Let me tell you the story of Norma Jean Mortenson. Because her mother became mentally ill, Norma went from one foster home to another. When she was eight years old, one of the boarders raped her. To add insult to injury, he gave her a nickel. Then he warned her not to tell anyone. Norma told her foster mother. But, Norma got beaten badly instead. She told Norma, “Our boarder pays good rent. Don’t you ever say anything bad about him!” Norma felt so used.
Norma grew up to be a very beautiful woman. She became an actress. She became an overnight success as a sex symbol. But she actually resented the label. People thought success got into her head for she would keep the director and the crew waiting two hours on the set for her. But she was only in the dressing room vomiting out of stage fright. Norma went through three marriages. She never felt loved at all. She felt people never took her seriously as a person. She felt so used.
Thus, August 5, 1962, at the age of 35, she took her own life. They found her naked on the bed, dead due to an overdose of sleeping pills.
Who was Norma? She was… Marilyn Monroe.
People long to have a taste of heaven on earth. But they look for it in all the wrong places. So they end up so hurt and used. Yet the Bible spells it out for us. So far we saw in our series in Ephesians that in Christ we can live a significant life. We can turn our upside down life right side up. Now let us see how we can have a taste of heaven on earth. Let’s read Ephesians 3:14-21…
14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20Now 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, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Note the phrase “For this reason…” (v. 14) Paul was about to pray in verse 1 of chapter three but in mid-sentence he stopped. He then explained the mystery of Christ, that is, the Jews and the Gentiles would form one body, one family and one church in Christ. He then took it up again in verse 14.
“For this reason I kneel before the Father…” Jews normally stand when they pray. It was unusual for them to kneel. Now the emphasis here is not the posture or that we should kneel whenever we would pray. The emphasis is on Paul’s passion in his prayer.
This is the second time he prayed in this letter. “In the first prayer [1:15-23], the emphasis is on enlightenment; but in this prayer, the emphasis is on enablement. It is not so much a matter of knowing as being—laying our hands on what God has for us and by faith making it a vital part of our lives.” He prayed so hard for us that we may not only know the blessings that we received from heaven but also that through these blessings we will experience heaven on earth.
However, these blessings are not for everyone. Yes, the things that Paul prayed for are the very things the Lord wants us to experience. But note this clause in verse 15: “from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” Take note also in verse 18: “together with all the saints”. And in verse 21: “to him glory in the church”. That means that you can only receive these blessings if you already accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior. That very moment you trusted in Him, you became part of His family, that is, the church composed of all the saints or believers.
First, to have a taste of heaven on earth, we must EMPLOY THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT.
In verse 13, Paul asked the Ephesian believers “not to be discouraged because of [his] sufferings for [them]”. Instead of being discouraged, Paul prayed that God would “strengthen [them] with power through his Spirit” (v. 16). When I say that we will taste heaven on earth, I am not saying that we will be problem-free. But as we face trials and temptations here on earth, heaven’s resources are available in order for us to overcome. The Greek word for “power” is “dunamis,” which is used almost sixty times in the New Testament.
The meaning of this word packs so much firepower. When Alfred Nobel invented a very strong explosive that is safe to detonate, he took “dunamis” and came up with the word “dynamite.” But, based on The Message paraphrase, the power of the Spirit available for us is “not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength” (The Message). This power, according to verse 20, is “his power that is at work within us”.
Because of this power, God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” in and through us. This same power actually is the power behind Christ’s resurrection. According to Ephesians 1:19-20, “I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven.” (CEV ) And this power will never run out. It says here that God empowers us “out of his glorious riches” (v. 16). The word “riches” denotes “abundance,” that is, “his grace was inexhaustible and ample for all their needs.”
Dr. Rick Warren wrote that this resurrection power “is available to you right now to transform the weaknesses in your life into strengths. The Bible describes resurrection power as the power to cancel your past, the power to conquer your problems, and the power to change your personality.”
Second, to have a taste of heaven on earth, we must EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST. Paul also prayed “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (v. 17). You may be asking, “I thought that Christ already dwells in me when I received Him as my Savior? How come Paul asked that Christ may dwell in our hearts?”
The Greek word for “dwell” means “a permanent as opposed to a temporary abode.” That’s why it is translated this way in the Good News Bible: “I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith.” Yes, Christ is already in your heart when you trusted in Him. However, the question now is, “Is Christ at home in your heart?
There are three kinds of people in this world. First, according to 1st Corinthians 2:14, there is “the man without the Spirit” or “the natural man” (NKJV ).
According to a diagram from the Campus Crusade for Christ, this man is on the throne of his heart and Christ is outside his life.
In other words, the natural man has not accepted Jesus. He is an unbeliever. Notice that his life is in disarray or has no purpose.
Second, according to 1st Corinthians 2:15, there is “the spiritual man”. He has accepted Christ in his life. He is a believer. Notice that this person is living a life of purpose because the Lord is seating on the throne of this person’s heart.
Third, according to 1st Corinthians 3:1, there is a “carnal” man (NKJV). Sad to say, this person is a believer. Paul calls this person “brethren”. But he is “still worldly… [He is] acting like mere men? (1 Corinthians 3:3) He is a believer who lives a disobedient life.
Which state are you in right now? Are you a natural, a spiritual or a carnal man? Christ makes His home in the heart of the spiritual man. If you think you are a natural man, accept Him. If you are a carnal man, repent of your sins and set your relationship right with Him.
Robert Boyd Munger, in “My Heart—Christ’s Home,” wrote in this imaginary account that Christ entered a person’s home and explored every room in it. He cleaned a room here and a room there.
Until finally, the person saw that Christ should be the Lord in his life. He “asked, ‘Lord, is there a possibility you would be willing to manage the whole house and operate it for me? Could I give to you the responsibility of keeping my heart what it ought to be and myself doing what I ought to be doing?’ I could see his face light up as he replied, ‘I’d love to! This is exactly what I came to do. You can’t live out the Christian life in your own strength. That is impossible. Let me do it for you and through you. That’s the only way it will really work! But,’ he added slowly, ‘I am not the owner of this house… I have no authority to take charge since the property is not mine.’ I took out the title deed to the house describing its assets and liabilities, its condition, location and situation. Then rushing back to him, I eagerly signed it over giving title to him alone for time and eternity. He took my life that day and I can give you my word, there is no better way to live the Christian life.” Brothers and sisters, “May Christ settle down and be at home as Lord of your hearts also.”
Third, to have a taste of heaven on earth, we must ENJOY THE PASSION OF CHRIST. What I mean by passion here is “love.” Paul prayed that we “being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…” (vv. 3:17b-19a)
We are totally “rooted and established in [Christ’s] love” (v. 17b). His love is the very foundation of our lives. Romans 5:5 tell us that “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit”. It does not say He is about to pour out his love to us. It says He already poured it out. It does not say He sprinkled us with His love. It says He poured out His love on us. We are filled to overflowing with His love!
It’s a sad thing that many people thought they have to work in order to earn that love. They imagine that they have to perform in order to impress God. Yes, they can mouth the song “Jesus loves me, this I know.” But if you ask them “Does Jesus like you?” they could not accept that! We don’t have to perform for God to like us. Dr. Howard Hendricks assures us, “There’s nothing you can do to make God love you any more than He does right now. There’s nothing you can do that will cause God to love you any less than He does right now.” His love for us is a settled fact. Paul wrote in Romans 8:35, “Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death?” (CEV) In The Message it goes like this, “Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way!” Let’s continue on to verses 38 to 39: “I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Our Lord is passionate for you and me. We are secure in His love.
So, when Paul prayed that we may grasp and know that love, he is talking about enjoying that love. It’s not a theoretical but an experiential knowledge. It’s a knowledge based on experience. To know that Christ loves us is one thing. To fully know or grasp that Christ loves us is another thing.
Look at the dimensions of this love: “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” In other words, this love is a “love that surpasses knowledge”. According to Bruce Barton, “Christ’s love is total, complete, eternal, and all-encompassing. It reaches every corner of our experience… It is wide—covering the breadth of our own experience and reaching out to the whole world. It is long—continuing the length of our lives and on into eternity. It is high—rising to the heights of our celebration and elation. His love is deep—reaching to the depths of discouragement, despair, and even death.”
Fourth, to have a taste of heaven on earth, we must EXPECT THE “PLEROMA” OF GOD. Paul prayed that we “may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (v. 19). In another version it says, “Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.” (CEV) The Greek word for “fullness” is “pleroma,” which “means to make full, or fill to the full, and is used many times in the New Testament. It speaks of total dominance. By definition, then, to be filled with God is to be emptied of self. It is not to have much of God and little of self, but all of God and none of self.” In other words, we are to give God full control or complete access to our lives. We are to “live full lives. Full in the fullness of God.” (The Message) We live out the song, “All that I am, all that I have, I lay them down before you, Oh Lord!”
There are times we are afraid to surrender to God. We think we know better how to live our lives. But if we commit ourselves to Him, “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” (The Message) As someone has said, “The world has yet to see what God can do in and through a person whose life is totally committed to Him.”
Brethren, taste heaven here on earth. Rely on the Spirit’s power. Rest your hearts in Christ’s presence. Relish in His love. Relinquish control over your lives to God’s hands.
Let’s pray…
