Within
Question of the day: What do you most value in a community that you would call safe?
It has been a couple weeks since we have been studying Ephesians. I appreciate the delay because I'm super excited about the short passage we are going to look at today.
To refresh your memory we are in Chapter 3. Chapter 3 is the end of the first part of the book and the last part of chapter 3 is a prayer. We will read it and then study it together. But before we do that I think we need to refresh our memory about where we have been. What have we learned in Ephesians so far.
Chapter 1: You were planned for and He lavishes His grace and blessings on you. Chapter 1 ends with a prayer that the Ephesians will know and understand this great love that God has for them.
Chapter 2: We were dead in sin, now we are alive in Christ. The Good News! Jews and Gentiles reconciled through Christ.
Chapter 3: Paul was uniquely qualified to evangelize the Gentiles and he is so thankful for this opportunity.
Now let's finish Ephesians 3.
READ: Ephesians 3: 14-21
A Prayer for the Ephesians
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
This is also a prayer and I think it is important to remember what the prayer in chapter 1 was. Let's read that.
"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."
How would you summarize this prayer?
Now how would you summarize the prayer in chapter 3?
First is he prays that they will understand, that they will grasp the that they are his kids and all that comes with that inheritance. He asks that they KNOW.
Then the prayer here in chapter 3 is all about what he is asking God to do.
I titled this lesson "Within" why?
Read this prayer again and I want you to underline or look for all the "in" or "within."
Perhaps it is age, but I am getting more and more irritated at our tendency to only look at behaviors or the outward manifestations instead of addressing the inside!
Inside.
Verse 16.
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Have you noticed that in this passage you could take out all the references to inside us and it would still make sense. In fact I'm quite sure that is how we have been reading this passage. So I want us to stop and really pay attention to what it is saying.
He is being very specific here. It could read, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit." He could have ended it there but he didn't. If he had ended it there how does that read differently for you?
What does it say when you add "in your inner being?"
Verse 17.
17 "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."What is he saying here? Again "in" plays an important role. "Dwell" is also a very important word. So he is praying that they will be strengthened with power in their inner beings and that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith....
His riches will strengthen you and then he will dwell, He will just hangout with you in your hearts! This is not a one time thing. A dwelling is not a place to just drop in and then on to another place. It is your spot, your home, where you hangout and live. So He is asking that first He will strengthen you inside and then he will come and hangout INSIDE your heart.
This is ALL heart work!!!!
This is God coming in and doing some redecorating and then staying!
Now continue reading it again through verse 19.
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
I know it doesn't say within or inside, but it is still implied. Where do you fill something? "That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." That is again a "within" experience.
I have recently been fascinated with clothing in the bible. Clothing covers. Thankfully!
We know the bible talks about the "robe of righteousness" that COVERS. Right? I'm covered, and that means the Father only sees Christ because He is my robe of righteousness. Right?
This prayer is not about the robe, or a covering. This is a very intimate "within" experience. Paul is wanting the Ephesians to know how great God is, what he has done for him personally and for all of them, Gentiles. Now his prayer is that this great knowledge will go past a covering and will do a work within! Within!
Verse 20
This is a verse we have heard our whole lives, but it is also a verse I had never heard!
"20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
Who does immeasurably more?
What power is at work?
Where?
To HIM be the glory!
There are two things that we must KNOW before we move on in Ephesians.
1. HE gives us the Robe of Righteousness, the covering! "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8
2. He does the work within ( not to be mistaken with the gift of grace)
It is because of what he has already done, it is because of his great love for us, that he ALSO wants to come and do a work within!
We often worry so much about what our kids are or are not doing. We look at other Christians and how their lives do or do not live as we believe a Christian should and judge. What God wants more than anything, is this prayer that Paul prayed. That we will KNOW God and his great love for us and then we will invite him in to do a work on us from the inside out.
This is sooooo important to get because it is easy for the rest of this book to start reading like a list of does and don'ts.
However in the glow of this prayer, after the magnificent descriptions of God's amazing love and grace for ALL, the rest of this book is beautiful and transformative.
What is keeping you from letting God dwell within you and start a work within you?
Have you been focused on cleaning up the outside rather than letting him do a work within?
Is it harder in our society or as a member in a church to let the outward stuff just be and let Him work away step by step?
How do we become a place where it is safe for us and others to let Him work within?
Is there anything we can do to promote and encourage this beautiful work?
In our local church we say, KNOW LOVE. LIVE LOVE. SHARE LOVE.
In a way I see Ephesians in these three statements.
1. KNOW GOD and all that he has done for you... His great love! KNOW IT!
2. LIVE LOVE. That is this inner work that Paul is praying for the Ephesians. That they will LIVE with God (LOVE) dwelling in them.
3. SHARE LOVE. is to come!
KNOW LOVE.
LIVE LOVE.
SHARE LOVE.
Comments
Post a Comment