Ephesians 3:16-17

The Fullness of God, Part 3

Ephesians 3:16–17

1917

May 28, 1978

📖 Sermon Summary

Ephesians 3:14–21 (Part 3): How to Be Filled with the Fullness of God

John MacArthur

I. Introduction: The Church as God’s Most Precious Possession

MacArthur opens with a sweeping vision of the glory of the church. Outside the Trinity, he calls the Church the “hottest commodity in the universe.” The Church is:

Called to perfection and glory

Possessing all things pertaining to life and godliness

Given great and precious promises

Made partakers of the divine nature (cf. 2 Pet 1:3–4)

The believer is forgiven, accepted in the Beloved, sealed, sustained, loved, indwelt, ruled, taught, and energized by God. The result:

“We are the possessors of the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Eph 3:8)

This richness stands in sharp contrast to the emptiness and meaninglessness of the world. Quoting Victor Frankl, MacArthur notes how Sunday exposes the world’s purposelessness, because the world of meaning (the Church) has withdrawn for worship.

II. — “It reminds me of the story of the old lady…”

It reminds me of the story of the old lady who was hired to sweep out the shavings in a studio where a sculptor had been commissioned by the government to sculpt a large bust of Abraham Lincoln. And it was done, and the lady was hired to come in and sweep up all the shavings. And the man was just finishing as she arrived with her broom and her bucket and dustpan. And she looked in amazement, and she said, “Oh, sir,” she said, “how did you know Mr. Lincoln’s head was in that rock?” And what a God is our God, who saw in the rock of our meaninglessness a potential for His own glory. Right? How did You know a servant of God was in that rock?

What a wonder it is that God has been so gracious to choose us; that when we were without form and void, the Spirit of God moved upon us, and out of the void, the emptiness and nothingness sprang something significant, something meaningful, a creation of God no less than the world itself. A miracle of creation to be used for His glory. How could God have seen in us something to be chiseled into the image of Jesus Christ? To be to His glory? And then to shower upon us as if it were eternal riches, as if He were taking the statue and gilding it with gold – the gold of His glorious kingdom.

God saw glory in the rock of our meaninglessness

MacArthur tells of an elderly cleaning woman who, seeing the sculptor’s finished bust of Lincoln, asked:

“How did you know Mr. Lincoln’s head was in that rock?”

From this he draws a parallel:

“What a God is our God, who saw in the rock of our meaninglessness a potential for His own glory.”

God chiseled us out of the stone of void and spiritual poverty and is shaping believers into the image of Christ (Rom 8:29), gilding us with eternal riches.

III. — “Now, in chapter 4 to 6, he’s going to tell us how to live”

Now, in chapter 4 to 6, he’s going to tell us how to live. But before we get into how we live, we got to get turned on. Right? And that’s where we are in 3:14 to 21. We see the resources in the beginning of the book. We see the behavior in the end, and in the middle how to hook them up, how to get the engine going. We’ve used a car as an illustration. Your engine described in the first three chapters, the roadmap in 4 to 6, and the ignition in 3:14 to 21.

— Now, here is Paul’s prayer

Now, here is Paul’s prayer. And it’s grandiose, people. It’s incomparable. It’s magnificent. It embodies such expression, such potential.

And as I told you last time, it is a series of hína. That’s a little word in the Greek, H-I-N-A, that means purpose or result. It’s a series of sequences that you can’t – you can’t break in the middle. It’s like a – it’s like stepping stone. You can’t go to step two without one, and you can’t go to four without three, and you can’t go to five without one, two, three, and four. There is a progression here that must be accepted and moved through in order to gain the ultimate end. And hína is a Greek device in the Greek language to show us this consequent kind of progression.

Before obedience comes power—before practice comes ignition

Ephesians 1–3 = our spiritual engine (identity and riches in Christ) Ephesians 4–6 = the roadmap (how to walk worthy)

But between them lies chapter 3:14–21: the ignition switch. Without it:

“You can’t go anywhere. You’ll be gagging, coughing, choking Christians.”

Paul wants Christians operating in exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think (v. 20).

IV. — “Now, here is Paul’s prayer”

A majestic staircase of spiritual progression

Paul’s prayer (vv. 14–19) is a chain of purpose clauses (hína):

Inner strength by the Spirit

Indwelling Christ (Christ truly “at home” in the heart)

Incomprehensible love

Infinite fullness

Internal power resulting in doxology

V. — “Now, there are five elements to the progression”

Now, there are five elements to the progression, five things to get you turned on: inner strength; indwelling Christ; incomprehensible love; infinite fullness; and, finally, internal power – you’re really going.

The five steps:

StepResulting Spiritual Reality1. Inner StrengthA Spirit-empowered inner life2. Indwelling ChristChrist at home, comfortable in the believer3. Incomprehensible LoveThe believer rooted & grounded in love4. Infinite FullnessFilled with all the fullness of God5. Internal PowerGod working beyond all we ask/think

VI. — “Now, you remember last time…”

Now, you remember last time we talked about the first one, didn’t we? The first one we suggested was inner strength, verse 16. Look at it. He prays that we – in the end of the verse – that we would be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. Inner strength. And we suggested to you that Paul’s prayer really is this: the recognition that every believer possesses the Holy Spirit. Right? “What? Know ye not that your body’s a temple of the Holy Spirit, which you have of God; you’re not your own? You’re bought with a price?” - 1 Corinthians 6:19 – “therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

So, to begin with, every Christian possesses the Spirit. Romans 8:9, “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” He’s in there. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “When the Spirit is come upon you, you shall receive” – what – “power.” So, every believer has the resource, every believer has the Spirit.

Review: Inner Strength

He recalls the prior sermon: believers already possess the Spirit (1 Cor 6:19; Rom 8:9). Strengthening comes as believers:

Yield to the Spirit

Saturate their heart and mind in the Word

Turn every decision over to God

The result is a non-worrying mind:

“You want to have a non-worrying mind…you’ve got to have a strong inner man.”

This invokes Philippians 4:6–7.

VII. — “You want to have a non-worrying mind”

You want to have a non-worrying mind, if you want to have an unanxious spirit, you’ve got to have a strong inner man. And we said that this simply means a Spirit-controlled life. As you yield to the Holy Spirit, which you’re able to do by being filled with the Word of God, you fill your mind and heart with the Word of God. The Holy Spirit brings the Word of God to the conscious thought, when you get into a temptation, and uses that to direct you into an act of obedience.

So, a strong inner man, empowered by the Spirit of God, is the beginning. And don’t sort of chafe at that and say, “Well, I don’t know if I can do that.” Yes, you can. The Spirit is there. The power is there, Acts 1:8. It’s all there. It’s a matter of you yielding to it, and it’s simply a matter of decisions. Every time you have a decision, turn it over to the Spirit of God, from the first one in the morning, to the last one at night. And the only way you can do that is when your thoughts are about Him. And the only way your thoughts will be about Him is as you study – what? – the Word of God.

Anxiety dissolves through Spirit-enabled inner strength

The peace promised is not psychological technique, but the presence of the God of peace ruling the inner person.

VIII. — “Now, let’s go to the second one”

Now, let’s go to the second one. Where there is a strong inner man, there is a result. And it says to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man with the result that, or in order that - and you have a purpose or a result; in this case, both are true - in order that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, or with the result that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, or with the purpose that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. The indwelling Christ; that is the second point. From inner strength to the indwelling Christ.

—You say, “Well, I don’t understand that

You say, “Well, I don’t understand that, John, because if I’m a Christian, Christ is always there. How could you possibly have the Holy Spirit in you and not have Christ in you? It seems like it’s backwards.”

Well, that’s what I thought, too. Wait a minute; it should say, “First of all, Christ dwells in your heart, and then you would be strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man.” Right? That would seem logical. But that’s only because the English is deficient here, and we must go back to the Greek

Step Two: The Indwelling Christ

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” (v. 17)

This is not about Christ entering the believer (salvation), but Christ being at home.

IX. — “You say, ‘Well, I don’t understand that…’”

If somebody says to you, “Well, how do you know Jesus is at home in your life,” you say, “Well, I believe it by faith. I believe by faith that He came into my life. I believe by faith that I confess my sins, and He cleanses them and purifies me. And I believe by faith that if I’m being pure and confessing my sin, and dealing with my sin, and repenting of it, and turning from it, and endeavoring to keep my life as pure as possible in His power, I believe by His promise that He is at home in me.”

The Greek term: κατοικῆσαι (katoikēsai)

MacArthur explains:

oikeō = to dwell, be at home

kata- (prefix) = intensifier

katoikēsai = to be deeply, comfortably at home

Christ is present in all believers, but not comfortable in all believers.

“There are a lot of Christians where He dwells but is not that comfortable.”

X. — “See the word ‘dwell’ there?”

Watch this. See the word “dwell” there? “That Christ may dwell”? The Greek word is katoikēsai. Now that wouldn’t be important just to say the word, except that it has tremendous significance. Katoikēsai, this form, comes from a verb katoikeō. That comes from two words kata and oikeō. Oikeō means to be at home, to dwell at home, to be at home. Kata means down.

Now, I’ve told you this many times; you may have forgotten. Whenever you have a verb in the Greek, and they add a preposition to the front of it, what does it do to it? It intensifies it. So, kata added to oikeō means to really be at home. To settle down and be at home. And that’s the meaning of the word.

Now, he’s saying, then, that when you have inner strength, and you’re really walking in the Spirit, and Spirit-controlled, and Spirit-energized, the thing that’s going to happen is Christ is really going to be at home in your heart. And I daresay, beloved, there are a lot of Christians where He dwells, but is not that comfortable.

Do you remember back in 1 Corinthians, where he says, “You Christians, you’re going out and committing adultery; don’t you realize that you are joining Js Christ to a harlot”? Now, wouldn’t you think that would make Him decidedly uncomfortable? Yes. Any sin is a discomfiture to Christ. Anything that quenches the Spirit, that grieves the Spirit; anything that saddens the heart of Jesus; any sin in your life makes Him uncomfortable.

Now, after you’re yielding to the Holy Spirit, and you are strengthened with power in the inner man, and the Spirit controls your life, the result is you become Christ centered, and you become clean. And Christ settles down into every dimension of your life, and He is at home in you.

Listen, people, that is an incredible condescension. Do you understand that? That the God of the universe should settle down and be at home in me. What a magnificent thought. This was Jesus’ great prayer. In John chapter 14 and verse 23. This is what He said, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words” – and look – “and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him and make Our home with him.”

Christ cannot settle down in a dirty house

Sin makes Him ill at ease, like a guest cleaning a disordered home:

“He can’t settle down; He’s always up cleaning up the place.”

XI. — “Let me give you an illustration… Genesis 18–19”

God was comfortable in Abraham’s tent, not in Lot’s house

Genesis 18: God visits Abraham with two angels.

Genesis 19: God sends only the angels to Lot.

The point: relationship does not guarantee comfort.

XII. — “Oh yes, the incarnation was not the first time…”

God has visited earth before

This reinforces that God fellowships where He is welcomed in righteousness.

XIII. — “But have you ever noticed that the Lord…never went Himself?”

Why? Moral incompatibility

Christ is in every believer, but He is not at home with unconfessed sin.

XIV. — “Some of you have read the little booklet My Heart: Christ’s Home”

The House-Heart Allegory

MacArthur retells the classic picture:

Library (mind) → replaces garbage with the Word

Dining Room (desires) → replaces worldly appetites with the will of God

Living Room (fellowship) → believers ignore Jesus though He is present

Workshop (abilities) → stop making toys; build things of eternal value

Hall Closet (secret sins) → Christ demands the key

XV. — “And Robert Munger, who wrote the book…”

Nothing is off limits—Christ wants ownership of every room

“The lordship of Christ is to extend to every room in your life.”

XVI. — “If somebody says to you, ‘How do you know Jesus is at home…’”

Answer: By faith, grounded in obedience and confession

XVII. — “Now, after you’re yielding to the Holy Spirit…”

This produces Christ-centeredness and moral cleanliness

John 14:23 referenced:

“We will come unto him and make Our home with him.”

XVIII. — “Now, there’s a third thing…”

Now, there’s a third thing, and we’ll probably stop with this one. Verse 17. The first thing is inner strength. The result of that is Christ dwells in your hearts by faith. Now, here’s another purpose and result clause, “In order that, or with the purpose that, or with the result that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.”

Step Three: Incomprehensible Love

“Being rooted and grounded in love.” (v. 17)

XIX. — “The result of Christ…”

The result of Christ – now watch this one, the result of Christ’s unrestricted access to the Christian’s heart is love. You see, when Christ settles down in your life, He will begin to exude His personality. You see, if He controls the library, the thinking; if He controls the dining room, the appetites; if He controls the living room, the fellowship, the discussions, the sharing, the conversation, the entertainment; if He controls the workshop, what is being done, the use of abilities and gifts and functions; if He’s got the closet clean, then His nature dominates. And His nature is – what? – love. Love.

When Christ is at home, His nature permeates the believer

Christ’s nature = love (Gal 5:22; John 13:34; 1 Cor 13; 1 Pet 1:22)

Love is defined as:

“Not an emotion…but selflessness, sacrifice, giving, serving.”

XX. — “Chapter 4, verse 8, he talks about love…”

Chapter 4, verse 8, he talks about love covering a multitude of sins. You know as well as I do that love is a vital part of the Christian’s experience. We are to manifest the fruit of the Spirit. The first one is – the fruit of the Spirit is love. And then somebody says, “Joy, peace, gentleness, faith, goodness, meekness, and self-control are simply subcategories of love.”

Love is an attitude of selflessness. Love is an attitude of unselfish sacrifice. Love is service. I don’t think we should keep defining love as an emotion. We’ve gone through that in 1 Corinthians 13. Love is not an emotion; love is an act of selflessness. “God so loved the world that He felt emotional about it.” No. God so loved the world that He – did what? – He gave the best that He had. “If any man loves Me, He will keep My Words.” “If you don’t meet your brother’s need” – 1 John – “how dwells the love of God in you?” You see, love is not an emotion, people; it is selflessness; it is sacrifice; it is meeting someone’s need; it is serving somebody; it is dying for somebody.

Love covers sin and gives itself away

Love is the first mark of spiritual fullness.

🔑 Important Themes (List)

The Church is unimaginably rich in Christ.

The world lives in meaninglessness; the Church alone has purpose.

Paul’s prayer ignites spiritual power.

Five-fold progression: inner strength → indwelling Christ → incomprehensible love → fullness → power

Christ may dwell in believers yet not be at home.

Sin makes Christ uncomfortable; holiness makes Him rest.

Love is the inevitable fruit of Christ’s liberty in the heart.

📚 Historical / Theological Context

Written c. AD 60–62 during Paul’s Roman imprisonment.

Reflects Jewish/OT “God dwelling with His people” theology: Gen 18, Exodus tabernacle, John 1:14.

Develops New Covenant temple doctrine (1 Cor 6:19; Eph 2:22).

Emphasizes union with Christ—foundation of sanctification.

🔎 Cross-References

ThemeScriptureUnion with ChristGal 2:20; Col 3:1–4God at home in believersJohn 14:23Inner man transformation2 Cor 4:16Love as fruit of SpiritGal 5:22; 1 Pet 1:22Love defined as sacrificeJohn 15:13; 1 John 3:16–18

🧠 Memory Verses

Ephesians 3:17 – “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…”

John 14:23 – “We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

1 Corinthians 6:19–20

Galatians 5:22 – “The fruit of the Spirit is love…”

🪜 Application Points

Ask daily for inner strength (Eph 3:16) before all else.

Invite Christ to be at home—no rooms locked, no closets hidden.

Pursue purity so as not to grieve or discomfort Christ.

Let His love define your relationships, even with difficult people.

Replace worldly appetites with God’s menu (will of God as food).

Practice the presence of Christ in every conversation, decision, and thought.

Serve, give, and sacrifice—love is not sentiment; it is self-giving action.

📑 Teaching Outline (Addendum)

Title: How to Be Filled With the Fullness of God Text: Ephesians 3:14–21

I. The Wealth of the Church (vv. 1–13 reviewed) II. The Prayer that Ignites Power (vv. 14–15) III. Step One: Inner Strength through the Spirit (v. 16) IV. Step Two: Indwelling Christ—Christ at Home (v. 17) V. Step Three: Rooted and Grounded in Love (vv. 17–18) VI. The Nature of Christlike Love VII. The Path Toward Fullness and Power (vv. 19–21)

💬 Discussion Guide (Addendum)

What does it mean for Christ to dwell vs. to be at home in a believer’s life?

What are some “rooms” or “closets” in your life that Christ wants access to?

How does the world's Sunday meaninglessness contrast with the Church's purpose?

How does defining love as self-giving sacrifice change your relationships?

What would change in your life if you consciously practiced Christ’s presence?

Which step of the spiritual progression are you currently experiencing?

Reference

John MacArtur. https://www.gty.org/sermons/1917/the-fullness-of-god-part-3