I want you to open your Bibles if you would tonight
to Ephesians 3.
You certainly appreciate this more sure word of prophecy
as much as I do,
or you would not be here tonight.
And with that said,
I want to delve into one of Paul's prayers
that he has recorded for us in the
holy Scriptures for us tonight.
I want you to look with me here at Ephesians 3.
I'm just going to read the text
from verse 14 through the end of the chapter.
A rich epistle it is.
And Paul bears his heart.
Verse 14
"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
and 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 could 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.
Let's pray once again together.
Father, You know how desparately
we need a visitation from You,
and when we look at this prayer,
we see one of the most astounding
implications is that this is really
the essence of revival praying.
This is what the church needs
to bring it to a dimension
of spiritual reality that sadly
in most circles today has been
long forgotten.
We would ask tonight that
You might draw near
and speak to us.
We know that our dependence
must fall utterly upon You.
There is nothing,
even the best of men,
could come and articulate Your truth tonight
and perhaps we would be encouraged
and intellectually stimulated,
but our life would not experience
an abiding, sustained change
that would perpetuate Your glory,
unless the Holy Spirit falls
upon the place.
So we would ask tonight
that You would give us something
that is experimental;
that is profoundly full of reality;
that Your people would be encouraged;
that this would truly be a time
of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.
Lord, we beg of You tonight,
grant every lady,
every man here,
all the young people,
a vision of Yourself,
and such a work of Your Spirit,
that would cause the truth
to dance in our hearts.
Please come tonight,
and revive Your people.
We ask in Christ's name,
Amen.
In the way of introduction here tonight,
it is interesting that the preface
of Paul's prayer for the Ephesians
begins with a reason.
He says, "for this reason,"
back in verse 14.
Commentators, quite honestly,
are divided upon what the reason is.
There are some that believe that
the reason is that Paul said,
"I'm held captive," is for preaching
the Gospel and the benefits
that it produces for the Gentiles.
Other commentators believe that the reason
speaks of the advantage
that the Gospel affords
those who are despairing.
As Paul has weathered the storm,
as he's endured persecution,
he's drawing from the Gospel
as a divine buoy to buoy him up
in the midst of his adversities.
Now, in the line of all that the Father
of the Lord Jesus Christ has taken
the initiative to accomplish
both for Jew and Gentile.
Paul is moved to drop to his knees
as you read on.
And pray that the benefits of the Gospel
might be fully grasped by the saints
at Ephesus.
His posture in prayer, brethren, is no sham.
It's not a hypocritical gesture.
It is full of reality.
He is in dead earnest here.
As he expresses his heart in dropping
before God and uttering a plea
from the uttermost depths of his heart.
The prayer here that he prays
possesses both petition and praise.
Paul requests that the Ephesians
might be strengthened with might
through the Spirit
in the inner man.
And then he goes on to express
his benediction in prayer
as he tells who is able to do
exceedingly, abundantly above
all that we could ever ask or think.
This afternoon, we will only look at
Paul's petition.
You'll notice in verse 15 now,
it reveals the impartiality of God
as He is a Father
both to Jew and to Gentile.
From both groups,
the Scripture here says
He has called His elect
and united them as the whole family
in heaven and earth.
Therefore, listen:
the phrase refers to a common bond
of all who have been reconciled
with the Father through Christ.
It does not refer to God giving
each of His children individual names.
Rather, it speaks of all God's children,
whether Jew or Gentile.
Whether they are in heaven or earth,
being under the same Father,
and in other words, He says
that all are the same spiritual faith family
that are under the name of the Lord God.
Al Barnes made this statement:
"The expression is taken from the
custom in a family,
where all bear the name of the
head of the family
and the meaning is that
all in heaven and on earth
are united under one Head
and constitute one faith community."
Now we're laying a foundation.
Please bear with me for a moment.
When you look at Paul's petition here,
you might get the impression that
he's asking multiple blessings
for the Ephesians.
But it's interesting,
he's only petitioning God for one thing:
that they might be strengthened with might
through the Spirit, in the inner man.
The petition is that the inner man
of every believer would be quickened
to grasp this request.
The saints in Ephesus.
That they would encounter four
spiritual entities.
These are blessed things.
Namely, that Christ would dwell in their hearts.
That they would be rooted and grounded in love.
And that they might know the love of Christ
that surpasses intellect.
That they might know it in their heart,
this spiritual reality,
and then a total domination of God
in all of life.
We'll come back to that in a moment.
But you'll note, brethren,
that while Paul never uses the term "revival,"
he is describing the nature of one.
For these four things,
they are the result of being strengthened with might
by God's Spirit, are characteristic
of global awakenings in the history
of the church.
For example, you see that he mentions
a greater dimension of love,
both in love for others
and the Father's love for us.
Often in church history,
great times of revival,
times of spiritual awakening
are described as showers or
torrents of love.
Love for God.
Love for the saints.
Love for the unregenerate.
It's characterized by showers of love.
So with that said tonight,
let me share with you three things.
First of all,
the desperate need for effectual prayer.
Paul is in earnest,
in Ephesians 3:14,
"For this reason, I bow my knees
to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
and then verse 16,
"that He would grant you..."
Now, brothers and sisters,
I remind you that the apostle
was a praying man.
He was a living epistle
of intercessory prayer.
He was aware that he had written to them
and prayed for them,
that his prayer would not be in vain,
because he depended on the Holy Spirit
to strengthen them to lay hold of
these glorious realities.
But he prayed.
Spurgeon said that prayer is the rope
that rings the bell in the ear of God.
Someone defined intercession years ago
as a ballistic missile that can be launched
from a launching pad
no larger than a place to kneel,
travel at the speed of thought,
land precisely on target thousands of miles away,
and there is no defense against it.
It's prayer.
Are you a praying person?
Are you a praying man?
Now here's something that's interesting.
With all of his credentials,
with all of his ministerial
and spiritual pedigree,
Paul knew that that was not sufficient
to bring about a work of God.
He cast himself upon God in prayer.
Here's a thought:
Do we pray?
Do we know anything of our own
utter weakness?
Is our prayerless an acknowledgement
that we are too dependent
on ourselves?
Let me remind you
that prayer is the language of the poor,
the poverty stricken.
And those who posture themselves
as beggars,
win the heart of God in prayer.
You see, Paul prayed,
and he prayed often.
You find his ongoing pleas
for the Ephesian saints are revealed
in this epistle alone.
Consider how he often prays.
He prayed for them in Ephesians 1:16-23
when he asked God to give them
the Spirit of wisdom and revelation
for their spiritual advantage
and knowing what the hope
of their calling was,
the riches of the glory
of the inheritance,
and the exceeding riches or
greatness of His power
toward them.
Now listen,
listen for a moment,
he also prays here in Ephesians 3
for their understanding.
Through that understanding,
there would be a divine enablement
wrought by the Holy Spirit,
whereby they might be
strengthened with might.
And he's praying and believing God
that they might grasp these
glorious benefits,
which are fourfold as a result
of being strengthened,
enabled by the Spirit.
He prays again you find
in Ephesians 6:18 for the saints.
When he tells them that he's praying always
with all prayer and supplication
for all the saints.
Brothers and sisters,
we don't put on the whole armor of God
just to overcome evil.
We don't put on the whole armor of God
to obtain some prized object
that we're believing God for.
That's a part of it.
But you find in the context,
the purpose of putting on
the whole armor of God
is to pray.
To supplicate in prayer.
This is the thing
that we should underscore.
Listen, Paul prayed.
He prayed because he recognized
his inability to effect change.
And he prayed faithfully because
he continued to be consciously aware
of his own helplessness.
You see, we pray by virtue
of the fact that we recognize in some measure
our utter helplessness before God.
But the spiritually proud,
the self-sufficient,
find it very difficult to maintain continuity
when it comes to pleading before
the throne of God.
Paul prayed.
He prayed earnestly for the Spirit.
Listen,
while we might not like to hear it,
this I believe in our hour
is a tribute to self-sufficiency.
Our own prayerlessness.
Do you pray?
Can you continue in prayer?
Do you know anything
of the prayer of importunity?
Perhaps God many times uses
the very ministry of prayer
to wean us off of our own self
and independence of Him in ministry.
But there's a second thing
I want you to see in the text.
And that is in chapter 3:16.
And that is the need of the Spirit's enablement.
The Spirit's enablement.
Notice once again the phrase,
"to be strengthened with might
through His Spirit."
It's interesting.
Throughout Paul's epistles,
the churches and individuals
he uses such phrases as,
"by the Spirit,"
"through the Spirit,"
"in the Spirit."
Do we know this type of prayer?
To be utterly dependent upon the Holy Spirit?
He's dependent on the Father for his petitions,
but he relies on the Holy Spirit
to quicken those petitions in the hearts
of his people.
In Ephesians alone, you see
the apostle's great consciousness
of the Holy Spirit.
For example, back in Ephesians 2:22,
there he's speaking of the church,
he says it's built together
for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 3:5
He speaks of a revelation that comes
by the Spirit to His holy
apostles and prophets.
In Ephesians 3:16,
there is our text,
to be strengthened with might
by His Spirit in the inner man.
Ephesians 4:3
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace.
Look at Ephesians 6:17.
There he speaks of the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God.
And then the very next verse,
verse 18, praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit.
I ask you tonight, friend,
do you have an ongoing
dependence upon the Holy Spirit?
You say, well, I believe that I do.
But once again, to reiterate
what we've already covered.
Is it reflected in prayer?
Are you seeking Him because you know
that there is nothing that you could engineer?
Nothing that you could mentally concoct
that could really change the course
of someone's life?
God does all that He can to wean us,
once again, off ourself to make us
earnestly dependent upon the Holy Spirit.
Listen to this.
It was Ravenhill years ago who said
God does not answer prayer;
He answers desperate prayer.
Do we know anything of the dimension
of prayer of this sort?
To be dead earnest in prayer.
The point I want to make
is how desparately we need to be
consciously aware
of the Holy Spirit
to make the things of the Gospel real
to people.
Real to those who are unconverted.
And alive in the hearts of those
who do know the Savior.
Have you ever heard someone make this statement?
Describing the work of the Holy Spirit.
It's hard to explain.
I have a difficult time articulating
exactly what I sensed.
What I sensed God through a manifestation
of His presence was accomplishing.
Spurgeon talked about at times
how there were words that
came from his mouth in preaching,
that he did not direct.
It was like they came impulsively.
I've heard people talk about
the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Or how He began to move
in answer to prayer.
And the bottom line is,
well, I'll try, but I just really can't explain it.
You know, perhaps, we need
that kind of religion today.
A religion that we cannot explain
in human terms.
Well, here is the major thrust
and implication of the message tonight.
If you would, look at a third thing
with me in the text.
And that is the desparate need
of experimental reality.
He says back in Ephesians 3:17-19
that there are four things that will be
the consequence of being strengthened
with might by the Spirit
in the inner man.
The first thing notes in verse 17,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith.
Now brothers and sisters, listen.
What Paul is saying in essence here
is that you might know a felt Christ.
A felt Christ.
When the Spirit of God takes the field
in genuine awakening,
Jesus becomes real.
There is no greater fulfillment.
Listen.
You will notice the word
that refers to something previous
when he says that Christ may
dwell in your hearts through faith.
Something previous that has occurred,
once again, connected with the fulfillment
of this petition that they're
strengthened by the Spirit.
The matter that the word points to
is His work.
The Spirit's work.
He makes Christ real.
It is marvelous, brethren.
A very marvelous thing
when the Spirit of God comes
and makes one keenly aware
that Jesus is in the midst.
What we're looking at here in this first point,
a felt Christ,
and the other three glorious entities
is radically subjective.
And I would say in passing tonight, friend,
I'm all for the intellect.
I'm all for sharpening our minds.
Accruing a greater theological understanding.
But we cannot afford for it to stop there.
Does your theology make your heart dance?
Does it move you to obedience?
Do you know anything of a felt Christ?
Is the reward of earnest prayer
in utter dependence upon the Holy Spirit?
Interestingly, know that we have the
person of Jesus resident within
in the person of the Holy Spirit.
But what does Paul refer to when he says
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith?
Listen.
He is speaking of a Spirit-wrought awareness
which entails an enlivening of our faith
that we might lay hold of the reality
of the Christ that is about us.
This is revival.
It is the manifestation of His glory.
Secondly, look at another thing
that this strengthening of the Spirit produces.
That you being rooted and grounded
in love.
In essence, what Paul is saying,
that there is an unchanging posture
of love in your life that you will encounter.
Now, it's interesting here,
the phrase makes no qualification.
It's not just speaking of our love for God.
But rather, I believe that it addresses
every relationship in our lives.
Our love for sinners.
Our love for saints.
Our love in the face of hostility.
Even people, perhaps, that we have
some measure of contempt or aversion for.
Don't miss the point.
When the Spirit strengthens, friend,
all of a sudden,
these issues that have divided you and somebody else
begin to fade away in the light of eternity.
You become so rooted and grounded in love,
your love doesn't vacillate on the basis
of how people treat you.
Even when there is no tangible sense
of the presence of God,
you still love Him.
And it's nothing short of fervant
when the Spirit comes.
You see, friend, the point is,
to be rooted and grounded in love
means that it does not fluctuate
or change or vacillate
depending on our circumstances.
We still love God,
even when we don't sense His presence.
Even when we're struggling to get
anything out of the Word,
or we're having a difficult time
connecting in prayer.
We still love Him.
And we still love our enemies.
And we love the most undesirable people
in our churches.
Why?
Because we've been rooted and grounded
in love through the strengthening work
of the Holy Spirit.
You see that?
The idea here is that the grace of love
has been so firmly planted in our hearts
that it affords a dimension of love
that extends to all relationships,
not just to God, but all.
So here's a third thing.
Paul said that they might be
strengthened with might by the Spirit.
In verse 18, that they may be able
to comprehend with all the saints
what is the width, and length, and depth, and height
in reference to the love of God.
To know the love of Christ
which passes knowledge.
It's interesting the phrase,
"to know the love of Christ."
The Greek word means to
perceptibly feel.
I feel it.
And when he says,
to know the love of Christ
which passes knowledge,
it's the picture of something
being thrown beyond intellect.
This, my friend, is not cerebral.
This is not mental.
This, once again, is radically subjective.
When He comes,
when He answers this prayer
to be strengthened with might,
I tell you, friend,
you begin to feel the love of Christ.
It's hard to measure
the depth.
You can't take it all in.
It's an overwhelming thing.
The word comprehend here
means to spiritually perceive
or grasp a dimension of Christ's love
that surpasses what you know mentally.
Listen.
Matthew Henry said it best
in a very simple, very succinct way.
Where Christ dwells, He swells.
He swells.
And where Christ's love for us dwells,
suddenly when the Spirit strengthens us,
it swells.
It's like an ocean to swim in.
You think these songs on the love of God
were written out of pure intellect?
The deep, deep love of Jesus?
These people encountered something.
He was underscoring that the vastness
of such an infinite love
is explored by faith and by the Spirit's work.
But then finally,
there's a fourth glorious reality here
that's the product of the strengthening
work of the Holy Spirit.
And that is that you might be filled with
all the fullness of God.
This is very interesting.
Listen.
The reality is that the Ephesians
and each of us might know
the riches of His person;
the person of God.
Think about it with me.
To think that God took the initiative
to send His Son to the world
to not only redeem us,
but to give us the fullness of Himself,
friend, is almost indescribable.
What does the text say?
We're not only filled with God,
but secondly, we're filled
with the fullness of God.
And thirdly, we're filled with
all the fullness of God.
Isn't that what you came to this meeting for?
Isn't this what you desire?
This is what I long for.
I'm 63 years old, friend.
I don't want to creep across the finish line.
I'm seeking to preach out of the passion
of wanting more.
God, please, answer this prayer
in my life.
In the lives of our people.
And in the lives of the church.
That they might be filled with
all Your fullness.
Yes, Piper had it right.
God is the Gospel.
By virtue of giving forth His Son,
He sought to give us Himself
in all of His fullness.
So, think with me.
To think that the very God in whom we move
and breathe and have our being,
has given us such a promise,
to be filled with all the fullness of God,
ought to constrain us to pray.
Paul says that we might be filled with God.
Have you noticed in Paul's writings,
it's a favorite expression?
The fullness. Fullness.
Talks about the fullness of the Gentiles.
Romans 11:25
The fullness of time. Galatians 4:4.
The fullness of Him that filleth all in all;
Ephesians 1:23
And the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:13
The fullness of the Godhead in Christ. Colossians 1:9
And it means here
and I quote Donald Barnes,
"that you may have the richest..."
Now this is great, listen to this.
This will make your heart dance, ok?
"But what the Greek implies here
is that the rich measures of divine
consolation and the very divine presence
itself will be your lot."
What a strengthening agent!
"That you may partake of the entire
enjoyment of God in the most ample measure
in which He bestows His favors on His people."
That's wonderful.
So, I conclude.
I remind you again,
which would be a very fitting reminder.
That this is revival.
This is real, genuine spiritual awakening.
Now, I don't know what your position is
on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Some people are cessationists,
but if you are a cessationist here tonight,
it doesn't mean that you don't believe
in the power of the Holy Spirit.
He longs to enable His people,
but we must ask.
We must ask earnestly.
In faith,
for Him to come and give us this sense
of a felt Christ,
an unmoveable love,
and all the fullness of God.
That's my prayer.
Would you join me now in prayer?
Let's look to the Lord.
Let's all stand to our feet.
Let us let the benediction of this session
be that just a few of you,
men and women,
as you feel led right now,
maybe three or four,
would you close this part of the meeting
in prayer by asking God to come
and by His Spirit,
strengthen us with might
that we might know these realities
in Ephesians 3.