Sermon Tone Analysis

Paul is here expressing his thankfulness to God for the believers in Ephesus.

He prays for their growth in knowledge as well as obedience to Christ who is over all.

Intro

Do you need hope today?

Do you need some power today?

Do you want to know what Love is today?

Super Bowl Sunday - LA Rams / Cinci Bengals

Valentines Day… Tomorrow

First, he blesses God for having blessed us in Christ; then he prays that God will open our eyes to grasp the fullness of this blessing.

Paul prays for you

Drew and I prayed for you

You pray for each other

PRAY RIGHT NOW!!

PRAYER

Message

Ephesians 1:15–16 (ESV)

15 For this reason...

Love and Faith go hand and hand.

Has anyone heard of your love?

Let us commit to having both our faith and love heard!!

When this is so Paul gives praise to God

Thank God for the evidences of grace in His people!!

Eph 1.9 “9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ”

You can only know God by divine enlightenment.

The Knowledge of God

things about Him and not know Him

The Knowledge of God’s Calling

know it exists and yet never marvel

The Knowledge of God’s Riches

understand the concept but never make a withdraw

The Knowledge of God’s Power

knowledge of God

knowledge of Jesus

knowledge of the gospel

knowledge of the inheritance

knowledge of the great power (resurrection)

knowledge of his position

knowledge of his rule

knowledge of his bride

given by the spirit

enlightening our hearts

This is what Paul prays for… for us

Ask God for divine illumination!!

Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Time with God)

Harry Ironside tells of meeting a very godly man early in his ministry.

The man was dying of tuberculosis, and Ironside had gone to visit him.

His name was Andrew Fraser.

He could barely speak above a whisper.

His lungs were almost gone.

Yet he said, “Young man, you are trying to preach Christ, are you not?”“Yes,

I am,” replied Ironside.“Well,” he said, “sit down a little, and let us talk together about the Word of God.”

He opened his Bible, and until his strength was gone he opened up one passage after another, teaching truths that Ironside at that time had never seen or appreciated.

Before long tears were running down Ironside’s cheeks, and he asked, “Where did you get these things?

Can you tell me where I can find a book that will open them up to me? Did you get them in a seminary or college?”Fraser replied, “My dear young man, I learned these things on my knees on the mud floor of a little sod cottage in the north of Ireland.

There with my open Bible before me, I used to kneel for hours at a time and ask the Spirit of God to reveal Christ to my soul and to open the Word to my heart, and he taught me more on my knees on that mud floor than I ever could have learned in all the seminaries or colleges in the world.”That is the secret.

It is not intelligence, outstanding instruction, or academic degrees.

It is time spent with God.

It is to people who sit at Jesus’ feet that God opens his heart.

Your only hope is in your position in Christ.

God’s Mighty Power

4 Words in Greek

Ephesians 1:19 (NASB95) and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

Power - Dynamis - great potential

Working - Energia - functioning operationally

Strength - Kratos - exercised in control

Might - Ischys - bodily exertion

By way of illustration, a bulldozer has the ability, capacity, and potential strength of rooting out trees.

One may sense its inherent strength (ischus), but when its engine roars and it begins to move, its force of power (kratos) becomes active (energeia) as it demonstrates its ability to topple trees in its path.

Thus, an intimate knowledge of God enables believers to experience the incredible greatness of God’s power available to them.

Surpassing !!

Rom 1.16 “16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Just as it is possible, when hiking through mountainous areas, to devote so much attention to finding the right trail, observing the compass, studying the geology of the area, learning statistics about elevation and so on that we miss the beauty of the peak, so one can study this marvelous, exegetically intricate passage and miss the wonder of the person of Christ.

Resurrection Power

Sin

Death

Satan

Ruling Power

we can be victorious because He lives

Resist and He will flee

More than conquerors

No one can snatch us away.

Redemptive Power

to have Christ fill the church

to have the church fill Christ

Praise God for Christ’s exultation

Close

Let us therefore also pray for God’s Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation that we too might ever be growing in the knowledge of

The Hope of God’s Call

The Glory of God’s Inheritance

The Greatness of God’s Power

PRAYER

Group Questions

Similar prayers found in Eph 3:14-21 and Col 1:9-12

What is a prayer you have been praying that you have not seen the answer to yet?

What is a praise you have that was an answer to prayer in your life?

How often are you thankful to God for fellow believers?

Have you told a fellow believer this lately?

How can you foster this?

What in this passage taught you the most about prayer?