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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) *Song of Adoration: Hymnal #145C “I Will Extol You, O My God” Song of Confession: Hymnal #43B “Judge Me, God of My Salvation” *Song of Preparation: Hymnal #172 “Speak, O Lord” Scripture: Ephesians 3 Text: Ephesians 3:14-19 Message: A Powerful Prayer *Song of Response: Hymnal #497 “More Love to Thee, O Christ” *Doxology: Hymnal #248: 5 “All Creatures of Our God and King” |
Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
A number of years ago, Calvin University philosophy professor, Dr. James K.A. Smith, wrote a book entitled You Are What You Love. In that book, he explained the power of habit and our love for things and the changing focus of our love. Why do we make the decisions we make? We make them because we are motivated by love. A pivotal theme of the book is to ensure that the glory of our creator ought to be the object of our love.
The dear Pastor’s wife, Elizabeth Prentiss, also wrote of love. She was the daughter of a pastor and then she married a man who became a pastor. In 1852, within a period of three months, she lost two of her children. One was a newborn the other was 4 years old. 4 years later in 1856, she also lost another child to a fatal illness, afterward she wrote the hymn “More love to Thee.” In the third stanza of the song (#497) she wrote, “Let sorrow do its work, send grief and pain; sweet are thy messengers, sweet their refrain, when they can sing with me; more love, O Christ, to thee, more love to thee, more love to thee.” Through grief and hardship, that sister in Christ learned of Christ love to her and her call to focus love upon him.
The great motivator in the Christian life and prayer, the tremendous security for the child of God, the daily encouragement to keep going is this: the surpassing love of Christ to us. Our theme is Our Lord comforts us with the power of Christ’s love through prayer.
- Call to this prayer
- Content of this prayer
- Consequence of this prayer
I. Call to this prayer
This is another prayer for the church in Ephesus. This section begins by stating, “For this reason.” What reason? On the one hand, we could say all that has come before in this letter. The unsearchable riches and inheritance in Christ. God’s redemption of those who were dead and are made alive. Paul is continuing what he left off back in verse 1. The verses 2-13 are really just a pause in his train of thought of prayer. Now he returns after revealing the mystery God had revealed to him. So, the reason for this prayer is the revelation of God. This is an important principle in prayer.
This is why we can pray so boldly. If we pray in light of God revelation, we know we are praying according to his revealed will. Sometimes as a pastor I am tasked with praying for someone who is sick and I pray for healing and often times I will say something like, “if it is your will.” We do not know if it is God’s will to grant healing to or to grant death…it is a secret to us and yet we know he is pleased to hear us pray and seek his mercy. But for those things God has revealed, we do not have to pray and say, “if it is your will.” We know it is his will….he tells us so. This is why it is so helpful to pray with the Bible open. So Paul prays, because God has revealed himself.
The next thing we notice is the posture of his prayer. He bows his knees. It was ordinary for a man to stand to pray. However, we do see examples of people on their knees in prayer in the scriptures….it is a position of utter dependence, humility or gratitude. Think of Solomon praying from his knees at the dedication of the temple. So, Paul, is on his knees before the Father. Once again, we see, (for the 4th time in Ephesians) a trinitarian emphasis, this time in prayer (the Spirit and Son will follow up in verses 16-17).
In verse 15 we have an interesting statement regarding God’s connection to earthly families (read). The word used there for “every” family could be translated better as “whole.” It is a play on words in Greek where family is referred at that placed headed by the Father. So, the whole family in heaven and on earth refers to the church below and the church above. This certainly makes most sense in the context. The church below is made up of Jews and Gentiles all resting in Christ’s finished work. The church of heaven includes those who are already victorious in Christ. The thing that separates them is death. What this shows, is that Paul is confident in the Father’s care for his church.
So Paul calls upon the Father, in light of his revelation on behalf of the whole church.
II. Content of this prayer
The first of four petitions or requests of this prayer is for strength or power. Read vs. 16-17a. The subject here is still God the Father. The prayer is that the church might be strengthened with power. This verse and a half are really two things referring to the same reality. The power of the Spirit within us in our inner being is the same things as Christ dwelling in our hearts. It is an expression of the indwelling of God in us.
Now, there is a question that might arise in your mind at this point. You might wonder why Paul would pray this way when he is writing this to Christians. Aren’t they already indwelt by the Spirit and by Christ? Yes, they are. But this indwelling, as the theologian Charles Hodge explains, is by way of degrees. What this means is that every true believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit. So, what Paul is praying for the church is that they might be fortified, invigorated, and reinforced.
In the days of castles, there was often a heavy door that fortified the castle to keep the enemy out. But in a time of war, sometimes, they would brace the door with large beams. Maybe soldiers would lean up against the door so that a battering ram could not break it open. Sometimes, soldiers would pour hot tar on those trying to break in. Even better, some castles had a moat with a drawn bridge. These are all fortification. What Paul is praying for in this first petition is for reinforcements to strengthen the believer in his calling before the Lord.
The way to receive this and strengthen this is, as he mentions in verse 17 is by faith. This is so, so very important. The way to fuller and deeper fellowship with the indwelling Spirit of Christ is by faith, not works. It is by making Christ that which we truly love, “more love to thee, O Christ, more love to Thee.”
The second petition is for love. Read the second half of verse 17. Both of those words rooted and grounded are words that deal with the stability of a foundation. Rooted is a clear reference to the plant world. The reason why you rarely see an oak tree blown over is because of the strength of its roots. High winds are a danger to a cedar or a white spruce, but not an oak. The word grounded refers to the world of building. It is a reference to a foundation. Our Lord used the example of the wise and foolish man who built their homes on sand and rock. Ps. 118 refers to Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.
You may have heard people say that it is important to stay grounded. They might mean a couple of different things by this. For someone who become famous or wealthy, it mean to remember where you came from. For someone in a hectic life, they might emphasize a yoga-like mental acuity to clear your mind of distraction and be at peace. From our text we could use that phrase “stay grounded” if it means to find your base in Christ’s love through God’s mercy. Look at Ps. 62:2, 6, 7, 8. We will seek what we love and when our affection is set upon God in our lives, then we know what it means to confess God is our fortress. We know the enemies, outside and within….God is our fortress.
A third petition is the knowledge or comprehension of Christ’s love. Read vs. 18-19a. This is a shared knowledge with all the saints. It is the breadth, length, height, and depth. These are the dimension of Christ’s love to us. John Stott says of these verses and Christ’s love, “…the love of Christ is broad enough to encompass all mankind, long enough to last for eternity, deep enough to reach the most degraded sinner, and high enough to exalt him to heaven.” I find it interesting that in verse 18 it speaks about comprehending Christ’s love and then it says that the love of Christ surpasses knowledge. What does that mean? It means it is the greatest possible love. Christ came from glory, took on our flesh, lived a life among sinners, though never committing a sin himself. He was mistreated for us, abused for us, falsely accused for us, arrested for us, crucified for us, and died for us. Why? Because he loved us.
Children don’t understand the deep love their parents have for them until they have children of their own. The love of Christ is infinitely greater. It is a perfect love.
The fourth petition is for fullness. This final petition is an interesting one. It might mean to be filled fully with the Spirit, and the graces of God already mentioned. There are many thematic verses on God’s fullness, especially in Colossians. But there is a word used in the second half of verse 19 that means into. So that we are filled, not with, but into all the fullness of God. What this would then entail is something we strive for but will not reach until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will be like Christ. That is both something we strive for and something we will become. This is a bold petition by the apostle. This is like one of those “be holy as your father in heaven is holy” (Matt. 5:48).
Paul is praying for the church, that the saints might have their life strengthened, fueled and directed by Christ’s love, indwelling, and fullness.
III. The Consequences of this prayer
Let’s draw three applications out of this prayer. First, see the connection between strength and love. “more love to thee, O Christ.” We do what we love. This isn’t a truth to make us doubt God’s love for us because of our sin. It is that Christ’s love to us is greater than our sin. Christ’s love is able to grab back the wayward, it keeps us near to him in faith and repentance. Let us make it our prayer and desire that we learn to love Jesus more and more. When we stumble in sin, use it as an occasion to see Jesus’ love even more clearly. It isn’t a surprise that the overarching ethic of this prayer is love. This is the ethic that our Lord Jesus Christ taught us. Love God and neighbor and in that order.
A second application about Christ’s love to us is that it surpasses knowledge. I am a spiritual advisor to a ministry similar to divine hope. It is called Redemption Prison Ministries. What these prison pastors often run into are inmates who think they are beyond grace. They have committed murder, rape, all kinds of abuse, etc. They are lost causes in the eyes of the world. But, they might not be lost causes to the love of Jesus. What action can take place that beyond the potential reach of God’s grace? If Christ could forgive his own crucifiers, wow.
Remember this when you think of that friend, neighbor or child who has turned their back on God’s mercy. His love is great.
Finally, even though our text is a prayer, I think the most comforting theme is union with Christ. We saw this last week in Lords Day 12 of our catechism. We are united to Christ, and we share in his anointing. We can never all out of that union, that relationship. What this means, in part, is that if we are united to Jesus Christ, we have a special value. Our worth is not merely that we are created in the image of God. Even more, it is that we are re-created in the image of Christ. We already now have a sweet taste of what verse 19 calls the fullness of God.
So, let us seek to love that which God loves, seek that which God seeks, and rest in his mercy. Back to More Love to Thee, the 2nd stanza says, “Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest; now thee alone I seek, give what is best; this all my prayer shall be: more love, O Christ, to thee, more love to thee, more love to thee.” Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Steven Swets, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2023, Rev. Steven Swets
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