in the Ephesian congregation, and responds by thanking GOD. What is the logic there? That Paul thanks God, because these things ultimately resulted from God’s own supernatural work of opening the Ephesians eyes to the wisdom of the cross.
But do we pray like this? How do you feel about the other members of the congregation? The challenge here to us is that we are NOT to wait until a fellow believer reaches some level of maturity before giving thanks for his faith. That person in the congregation who difficult—how are you to think of him or her? “I thank God for the evidence of basic true faith and love that I see.” You are looking at someone who has been brought from spiritual death to life! This was Paul’s heart, as an example to us: let us thank God for each other in this way.
But Paul does not stop at thanksgiving. How else does he remember them in prayer? Verse 17:
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
He passionately desires that God would do something for them: give them the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of God.
Notice the Triune God at work here again. First, we have the Spirit. Paul has been pleading with God to give the Ephesian congregation the Spirit. But the strange thing about this is that he just told them that they already have the Spirit—they’ve been sealed with the Spirit who is the down-payment of their inheritance (that’s back in verses 13-14).
So what does he mean here? Not that they need to receive the Spirit again, but that God would give them more—that the same Spirit who sealed them and began to dwell in them as a down-payment would fill them up more, with a greater manifestation of God’s presence.
And this is what Paul desires for them. Yet, he is more specific. Not just the Spirit, but, in the second part of verse 17, the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation. And we’ve already heard about this wisdom in verse 8—it’s the wisdom of the cross, of God’s astounding victory over the kingdom of darkness through the violent and tortuous death of his Beloved Son. It’s the wisdom that God gives to us when he lavishes his grace upon us to make us his sons and daughters.
And here, in verse 17, this wisdom is placed in parallel with the word revelation. And so the Spirit is the one who first revealed this wisdom to us, so that we—all true believers, that is—responded in faith and so were saved. But here, Paul is not asking for conversion. He is asking for further work by the Spirit, work in which our wisdom is deepened as the Spirit reveals the central truths of the gospel in greater and greater glory to us, as he opens our eyes wider and wider to see them.
And the goal is a deeper and richer knowledge of God, as it says at the end of verse 17—not because we bypass the gospel and move on to deeper things, but because the gospel of God’s grace is a jaw-dropping revelation of God’s infinite worth. So, as we grow in understanding the gospel, we grow in knowing God himself. We grow in the knowledge of him.
But also, notice that in this verse he is called, “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.” Why bring Jesus into this? Because even our knowledge of God is triune: we know the Father as revealed through the Son by the Spirit’s work to reveal him.
Now, this idea of “the knowledge of God” needs some clarification. In verse 18, it says the same basic thing, but with different words: “having they eyes of your hearts enlightened.” That’s what it means to have true knowledge of God. But the word “heart” here doesn’t mean quite the same thing as it means to us. This isn’t the “Hallmark version” of the heart. This heart refers to the whole inner person.
In American Christianity, we like to talk about head knowledge vs. heart knowledge. And that’s fine. It can be useful. But those really aren’t biblical categories. When Scripture speaks of heart-knowledge, it includes head knowledge as we might understand it. The heart, in Scripture, typically refers to the whole inner person: intellect, desires, will, emotions—all of it. And so this is an all encompassing knowledge of God.
From a biblical viewpoint, if I can tell you about the fact of God’s infinite power, but never respond to this fact in worship, then I don’t truly know it. It’s not that I have head knowledge but just need heart knowledge—I don’t know it at all! The only logical response to finding out about God’s infinite power is worship! But if I truly know something about God’s infinite power—even just a little bit—then I respond in my whole inner being: intellect, desires, emotions, and will. But by the same token, there is no such thing as true heart knowledge without head knowledge. I must first understand that God’s power is infinite before I can respond in adoration.
And this is the kind of knowledge which the Spirit gives through God’s Word—a knowledge that grips the whole person, so that he or she responds in worship… a knowledge which is the fabric of our communion with God.
The mistake of many believers down through the centuries has been to seek union with God in a way that bypasses the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, as it is called in 2 Corinthians 4:6. But the shape of our union with God—the only true union with God—is by union with Christ, which is accomplished by the Spirit, who uses the knowledge of God in Scripture to do this.
And this is why Paul says, “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know...”
So then, in response to the truths of God’s grace, this is how we are to pray for each other: “I thank you for my sister’s faith, and for her love toward the congregation. And Father, please giver her more of your Spirit, that the eyes of her heart might be enlightened to know you, to know the hope to which she has been called...”
And you should absolutely do this. When you are praying, open your Bible to Ephesians 1 and pray this prayer for your brothers and sisters, and for the whole congregation. Consider taking out your church directory and going through it. It’s nine pages: one page a day on weekdays = going through twice a month. A page and a half Monday through Saturday = going through once per week.
And if you find yourself praying for someone who you wish you knew better, or knew how they were doing, then reach out. Now, if you know that someone is enduring a lot of suffering, and you’re not sure if reaching out will help, you can always ask Jeff or me, and we’ll help. But the point is that praying for one another is part of what it means to love each other.
But now, Paul specifies exactly what it is that he wants the Ephesian believers to know. Look at the second half of verse 18:
Ephesians 1:18-19 “…that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe…”
Here, Paul specifies three things that he wants them to know—but actually, these are really just three different ways to say the same thing:
The hope to which we have been called
The riches of our inheritance from God
The immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward us
Of these three, we’ve already seen the first two. Look up at verse 12. There, it describes, “we who were the first to hope in Christ.” This is probably a reference to the first generation of Jewish Christians, who were the first of anyone to believe in Christ—the seed from which the rest of the church grew.
But now, look at verse 13. “In him you also…” This refers specifically to the Ephesian Christians, who were probably mostly Gentile by that time. And it says that these Gentile Christians have received the Spirit as a guarantee of their inheritance. But of course, by the way the whole thing is written, it is obvious that not just Gentiles, but Jews have an inheritance, and not just Jews, but Gentiles have placed their hope in Christ. This hope and this inheritance, then, belong to Jew and Gentile alike, and in equal measure. And Paul is going to expand on this idea as we go through the rest Ephesians.
And so, returning to verses 18-19, we’ve already seen something of the hope God has called us to, and of this rich inheritance he has in store for us. But now, we come to a new idea: power. God’s power.
Do we pray for our brothers and sisters to know God’s power? And what does that even mean? Well, God’s power is, in some sense, visible everywhere. Hebrews 1:3 says that the Father, through the Son:
Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
...upholds the universe by the word of his power.
Keeps it in existence. But Paul has something more specific in mind here—it is God’s, “power toward us who believe.”
Look how he describes it. In verses 20-21 he says that it is according to the working of God’s great might,
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
So then, it is this same death-defeating, hell-defeating power, that has made Christ king over all, which God works on our behalf. And the description of this power is the crescendo of Paul’s prayer.
First, it begins with Jesus’ resurrection from the dead—his defeat of death.
In some sense, you could say that humanity has two basic problems: sin and death. Earlier, we learned about Jesus’ death on our behalf, which brought the forgiveness of sins to us. But, here, we see the other half of his victory: his resurrection, which defeated death. As Jesus said:
John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live…”
But if you have not trusted in Jesus, then these two problems, sin and death still define your heart and your future. The power of God, which Paul describes here, is only, as it says, “toward us who believe.”
But Paul does not stop with Jesus rising from the dead. The power of God goes further. In verse 20, when it says that God, “seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,” this is actually a reference to Psalm 110:1.
The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
In this incredible Psalm of David, Yahweh says to a decedent of David—a human king—“sit at my right hand.” And sit, in this context, means, “be enthroned.” So, this Psalm speaks of a human king who yet share’s God’s own authority over the universe, sitting enthroned in heaven. And that king, of course, is Jesus—truly God, but just as truly man.
And the natural result of this—the outworking of God’s power—is that Jesus’ enemies will be made his footstool. And this is exactly what it is talking about in verse 21 of Ephesians 1, when it says that Christ is enthroned:
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
This is an all-comprehensive statement. If you belong to Christ, there is no enemy that he does not defeat on your behalf. But if you refuse Christ’s rightful universal kingship, you will be crushed along with his enemies.
But also, there is a special focus, here, on supernatural powers. The city of Ephesus was famous for occultic practices—for a preoccupation with supernatural forces manipulated through magic or the occult. One commentator says:
“Ephesian converts, whose who lives had been steeped in attempts to placate unseen, hostile powers, could not easily and quickly shake these old beliefs and patterns of thought. Thus, Paul looks to God in prayer that his audience would be convinced of Christ’s supremacy over any supposed demonic competitor.” - S.M. Baugh
That’s what is being discussed here when it talks about names that can be named—names of demons or spirits. It was thought that you could control a demon by use of its name.
Everywhere that Christianity exists, there is always a danger of syncretism, which means the mixing of a false religion into the gospel. So, one of Paul’s goals here is to convince the Ephesians that it would not just be wrong, but stupid, to try to gain power through naming the name of a spirit or demon. What can you possibly add to the power of God in Christ, which he uses on your behalf?
And this temptation is not absent in our day. There is a widespread infiltration of New Age occult thinking into the American church, through a variety of avenues—for example, Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding, CA, and his so-called, “School of Supernatural Ministry.” Stay away from, and from ministries like it. When you hear of practices like mindfulness, channeling, grave soaking, prayer labyrinths, and even yoga represent the kind of syncretism that Paul was trying to ward off.
And since I mentioned yoga, let me just say that I know that many devout believers practice yoga and enjoy it. I know that. I’m not trying to say that it is some great sin. I suppose that the actual physical forms of yoga can be somewhat distanced from the religious thought that lies behind them. But, I suspect that if Christians knew just how dark—how antichristian—its origins are, they would stay away from yoga altogether. It is essentially an eastern mystic worship form, in a culture which is fascinated with New Age eastern mysticism. But if you practice yoga and want to talk with me more about it, that’s a conversation we can have.
Nevertheless, if these kinds of practices are not legitimate forms of spirituality, or of spiritual warfare, then what are? How are we to engage in warfare with the powers of darkness? Much could be said, and there isn’t time for a detailed discussion this morning. But here, we’re presented with our foundational source of power against Satan’s kingdom, and two weapons of warfare which result from it. The source of power is this: union with the King who is enthroned high above all rule and authority and power and dominion—far, far above every demon and spirit that could ever be named. Renouncing the kingdom of darkness and giving your allegiance to the Beloved Son: that is where power against Satan comes from. And the two weapons? First, hearing and remembering and, if necessary, reciting the truth:
“When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see him there,
Who made an end of all my sin!
One with himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by his blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my savior and my God!
And then, responding to that truth in prayer, both for yourself and for others. In Ephesians 6, we will come across more details for spiritual warfare. But for now, this is what Paul has shown us.
And it is vital for us to grasp these things, because the occult is on the rise in our culture: perhaps some of you have dabbled in it before; but in any case, we need to be prepared to minister to those who, like the Ephesian believers, may come to Christ with some occultic baggage. Paul addresses these issues because demonic powers are real, and have really been defeated by Christ.
But then Paul adds this last little bit:
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Here, again, we have another quote from the Psalms. The phrase, “he put all things under his feet,” is from Psalm 8:6. Speaking of humanity, of mankind, it says:
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
It is talking about all Creation. God made humans to rule over Creation, as vassal kings under the great King, the Creator, God. That’s what we see in Genesis 1 and 2. But in Genesis 3, when we in Adam turned away from God and rejected his Kingship—that’s really what Adam and Eve did in the garden—our rulership over creation was fractured, badly damaged.
But here we see that Christ is the head of a new humanity. He is the new and better Adam, rightful king over the whole universe, over all Creation. And one day, when he returns, he will make it all new.
But now, we need to pause for a second. Why is Paul talking about this? Remember—verse 19—this is about the immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward us who believe. But then, how is God’s power in making Christ king of the universe—how is it toward us who believe?
Verse 22 does not just say that God put all things under Jesus’ feet, but also that he gave Jesus as head over all things to the church, which is his body.
You see, if God simply put all things under Jesus’ feet, that that is where we would be as well: enemies of God, destined to be defeated by Christ. And that is your destiny if you have not trusted in him. But, God, in his measureless grace, also sent Jesus as the king who would redeem a people for God, and would be their head as they are his body.
This is really just another image for union with Christ. He is our head, our king—but in a sense where we are his body, intimately united with him. The result of this is that, even as he is our exalted king, yet we also reign with him. What does it say at the end of verse 23? We are, “the fullness of him who fills all in all.” So how does the presence of Jesus actually go forward in the world? Through weak little people like us, in God’s power. That is our hope, our inheritance: we are united to the Son by the Spirit, and this is the result.
So then, how should we pray? What should we actually pray about?
The core of our prayers must be worship toward God for such an astonishing redemption, thanksgiving as we see that redemption worked out in believers around us, and then this great request: that your eyes, and the eyes of your brothers and sister, would be illuminated to really see this—this hope, this inheritance, this immeasurably great power of God—and so be transformed, sustained, and drawn to worship.
Prayer
Prayer
Communion
Communion
Ask those selected to come forward and prepare to serve the congregation
“The Lord’s Table, which we are about to partake of, is a symbol of our union with Christ. We eat his flesh and drink his blood, spiritually speaking; we are united with him in his death and resurrection. And so, this is to be a moment of particular joy for us: “One with himself we cannot die; Our souls are purchased by his blood.” This is a symbol of "the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, in Christ.”
But because it is a symbol of Union with Christ, it is only appropriate for believers. And so, if you are a believer who has already symbolized the beginning of your Union with Christ through baptism, and are in good standing with your local congregation, we welcome you with joy to participate in this meal with us. And if you are not a believer, we welcome you to observe the bread and the cup, and contemplate their meaning: that Jesus opened his veins to give us entrance into his kingdom; that Jesus gave his body to be broken for our redemption.
Prayer
Passing out the bread
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “…the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.””
Passing out the cup
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”