I PRAYED FOR YOU

Ephesians Vers. 15, 16

Faith and love illustrated:—Some naturalists desired to obtain the wild flowers which grew on the side of a dangerous gorge in the Scottish Highlands. They offered a boy a liberal sum to descend by a rope, and get them. He looked at the money, thought of the danger, and replied, “I will go if my father will hold the rope.” With unshrinking nerves he suffered his father to put the rope round him, lower him over the precipice, and to suspend him there, while he filled his basket with the coveted flowers.

Ephesians Vers. 15, 16

Faith in Christ:—I remember an old experimental Christian speaking about the great pillars of our faith; he was a sailor; we were then on board ship and there were sundry huge posts on the shore, to which the ships were usually moored by throwing a cable over them. After I had told him a great many promises, he said, “I know they are good strong promises, but I cannot get near enough to shore to throw my cable round them; that is the difficulty.” Now it often happens that God’s past mercies and lovingkindnesses would be good sure posts to hold on to, but we have not got faith enough to throw our cable round them, and so we go drifting, down the stream of unbelief because we cannot stay ourselves by our former mercies. I will, however, give you something that I think you can throw your cable over. If God has never been kind to you, one thing you surely know, and that is, He has been kind to others. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Ephesians Vers. 15, 16

Love the fruit of faith:—When a rosebud is formed, if the soil is soft and the sky is genial, it is not long before it bursts; for the life within is so abundant that it can no longer contain it all, but in blossomed brightness and swimming fragrance it must needs let forth its joy, and gladden all the air. And if, when thus ripe, it refused to expand, it would quickly rot at heart, and die. And Christian love is just piety with its petals fully spread, developing itself, and making it a happier world. The religion which fancies that it loves God, when it never evinces love to its brother, is not piety, but a poor mildewed theology, a dogma with a worm in the heart. (Dr. J. Hamilton.)

I. Wisdom and knowledge of God.

Jesus was the eternal son of the Father. IN Him was the fullness of the Spirit of God.

Joseph Exell said,

Ephesians (Vers. 17, 19)

Original sin found no place there. In the foundations of Christ’s created nature, there was no intermingling of the taint of the Fall. In His birth no sin, in His temptations no inward response. His soul was the mirror of unsullied holiness, and therefore a fit dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. But we are conceived in sin, born in sin, may have lived in sin, bear still the remains of a corrupt nature, “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit.”

Ephesians Vers. 17, 19

Who would dare then to speak of the indwelling of Almighty God the Comforter in our souls, had He not unmistakably affirmed it?

II. The Hope of His calling.

Colossians 1:27–28 KJV 1900

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

He is our hope and our hope is in Him.

He is the hope that we have.

A. Eternal security

John 3:16 KJV 1900

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

B. Perfect justification

Romans 5:1 KJV 1900

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

C. Perfection

1 Peter 5:10 KJV 1900

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

D. Eternal happiness

John 16:22 KJV 1900

And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

III. The riches of glory.

1 John 3:2 KJV 1900

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Our hope is that one day we will have His glory.

1 Corinthians 15:52–53 KJV 1900

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

IV. The Fulness of Christ in the church.

Ephesians Ver. 23

ἐκκλησία

Church means called out. We are called out to be a part of the body of Christ.

The calling of God is more than just a call to service.

It is more than a calling to live holy.

It is a calling to join the body of Christ.

Paul’s prayer can be summarized as this, “Live worthily of the body of Christ.”

Yet, the body can not live if the head is severed.

However, many believers are attempting to live apart from Jesus.

The church can not survive unless Jesus is the Lord of all things.

Likewise, no member of the body can survive without being attached to the body as a whole.

Thus it is imperative that we remain connected to the body.

Hebrews 10:25 KJV 1900

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Now I know that often this scripture is taken out of context and preached as if it is a sin to miss a church service.

We have liberty in Christ. However, I may miss a meal from time to time, but if I neglect eating altogether it wont take long for death to arrive.

If you are physically unable to attend church, God understands, but that should not be the desire of your heart. I love church, because I love Jesus. If you love Jesus then you must love His body, which is the church.