Pauls Prayer

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Join us on Sunday Mornings at 9:30 am dor Sunday School, Wednesday evenings at 6 pm for our Study on Puritan theology.

Next Week is Lords Supper and we will have a potluck dinner following service.

Prepare for Worship

Call To Worship

Scripture Matt 22:34-40

Matthew 22:34–40 (ESV)

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

As we come before God today in our worship meditate on these words, As we worship let us focus our hearts on these two commandments. Loving the Lord God and loving our neighbor.

Confession

Prayer of Confession

Holy Father, we confess that we may approach you with our mouths and our lips, when our hearts are not in worship. We confess that we offer to you that which costs us little. Though you are a great King, we often bring to you the leftovers of our time, energy, gifts, and worship. We have neglected your commands when it is inconvenient for us to keep them. We have ignored your laws when it causes us to lose our ease. We have disregarded our neighbors' needs, and wondered aloud why other people do not meet our needs. O Father, have mercy on us! Forgive us of our many debts! Cleanse us and give us the mind and heart of Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. In His name, and for His sake, we come to you. Amen

Assurance of Faith

Psalm 103:8-12

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Catechism

Q. 10. How did God create man?

A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.

Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?

A. God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

Worship

5 How Great Thou Art

80 How Deep The Fathers Love For Us

162 Wonderful Merciful Savior

Prayers of the People

Prayer Request

Paul’s Prayer

So as we reach the end of chapter 3, we see something interesting. Paul closes out this section of the letter with a prayer.

Up to this point Paul has presented a clear explanation of the gospel to the readers of this letter. He has laid out an overall biblical theology. He has told us who God is, what God is accomplishing in history, who man is, and the nature of the relationship between God and man. He presents to the reader how God in his infinite wisdom, has brought about salvation for the all those who would believe in him, and how salvation for all time was meant for all, but that he brought it about through a single people to be given to all.

Then he prays.

Now he had prayed earlier, back in chapter one as well. After he had given a great explanation o fhte triune God’s work in salvation, he prayed that God make it clear to them. To open the eyes of their hearts, so that they might know the hope found in Christ.

Here in chapter 3 he prays again, but this time the content is something different. Eph 3:14-19

Ephesians 3:14–19 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.

I would like to point out the address before we jump into the content of the prayer.

He opens the prayer with the statement “for this reason”, which can also read for this cause. This is the same opening to the prayer we find in chapter 1. In both instances, this should alert you to what is coming next. Unlike the “therefore” we often find in Scripture which tells us to look back and see the reason that preceded, this tells us to pay attention to what comes next.

It is a statement letting the reader know that in the preceeding statements he is clarifying for what specifically he is praying for.

Here at the end of chapter 3, the end of the portion of the letter telling us what is the thing we have hope in, we find Paul praying a prayer for strength.

At first I did not see the significance of the prayer, but in study soon realized just what Paul is praying for. Now whther it was intentional or not, I found the correlation amazing.

In our call to worship today we read a passage from Matthew, tthis is a very well known passage. In it we find the Lord confronted by the Pharisees, hoping to catch him in a statement that would tarnish his reputation. They ask him what is the greatest commandment. Trying to get him to take sides in an arguement between them and the Saducess.

But Jesus responds in a magnificent way, a way that silences them all. Scripture says from that day on they no longer dared to question Him.

But what was so profound about what he said? He tells them Matthew 22:37-39

Matthew 22:37–39 ESV

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

These are the words we live by. but what was so profound that it shut them up once and for all? It was not that Jesus expressed some new concept, but rather he refuted both sides of the argument by highlighting the entirety of the law in two simple statements.

The two tables of the Law explanation.....

Why now we ask is that pertinent to Paul’s prayer here? we find This first table commandment, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and strength is the focus of Pauls prayer.

With All Your Soul

So Paul says that he bow his knee for this reason… Eph 3:16-17

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—

For Strength

When we look back at the original statement of the imperative to love God we find it first stated in, Deut 13:3, Deut 10:12, Deut 6:4-5

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 ESV

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 10:12 ESV

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

Deuteronomy 13:3 ESV

you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

But when Jesus quotes this, and we see this in all three synoptic Gospels, Luke 10:27, Mark 12:30

Mark 12:30 ESV

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Luke 10:27 ESV

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

It would seem that Jesus expounds a bit on this, he adds the qualifier to Love God with all your strength.

If we look at that closely, it then makes sense what Paul is praying for here. He is asking God to provide us with strength. But strength for what?

Our Inner Being

Paul ask that we be strengthened by “the power through the Spirit, in our inner being, so that Christ might dwell in our hearts”

So we have the command throughout Scripture to love God with all of our soul, our inner being. But we find here in Pauls prayer that we need strength, bestowed by God, so that Christ might dwell within us, so that we might be able to meet that command.

Indwelling Power

In All aspects of salvation, our power to do as God calls us to do does not arise from our own wants, desires, or even strength. We must be indwelt by God Himself so that we might be love Him.

Our power is useless, without His strength give to us.

With All Your Mind

Paul then adds a second request to his prayer Eph 3:17-18

Ephesians 3:17–18 (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,

Strength to Comprehend

Paul proceeds to pray for strength for us to do as the greatest commandment says, love the Lord your God with all your mind

But he ask that we be strengthened in order to comprehend. He knows that without direct intervention from the Spirit we are incapable of truly knowing God.

The word translated comprehend, has a meaning of “to lay hold of, to seize upon, take possession, or to lay hold of with the mind.” Not only are we powerless to full know God without His indwelling, we need His intervention to merely even understand.

And what is it we are to lay hold of? The breath (great extent), the length, height, and width of the love of Christ

Our Minds

The mind might be one of the most elusive parts of ourselves to love God through.

Each of us is equipped in specific way in which we learn, comprehend, and retain knowledge. No two of us are alike int hat department.

Therefore, when God admonishes us to love Him with our minds, understand that how I do that and how someone else does that is entirely different. We must each meet this requirement within the bounds of our own gifting. But what we must remember is the all.

If we are only willing to submit to God a portion of our thought life, then we are failling to meet the command.

There is no part of your thought life hidden from God, He knows it all. So we must examine how we understand this world. Those willing to exclude God from any corner of their knowledge of the world, are disobeying God, as He tells us than in Him all things were created and hold together.

Rooted in Love

But their is another part of loving God with our minds that can be problematic. And that is having and gaining knowledge absent of love.

In Paul’s prayer he says that we are to be “rooted and grounded in love” then be strengthened to comprehend.

If we are not in relation with Christ, the extent of our knowledge stands for nothing.

What profit it a man if he gain the world and lose his soul?

Knowledge without love is useless

With All You Heart

Paul concludes this portion of the prayer with this Eph 3:19

Ephesians 3:19 ESV

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

Love of Christ

We are called to love God with all of our heart. All of our love should be to him, first.

and Paul prays for us to know the love of Christ, the love of Christ that is known through his indwelling in our hearts

Our love of Christ is found within us, it permeates our entire being, our soul, our mind, and our heart

Just as sin is first formulated in the heart, so too is our love for God. That is the nature of our salvation. The Spirit effecting such change in our hearts that the love of our Creator is the foremost characteristic that comes out of us.

That Surpasses Knowledge

Paul indicates that this kind of love surpasses knowledge. Some would take this to mean that love is far superior to knowledge, going as far to say that we can ultimately remain ignorant of the things of God.

But we must understand that this is immediately contradictory to what we find in the previous passage. Paul prayed fervently that God strengthen us that we might comprehend the whole expanse of God

Note that he prays that we comprehend all that AND know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge. The two are not at odds, they are both components of what we need to fulfill the greatest commandment

Fullness of God

So Paul prays that we be strengthened, by the Spirit in our soul, so that Christ might dwell in us, so that we might have faith. He prays that we be strengthened so that we might comprehend this infinite God in our minds, and we might know the love of the Son in our hearts.

So that ultimately we be filled with the fullness of God. an almost incomprehensible concept. But I think the simple understanding is that God fill every part of your being, your soul, your mind, and your heart.

Conclusion

Paul shows his love to the church in this letter. He wants nothing more that for those who read it to know the amazing Creator and Savior as he does. He wants for them the same content, joy, and peacefulness that he had found in Christ.

Today as we look at the turmoil all about us. Some self induced, other unavoidable, let us look at this prayer, and while I always warn people to never insert themselves into the text, In the form of a prayer I think it acceptable to take the words that Paul wrote so long ago and pray them anew for ourselves.

Ephesians 3:14–19 (ESV)

Lord we now bow our knees before you Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of your glory you might grant us to be strengthened with power through your Spirit in our souls, so that your son Christ might dwell in our hearts through faith—We ask that we be rooted and grounded in love, so that we might recieve the 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 we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Lord equip us today to love you with all our hearts, all our minds, with all our souls, and with all our might. AMEN

Lords Supper

Lets us now partake of the Lord’s Supper together as the New Covenant body:

Table is open to all who are professing believers

The words of Institution that the Apostle Paul has given us should give us caution as we come to the table this morning:

English Standard Version Chapter 11

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

So as we pray and prepare to receive the supper, keep the Word in your mind, preparing your heart for the receiving of the Supper.

Please take this time to pray, and prepare your heart to receive the Supper.

AMEN

And now in His name, I take these elements to be set apart by prayer and thanksgiving to the holy and mysterious use for which he has appointed them. As He gave thanks and blessed, let us draw near to God, and present unto Him our prayers and thanksgivings. Let us Pray

God, Who by the blood of your dear Son has consecrated us a new and living way into the holiest of all: we ask of you, cleanse our minds by the work of the Holy Spirit, that drawing near to you with a pure heart and clear conscience, we may receive these gifts without sin, and in doing so glorify your Holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Have the people come and take. Elders deliver to those who cannot rise.

The Bread: On the night Jesus was betrayed , he took the bread and when He had given thanks, he broke it, and gave it to the disciples to eat saying: “This is my body which is broken for your; do this in remembrance of me” Take the bread

The Wine: And in the same manner He also took the Cup, and having given thanks, He gave it to the disciples, saying: “This is the cup of the New Covenant in my Blood, shed for many for the remission of sin. Do This as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” Drink of the cup.

Let us Pray.....

Doxology

Join us as we sing the doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

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.

Please join us now in the Parish Hall for a time of fellowship