“Prayer for Strengthened Love,” Ephesians 3:14-21
Outline
I. Introduction
II. Transition
a. CIT: Spiritual power is the consequence of the love of Christ.
b. CIS: The Church needs strengthened love for increased power.
III. Exposition
a. The attitude of the prayer.
i. Humility, earnestness.
ii. Designation “The Father;” how Christ taught us to pray.
iii. That which bears God’s name must be of interest to Him.
b. The petitions connected to the grace of the:
i. Spirit (v.16)
1. The petition: we need strength in the “inner man.”
2. The measure: His glorious riches.
ii. Son (v.17-19)
1. Indwelling: Christ transform from inside out.
2. Stability: stable character comes from Christ’s love.
3. Comprehension: (v.18) Christ’s capacity to bless.
4. Knowledge: (v.19) the inward knowledge of Christ’s love is the strongest of all spiritual dynamics.
iii. Father (v.19)
1. Filled with all of the fullness of the Father. The renewed heart has the capacity to receive spiritually from God.
c. The Doxology
i. The being praised. “Him that is able,” etc. God is infinite in power, with no limits to His sovereign authority.
ii. The sphere: “in the Church” The Church is God’s instrument to spread His glory in the earth.
iii. The medium: “in Christ Jesus” in vital union to whom the Church has got all her blessings.
iv. The duration: “world without end;” for the story of redemption will never become obsolete.
IV. Conclusion
“Prayer for Strengthened Love,” Ephesians 3:14-21
Introduction
The man of God, D.L. Moody, once recounted the story of “A boy a great many years ago who was stolen in London. Long months and years passed away, and the mother had prayed and all her efforts had failed and they had given up all hope; but the mother did not quite give up her hope. One day a little boy was sent up to the neighboring house to sweep the chimney, and by some mistake he got down again through the wrong chimney. When he came down, he came in by the sitting-room chimney. His memory began at once to travel back through the years that had passed. He thought that things looked strangely familiar. The scenes of the early days of youth were dawning upon him; and as he stood there surveying the place; his mother came into the room. He stood there covered with rags and soot. Did she wait until she sent him to be washed before she rushed and took him in her arms? No, indeed; it was her own boy. She took him to her arms all black and smoke, and hugged him to her bosom, and shed tears of joy upon his head.”
Transition
The love of this mother was so intense that nothing could stop her from embracing her lost son. Indeed, her love for him was born from the deepest place within her and she expressed that deep love for her son, embracing him even in his soot and smokiness and lost condition.
Her love for him was so intense because it was born from deep within, just as the little boy was born from within her very body; that she had given birth.
Friends, there are few things more powerful than love born from within – indwelling love. Likewise, power for the Christian life comes from one source, it comes from one thing, on place; the indwelling love of Christ.
CIT / CIS: More spiritual power comes from more of the love of Christ indwelling.
This morning as I go to my text, I would ask you simply to consider the central notion of this text and of that most plain reality for believers – More spiritual power comes from more of the love of Christ indwelling believers.
Exposition
This section of Scripture is a prayer on the part of the author, the Apostle Paul. He is writing to the believers in the region of Ephesus and he pauses in his message to them to offer an earnest prayer for them. That prayer contains some important information for them and us.
Consider at the outset the attitude of the prayer. The Apostle prays to God in humility and earnestness to “The Father;” how Christ taught us to pray.
He draws attention to the fact that the Church bears the name of God and surely that which bears God’s name must be of interest to Him.
The petitions of the prayer are each connected to the graces of a specific person of the Trinity. In recent years, the importance of the Triunity of God has grown greatly in my own understanding of God and His work in His Church.
While it may be largely a mystery to us, when we worship God in His fullness, as Trinity, He pours out His blessing in Triune abundance. Christian doctrine often separates the work of God into distinct manifestations of the God.
We say that the Father decrees, the Son saves, and the Holy Spirit secures. To some extent this is true, but to worship God in His fullness we must remember that God exists, according to the Bible, eternally Triune.
Calling on and honoring God must be done in accordance with who He is according to Scripture, not who we suppose Him to be in our preferences.
At the outset, the Apostle Paul petitions God with regard to our need for the Holy Spirit (v.16) He asks God to strengthen in the “inner man,” which is the weakest part of our constitution and where we need strengthening the most.
For increased spiritual power we need increased recognition of the indwelling love of Christ. More of Him is often the result of more recognition of Him!
The measure of God’s ability to bless us is incomprehensible and without measure! He writes that “I pray out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit.” How miserable is our estimation of God’s power!
God’s glorious riches are inexhaustible, yet we, His cherished children, live in meager spiritual rags while God in His abundance pours out blessings incalculable.
It has at times boggled my mind to see so many Christians struggling to find even modest spiritual comfort and strength, while living in a land such as ours where the light of the Gospel is to be found in abundance. There are Christian television, radio, and media ministries; Christian bookstores, preachers of every shape and sort exhorting us toward Godly power and spiritual abundance.
Yet, the hearts of so many believers are cold to the power of the Holy Spirit moving in the reality of their lives. In a sermon preached in 1729 in Northampton Massachusetts, lamented similarly to his congregation for “Living Unconverted Under Eminent Means of Grace,” of the preaching of his then deceased and well respected predecessor.
In that sermon he admonished his congregation saying that “there have been few places that have enjoyed such eminent powerful means of grace as you of this place have enjoyed. You have lived all your days under a most clear, convincing dispensation of God’s word…” He turns up the heat a bit and says that “It argues a dismal degree of obduracy [stubbornness] and blindness, that persons could stand it out under such ministry.”
Friends, let us remove the blinders from our eyes, soften our stubborn hearts, and pray similarly that God would fill us with the power of His Holy Spirit out of the superabundance of His glorious riches! We have the power of God within!
In (v.17-19) the Apostle turns his attention to Christ in this most obviously Trinitarian prayer. He highlights the way that Christ works within us.
The power of Christ is chiefly indwelling: Christ transform from inside out. Christ transforms our perspective completely because He alters us inwardly. It has been said that “Christianity has made martyrdom sublime, and sorrow triumphant.”
Religion and man’s wisdom is at its best when it is able to influence from the outside in but Christ creates a new man from the inside out.
For example, man baptizes from the outside, cleansing the outward parts which will become corrupted again but it only symbolizes what Christ does through indwelling!
We seek to influence stability of personal character but steadfastness in character only comes from Christ’s love within transforming. Christ radically alters our very comprehension: (v.18) There is no end to Christ’s capacity to bless us from within (v.19). The inward knowledge of Christ’s love is the strongest of all spiritual dynamics. We must become aware of its reality if we are to experience its power!
Religious education and instruction only has the power to influence our will. The indwelling love of Christ transforms our volition.
Religion can convince us what we should do but only in the indwelling love of Christ transforms what we want to do. Religion instructs our actions. Christ transforms our desires.
Jesus, through His indwelling love, changes our want to. Have you ever had something that you wanted to do? Sure you have. Have you ever had something that you wanted to want to do? That’s different. My will power may get me over the hump on something that I want to do but only the supernatural indwelling transformational love of Christ can transform my volition to the point of accomplishing what I know I should do or not do and that I want to want to.
The Apostle now turns his attention to the focus of the conclusion of this message; the Father (v.19) He prays that we would be filled with all of the fullness of the Father.
Only the renewed heart has the capacity to receive spiritually from God. We cannot receive the blessing of knowing God until we have received the new birth which the Holy Spirit brings through Christ. We cannot have the peace of God until we have peace with God and know Him as Abba. Father.
In the doxology, or conclusion to his prayer, the Apostle brings our attention back to power of God, “Now to Him who is able…” God is infinite in power, with no limits to His sovereign authority, capacity, or ability to save His children.
He works in and through the Church. We are God’s instrument to spread His glory in the earth. “In Christ Jesus” our power lies. We must remain in vital union to whom the Church has got all her blessings.
The Apostle concludes the prayer praising God forever and ever for the story of redemption will never become obsolete. While our methods may change, the message of the redemptive blood and indwelling love of Christ never changes.
Conclusion
In Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, according to the will and decree of the Father we have power. Why are there so many spiritually anorexic, puny Christians when we have access to real spiritual power for this life?
“The mightiest man that ever lived could not deliver himself from his sins. If a man could have saved himself, Christ would never have come into the world. He came to deliver us from our sinful dispositions, and create in us pure hearts, and when we have Him with us it will not be hard for us. Then the service of Christ will be delightful. If you are under the power of evil, and you want to get under the power of God, cry to Him to bring you over to His service; cry to Him to take you into His army. He will hear you; He will come to you, and, if need be, He will send a legion of angels to help you to fight your way up to heaven. God will take you by the right hand and lead you through this wilderness, over death, and take you right into His kingdom. That's what the Son of Man came to do. He has never deceived us; just say here: “Christ is my deliverer.”
What did Jesus say at the inauguration of the Church? “When my life and love indwells you, you will be defeated?” No! “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NIV84)
Friends, find the power of God through the indwelling love of Christ. More spiritual power comes from more of the love of Christ indwelling. Amen.
