← Back to sermon library

But I want to read beginning 
in verse 1 to remind us of the context. For this reason I, Paul, 
the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles, if indeed you 
have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was 
given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to 
me the mystery, as I have briefly written already, by which, when 
you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of 
Christ. which in other ages was not made known to the sons of 
men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles 
and prophets, that the Gentiles should become fellow heirs of 
the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ through 
the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift 
of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of 
His power. to me, whom less than all, or 
than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I 
should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 
and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which 
from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created 
all things through Jesus Christ, to the intent that now the manifold 
wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities 
and powers in the heavenly places. according to the eternal purpose 
which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have 
boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore 
I ask that you do not lose heart in my tribulations for you, which 
is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees 
to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family 
in heaven and earth is named. That He would grant you, according 
to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through 
His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your 
hearts through faith. That you, being rooted and grounded 
in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the 
width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ 
which passes knowledge. That you may be filled with all 
the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do 
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according 
to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church 
by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for your word. Thank you for this wonderful 
letter to the Ephesians. and for what the apostle tells 
us in this passage. He lets us in, as it were, to 
his prayer closet to let us know how he prayed for these Ephesian 
believers. God, help us to learn from this 
and help us to see the emphases and may it be something that 
we co-opt and that we bring into our closets, not only for ourselves 
as individuals, but for our families, for our church as a whole. And 
we ask God as well that we would function, we would see our blessed 
privilege to function as that that church that demonstrates 
the glory of God Almighty. Forgive us for all of our sin 
now, wash us in that blood of the Lamb, and grant us grace 
to receive with thankful hearts your holy word. And we pray through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, remember last time 
I mentioned that verses 2 to 13 function as a digression. If you look at verse 1 in chapter 
3, he says, for this reason. He says the same thing in verse 
14, for this reason. Those passages are connected. 
Verses 2 to 13 are a digression. because he mentions in verse 
1 that he's a prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. If you 
go back for just a moment in chapter 1, he's mentioned this 
concerning Christ Jesus. He says in verse 20, which God 
worked, the demonstration of his power, which he worked in 
Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his 
right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and 
power and might and dominion and every name that is named, 
not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. And 
He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to behead over all 
things, to the church, which is His body, the fullness of 
Him who fills all in all." So God has conferred upon the Lord 
Christ that position of supreme authority, power, sovereignty, 
excellence, and glory. So we might ask the question, 
why is His chief apostle languishing in a prison cell? What's the 
deal? So the apostle wants to give 
that information in verses 2 to 13 to encourage the Ephesians. This is part and parcel of God's 
plan. I'm a prisoner with reference 
to my position, but it's not as if Christ is not sovereign 
over this. In fact, he says, I'm a prisoner 
of Christ Jesus. I'm here as a result of my ministry 
with reference to Christ Jesus. So in that digression, he highlights 
the mystery, what he calls the mystery, and his own stewardship 
in verses two to seven. Now, mystery isn't something 
that can't be known, but I think verse five sort of explains well 
what a mystery is, which in other ages was not made known to the 
sons of men as it has now been revealed. Was there a promise 
of a Messiah to come that would save his people from their sins? 
Absolutely! You see that in Genesis chapter 
3. You see that moved farther along all throughout the Old 
Testament Scriptures. But that it was Jesus of Nazareth, 
the second person of the triune God, that would live for us, 
that would die for us, that would be raised again for us? It was 
known in the past, but not the way it's become known. in this 
new covenant era. And so Paul says, Paul describes 
his stewardship of that mystery. Notice the specific definition 
or content of that mystery. Verse 6, that the Gentiles should 
be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise 
in Christ through the gospel. So the promise of Israel's Messiah 
not only extended to the benefit of Israel, but also to the Gentiles. Again, it was there in the oracle 
of Noah in Genesis chapter 9. It's there in the promises to 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that in them all the families of the 
earth would be blessed. It's there in the prophets, it's 
there in the Psalter, but it wasn't there the way it was in 
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he was a stewardship 
of that mystery. And then in verses 8 to 12, he 
highlights the mystery in God's eternal purpose. This has always 
been God's plan. This is how he orchestrated redemptive 
history. This is the telos. This is the 
goal. This is the purpose. And then he ends this brief digression 
in verse 13 by saying to them or giving them an exhortation. 
Therefore, I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations 
for you, which is your glory. Now he picks up at his intention. to pray and to praise with reference 
to God. So in verses 14 to 19, we have 
the prayer of the apostle, and then in verses 20 and 21, we 
have the praise to the glorious God. So you've got prayer, and 
then you've got doxology. The Lord Jesus Christ teaches 
us to pray thus in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. We ask God, 
we address God, And we ask for certain petitions according to 
verses nine to 13a, but then we end on doxology and a scription 
of praise to our God, for yours is the kingdom and the power 
and the glory forever, amen. This is a good practice. We give 
our petitions to God and we end by praising God, by glorifying 
God, by celebrating his majesty. So tonight I wanna look first 
at the prayer of the apostle in verses 14 to 19. And then 
if we have time, we'll get to the praise. to the glorious God 
in verses 20 to 21, or we'll pick that section up next week. 
But three things here relative, or two things relative to his 
prayer. First, the occasion of his prayer in verses 14 to 15, 
and then secondly, the content of his prayer in verses 16 to 
19. The petitions, the specific things 
that he asks for on behalf of these Ephesian believers. But 
notice with reference to the occasion of his prayer, the reason. 
So verse 14, for this reason, some commentators connect this 
to verse 13, and that makes sense. Therefore, I ask that you do 
not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory, 
for this reason, so that you don't lose heart, so that you 
continue to persevere. I'm gonna fetch these things 
or seek to fetch these things on behalf of you brethren from 
the throne of grace for this reason. But actually, I think 
it's better connected to chapter two. Remember that link between 
verse one and verse 14. So in verse one, he says, for 
this reason, again, he's going to pray for what reason? for 
the blessed realities that he's just described in chapter two, 
the salvation of individual sinners in verses one to 10, and then 
the solidarity of God's people in verses 11 to 22. It culminates 
in verse 19 of chapter two. Now, therefore, you are no longer 
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints 
and members of the household of God, having been built on 
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself 
being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building, being 
fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you 
also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in 
the Spirit. For this reason, Gentile believers, 
on an equal footing with the Jewish believers, I want to pray 
for you. I want to seek God's blessing 
on your behalf. I want to ask him specific things 
that are gonna help you, that are gonna be an aid to you, that 
are going to assist you in your perseverance onto that celestial 
city. And then notice the posture that 
he assumes with reference to this. He says, for this reason, 
I bow, my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I bow 
my knees. One commentator says, Paul does 
not use a verb of praying, but instead uses the posture for 
praying as a metonymy for the action itself. He doesn't say, 
I pray for you. He says, I bow my knees for you. That obviously indicates prayer. The posture of kneeling communicated 
humble submission and worship. This is the disposition and attitude 
of the Apostle Paul for this reason. He doesn't just sort 
of wander into the throne of grace or wander into the front 
gates of heaven. He goes to his knees in reverence 
and adoration to our blessed God. Now the scripture speaks 
of standing in prayer, the scripture speaks of sitting in prayer, 
the scripture speaks to those various postures. But with reference 
to kneeling, that is certainly encouraged and condoned by our 
blessed God. In Ezra 9, verses five and six, 
he says, at the evening sacrifice, I arose from my fasting and having 
torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread 
out my hands to the Lord my God. And I said, oh my God, I am too 
ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to you. My God, for 
our iniquities have risen higher than our heads and our guilt 
has grown up to the heavens. So it communicates this humble 
submission and worship in Psalm 95. I read at the outset Psalm 
96. behind this particular section 
in Psalm 96, we have, give glory to God, all the families of the 
earth. You see that right here, verse 
15, a reference to the family. And then in verse 21, we give 
glory to God in the church. But Psalm 95 is also in the background 
of the apostle's argument or statement here. Psalm 95, verses 
6 and 7, Oh, come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before 
the Lord, our maker, for he is God, or he is our God. And we 
are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. It's 
a good posture to adopt in times of prayer. In Daniel chapter 
six, remember when the decree was made that you couldn't pray 
to any other God, you had to pray to either Nebuchadnezzar, 
the gods of the heathen, of the pagan. Daniel 6.10, now when 
Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And 
in his upper room with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt 
down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave 
thanks before his God as was his custom since early days. 
Again, you can stand to pray. You can sit to pray. You can 
walk and pray. You can drive and pray. Just 
don't close your eyes, but you can certainly get on your knees 
to pray before the high King of heaven. This is a good exercise. This is a good posture. It communicates 
humble submission and worship. In Acts 20, after that first 
pastor's conference, when they know that Paul is going away 
and they may never see him again, it says, and when he had said 
these things, He knelt down and prayed with them all. So in this 
particular passage, he doesn't say, I'm gonna pray for you, 
but we know that's precisely what he means when he says, for 
this reason, I bow my knees to the father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. And that's his audience, the 
father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God and father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. What we've seen thus far in our 
study of this epistle up to this point is that Paul is thoroughly 
going as a Trinitarian. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 
blessing. He praises the Father for election 
and predestination. He praises the Father for sending 
the Son to redeem us from our sin. He praises the Father for 
the gift of the Holy Spirit, who functions as the seal and 
guarantee of our final inheritance. We saw the Trinitarianism of 
the Apostle in the last chapter. Notice in chapter 2 at verse 
18. For through Christ, we both, Jew and Gentile, have access 
by one Spirit to the Father. Same thing in verse 22. In whom, 
Christ, you also are being built together for a dwelling place 
of God in the Spirit. So when he comes to pray before 
God, he is the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unbegotten 
who sends the begotten, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father 
and the Son. And when he says in verse 15, 
from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, he 
is speaking in redemptive categories. Turn back to the book of Acts 
for just a moment. Acts chapter 17, Paul at the 
Areopagus. There he's preaching to the Stoic 
and Epicurean philosophers, and he is setting forth the glory 
of God Most High, the God who made, the God who governs, and 
the God who redeems. And there is a sense, this is 
a sense that unfortunately was abused in the early part of the 
20th century by what was called neo-orthodoxy or liberalism. They stress the universal fatherhood 
of God. God was the father to every man 
in the same way. That's wrong, brethren. He is 
the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and thus he is the father 
of those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a redemptive 
category. But if there is a creational 
category, it is here. And I think there is. We just 
need to be careful not to overstress it and to teach the heathen or 
the pagan that they're the son or daughter of God in the same 
way that the Christian is the son or daughter of God. But if 
you notice in Acts 17, specifically at verse 28, for in Him we live 
and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets 
have said, for we are also His offspring. There's the creational 
category. God as the God of everything, 
the God who made the world and everything in it, there is a 
sense where he is the father to all men. But again, creationally, 
when we go back to Ephesians chapter three and the apostle 
mentions the family in heaven and earth, he is speaking in 
redemptive category. He is speaking in terms of salvation. He is speaking in terms of those 
things, gospel oriented and gospel centered. So he says, for this 
reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. And 
it's a blessed reality, the fatherhood of God here is over all of the 
family of God, the church of God, the past, the present, the 
future. Notice in verse 21, you see this 
emphasis on the future there as well. To him be glory in the 
church by Christ Jesus, notice to all generations forever and 
ever, amen. I don't wanna spoil anything, 
but if you look at that particular passage, it not only tells us 
what our privilege is as the church to be that place that 
demonstrates the glory of God, but there's a promise built into 
verse 21. There's going to be a church 
to all generations. There's going to be a church 
that continues into the Eschaton. They may fight hard, they may 
try to destroy, they may persecute and oppress, but the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against her. So going back to verse 15, 
we have this solidarity with the whole family in heaven and 
earth. We have solidarity with the saints 
who have gone before us. We have solidarity with the apostle 
Paul, with the apostle Peter, with the prophet Isaiah, with 
the judge Samson. We have solidarity not only between 
Jew and Gentile, which comes out very clearly in chapters 
two and three, but we have this solidarity corporately with the 
entirety of the church of God. Brethren, it's easy for us to 
focus upon our local church to the exclusion of what God is 
doing elsewhere. But a passage like this causes 
us to reflect upon the reality that God most high has his people 
in every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. And so the apostle 
goes to pray before this God. He is the God and father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. And he is the one who is over 
this family. The family has its name because 
of him. Now that brings us to the content 
of his prayer in verses 16 to 19. Now, I'm gonna just show 
you where the petitions are. In verse 16, there's that word, 
that. And then in verse 17, about the 
middle, you see that word, that. And then in verse 19, in about 
the middle, you see the word, that. I think structurally, those 
are the three petitions. Those are the three things that 
the apostle is praying for on their behalf. Basically, he prays 
for their strengthening, he prays for their knowledge, and he prays 
for their fullness. That's the structure, that's 
the content, those are the petitions. He wants the people of God to 
be strong, he wants the people of God to be knowledgeable, and 
he wants the people of God to be full. Now, that second petition, 
listen to what I said, he wants the people of God to be knowledgeable. We often think that knowledge 
of theology, knowledge of the Bible, is reserved for the pastors 
in the church, reserved for the seminary professors, reserved 
for the doctors in the church, reserved for that, you know, 
small handful of guys that like to read those sorts of things. 
No, knowledge of the love of Christ is absolutely crucial 
for all of the people of God. That's the object he prays for, 
knowledge, not just generically, but he wants you to be a scholar 
in the school of Christ's love. He wants you to ponder, not your 
love for Jesus, he wants you to ponder Jesus' love for you. 
Because when you're hurting, when you're afflicted, when you're 
tried, when you're oppressed, when you're persecuted, when 
you're in the gulag, it isn't your love for Christ that's going 
to see you through. It is Christ's love for you that 
is going to see you through. And so hence the apostle prays, 
I want you to get your minds wrapped around that. But let's 
look first at The petition for strength, verses 16 to 17a. Notice the source of this blessing. Verse 16, that he would grant 
you, note, according to the riches of his glory. We've already met 
with that phrase in a similar fashion in chapter one at verse 
seven. You can turn there. In him we 
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according 
to what? The riches of his grace. the riches of his grace over 
in chapter two at verse seven, that in the ages to come, he 
might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness 
toward us in Christ Jesus. So there's riches of grace to 
be had in our blessed God. But as well, turn back again 
to chapter one at verse 18. This is another place where Paul 
reveals what he prays for on behalf of the people of God. 
Verse 18, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may 
know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches 
of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. So going back 
to chapter three at verse 16, the petition in Psalm is that 
you'll be strengthened with might in the inner man by the spirit 
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. That's 
the specific end in terms of the petition, but the source 
or the storehouse with reference to God's ability here, it's the 
riches of his glory. What does he mean by that? He 
means that when he goes to the throne of grace, there's no limitation 
upon God. There's not just a little bit 
of glory that Paul can call upon. There's not just a little bit 
of resource that sort of Paul can tap into. No, when Paul prays 
for the people of God, when you and I pray for the people of 
God, when you and I pray for ourselves, we are tapping into 
infinite, limitless power in terms of who God is. This is 
why in the doxology, you can drop down to verse 20. Now, to 
him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we 
ask, or notice the next phrase, or think, it hasn't even entered 
into our minds. that God could do what he's done. How many times have you and I 
experienced that? I was praying for, you know, 
this particular end and God did things I never anticipated. God 
made something crooked or straight out of something that was very 
crooked. God is most glorious because I never even brought 
that petition to the throne of grace. So when Paul is sort of 
putting this all together, I think it functions practically as a 
great enticement to pray. You're not gonna exhaust the 
resources that are in God. You're not gonna find him with 
a sign that says he's out for the day, he's on a break, he's 
pretty tapped out. He doesn't have the wherewithal 
now to kind of deal with what you have in terms of your needs. No, there is infinite, There 
is infinite riches, there is infinite glory, there is infinite 
power to be had in our Lord. So the source of this blessing 
that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, notice 
the description, notice what He goes on to say, to be strengthened 
with might through His Spirit in the inner man. We all need 
strength, don't we? Do we ever fetch it from God 
or ask it from God? This isn't a temporal, physical 
strength. Nothing wrong with that. Jesus 
teaches us to pray in the Lord's Prayer. Give us this day our 
daily bread. Yes, we know that man shall not 
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth 
of God. But I think in Matthew 6.10, it means food. It means 
sourdough toast. It means butter. It means meat. 
It means fat. It means all those things that 
supply the body with strength and ability to do what we're 
supposed to do. Nothing wrong with praying for 
temporal provision. Nothing wrong with seeking from 
God our daily bread. But that's not the point in this 
petition, that He would grant you, according to the riches 
of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit, 
notice, in the inner man. This is the spiritual man. This is what we need in terms 
of that provision from God to steady us, to stabilize us, to 
enable us, to persevere, to fight the good fight, to run the race, 
to keep the faith, to do the things that we are called to 
do. In light of the present context, verse 13, while I think this 
prayer connects more to chapter 2, I don't want to suggest that 
it doesn't connect with verse 13. Therefore I ask that you 
do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 
Isn't that the contrast to strength? Isn't that the downside of strength? When Jesus saw, or Jesus, actually 
let's see this in Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18, just to 
see the contrast that we see reflected in Paul's prayer here. 
Luke chapter 18. Notice in verse one, we won't 
even get to the actual content here, the parable of persistent 
widow, but notice the context setting situation. Then he spoke 
a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. So what's the opposite of spiritual 
strength? The opposite of spiritual strength 
is losing heart. Back in Ephesians chapter three, 
this is what he does not want them to do. Verse 13, therefore 
I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulation. So it's no 
surprise that the first petition, the first thing he offers up 
is, I pray for you to be strengthened with might through his spirit 
in the inner man. In other words, if you're not 
going to lose heart, if you're going to persevere, if you're 
going to be faithful, if you're going to be killing sin, if you're 
going to be fighting sin, if you're going to be resisting 
the devil, if you're going to be faithful to your blessed savior, 
you need strength from him to enable you to do that. We do 
not have the resources on our own. We are a needy people. We are a dependent people. We 
are an empty handed people, not only in terms of our justification, 
but in terms of our Christian life. There is never a moment 
or a time when we don't need help from God most high. In fact, 
turn over to Hebrews chapter four. Hebrews chapter four, similar 
emphasis. Verse 19. I'm sorry, verse 14. I think I need to up my glasses 
here. Hebrews 4 at verse 14, seeing 
that, that we have a great high priest who has passed through 
the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our 
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without 
sin. Now notice 16, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of 
grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time 
of need. If you've ever pondered that 
passage, do you ever say, well, you know, I'm gonna put it in 
my phone. One of the genius things about 
the smartphone is the calendar, right? You get to pop it in there 
and, you know, set the alert. So a half hour before, an hour 
before, a day before, you can get alerted. Okay, you're gonna 
need help here. This is always brethren, when 
should we be needy? When should we rather recognize 
our neediness? Just put it in your phone and 
click the box that says all day. Every day, you'll always be needy 
in terms of God. So we fetch or seek to fetch 
from that throne of grace, the help that we need in our time 
of need. So back to Ephesians 3. He says 
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to 
be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man. 
Now notice the endgame here, that Christ may dwell in your 
hearts through faith. Now think about the Trinitarianism 
of the Apostle Paul. He says, the strength that comes 
from the father, from his infinite warehouse, his infinite storehouse, 
the strength that comes from the father through the spirit 
results in more of the presence of the son. So it's not just 
one verse here or there in the New Testament that underscores 
the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Paul is a thoroughgoing 
Trinitarian, and it affects everything that he writes. And this is no 
exception. But he says this, I want you 
to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner 
man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. In 
other words, true strength Spiritual strength is seen in the presence 
of Christ in the heart of the believer. Now this does not contradict 
the hypostatic union. Christ doesn't dwell in our hearts 
physically. Christ isn't miniature and somehow 
hidden in the heart. He dwells in our hearts spiritually 
by the Holy Spirit. And this is one of the passages 
that indicate that. You've probably heard the debate 
concerning the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. Well, the Catholics teach he's 
really present because the bread and the wine are actually him. Well, that does disservice to 
the humanity of Christ. His humanity is not ubiquitous. The Lutherans say that Christ 
is in, around, and by and near the elements, so he's really 
present. I think the proper way to understand it is that there 
is a real presence. Christ is among us by his spirit. The bread and wine remain bread 
and wine, but they're symbols or emblems of his presence among 
us. The Holy Spirit being that one 
who basically shuttles him into our presence so that we have 
Christ in the midst of the lampstand. So when we look at this passage, 
and you can turn with me to Romans chapter 8, you'll see what it 
means that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. It's the 
presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice in Romans 
chapter 8 at verses 9 and 10. But you are not in the flesh, 
but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have 
the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. Note the synonymous interchange 
that the Apostle deploys in terms of Spirit of God and Spirit of 
Christ. There is one only, the living 
and true God, but this one living and true God exists eternally 
as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And he uses this terminology 
interchangeably. Now, if anyone does not have 
the spirit of Christ, he is not his. And then in verse 10, and 
if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the 
spirit is life because of righteousness. Turn over to the book of Colossians 
in a section that's very much parallel to what we're studying 
here in Ephesians. Colossians chapter 1, speaking 
about that mystery, verse 26, the mystery which has been hidden 
from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to 
his saints. To them God willed to make known 
what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, 
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. You've probably heard 
people say, pray and accept Jesus into your heart. Pray and accept 
Jesus into your heart. That whole model is defective, 
but there is the point that Jesus dwells in the heart. It is by 
the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. And that is 
precisely what Paul is saying in our passage. And notice how 
this is appropriated, how this is received, that Christ may 
dwell in your hearts through what? Through faith. not a relocalization 
of the humanity of Jesus now into the heart of the individual. 
No, it is through faith. The Spirit dwells, Christ dwells, 
we have the presence of God with us as we go forward in the fear 
of the Lord. So again, in summary, before 
we move on to the next petition, what is strength in the Christian 
life? Is strength grit and determination? Is strength, I'm gonna get up 
tomorrow at, you know, ODART 30, I'm gonna read my Bible for 
a half hour, I'm gonna pray for a half hour, I'm gonna just resolve 
not to sin all day. Those are good things, brethren. 
You go right ahead and get up at ODART 30. You go right ahead 
and read your Bible and you pray. You go right ahead and resist 
and resolve to resist sin. But never ever forget, the source 
of power, the source of strength in our Christian life does not 
come from within. Well, it does once Christ dwells 
in our hearts through faith. It is God Most High who sustains 
His people. It is God Most High who empowers 
His people. It is God Most High who gives 
us the ability to press on to that celestial kingdom. Now, 
notice the second petition that the apostle prays for. Notice 
in verse 17, about the middle, after that, in your hearts through 
faith, he says, So what does he pray for? Knowledge. He wants you to know more. He 
wants you to understand more. He wants you to appropriate theology. 
He wants you to know the Bible with a specific emphasis upon 
the love of Jesus Christ. But before he gets to the petition, 
He gives us background, just like He does in the previous 
petition. Verse 16, that He would grant you according to the riches 
of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit 
in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through 
faith. He gets to the petition toward the end. So what is He 
saying at the beginning? Well, first is the foundation 
of this blessing. How do we ultimately know the 
love of Christ which passes knowledge? Well, as the woke people like 
to say, you don't know what you don't know. And while that's 
offensive in the way that they use it, that's what Paul is saying 
here. You don't know what you don't 
know. The reason why we're able to make an attempt, note the 
irony, to know the love that passes knowledge. It's an ironic 
statement, right? He wants you to know something 
that passes knowing. Why? Because Christ's love, again, 
infinite. Christ's love is limitless. Christ's love is not like any 
love that you and I know. You know that your spouse loves 
you, you know that your kid loves you, and you know that ultimately 
it's a creaturely love. It's defective, it could be better, 
not that we're judging. But it could be worse. It could 
be a whole lot of things. But with reference to Christ, 
we just, I mean, we can take a kick at the can, but we're 
never going to exhaust the limitless love of Jesus Christ. So go back 
just a moment to what he says, that you being rooted and grounded 
in love. This is not a command. This is 
not the petition. This is the assumption. We might 
translate it this way, that you having been rooted and grounded 
in love. He does a similar thing in chapter 
one when he gives us what he prays for. Look back at chapter 
one at verse 17. that the God of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of 
wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of Him, the eyes of 
your understanding having been enlightened." In other words, 
you don't know what you don't know. If you're not born again, 
if you're not justified freely by His grace, if you're not saved, 
if you haven't been translated from the kingdom of darkness 
into the kingdom of the Son of His love, there is no way you're 
gonna know His love. There's no way you're going to 
enjoy that love, because the love in view is redemptive love. It is the love wherewith He loved 
us and conquered us and brought Him to Himself through His life, 
through His death, through His resurrection. So the foundation 
of this particular epistle is what we already possess. We've 
been rooted and grounded in love. He's conquered us with His love. 
Now, notice he goes on to say that you may be able to comprehend 
with all the saints. Here it is again. It's not just 
pastors or doctors or seminary professors saying, let me just 
tell you, the love of God is great. Okay, thanks. You need 
to study this. You need to contemplate this. 
You need to reflect upon this. Because this, along with strength, 
This knowledge is that which stabilizes the soul. It's that 
which steadies the soul. It is that which provides the 
ability to persevere in a world that is in opposition against 
Christ. This is the means by which we 
do not lose heart. So the love that he's talking 
about here, again, is not our love for God, but his love for 
us. Being rooted and grounded in God's love may be able to 
comprehend with all the saints Now notice, what is the width 
and length and depth and height? There's a lot of fanciful explanations 
as to what the apostle means here, and I'm not going to bore 
you with it all. I'm going to give you what I 
think is the probable meaning. Stephen Baugh says, a significant 
number of interpreters are right to see the reference in 18b as 
a reference to the boundless, inscrutable character of Christ's 
love. When he uses that convention 
that you may know what is the width and length and depth and 
height, again, there's a lot of suggestions, a lot of potential, 
a lot of, well, this means this and that context. They had been 
sort of those persons given to the occult. Remember that in 
Acts chapter 19, when Paul comes to Ephesus and sinners are saved, 
they take their books of the dark arts and they burn them. 
There might be all that stuff there, But I think the bottom 
line is conveyed well by what Bach says, that the reference 
is to the boundless, inscrutable character of Christ's love. So back to the text. He wants 
you to be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the 
width and length and depth and height. Everybody's a scholar. 
in Christ's school of love. Not just some of us, not just 
the few that like theology or the Bible, but if you want to 
not lose heart, if you want to press on, if you want to go forward, 
if you want to live the victorious Christian life, you need the 
strength of God and you need the knowledge of his love for 
you. And in terms of that love, we 
were loved from before the foundation of the world. not only in Ephesians 
1.5, but Romans 8. For those whom he foreknew, he 
predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. Loved before 
time, beautiful concept. We are loved and that is demonstrated 
in history. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten son. We have as well Romans 5.8. God 
commends or demonstrates his own love toward us in that while 
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, so loved from before 
time, loved in time, loved unto eternity. Turn to John 13. John 
13 in the Upper Room Discourse. This language is beautiful. John 
13, verse one, now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus 
knew that His hour had come, that He should depart from this 
world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, 
He loved them to the end. 1 John chapter 3, 1 John chapter 
3, similar emphasis. Verse 1, Behold, what manner 
of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called 
children of God. Do we ever do that? Do you ever 
just ponder how much you're loved? Just think and contemplate that 
God loves me. from before the foundation of 
the world, demonstrated in time and history, promised to be kept 
unto eternity. 1 John 3, 2. Notice, beloved, 
now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed 
what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we 
shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. So you see 
this link. We are loved by God. We are kept 
by God. It's not a transient love. It's 
not a vapor-like love. It is not a love that is going 
to diminish. Our confession of faith highlights this when it 
uses the language with reference to God in chapter 2, paragraph 
2, that He's what? He's most loving. The doctrine 
of divine impassibility is a most encouraging doctrine because 
it teaches us that in terms of the love of God, there's no diminishing, 
there's no increasing. Well, that's not fair. He's not 
going to love me more. He can't because he's most loving. You can't add love to most loving. But conversely, you can't take 
away love from most loving. So you see why Paul prays? What 
Paul prays? Paul wants you to be strong. 
Paul wants you to be smart. Paul wants you to press on. Paul 
doesn't want you to lose heart. Paul doesn't want you to fold 
in terms of the battle. He doesn't want you to recant. 
He doesn't want you to disown the Savior. He doesn't want you, 
when times get hard, to say, oh yeah, I'm going to go ahead 
and bow to the state. I'm going to bow to Caesar. I'm 
going to bow to whatever I have to in order to spare my neck. 
Paul the Apostle prays for those things which are absolutely crucial 
for the church of God to maintain its witness in a lost and dying 
world. As we move through this passage, 
we're not gonna get to it tonight, you're looking at your watch, 
don't worry, don't fear. But in verse 21, to him be glory 
in the church. It's the church of Christ. Have 
you ever thought about that? Has anybody ever asked you, perhaps 
your children, why do we go to church? What's your answer? Well, 
we go to church to see our brothers and sisters. Yeah, that's true. 
We go to church to hear the preaching of the word. Oh yeah, that's 
true. We go to church to take the supper. Yeah, yeah, that's 
true. We go to church to demonstrate the glory of God. Do we ever 
think of that? If anybody out there says, why 
do you go to church? Because I live and move and have 
my being in the context of Christ's church in order to magnify the 
glory of God. Well, how do you do that? The 
fact that I'm there demonstrates the riches of His grace. Because 
if it wasn't for the riches of his grace, I would never be there. 
It is because of what God has done in the person and work of 
our Lord Jesus Christ that has brought us together so that, 
according to 3.10, the principalities, the angels, they look upon us 
and they say, wow, God is gracious. Look at that crew that he's assembled 
in that part of the world. But as well, in 2.7, successive 
generations learn about the riches of his grace, how? Yes, through 
preaching. Yes, through supper. But yes, 
through assembling together. Brethren, not everybody has to 
have a particular ministry. Sitting in the bench is a wonderful 
ministry because what it does is demonstrates the glory of 
God. You're not out there engaged in pursuing your lusts, you're 
in here because of the conquering grace of Almighty God and the 
blood of Jesus Christ His Son. You're forgiven, you are given 
a righteousness, and you are now reflecting what God in Christ 
has done in terms of reconciling the world to Himself. We'll stop 
there, we'll pick up that last petition, God willing, next week, 
and then move into the doxology. But in conclusion, I want to 
encourage us to not only hear the prayer of the apostle, to 
not only understand the prayer of the apostle, to see the nuts 
and bolts in terms of the prayer of the apostle and the particular 
petitions involved. He wants us to be strong, he 
wants us to be knowledgeable. But perhaps you and I might also 
imitate the apostle. It's good to pray for broken 
arms. It's good to pray for daily bread. It's good to pray for 
brother so-and-so to get a good job. It's good to pray for our 
children that they'd marry well. All those things are perfectly 
legitimate, brethren, but let us not forget the spiritual warfare 
we're engaged in. Turn over to Ephesians chapter 
six. Ephesians chapter six at verse 10. Finally, my brethren, 
be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. He won't 
forget that theme, will he? He wants you to be strong. And 
brethren, if you look around you practically, you'll see the 
need for these petitions. Not everybody who names the name 
of Christ is strong. Look at that section in Numbers 
13 and 14. The bulk and the majority followed 
the whiners, followed the grumblers, followed the people that said, 
oh yeah, it's a good land, but there's big people. And then 
they revised the report to say, well, it's not, that good of 
a land and they're big people and let's just pack it in and 
forget about it. They don't listen to Caleb. Let 
us go at once and vanquish the enemies of Yahweh and the strength 
and power of Yahweh and take the gift that he has given to 
us. Brethren, we live in a day and age where courage is at a 
low ebb. We live in a day and age where courage is wanting. 
Courage is lacking. We need that sort of thing in 
the context of the Church of Jesus Christ. If we are moving 
toward harder times, and I'm not a prophet or the son of a 
prophet, but if that happens to be our trajectory, Weak men 
is not what the church needs. We need men of God, men that 
are like Joshua's, men that are brave and strong and are of good 
courage that will go into the land and do the Lord's bidding 
as he calls us to. So look at 10. Finally, my brethren, 
be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on 
the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against 
the wiles of the devil. Now here's my point, for we do 
not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, 
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, 
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. If that 
is our battlefield, if that is the nature of the opposition, 
yes, pray for your daily food. Yes, pray for your kid's college 
that he doesn't go. Yes, pray that he gets a good 
job. Yes, pray for those temporal 
things that affect us. But pray for spiritual strength. Pray for more of a conscious 
realization and knowledge of God's love for the people of 
God in their hearts. So that strength helps us to 
stand in the field of battle. That love gives us the incentive. It gives us the delight. It makes 
it not just a fight, but a good fight. Paul describes his fight 
in those terms. I have fought the what? The good 
fight. It's a good fight because it's 
God's fight and because God equips his people with strength and 
with knowledge so that they may indeed do it well. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for the clarity 
of the apostle's prayer here in Ephesians chapter three. And 
I pray for all of us. that we would take from this 
a need for our own times of prayer, to seek out more strength, more 
spiritual power, so that we may live in a manner that is consistent 
with our high calling. As well, help us to reflect upon 
that great love of God, loved before time, love demonstrated 
in time, love unto eternity, that love that is unchanging. 
God is most loving. May these things encourage us 
and may they help us and may you cause us not to lose heart, 
and may you cause us to glorify and honor and praise you. We 
ask that you would go with us now and keep us in this coming 
week. Grant us grace, Father, to honor you in each of the things 
that we undertake and gather us together again on Wednesday 
night for mutual encouragement and fellowship and bring us together 
again on the Lord's day that we may indeed be that place where 
God's glory is demonstrated. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.