Power In Christ
Text: Eph. 3:14-21
Introduction
1. The word "power" is defined as "the ability or capacity to perform or act effectively."
2. Recently, I did an internet search on the word "power," and it yielded 1,210,000,000 results. Do you think that people find power to be important?
3. Paul says that Jesus gives us power:
a. Power for inner strength
b. Power to understand
c. Power to achieve
4. Read Ephesians 3:14-21
Proposition: In Christ, we have unlimited power at our disposal.
Transition: Paul prays for...
I. Power For Inner Strength (14-17)
A. Empower You With Inner Strength
1. As in verse 1, in verse 14 Paul is referring back to what he has already written when he says "When I think of all this..."
a. When he thinks about our spiritual blessings in Christ.
b. When he thinks about God’s free gift of grace that has been bestowed upon all people.
c. When he thinks about the peace of Christ that is available to all who believe.
2. Paul says "When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father..."
a. There are many postures that be assume in Scripture while praying.
b. Some stand, sit, lay prostrate.
c. But in Scripture, bowing the knees signifies several things that may have prompted Paul to mention that position here. First, it represents an attitude of submission, of recognition that one is in the presence of someone who is of much higher rank, dignity, and authority (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Ephesians).
d. Second, we see references to bowing the knee before God in times of intense passion and emotion.
e. Paul fell to his knees not because it is a more sacred position than any other, but because it reflected his reverence for God and the passion in his heart for the Ephesians.
3. This is what Paul prays, "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit."
a. THE MAIN INTENT of Paul’s prayer is clear: He wants his readers strengthened by God’s Spirit so that they may know intimately Christ’s presence and love (Snodgrass, 179).
b. He prays that this inner strength would be supplied by God’s glorious and unlimited resources.
c. Because He is limitless, so are His glory and resources. Therefore, the inner strength that He can supply is limitless too.
d. The Greek word for "strength" in this verse is the opposite of the word despair.
e. He is able to give us inner strength that is stronger than any despair that the Devil or the world can throw at us.
f. Romans 8:38 (NLT)
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
4. God does this through His Holy Spirit.
a. John 16:7 (ESV)
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
b. Jesus tells His disciples that He is going away, but not to worry because He is sending the Helper, the Holy Spirit to be with them.
c. The Holy Spirit empowers, comforts, guides, protects and teaches us.
d. He can gives us inner strength that is beyond comprehension.
5. As this happens, Paul says "Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong."
a. The word translated "home" means a place of dwelling, whether an object or area Greek (Louw and Nidda, English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. It carries with it the idea of settling down and taking up a permanent residence.
c. Paul says that Christ takes up residence in our hearts.
d. The “heart” in the Bible always refers to the center of a person’s emotions and will.
e. Christ takes up permanent residence, changing a person’s “heart” and, consequently, his or her words and thoughts (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
f. What Paul is talking about is perseverance.
g. Revelation 2:11 (NLT)
“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.
B. Power to Overcome
1. Illustration: “Instead of praying for victory, we settle for temporary relief. We pray that God will make the devil leave us alone, when the Lord is telling us to pursue our enemies and scatter them like dust.”
2. Romans 8:37 (NLT)
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
3. Through Christ we have inner power.
a. Power to overcome temptation.
b. Power to overcome hardship.
c. Power to overcome evil.
d. Power to overcome circumstances.
4. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ has given us spiritual power.
a. Power to be His witnesses.
b. Power to be holy.
c. Power to stand for what is right.
d. Power to make a difference.
5. The question is, what are we doing with this power?
a. Are we taking the authority that is ours in Christ?
b. Are we taking the fight to the Devil?
c. Are we using the power that is ours in Jesus name?
d. If we are not using His power, who’s to blame?
Transition: Paul says that we have also been given the...
II. Power To Understand (18-19)
A. The Power to Understand
1. The next thing that Paul prays for them is that they would have "the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is."
a. To fully understand what is praying for, we must first understand what he is saying.
b. Unlike English, in Greek there are numerous words for love. The one that Paul is using here is the word agape.
c. Biblical agapç love is a matter of the will and not a matter of feeling or emotion, though deep feelings and emotions almost always accompany love (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Ephesians).
d. This is an unselfish and sacrificing kind of love.
e. The only reason that we know this kind of love is because Christ displayed it to us.
f. 1 John 4:10 (NLT)
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
g. The only reason that can have this kind of love is that God loved us like this first!
2. Paul also prays that we understand the depth of that love - how wide, how long, how high, and how deep.
a. Paul prayed that this firm rooting of love would give all believers the power to understand the vastness of Christ’s love.
b. Christ’s love is total, complete, eternal, and all-encompassing. It reaches every corner of our experience.
c. This passage shows that even as we seek to grasp an understanding of Christ’s love, we will never understand it completely, for it is beyond our comprehension (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
3. The love of Christ is:
a. Wide, meaning it knows no bounds.
b. Long, indicating it will never run out.
c. High, because we can never go beyond it.
d. Deep, reaching down to the depths of our spirits.
4. Paul even admits "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully..."
a. The first half of 3:19 is a good example of an oxymoron (a combination of words that appears contradictory): Paul prays that they may know the love that is beyond knowing.
b. This is language from someone who has been surprised and overwhelmed with Christ’s love (Snodgrass, 182).
c. One can never fully understand the love of Christ; it is something that you have to discover for yourself.
5. However, once you have discovered it "you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
a. What the love of Christ does more than anything else is transform.
b. It transforms us from sinners into saints.
c. It transforms us from unbelievers into believers.
d. It transforms us from selfish to selfless.
e. It transforms us from powerless into powerful.
B. The Love of Christ
1. Illustration: He loved us not because we were lovable, but because He is love. C. S. Lewis
2. The most important thing for us to understand about the love of Christ is that He loves us - in spite of ourselves.
a. Romans 5:8 (NLT)
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
b. You cannot earn it.
c. You cannot buy it.
d. You can only receive it.
3. The second most important thing that we must understand about the love of Christ is that he commands it of us.
a. John 13:34 (NLT)
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
b. He didn’t say "I am giving you a new suggestion."
c. He didn’t say "I am giving you a new idea."
d. He didn’t say "I am giving you a new concept."
e. He called it a commandment!
4. The third most important thing about the love of Christ is that it shows we belong to Him.
a. John 13:35 (NLT)
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
b. Again, He didn’t say they know you belong to me because of the bumper sticker on your car.
c. He didn’t say they know you belong to me because of the nine pound cross you wear around your neck.
d. He didn’t say they will know you belong to me because of the 20lbs. Bible you carry under your arm.
e. He said our love is the evidence that we are one of His.
Transition: Finally, Paul prays for the...
III. Power To Acheive (20-21)
A. Power Over All Things
1. Verses 20-21 are what’s known as a Doxology, because the word glory comes from the Greek word Doxa.
a. doxa is found 165 times in NT, 77 cases being in the Pauline epistles (including Rom. 16 times;
b. The word means "to honour, or praise" (New International Dict of NT Theology. Pradis CD).
2. Paul begins this doxology with "Now all glory to God..."
a. Paul says that God is worthy of honor and praise because of what He has done and how He has blessed us.
b. However, Paul also indicates that God deserves honor and praise for what he is about to say.
3. What he is about to say is one of the most power phrases in the entire New Testament. Paul says "who is able..."
a. Now I need to tell you that this is a bad translation. In fact, very few if any English translations get it right.
b. The word being translated is the Greek word dunameno which is the verb form of the word dunamis which mean "power."
c. The whole phrase in the Greek read "to Him who has the power over all things."
d. Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!
4. That means that God has the power over:
a. Sickness and disease
b. Family problems
c. Financial hardships
d. Relationships
e. War
f. Storms
g. Fear
h. Doubt
5. However, Paul is just getting started. Next he says God is able to do this "through his mighty power at work within us..."
a. Imagine that, if you will, that power over all things is at work within us!
b. The power by which He can do all this is implanted in His people.
c. Ephesians 1:19-20 (NLT)
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
d. The same power that created the universe and raised Jesus from the dead resides within each one of us (Bruce, NICNT: Ephesians, 331)!
e. As long as we are operating in God’s power there is nothing that we cannot accomplish.
6. Paul still isn’t done. He says that this great power can "accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."
a. God’s capacity to meet his people’s spiritual needs far exceeds anything they can either request in prayer or conceive by way of anticipation (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM).
b. In other words, it is impossible to ask too much of God.
c. God can even do more than we can imagine, think, or dream up.
B. I Can Do All Things
1. Illustration: 24 year old Danny Simpson was sentenced to 6 years in jail for robbing a bank. Danny got 6 years in the clink for stealing $6,000. But the gun he used in the robbery ended up in a museum. The .45 caliber Colt semi-automatic turned out to be an antique made in 1918 by the Ross Rifle Company. His pistol was worth up to $100,000 on the collectors market. If Danny Simpson had known what he had in his hands, he would not have ended up in jail. Many Christians live like this. They spend their lives searching for God’s power and presence, not realizing it’s already in their hands.
2. We serve a God who has the power over everything.
a. He has the power over Satan.
b. He has the power over sickness.
c. He has the power over death.
d. He has the power over sin.
e. He has the power over the grave.
3. We serve a God whose power lives inside of every believer.
a. Philippians 4:13 (NLT)
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
b. We can reach this community for Christ.
c. We can take authority over the devil and all the demons of hell.
d. We can make a difference in Morrow Co.
4. We serve a God who can do infinitely more than we can even imagine.
a. Nothing is too great for Him.
b. Nothing is beyond His reach.
c. Nothing is impossible for Him.
Transition: God’s power is over all, and He has given us access to that power.
Conclusion
1. Are you living in the power of God today?
2. Do you believe He has the power to do more than you can even imagine?
3. Do you believe that through His power nothing is impossible for you?
4. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
