Gird your Loins or Dress for Action
Notes
Transcript
20 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, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Well there we have it, we are about to embark on the last few chapters of this epistle. And this is one of the more dramatic contrasts that we have from Paul that mirrors Romans from chapter 11 to 12. That is, we are leaving the land of the indicatives and exploring the world of imperatives.
FROM: The land where we are told of all the wonderful things God has done for us as believers in Christ.
To: The land of; and now live in this way in light of what he has done. Where the fullness of God is found.
We enjoyed the wonderful prayer at the borderland of this indicative land where Paul asks that the indicatives would find its place deep within our heart and cause us to be filled with all the fullness of God.
And now we embark on the particulars of what must be done by us in light of Christ in order to enjoy the land of the fullness of God.
Perhaps a fitting analogy is something the forefathers of this nation went through in the early 17th century as they crossed the Atlantic from the English coast to settle a colony in the Americas. They left a world behind for a brand new one that was filled with such promise, yet filled with many dangers.
And we are called on by Paul to leave an old world behind and travel to a new world of possibilities to enjoy the fruit of a life full of God.
Imagine how frightening such a voyage would be. I grimace at any long car ride I must go on today, but I am assuage in the reality that if I forgot anything I can pick it up at the local wal mart wherever I am going.
But here, such a voyage is so foreign that such comfort does not exist. You are going into the unknown driven by a promise that what lies in the voyage is a better life.
Now before we enter that voyage of chapter 4, we left off a few verses shy in chapter 3. Originally I thought this might make for an awkward in between sermon to get us to this major breaking point of Ephesians but I think these last two verses help us gear up well, gather our loins, or dress for action well before we make that fateful voyage into imperatives.
What gather up your loins, or dress for action means
Ephesians 3:20-21.
And what we have here is a doxology or an ending to not only the prayer we saw two weeks ago, but the first half of the epistle as a whole. He has just got done proclaiming with such fervent worship all the spiritual blessings that are found in Christ by faith, and then he petitions that this edifice would find its place deep within our hearts to enable us to enjoy the fullness of God today. And then he ends with this divine and wonderful doxology of praise to God before the voyage into the imperatives commence.
And we need to see this doxology as an opportunity to remind ourselves once more of what is needed before we can survive such a blessed journey. For if the voyage is not founded on this doxology, disaster is sure to happen not long in our efforts.
20: The power at work (for the voyage)
21: The proper end of the voyage
Ephesians 3:20 “20 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,”
The conviction laid out time and time again in Scripture is that the God who exists, the only true God, is always able.
This speaks directly of God’s omnipotence, or all-power. Any power revealed in creation is just an example of the all power that is God- from the ant who carries its seed from point A, to point B, to the moon that will slide across the sky in front of our sun to show the power of the objects of space.
2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Meat to eat:
23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”
Perhaps the power of God is most displayed in creation in the fact that on day one of creation:
Genesis 1:2 “2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
To the following week when man was naming all the creatures that was living on God’s earth freshly created by his powerful hand
But Paul’s point is to go deeper than what man’s experience can grasp though. He says:
Ephesians 3:20 “20 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,”
Now we can ask for a lot of things, and we can think of even more.
If I ask my child what he would like for Christmas, he would do well to ask for things he think is possible to get. If he wastes his time asking for horses, spaceships and a red rider bebe gun that he would clearly shoot his eye out, he would be asking for things too much. He is in better territory to ask strategically of things that could be attained.
But if I ask him what would you like that seems only possible in your thoughts…the petitions would get far more grandiose…give me three ponies and a spaceship to get to mars!
Paul says, even what we can only imagine, or think of, God can do far more abundantly.
William Hendriksen: God is able to do all we ask him to do; he is even able to do all that we dare not ask but merely imagine: he can do more than this; far more; very far more
You know why the angels shouted for joy as they witnessed the creative power of God that first week? Because he had done far more abundantly than any of them could have asked or thought
6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
But notice it is a particular power displayed that Paul has in mind that is not talking about his physical creative power at all.
Ephesians 3:20 “20 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,”
There is a power displayed by God at the creation and how he even maintains his creation each day—but the power Paul has in mind in this doxology of praise is the power that goes beyond our thoughts that is at work in each and everyone of us that call upon the name of the Lord.
Consider that for a quick moment as we prepare to depart to the land of imperatives: the next time you see something in God’s creation that makes you especially go woah, know that the same source of power is at work in you.
When you see the moon slide in front of the sun this April, marvel at the fact that the same hand that is sliding these celestial bodies in place is also the same hand at work in you
To do what?
To accomplish all the spiritual blessings Paul has been laying out in the last 3 chapters: that though we were once enslaved to sin, he has adopted us, through the blood of Christ, for an inheritance of righteousness.
And further more, and more directly to do with context before us now, the same power will enable us to enjoy the fullness of God today in the imperative land
With each and every wave of adversity on the journey through imperatives to the fullness of God that reminds you of your weakness, with each and every starless night as the storms bring torrential downpour: remember the power that carries you
As you see the different commands by Paul that especially hit at your certain weaknesses facing at present
Do not be bitter or angry, be kind, keep from sexual immorality, submit to your husband, love your wife, obey your parents, put on the full armor of God
Remind yourself of this truth right here: there is a divine power working within you that is more powerful than you can either ask or think.
If you cannot even think of how weak you are, know that you likewise cannot even imagine how strong God is at work within you.
But it’s vital to understand that God’s power within you to obey or enjoy his fullness does not mean your are passive…you are active with his power
29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
The power at work within us is working the petition Paul just prayed, that we would enjoy the fullness of God…that we would complete our journey in the imperatives to the fullness of God. Overcoming our sin, and practicing the righteousness of God.
And what Paul ends this doxology with summarizes that end well:
Introduce this next verse with analogy?
Ephesians 3:21 “21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
God works powerfully within us, to overcome our sin and gives us the enjoyment of his fullness, so that he would be glorified.
Glorify is to give high honor for a particular act
Notice who gets all the interviews first after the Ohio State, Michigan game
The winning team
The winning coach
The most valuable player on the winning team
Whose going to get the glory or honor if I put on a concert right by the same venue that Taylor Swift puts on a show?
God has put something natural in us, to give high honor to those who display great power in things.
God has and is displaying his power in order to be honored
And God is like not like a sports team, or a popular singer that we can point to and glorify…instead he is glorified in the different ways he reveals his power in his creation
Ephesians 3:21 “21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
God is glorified in all of his creation because it displays his power in different ways. But the apex of such a revealing is in the church and in Christ Jesus who is the power in the church.
Another words, God is most glorified in his powerful working of salvation in his Son and his bride.
Ephesians 3:21 “21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
It is a powerful revealing and honoring that shall continue forever as God continues forever…it will not falter or cease.
What a doxology to meditate on before we take our voyage into the world of imperatives, with a desire to attain the fullness of God.
As you come across one tough imperative after another on the journey, remind yourself that your ability to do so is God’s power working in you, to fulfill that imperative and thus glorify him joining the choir of all generations who are in Christ.
The power is God’s and our aim is to glorify him as this power is revealed in us.
This is the only sure way to know that our perilous voyage will be meet with sure success.
Imagine about to be leaving to cross the ocean to your new home and the boat, or the power, to carry you was no larger than a row boat. How foolish it would be to attempt the journey.
The power needed to make that journey was something only the biggest and most technological advance vessel could accomplish.
Our voyage to the fullness of God can only be done with the power God provides in us through his gospel
And imagine, trying to make that voyage across the ocean, only to find out that half the people on that ship thought it was a cruise liner, meant for the wonderful beaches of the Mediterranean sea.
It would be sure to fail as the real purpose of the voyage was much more difficult and perilous in nature.
So the aim of all those seeking to get to the land of the fullness of God, must be in reliance upon God’s power, and the aim to glorify him in all things. To honor him in every difficult wave, storm, or imperative that is necessary for the goal to be reached.
Do not forget how important it is to remember God’s power is at work in you to glorify his name in overcoming sin is vital in living the life of the imperatives.
And so with the proper power in place, and the proper aim of us all, let us proceed forth to land of imperatives for the joy of the fullness of God.
Ephesians 4:1 “1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”
Paul is not a prisoner for himself, but for the Lord.
The one who is all powerful, and is powerfully working in his people
The one who is the fullness of God, manifested and given to his people
The imperatives he is about to give is not rooted in man, but in God who is at work to save and glorify himself.