Study Six - The Prayer

Bible Studies at Bristol Road Baptist Church

Life in the Body of Christ

EPHESIANS STUDY SIX : THE PRAYER Chapter 3 14-21

David A. Green BD March 2003

Ephesians Life in the Body of Christ

Study No. 6

PAUL THE PRAYER Chapter 3 verses 14-21 14

For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. This is not the first prayer of Paul in this letter. It is worth placing both prayers side by side: Chapter 1 15-19, and our passage 3 14-21 15

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

14

For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

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Ephesians Life in the Body of Christ (You might also want to take this exercise a stage further and compare the prayers in Colossians, Ephesians and Philippians – and for that reason I have printed them out for you side by side.) Notice than in both the prayers in this book Paul links his praying to their experience and their need. Both prayers begin with the phrase “For this reason…” – as indeed does the prayer in Colossians. Both prayers present a broadly similar range of requests centred in the indwelling Christ. Both focus on the power of God. Here are the strands of each prayer teased out: OPENING PRAYER

THIS PRAYER

that God may give you.. wisdom…so that you may know Him better

that He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit…

that your heart may be enlightened … to know Him better

that Christ may dwell in your hearts

the eyes of your heart...be enlightened …to know the hope

be rooted and established in love …to know the love of Christ…

…the riches

…his love that surpasses knowledge

…the power

…filled (with) the fullness of God The doxology.

Of course it is all about KNOWING CHRIST and THE POWER OF CHRIST – and that reaches a crescendo in the doxology which has already occupied us this year in our motto text.1 So in this study we can allow ourselves the luxury of a closer examination of the words of this prayer – verses 14 – 19. 1

Sermon: “Immeasurably more…” 29 Dec 2002 am

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Ephesians Life in the Body of Christ 14

For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole familya in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God. In these six verses we have much to learn about the way Paul prayed, as well as his prayer requests for this group of believers. The The The The

attitude of his praying focus of his praying subject of his praying climax of his praying

“I kneel…” “the Father….” knowing Christ deeply and fully the doxology of verses 20 and 21

The Attitude of Paul’s Praying “For this reason I kneel before the Father….” This is not the common attitude of a Jew praying. You will remember the story that Jesus told about the Pharisee and the publican at prayer. Both are standing. Luke 8 11,13. Compare this with Mk 11:25: 24

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

(In Gen 18 22 – Abraham stands and 1Chron 17 6 – David sits) In the New Testament “bending the knee” is used of homage or worship – and then only by Paul, and in each case as part of an Old Testament quotation. (Ro 11:3; Ro 14:11; Phil 2:10 – quoting from 1Kings and Isaiah.) Clearly Paul wants to stress the force of his praying, like his Master in Mt 26 19. Psalm 95 v 6 comes to mind: 6

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Study Six - Page 4 of 10

Ephesians Life in the Body of Christ

The Focus of Paul’s Praying

the Father

14

For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. Paul reminds us that prayer is addressed to the Father. The pattern prayer reminds us of that. There is little evidence of prayer addressed “to” Jesus, and even less of prayer addressed “to” the Holy Spirit. It is a family conversation – and this is borne out by the verse that follows. If you are using the AV or the NKJV you will know that the translators have included the phrase “of our Lord Jesus Christ” – most translations leave that phrase out, not because it is not appropriate – but because there is little textual warrant for it. But what is striking is the description of the Father that follows: From whom his whole family in heaven and earth derives its name NIV NKJV From whom every family in heaven and on earth is named RSV Paul has used the phrase “Father of glory” or “glorious Father” in the earlier prayer – here he expands on that to embrace the godly in every generation. (Although some have tried to see a reference to the heavenly “family” of angelic beings in glory.) The word used is that from which we obtain PATRIARCH – and a reference to Abraham in Genesis 12 2 and 3 is appropriate: 2

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Our Lord’s commentary on the Fatherhood of God is found in John 8 – where the reference to Abraham and the family of God is spoken about clearly. God is the God of relationships – and from Him every concept and rule of family and earthly groupings derives. The sense of family is important in Paul’s stress on unity.

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Ephesians Life in the Body of Christ

The subject of Paul’s Praying 16

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God. One sentence across four verses, which revisits Paul’s favourite word in this letter “riches” and concentrates upon the work of the power of God in the believer. This is indeed at the heart of “Life in the Body of Christ” which we have taken for our title to this series. The central thoughts are expressed in the verbs: strengthen indwell have power grasp know

16 17 18 18 19

and summed up in the closing phrase before the doxology: “Filled with all the fulness of God.” Paul is asking for this group of Christians a deeper knowledge of God and to that end he asks the Father to empower them as only He can. In that sense his prayer here directly mirrors his earlier prayer that God will give them the “spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Ch.1 v 17). It is – as our Lord Himself told us “the Father’s good pleasure to GIVE us the Kingdom” – so Paul is building his prayer upon the very character of God and the promise of God to give. If you look at these verses in a different way you will see where the work of God is focussed: in your inner being in your hearts in your minds (“..to know…”) Study Six - Page 6 of 10

Ephesians Life in the Body of Christ We must not separate the reality of God’s working into aspects that appeal either to heart (emotions) or mind (knowing and grasping) for we are created to feel and to know, to experience and to “grasp” the rich giving of the Father. Neither must we perceive of this work of God as something for the individual only. As elsewhere in the letter Paul wants us to “have power, together with all the saints…” (18) (see also the earlier prayer, also verse 18 in chapter 1) The work of God is seen here “in the heart” as it was in Chapter 2 an indwelling by the Spirit of the Church as temple of God. How easily as individual believers we distinguish between the way God works in our emotional feeling beings and our intellectual and reasoning activities – but God wants to possess the whole not the part. How easily too as individual believers we focus on the work of God with us as individuals and fail to see that His is a FAMILY WORK with the whole Body of Christ. Perhaps in the light of Paul’s prayer we should ask searching questions about our experience of the power of God in our lives: How do I recognise His strengthening me in my inner being? How am I aware of Christ dwelling in my heart through faith? How am I rooted and established in love? How much do I know of the power that helps me to explore all the dimensions of the love of Christ? In short: How do I know that I am filled to the measure of all the fulness of God? I believe that we do experience the work of the Spirit at a deep personal level, we do know the indwelling Christ in our individual lives through faith – but there are deeper and more wonderful realities waiting to be experienced – not in isolation – but “WITH ALL THE SAINTS”. All of our society concentrates on the personal and the individual – and this affects our spiritual lives too. We can and do experience God in our hearts – but we are in danger of missing out on the blessings that come to the family together. Study Six - Page 7 of 10

Ephesians Life in the Body of Christ Paul’s requests for the Ephesians show us the possibilities that exist within the Father heart of God for us – less as individuals and more as part of the Body of Christ. He is praying for “Life in the Body of Christ” His requests from the middle of verse 17 are to be answered in the Church together: And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God. We have been reminded about revival recently. That is a phenomenon of the Church together isn’t it? Yes, God can revive my slow, unfeeling, unresponsive heart – but revival is a function of the Holy Spirit at work in the Body of Christ. It is something He does in His family – in His people – in The Church. I doubt very much if we may hope to see Paul’s prayers for us answered if we remain divided, or preoccupied with individual matters. Being rooted and established in love is something which is to be seen when I know the riches of Christ applied to me within the body of fellow believers. That’s where love is tested – and where it grows. I may have power – but God intends me to have it “together with all the saints” so that – AS A GROUP we may grasp how immense is the Love of Christ, and know not just for myself – but for the CHURCH AS A WHOLE the love that surpasses one man’s knowledge. So I suggest to you that there are things God longs to do for us that will only be realised as we recognise our part within the whole, as we are “rooted and established in love”. We return to another earlier sermon – “And have not love”2 so that we may have that uniquely shared power that belongs to the saints together to know what would otherwise remain beyond our knowledge “His love … filled to the measure of all the fulness of God.” And where are we most likely to find that? When we are together. In worship – at His table – in a common desire to pray down the blessing of God upon us – no 2

Sermon 16 Feb 2003 AM 1 Cor 13.

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Ephesians Life in the Body of Christ longer separated by distance or age or differing backgrounds – but brought together in both WORSHIP and CORPORATE PRAYER. Paul – who was uniquely placed to see the Lord at work in His church – in His churches – whether at Corinth or Rome or Colossae or Philippi or Ephesus – prays these great supplications for the believers he knows – because he recognises that that is what the Father desires for His family. And so the requests mounting up to God and finding an echo in the great Heart of the Almighty provoke from the apostle:

The Climax of Paul’s Praying

verses 20-21

20

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. A great doxology – a paean of praise. He does not conclude: All this is highly unlikely All this is unreasonable to expect All this is beyond the grasp of these people No! He concludes this is what God Himself desires the IMMEASURABLY MORE. The work not of a few enthusiasts, or a few active believers, or a handful of dedicated workers, but the work of HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US! To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus – Amen! Study Six - Page 9 of 10

Ephesians Life in the Body of Christ COLOSSIANS CHAP 1 : 3 We

always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

EPHESIANS CHAP1 : 15 For

this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirita of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fulness of him who fills everything in every way. ----CHAP 3 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

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PHILIPPIANS CHAP 1 : 3 I

thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Key: Thanksgiving Intercession Doxology