6. Ephesians 3.14-21
Ephesians: God’s Masterplan for Cornerstone • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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I once was selling a computer on Ebay.
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I had found a buyer... it was just what she needed and she was prepared to travel a very long distance to pick i up. I had prepared it meticulously… cleaned, tested, sorted, ready. She gave me a call to say she would be with me shortly, having almost completed a journey of many hours in the car. Despite that fact I had tested and checked it was ready... I thought I would give it on last test just to make sure things were perfect for her - after all she was travelling such a long way.
At which point disaster struck. I plugged it in.... pressed to power button and.... nothing. Nothing at all. No fans started... no systems booted up... no lights flashed just a deafening silence. I began to feel the panic rising in m chest. What was I going to do.... try again and again but nothing worked.I had to ring the woman and call her off. She was not pleased.
I later discovered to my huge frustration (I feel frustrated telling you about it now)... that the computer was absolutely fine. In the few moments between my penultimate and final tests.... the sockets upstairs had tripped. In my panic I hadn’t thought to check.
If there is no power flowing.... you can press and prod and coerce and kick and panic all you like but nothing is going to happen.
And here’s the point – its just like that in the Christian life.
We’ve reached our first point today….
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1. A Prayer for Power
1. A Prayer for Power
Paul picks up his train of thought from where he had left it last week
Remember, in 3.1.... he began
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1 For this reason…
In other words what he is about to pray springs from what he has already had cause to SAY about God’s plan for the world in chapters 1-2.
ONWARD QUICKLY TO EXPLAIN & RECAP…
Remember back IN Ch1-2 we saw that God has a masterplan for his world.... he is driving history in one direction - - Ch 1.10… he is bringing unity to all things under Christ as the head and ruler. He has drawn us into that plan.
Remember We were far from him - Spiritually dead before God because of our sin... but because of what Christ has done (dying on the cross), he has made us (spiritually dad people), come alive. Our sins have been washed away… and we’ve been set on a new course…. The certainty of future judgement has been replaced by the hope of future life (eternal life – with God).
What’s more the Lord is giving this forgiveness and new life to ALL KINDS of people from ALL KINDS of backgrounds – the church is now a multi-age, multi-background, multi-ethnic community – united, by Jesus, as one people.
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In short - Our relationship with God has been reconnected, our relationships with one another have been restored.
This is God’s masterplan, this is what he is doing in the world. The plan is now an open secret.... it is the mystery of Christ made known... -made plain to anyone who cares to listen.
But Remember - we saw this last week… it doesn’t always feel that way. Real life often feels much more mundane than that. The Christian life often feels like a struggle – in fact it often IS a struggle – Paul (our author knows that) – remember he’s writing from prison!
Because of that we sometimes can look around and get the wrong impression. We can be tempted to believe that God’s Masterplan mustn’t be working.
PAUSE - MOVING ON - DEVELOPING THOUGHT
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We live, if you like, in a kind of in between time… when these kinds of doubts can plague us.
For example…
Remember that we have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ?! – Remember (Ch1) we’ve adopted to sonship - brought into the family of God… Remember (Ch1) We have been he chosen by God himself us to be Holy and blameless in his sight… Remember (Ch1) We have been given God’s own Spirit who has taken up residence in us... AND YET Remember (also in Ch1) that God’s Holy Spirit living in us acts as a deposit... – pointing to and guaranteeing our future inheritancein heaven, with God.
So many of the blessings are like that. In other words…. We know these blessings NOW…. But IN PART… not yet FULLY. We’re looking forward to their fulfilment.
SO… for example
· I am, wonderfully adopted into God’s family. That means I can call almighty God my father.... and I do really know and relate to him NOW.... and It is a real relationship I enjoy with him as father – AND YET I don’t yet seem him face to face and feel his embrace
· I am being transformed to be like my father- I was chosen to be HOLY and BLAMELESS... AND YET that process is still far from complete… I’m NOT YET fully like him – I still struggle with sin.
The blessings are mine, really mine and I do experience them now... but only in part and not in full. We live in the in-between (we live in what is sometimes called the NOW and NOT YET). And that can be hard.
BRING TO A HEAD / THE POINTED QUESTION
How can we get the strength, the help, the resources to live wholeheartedly for Jesus NOW? That is a seriously important question isn’t it? Perhaps that’s THE most important question in the Christian life.
How can we get the strength, the help, the resources to live wholeheartedly for Jesus NOW?
TO be more specific…
· How can I be more like Christ-like at work, when there’s such pressure to conform?
· Or… How can I love my family sacrificially like Jesus did when they’re so annoying?
· Or… How can I remember Im loved by God when I feel repeatedly guilty and condemned?
We need help.... we need power.
And this is Paul’s prayer for power. You can’t miss it.... he keeps on asking for power …(or strength) look there… v16
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16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Then again v18… (that you…)
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18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
And again v20… SLIDE
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,
For us to live out the Christian life in the here and now… in this now but not yet - when we have God’s blessings and promises but don’t have them yet fully realised… to live out our faith in Christ we need God’s help, we need God’s POWER…. this is a prayer for POWER.
That’s point 1.
Second thing to see… it’s a…
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2. A Prayer to the Source of all Power
2. A Prayer to the Source of all Power
You can plug your laptop, kettle or toaster in all you like at home.... but if the power stations have stopped burning coal... or the wind turbines have stopped turning you won’t get very far – because there’ll be no power…. See how Paul begins (v16).
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STRESS - “HE”
16 that according to the riches of his glory HE may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Power to live for Jesus comes form God, nowhere else. He, only he, is gloriously rich in the resources we need.
PAUSE - LET HANG
We’ve heard about the power he makes available to us before, of course... do remember it is the same power SLIDE (1.19) which raised Christ from the dead!
DON’T READ - SCREEN ONLY
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
God says that same power can come to us… right to our inner being..... but what for? What does God’s power do for us?
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Two things.… power in the Christian life is… it is power to renovate..... and power to appreciate.
So Firstly....
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a) Power to Renovate.
a) Power to Renovate.
It wasn’t long after Morag and I were married that I realised there would have to be changes. I was told in no uncertain terms not to leave having stubble in bath... or pick at my nails.... Even waking her up at 2am to tell her about the amazing new idea I’d just had seemed strangely unwelcome.
As husband and wife begin a new life together, as they take up residence together they inevitably change one another.... usually for the better as they DWELL together,
That’s the sense of v17 - God’s power comes to us so that....
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17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…
Staying with the marriage theme for a moment....
In a few weeks time Morag and I are going away to Greece. I can hardly wait. I love Greece. We’re not even taking our children.
I’m sure the hotel room we’ll stay for a week will be nice. It may or may not be to my exact taste… but here’s the thing… at no point during our one week stay will we consider redecorating. We won’t even consider removing the wallpaper, or changin gthe colour scheme, or taking down the curtains. We wouldn’t dream of knocking through into the ensuite to make better use of the space.
Because when you reside briefly somewhere that’s just not what you do.
But when you buy a new house.... your ‘forever home’ one you intend to stay in for a long time…. well then the renovations start – you might knock down walls, convert the garage, extend the kitchen.
We’ve already learned (back in Ch1) that... God has taken up residence in every Christian…. He lives in his by his Spirit.
You see it again here in v17 - “So that Christ may DWELL in our hearts through faith”
The word here is so much stronger than taking up a temporary residence.... it’s not a fleeting visit. Christ is to DWELL.... take up long term residence in you (in us).....
PAUSE - SLOW
If you’re a Christian… you are his dwelling now.... he’s making his home in you.... And when God makes his permanent home in you – he brings in the full scale renovations. This is a prayer for God to do that work of change in us!
One commentator says it this way...
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“When the Spirit of Christ moves in, he gradually redecorates everywhere. Room, by room, the horrible old wallpapers of selfishness are replaced with a brand new wallpaper called love... the old ceilings darkened by fear of death are repainted with bright colours of hope in the resurrection of Christ... filthy old carpets stained by years of immorality are replaced by clean new carpets of purity and kindness, and the rickety old furniture of idolatry is gradually replaced with sparkling new ministries that worship Jesus”. RICHARD COEKIN
Pauls prayer is a prayer for God to powerfully renovate our lives. - That more and more we might look and sound and think like Christ... as he begins his renovation project in us.
There are two lessons here....Firstly a lesson in self reflection.
How is the renovation work going? Is this a prayer you’re praying? What real an tangible changes can you see in your life in the last year, or the last five years?
As you live in the day to day struggle of the Christian life.... have you settled for the idea that change isn’t possible, that you won’t ever really grow to be more like Jesus? Don’t settle.... pray for God to renovate.... to make you more honest at work.... and more patient at home..... and to have a greater compassion and care for those who don’t know Christ so that you might speak the gospel to them and invite them to church.... (and so on).
Paul knows these Ephesians are Christians.... yet he still thinks they need this prayer... you need this prayer, I need this prayer.... are you praying this prayer?
So this prayer for renovation is a lesson in self reflection – are we praying this prayer for renovation and change?
But secondly this prayer.. is a lesson in prayer!
What are you praying for.... for yourself or others?
Listen to Richard Coekin again.
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We can easily read magnificent passages like this and then close our Bibles just to pray about the weekend BBQ, or the children’s colds. If we could learn to pray. not only for our daily needs but God’s big spiritual plans for other people which are described in this passage, we would be more likely to witness God answering our prayers. The truth is God cares much more about my son or daughter becoming a fit dwelling for the Holy Spirit than about what score he gets in his science test”. RICHARD COEKIN
Paul prays this prayer - are you praying it too?
(RIFF for family, children, grandchildren…. what’s our focus?)
But it isn’t just a prayer about the power to renovate... it’s also, secondly a prayer for the
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b) Power to Appreciate
b) Power to Appreciate
They say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Looking back we learned that during Covid, I guess, Simple freedoms like having friends round for dinner… or going to a church prayer meeting… or stepping into a café without having to use industrial disinfectant….
We’ve come to APPRECIATE these things all the more, I’m sure – as they’ve been taken away from us.
And Paul prays for power that we might appreciate...
Look at v18 - that we….
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18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints….
to comprehend WHAT?…He wants us to understand something.... to comprehend something... to get our heads around something.... what is it? (read on)
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18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
The NIV puts it a little more clearly, I think.
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That we might have power…
18 …to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
The Christian life begins, for each of us, with the LOVE of God.
cast your eye back on the page to v17… you can see that, if we’re Christians we’re already rooted in God’s love.... like a growing plant we have our roots in the right place - we began the Christian life on the basis of God’s love - shown to us in the gospel (remember we were spiritually dead people, brought alive only by his grace and kindness!)
But Paul want’s more - he wants you to really grasp the extent of God’s love – to understand (as he says) – the width and length and height and depth of God’s LOVE.
When you picture God in your minds eye.... do you see him as a God of... love? Or has he become distorted into an angry tyrant? Or do you see him as an eternally displeased father always wanting more from you - never quite impressed by you..... these are distortions. God is wonderfully, completely, supremely loving to his children.
The Puritan, John Owen says it this way:
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“We must learn to think of his everlasting gentleness and compassion. We must remember his kind thoughts toward us which have been from eternity. Let us remember how eager and willing he is to accept us. JOHN OWEN, COMMUNION WITH GOD
His love is wide..... it is an accepting love. He welcomes people from every tribe, tongue and nation - we’ve already seen that in Ephesians.... the gospel draws different people together.... even the worst of enemies.... Jew and Gentile.
His love is Long.... it’s not a flash in the pan (here today and gone tomorrow).... remember (ch 1) he chose you before the creation of the world dot be adopted as his child.
His is high.... it is an exalting love, raising us from death to seat us with Christ in the heavenly realms.
His love is deep... (Ch1) “In Christ we have redemption, through his blood, the forgiveness of sins”…. Have you stopped to consider what it cost the father to buy you back? - the death of his own son Jesus.
It is a knowledge almost too wonderful for us isn’t it? That’s how Paul goes on, v19
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19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
That’s a wonderful paradox isn’t it? To know that which, in the end surpasses all knowledge.
The early church Father John Chrysostom captured it beautifully.
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“Although the love of Christ lies above the reach of all human knowledge, yet shall you know it, if you shall have Christ dwelling in you…” JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, HOMILY 7 ON EPHESIANS
BREAK OFF TO ILL
The deepest known part of the ocean is the Mariana trench in the NW Pacific. It is 7 miles deep and you could fully submerge mount Everest in it. No submarine can withstand the pressure to explore those depths.
Like the NW Pacific God’s love is deep and vast.... in the end it surpasses all knowledge - it’s greater than we can ever comprehend.
But the depth of the Marianna trench doesn’t stop us enjoying splashing on the shore on Gullane.. owe canknow… and we can enjoy something of God’s extraordinary love.
Next week we’ll begin to draw the practical conclusions from God’s masterplan.... cast your eye forward you’ll see Paul begins Ch4 with the word “therefore....”
But for these first three chapters.... the main application for our lives..... the way all this stuff touches down in reality isn’t in something we do.... it’s in the way we think.
Paul isn’t yet saying do this or that..... he’s saying think this way.
He saying know that God has a plan for his world.... – let that shape your worldview and your thinking…
He’s saying remember that you were brought from death to life because of God’s amazing kindness – let that shape your worldview and your thinking.
He’s saying understand that the church is at the centre of God’s plan – let that shape your worldview and your thinking.
He’s saying meditate on and enjoy the love of God shown to you in Christ.
He’s saying THINK like Paul does AND…. Pray like Paul does.
Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.... expect Christ to renovate your life.... pray for the insight to grasp... comprehend.... understand that all of this demonstrates something of Chis’t extraordinary love for you.
Is it possible? Yes.... Paul prays to him (v20
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20 …who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
and don’t we want to join in and say with Paul (v21) SLIDE
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Let’s pray now.
NO SLIDE - PRAYER ONLY.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
