Church Matters: A Praying People

Ephesians 3:14–21 ESV

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

If God answered all of your prayers from this past week, what would look different in your world?

What about around our church family?

What about around the country?

What about in your own family?

How many of those things had to do with temporal situations?

I would contend that mine and your greatest problem in prayer is that we do not pray like God desires.

We pray for things that are far too “little”

We need to begin today by acknowledging that prayer is a reality that is at the heart of being a Christian.

A Christian is One who has been changed at the core.

When God changes a person’s heart, He give them new desire.

New longings.

New Yearnings.

One of the longings is prayer.

Romans 8:14–16 ESV

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

It’s not that a Christian needs to be taught to long to cry out to God.

But why do our prayers so often sound so small?

Temporary.

Fleeting.

Situational.

Ultimately, because we KNOW our own weakness.

1 Corinthians 2:3 ESV

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,

At times we don’t even know what to pray for...

It’s not that these are wrong to pray for these things.

It’s not that we pray for the wrong things, but we pray too small.

Small prayer focuses on situations, BIG prayer prays for God's power to reveal and grasp His love for us through Jesus Christ.

But there is good news, the Bible gives us a picture of what is means to PRAY BIG.

Ephesians 3:6 ESV

This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Message of the Gospel

The Mystery Revealed

(Ephesians 3:6-13)

Now the word for mystery simply means it was formerly something hidden but now has been revealed.

The good news of the gospel was hidden to the OT saints.

But NOW the gospel has been made known to all!

Ephesians 3:8–10 ESV

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

It’s the good news message that Jesus has come, lived, died, and rose again that is at the center of Paul’s mind.

The Gentiles who were once far off can now share in the promises through Jesus Christ!

Ephesians 3:1 (ESV)

For this reason I, Paul...

He literally picks up where he left off from verse 1.

Ephesians 3:14 ESV

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

The idea of a Jewish man bowing his knees, especially in prayer was rare.

Jewish men never bowed their knees in prayer.

Jewish men always stood when they prayed.

But this wonder of the gospel has humbled Paul so much that he bows his knees.

Isaiah 45:23 (ESV)

‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

The Father has chosen from among every nation those who will be adopted as son’s and daughter’s into His family.

The Father has purposed this to happen and it has deeply humbled the Apostle Paul.

John 1:12–13 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Paul, who once considered that salvation was a matter of ethnic background.

Paul, who once tried to stamp out this “Way of Jesus.”

No longer stands, but kneels “before the Father” showing His deep intimate relationship between himself and the Father.

Ephesians 3:14–15 ESV

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

Now Paul picks up and recognizes what is humbling him.

It’s that every “family” is named under heaven from Him.

Human families are a reflection of the GODHEAD.

He is praying that all the nations, who have been blessed through Abraham is seen in the blessing of Jesus Christ.

All of this leads the Apostle into Prayer and Doxology....

Modeling the Method of Prayer

What would a prayer of revival sound like?

If we really to ask God to do something in our midst, what would we ask Him?

Ephesians 3:16 ESV

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Paul governs the idea of the inward renewal by saying that it may be according to the riches of His glory.

That the renewal may be in step with the purposes that God has already begun to work within us (Philippians 2:12-13).

The riches of His glory is seen in the gospel

Philippians 4:19 ESV

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Strengthened with Power in Our Inner Being

(Eph 3:14-17)

Paul prays for these believers to be strengthened with POWER through the Spirit.

Ephesians 3:16 ESV

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

According to the ABUNDANCE of WHO GOD IS, may He grant you power in your inner being!

The phrase, “in your inner being” does not represent the goal that Paul prays for.

Rather it is the location of the Spirits power being applied.

We pray for the Spirit to apply His strength with power “within” us or “inside us”.

Decaying Yet Renewed

“Personal Communion”

Think about a person who is older in years…

Their body is decaying, life has become much harder for them, age is catching up to them.

But this person, they are joyful in the Lord.

Why is this?

Now think about another person, same stage in life.

Same age, same hardships, but are bitter and crudity.

What is happening in these two people?

The one is being renewed day by day in their inner person, while the other is beginning to show their inner person.

The same word that is used in verse 16 for “inner being” is the exact expression that Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Literally, “our outer man” is wasting away, while “our inner man” is being renewed.

General hardship is outwardly being “destroyed” or “spoiled” but inwardly is being “restored” “renewed” “brought back”.

The renewal to a return to the state that God is perfecting us into, and this does not occur externally, but internally.

Ephesians 3:16 ESV

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

God’s Power of Renewal Through the Spirit

Paul Tripp uses an illustration which I think is helpful.

When God breaks into our life and changes us, it would be comparable to person who goes and purchases a fixer upper.

We are fully and completely His property.

We are no longer owned and operated by the evil one.

But, if you have ever worked on a fixer upper, you know the work needed.

Horrendous floors.

Leaks in the ceiling.

Leaks in the basement.

Ugly walls.

The Holy Spirit’s power within us is like a demolition crew breaking down the ugly, unkept portions of our heart.

Notice the purpose this is to have in us!!

Ephesians 3:16–17 (ESV)

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith...

The purpose of this strengthening our “inner being” through the Holy Spirit is so that Jesus may DWELL in us through faith.

This word for “dwell” can be literally rendered as “live” or “settle (down)” (BDAG).

The goal of Paul’s prayer for us is that Jesus would make His home within our hearts.

Which leads us to Paul’s next prayer request...

Ephesians 3:17–19 ESV

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Grasp the Love of God in the Gospel

(Eph 3:18-19)

Now notice that word “in love”...

Rooted like a Tree & Firm like a Foundation

His prayer is that we would be ROOTED like a Tree in the Soil of Love.

The word for “rooted” comes from the root word which is used to describe trees “roots.”

His prayer is that we would be FIRM like a Foundation on the Bedrock of Love

This imagery of a home or dwelling is unique because Paul describes us being “grounded in love” the same word used for the foundation of a house.

Now is this our love for God?

Is this our love for one another?

I want to be abundantly clear here.

It’s NOT wrong to pray for our love for Jesus to increase.

That is a good thing to pray for.

But the profound thing here is that Paul prays that we would be ROOTED and GROUNDED in Jesus’ love for us.

These two metaphors of tree roots and building foundations are strong as they express the nature of our experience of the love of Christ.

“Love is the soil in which believers are rooted and will grow, the foundation upon which they are built.”

The plant of faith (that God gives) grows in the soil of love.

If our experience of God does not happen in the sphere of love, then our trust in Him will be proportionate to our experience of love.

If we don’t comprehend that God loves us then our trust in Him will be limited.

God’s love in the gospel, Jesus’ substitutionary wrath bearing sacrifice for sinners.

The Purpose of God: Ephesians Chapter 6: Paul’s Second Prayer for His Readers (3:14–21)

He is praying that our understanding will be able to penetrate one of the great mysteries. It is not enough that we understand God to be loving, nor that we understand there to be a love that belongs to Christ. We need divine power to have a deeper understanding of the dimensions of the love of Christ.

Ephesians 3:17–19 (ESV)

that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

That we would have the strength to comprehend the love of Christ for us.

There is an important distinction here, Paul is not praying that we would love Jesus more.

There is nothing wrong with praying and asking that we would love Jesus more.

But that is not what he asks for. Notice verse 19 again, Paul prays that we would know Jesus’ love for us that surpasses knowledge.

It’s not a prayer that we would love Jesus more, it’s a prayer that we would more fully grasp Jesus’ unfathomable love for us.

That we would have the strength of God to hold on to ourself God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.

Grasp with the Saint

“Public Comprehension”

The thing is, as John Stott says,

“We need the whole people of God to understand the whole love of God.”

So when someone comes to me and says, “Pastor, pray for me and this relationship, there is deep conflict.”

I pray for them.

But one of my major prayer requests is, “Let them comprehend the love God has for them in the gospel, then they will reconcile!”

There is NO such thing as a lone ranger Christian.

Comprehending the love of God for sinners requires young and old, every member of the household of God walking together with each other.

Romans 15:13 ESV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul’s prayer here is similar to Ephesians 3:14-21, when he says that God would fill us.

That He would fill our hearts with “joy and peace in believing.”

God is the ONE who imparts this to us.

God is the One who does this in us.

1 Peter 1:8–9 ESV

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

This is not simply intellectually acquiring more knowledge of the love of God, but a greater taste of the beauty of Jesus (1 Peter 2:3).

Ephesians 3:18–19 ESV

may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

These four terms look simple on the surface.

But they are profound.

What about it’s breadth?

It has room for every diverse race and culture imaginable.

What about it’s length?

It began before the foundation of the world, and will lead us into eternity.

What about it’s height?

It goes beyond knowledge to a place we cannot seek to explain, only enjoy.

What about it’s depth?

Thoughts and words are abandoned at the sight of it and leave us breathless.

We cannot be spiritually mature without grasping this reality.

Which is why he states finally....

Ephesians 3:18–19 ESV

may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Filled with the Fullness of God

We remember what Paul says in another place...

Colossians 1:19–20 ESV

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

“No matter how much we know of the love of Christ, how fully we enter into his love for us, there is always more to know and experience. And the implication, in the light of the following words, is that we cannot be as spiritually mature as we should be unless we are empowered by God to ‘grasp the limitless dimensions of the love of Christ’.” (O’Brien)

I don’t care how long you’ve sat in church.

I don’t care how much you think you know of the Bible.

The mature Christian knows that they have NOT grasped the full measure of the love of Christ for them.

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 ESV

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The fullness of God is seen in Jesus Christ, and Paul prays that we would be filled with all of His fullness.

Which leads him to these last remarks...

Magnification

Prayer & Doxology

Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

We are dependent on the power of God in us.

All Christian’s struggle or have struggled with this at some point.

We don’t like to be needy before God.

But the reality of being a Christian is we are utterly dependent upon Him.

Jesus is the One who does far more abundantly than anything we ask or think.

He does it through His power which is already at work within us.

That word for “far more abundantly” is defined like this, “quite beyond all measure (highest form of comparison imaginable)” (BDAG).

2 Corinthians 12:10 (ESV)

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Our aim in prayer is the Glory of God.

Our greatest joy, and God’s greatest glory are NOT opposed to each other.

Quite the opposite.

Small prayer focuses on situations, BIG prayer prays for God's power to reveal and grasp His love for us through Jesus Christ.