3-lets Make Deal[1]

High-Stepping in Heavenly Places

Let’s Make A Deal

Lesson Three

In the beginning of the first chapter of the book of Ephesians, Paul set forth the amazing and unlimited blessings that are the guaranteed inheritance of every child of God. In the remainder of this most profound chapter, Paul recorded his prayer for the saints at Ephesus and for all believers throughout the ages. Paul prayed we would fully grasp our privileges as children of God and live up to our potential in Christ. I. Prayer of Thanksgiving-Ephesians 1:15-16 Prayer is, without a doubt, one of the great unknowns of the faith. Many Christians believe they can cut some sort of a deal with God through prayer. Or somehow make a deal with God to confirm His will to fit their agenda. Prayer is a two-way communion between the child of God and the Heavenly Father. The common components of prayer are praise, thanksgiving, confession, supplication, intercession. While we are certainly privileged to pray and even commanded to pray, we cannot unravel the cloak of mystery that shrouds this powerful Christian discipline with our painfully limited minds. We have experienced answered prayer. We know prayer works, but how it operates is incomprehensible this side of heaven! Sadly, rather than being our first line of defense, prayer is often our last resort. Too much prayer time is spent begging God for what is already ours in Christ. The problem is not the lack of blessings or resources. God has granted us what we need (II Pet. 1:3). Our position in Christ and the subsequent riches of our inheritance are stunning-impossible for our finite minds to grasp. The problem is our lack of insight and wisdom to appropriate what has been bestowed on us in Christ Jesus. Paul opened his prayer with thanksgiving. Every parent appreciates a grateful child! Paul did not cease to give thanks for all the saints. Seriously? All of them?!?! Some believers are simply easier to love than others are. Some hold different doctrinal positions on non-essentials of the faith and are committed to radically defending them, even to the point of divisiveness. Some have personality traits and temperaments that clash with ours. Some have cultural differences are at odds with our limited experience. Some are legalistic and attempt to aggressively press their convictions on us. How could Paul rejoice in all the saints? He recognized them as blood-bought members of the family of faith. He saw each as a divine work in progress. II. Prayer for Wisdom-Eph. 1:17 Paul prayed for a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him (See Jam. 1:5-8). Having written about the glorious nature of Christ (Eph. 1:3-14), Paul prays we would Ephesians Fall 2009

High-Stepping in Heavenly Places understand what he just said about Christ. We must seek to know Christ – not just for salvation, but for sanctification as well. We must know WHO WE ARE in Christ (blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, sealed, saved, sanctified-just to name a few), but we must also know WHO HE IS in us. Knowing who are in Christ without understanding the role His indwelling Spirit plays to empower and enable us to live out His life in us, leads to frustration and failure at best and legalism (obedience to manmade religious rules and rituals in the vain effort of making the outer behavior comply with religious rules ) at worst (See Col. 2:20-23). In order to understand how to walk by faith and appropriate our heavenly position in Christ we must have wisdom and divine revelation. The Word of God instructs us. The Spirit of God enlightens and enables us. III. Prayer for Power-Ephesians 1: 18-23 According to Ephesians 1:16, Paul did not cease giving thanks for (the saints), while making mention of them in his prayers. Paul lived a in a holy communion of with the Father. Prayer was merely one of the outgrowths of his walk of faith. He prayed generally for a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him (Eph. 1:17). And he prayed specifically (Eph. 1:18-19). Paul rarely prayed for the things that consume the majority of our prayers – health issues, financial needs, job situations, family problems. Paul’s prayers for God’s people centered around a growing knowledge of Jesus Christ. Paul prayed that the eyes of (our) heart many be enlightened (Eph. 1:18) so that we will experientially know three things. a. the hope of His calling-This calling goes beyond God’s calling of us for salvation. This is the fulfillment of His divine purpose in our lives. We have become the objects of God’s attention and affection. He has a plan for us to fulfill. b. the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints-God considers us to be His inheritance! What we get in Christ defies description. What He gets in us transcends comprehension. To our finite minds, God gets a poor bargain (See 2 Cor. 8:9). But evidently, He recognizes something in us worth saving and using! The only explanation is His great love with which He loved us (Eph. 2:4). c. the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe-All the power of the godhead is directed toward us. By the strength of His might God raised (Christ) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:19-20). The same power that raised Christ from the dead is in us through the indwelling person of the Holy Spirit. God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at His right hand. The Lord Jesus is enthroned far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named (Eph. 1:21). We, believers in Christ who are saved by His mercy and grace, are raised . . . up with Him and seated . . . with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6). Christ in us allows us to do some High-Stepping in Heavenly Places.

Ephesians

Fall 2009

High-Stepping in Heavenly Places

Ephesians

Fall 2009