Here’s my notes and audio for “Prayer for POWER” (Eph 3:14-19) sermon, preached at Cross of Christ Fellowship on 11.10.24 in Naperville.
“Paul’s Prayer for Power” Ephesians 3:14-19
Intro: To live as Christians requires a strength & power: Not physical, financial, mental –> SPIRITUAL.
-Delight in God & His love; Resist temptation; Pursue Holiness; Put away sinful habits/thoughts; Love others
-The kind of strength we need to do this cannot be found inside ourselves, but comes from God Himself. –Only God can supply the strength we need to live the Christian life and rejoice in God’s love.
-God gives us this power as we ask in Him in prayer.
*If we are going to live a joyful, Christ-centered life, filled with God’s presence, God must strengthen us.* CONTEXT: Paul’s letter to the Ephesians
-Shared the Gospel (Bad news and good news) in 2:1-10
-Word to the Gentiles (2:11-3:13)
-TODAY: Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians (3:14-21)
-Prayer that God Himself would strength and empower the Ephesians to follow God and know His love.
*If we are going to live a joyful, Christ-centered life, we must have God Himself strengthen and empower us.
I. Walk through the Text.
-Paul’s Prayer to the Father (14-15)
-OBSERVATION: This is a prayer (bow my knees before the Father,)
–NOTICE: Posture of humility and dependence on God.
-QUESTION: Do we have to knee when we pray?
-ANSWER: No, but we should have a posture of submission and dependence on God.
-Addressed to God the Father (14b-15)
-We pray to the Father in our prayers
–NOTICE: “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,” (15)
-God owns every single person who has and ever will live!
-This includes you and me.
1. Paul’s First Prayer Request: Strengthen the Ephesian Christians (16-17a)
-Prayer for strength and power: grant you to be strengthened with power (16)
-Ephesians needed God’s strength to follow Jesus and do what is right.
-WE need this too!
-Christian life is meant to be lived by God’s power and strength
–NOTICE: through his Spirit in your inner being
-Holy Spirit is the one who provides the Christian with strength to do what is right.
–NOTICE: that according to the riches of his glory
-God has the resources need to accomplish this task.
*STRENGTHENED TO WHAT END?
ANSWER IN 3:17: so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
-This is the purpose of the strengthening.
*QUESTION: What does “Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith” mean?
-Christians exercising faith in their hearts
1. Believing the promises of the gospel (see 2:11-3:13)
2. Drawing near to Jesus by faith
3. Increasing submission to the Lordship of Jesus in our hearts and lives
CARSON: Moving into a house and taking up residenceàgradual transformation of the house.
TRANSFORMED LIVES: Hearts, Tongues, Actions, Wallets, Time, Relationships, Holiness.
-We need God’s empowering presence and strength to see this happen.
-Christian life is a life lived by God’s supernatural, empowering strength.
2. Paul’s Second Prayer Request (17b-19a): Strengthened to know Christ’s love.
-Being Rooted and Grounded in love (17b)
–Rooted: Our lives and hearts taking root in Christ’s love (agricultural imagery)
–Grounded: Our lives and hearts build up in Christ’s love (architectural imagery)
-Request stated (18-19): may have strength to comprehend… and to know the love of Christ
-STRENGTH to comprehend and know God’s love!
-DIMENSIONS: breadth and length and height and depth
STOTT: “the love of Christ is wide enough to encompass all humanity (especially Jews and Gentiles…), long enough to last for eternity, deep enough to reach the most damaged sinner, and high enough to exalt us to heaven.”
NOTICE: GROUP ACTIVITY! à comprehend with all the saints
-Christianity is meant to be lived with other Christians as we marvel at and enjoy God and His love.
-We come on Sundays and mid-week at CG to marvel at the incredible love of God!
-Not just Comprehend, but also “know the love of Christ”.
-An experience of the heart being touched by the love of Christ.
-A love unlike any other love: “love of Christ that surpasses knowledge”
-We can never get to the end of it!
QUESTION: Why would Paul pray this for the Ephesian Christians? Don’t they already know God’s love?
ANSWER:
1. Due to indwelling sin and corruption, we forget God’s love, we doubt it, lose sight of it
2. Christ’s love ‘surpasses knowledge’, so there is always more to learn and see
3. A fresh awareness of Christ’s love helps us to follow Christ and ENJOY God.
3. Summarizing Prayer Request: that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (19b)
-A life strengthened by God to follow Christ and behold and enjoy His love, leads to this result: filled with all fullness of God!
-The more we draw near to Christ, follow Him, and marvel at God’s love, the more filled up with are with God Himself!-TEMPLE: A Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we’re made to be filled up with God Himself!
-Eph 5:18-20
APPLICATION: We all want to be filled with something: money, comfort, being in love, sex, success.
-Only God can truly fill the human heart and life, both now and for eternity.
-His filling is wonderful beyond words.
-We get a taste of it now, but fuller experience in heaven.
II. Apply the Text: GOD, CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE, PRAYER
1 GOD:
-Hears prayer;
-Triune;
-Strengthens His people by the Holy Spirit;
-Fills us with His presence.
2 Christian Experience:
-Prayer
-Humble dependence on God
-We depend on God’s strength for daily living;
-We need strength to believe and grasp God’s love.
-The result of beholding God’s love is an incredible ‘being filled with the fullness of God’
3 Prayer: Make Paul’s prayer your own!
-Pray for strength.
1. Strength to believe the promise of the gospel
2. Strength to live in obedience to Christ’ lordship (dwells in our hearts)
3. Strength to grasp and feel and know the love of Christ.
4. To be filled all the fullness of God
CLOSE:
If we are going to live a joyful, Christ-centered life, we must have God Himself strengthen and empower us.
