BOW OUR KNESS BEFORE THE FATHER
Ephesians 3:14-21
Good News Christian Fellowship
BUCA, Daraga, albay
February 26, 2006
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever watched the stars in the night so stunningly beautiful and awesome that you spend hours ponder its beauty- that you longed to be part of it? Or have you ever heard music so poignant and sweet that it made your heart ache- made you long to hear fully the eternal music that distantly echoes in your soul?
The greatness of God is higher than our words can reach, farther than the imagination can stretch, vaster than our hearts can encompass.
Paul, after passing through the series of pain and trials then on the way to Prison, he discovers quite something beautiful and wonderful- in the presence of God. In His presence he fined the greatest joy and, in turn, is a joy to the Lord. Paul expressed God’s greatness in a prayer that is deeper than poetry.
Let’s kneel beside Paul, seeking to more deeply experience God’s extravagant, unimaginable, glorious love.
THE REASON (vv.14-15)
In Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul is on his knees once again. He is concerned about these Ephesians. What prompted this prayer, which had been mounting in Paul’s heart for some time?
Paul’s prayer begins with the expression, “For this reason….” What prompted Paul to be on his knees?
It was the awesome of God’s mysterious plan: to redeem fallen men, both Jews and Gentiles, for the praise of His glory and grace (see Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). Because God has purposed and provided for the salvation and sanctification of Gentiles, as well as Jews, and because God has called Him to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles, Paul now prays for the Ephesians saints, to whom he writes. Paul’s prayer is consistent with God’s purpose.
Note the things for which Paul does not pray, the very things for which we often pray. Paul does not pray for …
• The material prosperity of the Ephesians saints
• Their prevention, removal, or quick relief from pain
• Their physical health and well-being
• Their emotional or psychological well-being
• A transforming or ecstatic spiritual experience
Paul didn’t pray all of these things. His prayer is shaped by the purposes of God. What he (WE) can pray for is that which God has purposed and promised, and which He has assured us He will accomplish, to His glory and to our good.
THE PRAYER (vv.16-19b)
How appropriate to come before the father, since through Christ’s we’ve been adopted into His family. But how unexpected for Paul to be on his knees! However, it wasn’t customary for the Jews to bow their knees in prayer. People in Paul’s day usually stood while praying. When they knelt, they did so to show deep adoration, submissiveness, and urgency.
I am not stressing what position is best while praying. It is the intense of our heart to pray that does matter. What are the things we pray for?
Now let’s look closely what Paul pray for and should be our prayer as well.
A. Strengthened through His Spirit (v.16) The first request is for strength and power in the inner being- our innermost being made alive in Christ- with the Holy Spirit giving power. This “power” interestingly, is the opposite of what happens when we “lose heart” (3:13) Instead of giving up to the problems, trials, pain and circumstances, Paul wanted us to grow in the Spirit’s power, to turn more and more to God and His hope.
We are strengthened with might by his Spirit into the inner man, that is, in the deepest part of his being, in his spirit- in the spirit that God has renewed. That is what our human spirits are for -- they are to drink of the Spirit of God, so that the Spirit of God is able to refresh us and revitalize us. Just as taking a drink refreshes your body, so drinking of the Spirit refreshes your spirit, at the deepest level of your life.
However, be reminded this is not about feeling. This is not about seeking instant good relief. We seek some instant sense of relief. Well, relief will come, but it doesn’t start there. It starts down at the level of the spirit, and may be nothing more than some consciousness of reassurance that things are going to work out eventually.
Ask God for conquering strength and power: the Holy Spirit of God. Ask God to grant you that your spirit will receive a new infusion of strength, that you can drink again of the river of the Spirit of life which is in you, and that your spirit will be restored so that you can begin to operate as God intended you to.
Pray that God may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit into the inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. As Christians, Christ already lives in our hearts through His Spirit- this happens at the moment of our salvation. What Paul means dwell was that, through our ever-maturing faith, we would let Christ more and more “be at home” in us- that we would more consistently put Christ at the center of our lives, letting HIM shape our lives.
B .Rooted and Grounded in Love (v.17b) The word rooted brings to mind plants, with their roots shooting deep into rich earth to be nourished and grow tall and strong. The word grounded brings to mind a building in solid foundation. Paul used two metaphors to conveys beautiful figures of security. It’s the only thing on earth that can hold on the body of Christ together and see us trough the tough times.
We can’t handle life unless we have a solid foundation, unless we are rooted and grounded -- in what? In love -- in the assurance that God loves us, and has accepted us, that we are dear to him, precious to him. Like that tree, a life rooted in Christ’s love also feeds and shelters others- and it, too, is firmly planted and refreshed constantly by God’s love for us.
C. Have power to comprehend with all the saints(v.18) It means to give us power to relate to others "power to comprehend [or "realize" is literally the word] with all saints." This means that now we can begin to relate to somebody else, to reach out to someone else who needs our help, our guidance, our comfort and love. We don’t have to live in isolation. We have to reach out to one another. Just recently my dear brothers and sisters we have shown our love, our concern, our comfort to the bereaved family of Mr. Rey Nol. This just show how loving our Almighty God.
God has done so much to us, brothers and sisters that it cannot be measured. Therefore we have to pray and seek God to increase our love and concern to one another. . We are to relate, we are to share. We are to be open. We are to "widen our hearts" as Paul puts it to the Corinthians. "Widen your hearts," {2 Cor 6:13 RSV} he says. "Reach out to each other. Bear each other’s burdens," {cf, Gal 6:2}. Confess your faults one to another," {Jas 5:16}.
That’s why in this congregation we have love to come in our worship service not just to sit and listen but to relate to one another. I encourage you to meet your friends and neighbors when you come to church, get acquainted with the ones sitting next to you. Because it is in reaching out to "realize with all saints" that there comes the ability to lay hold of all these great provisions in Jesus Christ.
D. Comprehend the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge (v.19a) The love that brought Jesus from heaven to earth to the cross-for us- is limitless: Christ’s love is total, complete, eternal, and all-encompassing. It reaches every corner of our experience. His love is deep- reaching to the depths of discouragement, despair, and even death.
How can we possibly know this love that “surpasses knowledge”? We can’t completely. But here’s what we can do: we should pray for God to help us learn more and more of His love and we should make the request OFTEN EVERY DAY.
E. That you may be filled with the fullness of God (v. 19b) It doesn’t mean full comprehension of His divinity, but being filled with the Spirit. It is the condition in which God is in possession and control of our lives, enriching us, blessing us, and strengthening us. Our faith is strong and vital, and we are reaching out, ministering. Be filled with a sense of the love and grace of God; with satisfying views of interest in the righteousness of Christ; with the Spirit, and the gifts and graces thereof; with full provisions of food for their souls; with spiritual peace, joy, and comfort.
Now we have to pray for “all the fullness of God [Himself]”- for God and His presence in all its fullness to fill and flood, ruling and reigning and having His perfect way in our life.
THE DOXOLOGY
God greatness overwhelmed Paul, just as it overwhelmed us. Let’s read verses 20-21.
This is our God- the One who is far ahead of us that His works outrun the farthest stretches of our imagination! The ONE who does FAR….MORE…ABUNDANTLY—superabundantly!
• to make grace abound (2Cor. 9:8)
• to do immeasurably more (Eph. 3:20)
• to bring everything under His control (Phil. 3:21)
• to save completely (Heb. 7:25)
• to keep from falling (Jude 1:24)
Praise Him for the mystery of His grace in the Church! Praise Him for the gift of Salvation and reconciliation in Christ! Praise Him all people, everywhere, through all the time.
APPLICATION
What a great passage Ephesians 3:14-21 is to MEDITATE on and MEMOIRIZE It encourages and strengthens us no matter what situation we’re in, but it’s particularly healing when we’re discouraged. When we’ve lost our inner energy and motivation in our walk with Christ, we can remember that He wants to empower us. When we lose our way with him and feel empty, he fills us again from the bounty of His presence (v.19b)
In His presence we find the greatest joy and, in turn, are a joy to the Lord. We are now willing to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus with confidence, knowing all request will be heard, not on the basis of behavior, but because of the son’s demeanor and stature.
If we dwell in the presence of God moment by moment, then we look to the Christ within to find His abiding presence. And all who have sought God for His enjoyment will testify that they have been filled to overflowing, never disappointed by a single minute spent in His presence.
Many believe that if they are not able to have a “quite Time” on a given day, they have missed God. That’s not true. Much damage has been done to our devotional lives by confining God to a time and a place, when Jesus makes it quite clear that HE is WITHIN US.
So, the quite place is within. We do not have to be overly concerned with meeting Him religiously in a particular place each morning, but we are to be consumed with meeting HIM within, MOMENT by MOMENT.
The power of God is infinite. The power of God is at work in us. The infinite power of God is at work in us to bring glory to Him. To God be the glory! This should be the theme of our lives, as it was with the Apostle Paul.
