The Life of Gospel Ministry

Introduction

Our church theme this year hangs on the wall behind me. Our theme is the gospel and this them is two pronged according to Romans 1:16. The gospel is a message of hope. The gospel is a message with power. The hope and the power comes from Jesus Christ our Savior. Paul speaks the gospel with these two truths so evidently being lived out in his life. The gospel brings hope to the spiritually dead, the gospel hope brings hope to the spiritually alive, the gospel power in companion with the hope changes lives for eternity.

We are meeting here this morning as a church because of the gospel. The hope and power of the gospel for the believer provides hope and power in completing our salvation through daily being sanctified through God's Word. Paul states in Galatians the importance of surrendering control of our life to the be controlled by the Holy Spirit. God uses the Holy Spirit and His Word to sanctify us.

We can live confident that the power of God will daily transform us into his image. Every true believer grows in and desires to have a relationship with God and Christ. Every true believer desires to know God intimately when looking at their overall life trajectory. It is sin that derails the growth. Sin places the Christian in a spiritual slump where they are not useful for Christ. Everyday Christian, you and I, are in a battle to be more like Christ. The question is are you going to rest in the power and hope of the gospel and surrender to the Spirit's control?

The beautiful thing about how God designed the Christian life--he did not design it for the loner. He did not design it for you and I to live godly in isolation from each other but linked arm-in-arm together.

Context

In Ephesians 3:1-13 Paul writes to the Ephesians that they must be faithful stewards of God’s grace revealed to them through His Word! This same truth goes for us today. The mystery has been revealed. The gospel has been entrusted into the hands of the church. Christ himself tells us that it is required of a steward that they be found faithful. God through Christ has given us the revealed mystery of the gospel to steward. It is to be our primary stewardship. In these first 13 verses Paul over and over again emphasizes the mystery and riches of Christ were given to him to proclaim so that the amazing wisdom of God would be seen. Only God had the wisdom to know how to save mankind from their depravity and sin. The mystery—the gospel—was part of God’s eternal purpose to be carried out through Jesus Christ. Paul finishes this section of text with stating the boldness and confidence we have in proclaiming the gospel through the faith we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. The struggles that come on us because of the gospel proclamation is not something to lose heart and get discouraged over. It instead speaks well and leaves a God-honoring opinion. Though the gospel is not new revelation to us as it was to Paul we have been given the revelation nonetheless. We have the same responsibility to proclaim the mystery of the gospel to those who need it.

What Paul just finished explaining is the very reason Paul goes to prayer for the Ephesian church. We will see in his prayer five traits we need to have in our lives if they are to be gospel-driven and doxological in purpose. God’s glory we will see is the purpose. The gospel of Christ is the vehicle by which we glorify God. Paul calls this mystery great! Do you this morning truly see the gospel as great? You say yes, I believe it is great. Does your life evidence this belief for you alone or does this believe reach into all those who God has brought into your sphere of influence.

In our text this morning we will that faithfully stewarding the gospel brings glory to God. In these first 13 verses Paul used himself as an example of what that stewarding looks like followed by explaining three aspects of the revealed mystery we are to steward.

Ephesians 3:1–13 NASB95

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

Paul explained the mystery given to the Church, the mystery of a glorious unity among all believers through Christ. He explained,

It is important in understanding our text this morning that you see what Paul discussed in the previous paragraph of text. Paul uses in verse 14 the conjunction “for” signaling that what he is about to say is impacted by what he just said.

In order to better understand our text and apply it, we need to know for what cause he is praying. Look at Ephesians 3:1 (“1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—”). Paul uses the exact phrase to begin verse 1 and 14. As Paul began writing in verse 1 he meant to share what he shares in 14-21 but quickly went into an explanation of his ministry before coming back to the prayer he wanted to pray for the Ephesian church. Because of this we need to look back at Ephesians 2:19-22 to understand the reason. Paul has up to these verse explained the blessings that the individual believer has in Christ. They have salvation. Paul shares the blessings of the gospel. In Ephesians 2 he shares how the blessing of the gospel is spiritual life from spiritual death. From this we are God’s workmanship created in Christ for good works. He then begins to shift from the individual aspect of the blessings to the community facet of the believer’s life. No longer was there a barrier between Jew and Gentile. They were being made into a habitation or dwelling place for God. It is for this reason—the result of the gospel—that Paul prays this prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19 followed by a beautiful doxology.

Ephesians 2:19–22 NASB95

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

We will see in our passage this morning how we can aid each other in living out the hope and power of the gospel in daily life. Paul's prayer life exemplifies for each of us how we are to be living with each other and why we are to live the way we are to live.

Main Truth: Living worthy of the gospel needs focused prayer for consistent spiritual growth.

Transition

Paul in the passage leading up to this has provided a reminder of the Christian’s position as the people of God and the role the Church has in God’s universal plan. As we have seen that this prayer connects back to Ephesians 2:19-22 and how according to God’s sovereign plan the Jew and the Gentile have been brought together through Jesus Christ reconciling death on the cross to create a new humanity and community for the purpose of God being glorified. It is this that Paul prays the prayer and offers the praise we are examining this morning. As a new humanity with a divine purpose to share the mystery of the gospel in order for God to be glorified we must follow Paul’s example and have a prayer life that is worthy of the gospel. Our main idea this morning is that living worthy of the gospel needs focused prayer for consistent spiritual growth. Let’s look at the prayer Paul offered so that we too can both pray it for others and allow ourselves to be challenged by the practical truths we ought to live by. Our application in some ways this morning is two-sided. We need to pray for others to live worthy of the Gospel through consistent spiritual growth. Here is what the Bible says about praying for oneself and for the church.

I. Focus on praying for spiritual strength, 16-17a

When we look at this prayer in relation to the rest of the first half of Ephesians it is neat to see how God has given every individual believer blessing upon blessing through Christ. Ephesians 1 is full of blessings that each believer has because of the cross. We see the blessing that we are no longer enemies (Ephesians 2) of God but truly a new community. We have a unity that can and must be had because of Christ. We are to keep the unity in the bond of peace. In this unity we are created each to accomplish God’s plan and purpose. We are to be a habitation for the Lord! As we meditate on these truths that Paul has shared already in this letter we can better grasp the way we ought to pray.

As we focus to pray for spiritual strength we see from Paul’s decorum and attitude that he prayed from a position of humility. Paul points out this attitude, this posture in describing that “for this I bow my knees describes coming to prayer with humility and submission.

Ephesians–Philemon Comment

The posture of kneeling communicated humble submission and worship and was often used in prayers of utter desperation.

As Paul shares the humility with which he approaches God he also shares how he views himself and every Christian before God. The Christian has the special privilege of being God’s children. The blessing of being in God’s family has been explained by Paul over the first part of this letter. He is again emphasizing the blessings we have from God through Christ. Christian, are you approaching God with this understanding. Do you truly contemplate that when you pray you are praying to God your Father from whom you have a new identity. The term “father” denotes more than just a familial relationship. It denotes a sense of respect and authority. It is a term that gives a sense of dignity. God is our loving and powerful heavenly father. It is because of this we can as the author of Hebrews points out to us—come boldly to the throne of grace. Paul is affirming the superiority of God and he is the creator of all things (Ephesians 3:9 “9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;” ). We do not have to fear that God is not able to answer our prayers.

We have seen that the reason for this prayer is that we are being made to be a habitation for the Lord. Paul gives three petitions in his prayer in order that we be strengthened and filled with Christ. God wants to fill us. He wants us as a habitation. We see that it is what God is doing in the Church for his glory! Paul is praying and asking God in this first petition to strengthen the believer inwardly through the Spirit of God.

Ephesians–Philemon Comment

The strengthening God offers is qualified with

Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen our inner man

When you and I take the time to examine the blessings of God it ought to strike a motivation in us to want God’s strengthening in our lives. When we see these blessings Paul enumerates in Ephesians 1-2 we can’t help but see our inadequacy to be strengthened on our own. Two elements exist on how we as Christians have our inner man strengthened.

The first of the two Paul discusses is God’s riches. What optimism we can have knowing that everything is God’s. The power that strengthens our inner man is the power that created and sustains the entirety of Creation. The resources God has to strengthen us through His Spirit are endless. He will extensively provide all the strength the believer needs to be strengthened in his inner being.

...[the riches of his glory’. That glory is God’s radiance or splendour, which conveys the ideas of the perfection of his character and activity]. His glory is often conjoined with power (Rom. 6:4; Col. 1:11) and parallelled with his goodness (cf. Exod. 33:22 with v. 19). (Peter Thomas O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), 256–257.)

God is glorified through our inner man being strengthened.

The second is God’s power. God uses the Holy Spirit as the agency with which he dispenses his power to us. Throughout the NT power and the Holy Spirit are consistently linked. In Acts 1:8 Luke proclaims that it is the Holy Spirit that comes and gives the disciples the power to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

Acts 1:8 (NASB95)

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

In Romans 15:19 Paul proclaims that it is in the power of the Holy Spirit that he was able to fully preach the gospel of Christ.

Romans 15:19 (NASB95)

19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

The power of the Holy Spirit is the agent by which our inner man is strengthened. So what is this inner man that Paul is speaking of?

The inner man would have been understood by the original readers as center of a person’s life. It referred to their focal point. It is this center that needs regular strengthening to oppose the sin in the battle and struggle we face daily (Romans 7:21 “21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”). Paul in other letters speaks of the inner man needing to be renewed daily (2 Corinthians 4:16 “16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”).

The Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer. Paul at the beginning of Eph 3:17 shares a synonymous explanation of the Spirit strengthening the inner man. He uses the term heart here referring to the seat of a persons affections, the control center for their life. It is here that Christ dwells. It is through this that the Holy Spirit strengthens us to give control of all that we are and do to Christ. The more the Spirit empowers our inner man the more our life is transformed in to Christ’s likeness.

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians (We Need to Be Strengthened by the Spirit’s Power (3:16–17a))

Carson says,

When Christ by his Spirit takes up residence within us, he finds a moral equivalent to trash, black and silver wall paper, and a leaking roof. He sets about turning this residence into a place appropriate for him, a home for which he is comfortable.… When a person takes up long-term residence somewhere, their presence eventually characterizes that dwelling.… When Christ first moves into our lives, he finds us in bad repair. It takes a great deal of power to change us; and that is why Paul prays for power.… [He is] transforming us into a house that pervasively reflects his own character. (Spiritual Reformation, 186–87)

We can praise the Lord for how we have the Holy Spirit and God’s riches to strengthen our inner man. Why do we need to pray that our inner being is strengthened?

“So that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith”...Faith is the initiating and continuing truth that build the habitation for God.

The Letter to the Ephesians 1. Prayer for Power, Love, and Maturity, 3:14–19

The implication of the apostle’s prayer, then, is that

Paul uses similar language here as he does when writing to the Galatians regarding the filling of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit indwells us and fills us so does the person of Christ. Christ begins to dwell in our hearts at the moment of salvation. The same faith that saves us also keeps us. It is part of the mystery that Jesus dwells in our hearts. You may be asking what does it mean for Christ to dwell in our hearts. It means for Christ to “settle down” in our hearts. It is a word that Paul uses to speak of permanence not a temporary situation.

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians We Need to Be Strengthened by the Spirit’s Power (3:16–17a)

Christ enters the heart of a Christian that He may live, abide, and reign there.

The New Bible Commentary 3:14–21 Paul’s Prayer-Report Completed and a Doxology

Paul’s prayer is that Christ should dwell in us by or through faith; that is, that

The Letter to the Ephesians 1. Prayer for Power, Love, and Maturity, 3:14–19

The ‘heart’ here, as elsewhere in Ephesians,155 is employed in its customary Old Testament sense of the centre of one’s personality, the thoughts, will, emotions, and whatever else lies at the centre of our being.

Our faith is rooted and grounded in love.

As Christ inhabits our heart we then can be rooted and grounded in love. Paul mixes metaphors here between structural and argicultural to strongly point out that our faith in God provides both nutrition and foundation through love. Love is what the believer is built on and provides the nutrition for spiritual growth. This is why this prayer is so vital for the next three chapters. God’s love has already been seen in Ephesians 2:4 (“4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,”) as the motivating power that enables you and I to love others—specifically other believers.

Exalting Jesus in Ephesians We Need Power to Grasp Christ’s Love (3:17b–19)

Stott says, “Love is to be the soil in which their life is rooted; love is to be the foundation on which their life is built” (Ephesians, 136).

Christ dwells in our hearts through the continuing faith in our hearts leading to being rooted and grounded in love.

Again, for Christ to “settle down” in our lives is to dominate our lives, to rule over the activities of our lives.

Christian, what or who is “settled or settling” in your heart this morning? We have so many activities, people, circumstances, and thoughts that compete to settle down in our lives. What are you allowing to settle where Christ belongs to settle? How do I practically have God settle in my heart—PRAY FOR IT!

Are you praying for your inner being to be strengthened so that as you exercise your faith Christ fully fills you? The love Paul is talking about here that we are rooted and grounded in is expanded on here in just a moment.

II. Focus on praying to deeply know the love of Christ, 17b-19a

Provide the ability to comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth.

Interestingly this phrase does not have an object. Due to not having an object it then becomes difficult to know precisely what Paul is talking about. Some take it in the overall context of Ephesians and point it to the manifold wisdom of God. In this case Paul would be praying that we comprehend the full extent of God’s work specifically through salvation and the unity of the church that God has brought both Jew and Gentile together for the purpose of glorifying him.

The other way many take this text is directly connecting it to “knowing the love of Christ.” In this case it would speak to comprehending the vastness of Christ’s love. You can look at the all of Ephesians and see God’s great love. The vastness and greatness of Christ’s love is something that surpasses knowledge.

Either would not be wrong and practically end in the same place.

in order to have a intimate relationship with God.

Paul is praying that the Christian be strengthened in the inner man so that they may have Christ take up habitation in their life and settle down. It is by faith that God’s love is the foundation and rooting that we need to know the love of Christ.

So if you and I are know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge—what does that mean?

It means that though we cannot academically understand it we can experiencially know the love of Christ. The greatest way we experienced the love of Christ is at salvation.

So what does experiencing God’s love look like?

The Christian is secure in Christ, 17b; Paul also states in Ephesians 1:13 “13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,” .

The love of God surpasses knowledge; we will never experience it to the fullest but we need to keep marvelling at God’s love and rest in the forgiveness of God. Marvelling at God’s love and standing in awe of God’s love is vertical in its experience. We can also experience God’s love horizontally with those around us. We need to live with same love God shows us—patient, forgiving, and forbearing(Ephesians 4:2–3 “2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”)

III. Focus praying for the fullness of God’s communicable character to entirely fill us, 19

Experiencing the love of Christ more and more should motivate you and I to love Christ more and more. Knowig Christ’s love for me is to know him in the power of his resurrection. It is to want to reciprocate that love. It is to not want to disappoint Christ. It is to want what Christ wants and do what Christ wants over my own desires.

The Letter to the Ephesians 1. Prayer for Power, Love, and Maturity, 3:14–19

Rather, to speak of Christ’s love as surpassing knowledge means that it is so great that one can never know it fully. We can never plumb its depths or comprehend its magnitude. 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.179 And t

The Letter to the Ephesians 1. Prayer for Power, Love, and Maturity, 3:14–19

It is God who infills them

We cannot be filled with the character of God if we are not more and more comprehending the love of God and through faith letting Christ settle down in our lives. Take the idea of dating and marriage. The more one loves their significant other the more they want them in their presence, the more they want to see them pleased and happy, the more they want to know they are healthy and feeling well. The more they know each others love for one another the more they want to love them. The more they anticipate being together, the more they excitedly await that love letter, text, or email. Have you ever seen the couples that you can tell love each other so much they know each others thinking and can predict their actions before they even happen?

What are you loving more than Christ? A mental assessment you can give yourself and in some cases you could pair this with a physical assessment.

Evaluate the repetitive activities of your daily life, those things that you do more than once. I will give you an example of my life—golfing. Now the assessment begins by taking that and mentally deciding to not participate in that activity for a set amount of time in order that you can invest more time having Christ settle in your life even more. For me golfing is not wrong. The evaluation is meant to identify my heart when what I love goes away. If my internal response and perhaps outward response is one of hesitancy and begins to have a tug-of-war then it very possibly may be that you love that activity more than Christ, more than the church.

We are going to see in verses 20-21 that God is doing all this for his glory. The way we glorify God as an individual and as a church is to know the love of Christ and be filled with all the fulness of God!

Are you here this morning and you would rather have the pleasures and joys of life over the joys of Christ and the church? Paul is praying that the church be strengthened in their inner man so that Christ may take up habitation in their lives as they are rooted and grounded in love. He is praying the church comprehends the vastness of God’s wisdom and love so and to experience God’s love more and more. He is praying that every single one of us live a life of ministry that glorifies God!

For us as Christians it is this that Paul is praying for! He is praying that we know through experience Christ’s love and from that growing knowing—Christ’s habitation and rule in our inner being/heart grows.

Paul is praying this so that more of Christ is seen in us every day. Christ has traits that we will never have but the traits that we can have ought to be settling down in our lives more and more everyday!

To summarize these petitions—Paul is praying for spiritual strength to grow in Christlikeness both individually and in the church. As we as individuals are filled with the fullness of God the church is then filled and accomplishes the tasks God has for them.

The Letter to the Ephesians 1. Prayer for Power, Love, and Maturity, 3:14–19

When the apostle desires that his readers may be strengthened through the Spirit and experience the effects of Christ’s indwelling so that they may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God, he is praying that they may ‘be all that God wants them to be’, that is, spiritually mature. Since God himself, Christ himself, is the standard, then this means being perfect as he is perfect, being holy as he is holy

As we are filled with the fullness of God we are to continue growing up into Christ until we fullness(Ephesians 4:13–16 “13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”). God is growing us to maturity through His Son, Jesus Christ! You and I along with all Christians will not grow and mature in Christ without knowing and experiencing the power and love of God in Christ! We need His fullness in order to be like him!

Pastor David Brock said this during his sermon, “May our inner man be yielded to the totality of the glory of God.” What a great summary of these verses! Our inner man, our heart needs to always be yielding to the totality of God’s glory. God’s glory represents all that God is! It is His character being radiantly reflected!

It is a prayer that bridges the reality of our new community in Christ with the new life we must life for Christ. He finishes his prayer with a doxology giving you and I encouragement and purpose!

IV. Focus on understanding the foundation for faithfully living the gospel, 20-21

God is at work in his creation. God has blessed with salvific and sanctifying promises. He has taken an sin nature and conquered it through Christ. All those who repent and believe receive a heap of blessing (Eph 1-3). In his doxology Paul gives us an encouragement and purpose.

The encouragement Paul gives us is that in this spiritual growth and having Christ take habitation in our lives and settle down in our lives we are not left to our own wisdom and strength. Even when it seems that you cannot change that area of your life and love Christ more, Paul says God is strong and able to do more than we ask or think.

This verse is so encouraging when it comes to knowing Christ. When it comes to living out the salvific love of Christ. This verse has been misapplied at times. It has often been quoted when going through a trial or difficulty in life. The meaning of this verse is not telling us that no trial is too big for God. As we take it in its context it is speaking to living a life where Christ is taken up habitation more and more in my life and his character is filling up my life more and more so that I can walk worthy of the vocation he has called me too! The Spirit of God and Christ dwell in us and their power can change us and grow us regardless of where we are in our relationship with God!

If we truly want to be used of Christ as God we need the empowerment of the Spirit, we must keep surrendering more of our life desires to the settling down of Christ, let his love master us, continue letting the character of God fill us. Christ should rule our lives! The purpose of his death and our salvation should drive all of our actions and choices in life.

In September we are having a week of prayer for reaching our community of Sterling Heights and the surrounding cities with the love of Christ. How much of your faith truly believes that God can use our church to reach and change 10’s and 100’s of lives around us? Perhaps we as a church have not truly been praying this for each other and ourselves. Perhaps even worse we are failing to live the truths Paul prays for in our lives. God has not called us and commissioned us to enjoy the life he gave us for our glory and pleasure. He has done so for HIS GLORY AND PLEASURE! The week in September though not intended to be an opportunity to evaluate how Christ is dwelling in your life and how much the love of God you truly are knowing it does present each of us an opportunity to assess. Paul is praying this prayer so that the church would be strengthened to live out the commands and life that is worthy of their place as a child of God and as an ambassador for Christ. Prayer is powerful and when prayer and surrender to Christ take place we see the power of God work and often beyond what we ask or think!

This encouragement of God’s power also puts the attention on God and not us. If it was not for the power and love of God we could not be filled with all the fulness of God. He does it this way because it is for a specific purpose that Paul states in verse 21—that God be glorified in the church and in Christ forever!

God is glorified through the church.

What does it mean for God to be glorified in the church?

The Letter to the Ephesians 2. Doxology to God Who Can Do More than All We Ask or Imagine, 3:20–21

To give God glory is not to add something to him; rather, it is an active acknowledgement or extolling of who he is or what he has already done (

The word “glory” has a range of meaning and context aids in understanding it. In this context is speaks of acting in a way that provides others with an opinion of God that speaks to his greatness, his honor, and give recognition of praise to him for what he is doing in the church through Christ forever.

Everything we do as a church is to bring God glory!

The Letter to the Ephesians 2. Doxology to God Who Can Do More than All We Ask or Imagine, 3:20–21

This expression of incorporation signifies that believers are able to ascribe glory to God because they are ‘in Christ Jesus’ (see on 1:3). Just as ‘every spiritual blessing’ is given to us ‘in Christ’ (1:3), so our acknowledging the Father’s glory is wholly dependent on Christ Jesus; it is rendered by those who have been incorporated into him

God is glorified through Christ Jesus forever.

The work of God through Christ brings him glory!

Conclusion

Pray for one another this way.

Pray for oneself this way.

Purpose to live this prayer out.

Why? Living worthy of the gospel needs focused prayer for consistent spiritual growth.