STAND STRONG
STAND STRONG
8.7 - A Prayer for Strength
In light of the discouragement that can come from opposition, Paul prays for his Ephesian brethren, highlighting the love of God as the foundation for spiritual strength.
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Paul and Noah both preach and teach with the Cedar Park church of Christ in Cedar Park, TX. You can visit our site at: https://www.cedarparkchurchofchrist.org/
Well, welcome back to all who are joining us in Season eight. As we're going through the book of Ephesians, we are in chapter three. We got to a point today where we're gonna see another prayer of the Apostle Paul. We saw one of his prayers back when we were earlier in the book of Ephesians and in chapter one. Now we're gonna see another one here in chapter three. Welcome in the studio. Glad to have Noah today with me again as we're going through Ephesians. Welcome, Noah.
Noah:Hey, glad to, glad to be a part of this discussion. As always, glad to be working through this letter of Paul, and as you said, today we're gonna be working through another prayer of Paul as he addresses the Ephesians here. And I think it's interesting just starting off when we're in chapter three, verse 14 that similar to chapter one, where he says, for this reason, and then he kind of explains. Why, what he's thankful for and goes into this prayer here in chapter three we have a similar kind of phrase. He says, for this reason, I bow my knees before the father. And then he goes on to to say this prayer, write this prayer on behalf of the Ephesians. But in this case, the, the reason precedes the prayer. He's, he's transitioning from what he's been talking about. In, into this into this prayer. And so if we back up a couple of verses. I know we talked about this last week, but I, I think it's gonna be good for us to just back up a couple of verses and remind ourselves what Paul just said. I. That launches him into this, this prayer, you know? And specifically from my understanding, you back up into verse 13 when he says, I ask that you not lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. And then he says, for this reason, I bow my knees. Before the father. And so there's a very real there's a very real possibility of these Ephesian Christians being discouraged and losing heart because of Paul's situation and the things that he's suffering and the, the difficulties he's facing because of his ministry to the Gentiles.
Mm-hmm.
Noah:And it's interesting that on their behalf, therefore he's gonna, he's gonna make this prayer for, for strength. That's the context that we're, that we're starting out here.
Paul:Yeah, you can't do any better than that. If you're gonna try to put courage back into the hearts of people who are in the family of God, people who have this relationship with God as Paul had talked about. Because of God accomplishes accomplishing his eternal purpose through Christ Jesus. You have peace. Now, you there, you've been reconciled, reconciled the God and so you have that relationship with God, but you also have a family, mm-hmm. In God, born again. And so because of the relationship with God as the people of God, you can have a peace through your praying. So Paul knows he's writing to discourage people. He says, now it's, it's for your glory. But I'm suffering and Paul's suffering. Paul knew was an occasion, as you mentioned, for them to be somewhat disheartened.
Mm-hmm.
Paul:So you can't do any better than say, Hey, I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna pray. And Paul, with laser-like focus intentionally targets his thoughts in this prayer because his aim is to encourage the hearts of these Christians. Yes. Jesus says, do not lose heart. And he connects that to praying.
Mm-hmm.
Paul:So I mean, we can't do any, any better than that, than to pray. No, I think it would be good for those that are listening, who especially don't have a Bible in front of him, can't read. Just, just read. Starting in verse 14, read through the end of the chapter. Give us this prayer that Paul prays.
Noah:Yeah. So Paul begins in verse 14. For this reason, I bow my knees before the father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory. He may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Yeah. So we, we, we read that whole prayer and I mean, there's, there is, so, there are so many layers to some of what Paul is saying here and. I think it's good to dwell on these words. I think it's a fair assumption that the Christians that received. This letter would have spent time dwelling on Paul's words here, because it is a prayer, but it is also an opportunity to teach. I mean, he's continuing through this letter. He's continuing this ministry that he has been given by God. To the Gentiles. It's, this ministry is according to the purpose of God. It's a gift from God. Yes, it's causing Paul to suffer, but he's continuing in that ministry. And so I think that it's, it's a fair assumption to say that these people, when they would've received this letter, would've spent time I. Trying to understand what is Paul praying about here? What is, what is he really desiring for us in this prayer? And Paul, I'm going to, I'm gonna jump in and maybe steal your thunder. I don't know. This seems like something that you would've al that you would call out. So May, I'm gonna guess it's in your notes. And I'm gonna hit it first. Ha ha ha. So part of the reason I. I noticed this is because of something you said back in chapter one. We've got, again, the father, the son and the spirit mentioned specifically all playing a role in this spiritual strengthening that Paul is praying about. I don't think that's a coincidence. I don't think that's on accident. Paul's being very intentional with that. Would you agree? Amen. Amen. Keep going. So, I mean, just to, to be, to lay it out more specifically, he bows his knees before the father, according. According to the riches of his glory, he said that he may grant you this strength with the power through his spirit in your inner bearings being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. So we've got the riches of the father's glory, we've got the strength coming through the Spirit, and we've got the dwelling of Christ. In his people through faith. So I mean, you can go all sorts of different directions there, but we are seeing the power of God in the Father. We're seeing the, the strength and the comfort of God in the Spirit. And then we're also seeing this idea of dwelling together with God in the person of Christ I'm, and those are rich, rich themes that would take far more than 20 minutes to get through.
Paul:Yeah, and, and look, whenever you're talking about the triune God. Three distinct persons, but unity in the Godhead. Mm-hmm. The godhood that gets over my head very quickly. Yeah. But we can't, and we shouldn't miss in the New Testament, especially in the writings of the Apostle Paul, he wants these Christians to understand when he talks about relationships, he connects all three. To the relationship, this triune God. Mm-hmm. I'll, I'll give you one thought and again, I don't wanna run off and get the train off the tracks. He does mention power now. He had mentioned power. God's power back in chapter one. Mm-hmm. Verse 19, that you might know. What is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us? Who believe, who are we talking about? The people in Christ Jesus. Those who can call God Father. So Paul is saying here in chapter three in his second prayer, okay, for this reason, I'm, I'm bowing my knees to the father, but he doesn't just reference the father. But he starts by referencing the father. And I also don't wanna get the train off the tracks and go into a prayer posture, you know, concept there. But I don't want to miss this. Especially now I know lots of Gentiles'cause he says it's, it's to your glory, but I'm suffering. It was behalf on the Gentiles. You know what was going on with Paul and the persecution had to do with him preaching the gospel and trying to say, look, the gospel's for the Gentiles, God's reconciling Gentiles to the Jews. Mm-hmm. So. But he says, I bow my knee to a Jew. That was not a common thing. That certain posture that it was very common to stand. It was not so common to kneel. Hmm. In Acts 20, when Paul speaking to the Ephesian elders before his departure, he kneels in prayer. There's, I think what Paul is trying to say is, I'm bringing this heart. In my praying because of who I'm making the appeal to. I'm asking for power. He'll say that a minute and he'll, it's the spirit's power. Why am I praying all this? I want you as the people of God to be filled with what? The fullness of God. When you talk about the fullness of God, you can't just talk about the Father.
Mm-hmm.
Paul:You gotta talk about the father, son, and the spirit, but it's the spirit's power.
Mm-hmm.
Paul:And so we're not praying to a force. He references all three because we're praying to a person or persons.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:And so I, I, maybe I did get the train off the tracks, but I, I, I think that's important and you reference that the father, son and the spirit. Paul's point is, I, I want to pray here, and we're not speaking into the right, and we're not referencing the wind, right. We're talking to.
Noah:God. Yeah. The, the spiritual strength that he desires for the Ephesians is not just going to come from some unknown place that when, when they read this prayer, they'll just you know, magically and immediately feel strengthened. Although I'm sure that his care for them encouraged them and strengthened them. In the end, Paul is pointing them to the father and the son and the spirit and saying, this is where your this is where your strength comes from. This is who will be strengthening you and upon whom you will be built, the foundation upon which you are going to you're, you're going to. Grow and that, and that is kind of where he goes next in this, when he says, being rooted and grounded in love may you have the strength to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. This idea of being rooted and grounded in love. He's not, again, he's not saying just the idea of love. Yes, he's not, he's, he's not saying, well, because you feel these warm, fuzzy feelings that that's what gives you a foundation. That's what gives you your roots or that's what feeds you and strengthens you, nourishes you. Again, real quickly. The imagery of roots, I think is a really powerful concept because it combines the idea of the stability of foundation and the nourishment of, of what the roots provide to the tree. I mean, it's both the solid foundation and the reason that you're able to continue to grow. And the, the what, what Paul references us being rooted and grounded in. Is love. Mm-hmm. Not just as a concept, but the love that was demonstrated. The love that is seen in God, in the person of God and in what he has done. So Paul wants the Ephesians to find their endurance, their strength in the demonstrable love that God has shown them, and he wants them to understand it. He wants them to. Know the unknowable is what he says.
Paul:You know, O okay. If, if I'm going to maybe a teachable moment for parents I. You know, bath time with, with the little kids. The very little kids in bath time. Kids want their toys in the bathtub. All that. I remember those days. And it can be a teachable moment. Grab the little cup, whatever you got around there. Or if you got a cup, when you gonna shampoo their hair and you pour the water, grab some little small container, dip it in the bathtub, tell the kid, Hey, this is all that'll, it'll hold. It. Can't hold any more of this. Try to get them to understand that Paul is praying that they might be able to increase their capacity to understand the depth of Christ's love.
Hmm.
Paul:God's love for us in Christ Paul's, and think about that. What if the people of God who love God, who are the called according to his purpose, we are, we are the people of God. So we're coming into God's presence to worship God and to receive from God, and we want to come with open hearts. What if the people of God before they come into the presence of God, say, in faith, God increase in my heart the capacity. To understand you better and the depth of your love to a deeper degree. Mm-hmm. That's what Paul's doing here. Yeah. To a people at a very vulnerable time in their life. What had he already done in chapter one? Told him about the calling, which was God's love. Mm-hmm. See, because God first loved you. You have adoption, you have an inheritance. You, you're saved. So the same God who is rich in his love, by his grace and mercy that provided for you salvation. Ephesians one and two is the same God in his love. That by his spirit will empower and strengthen you. In the inner man, that's an indication of his love. What do we doubt sometimes that keeps us from increasing our capacity in the heart, the inner man, to wrap our minds around this. What, what do we, what do we lack sometimes? Hmm. So we need to understand this love.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:And Paul says, pray about it. I'm doing it. Pray about it. I think, I think that's powerful.
Noah:Yeah. I, I. I think that sometimes we struggle with this concept still because I, I can only speak for myself, so I struggle with this concept still because I tend to want to think of things in very concrete terms and I want to think in, I. Measurable amounts. And so when I see God's love described as surpassing knowledge, it, it, it almost has this effect of what am I supposed to do with that? It simultaneously, I can feel like, yes, that must be true because. God's love surpasses our knowledge, but at the same time I can feel like I have no understanding or access to that love. Like I'm, I don't know how many times you've heard somebody say, I just don't understand how God can love me, why God can love me. I don't, I don't, the way that you talk about it from the Bible as far as God loving these, loving us in our sins, I just, I don't understand it. It doesn't click. I, I can't, I, well, I can relate to that from the standpoint of, again, I want to think of things in very measurable terms, but I, I like the illustration of the, the cup in the tub because. You're never gonna have a cup that's big enough to, to get all of the water from the tub in one go and in in this term to understand, to fully understand. But we can pray for strength. Yeah. In the form of more understanding, better comprehension of God's love of his character and what he has done for us. So in the illustration you gave, swapping out for a bigger cup.
Mm-hmm.
Noah:It's never gonna be big enough to, to get all the water. But we can increase, we can grow in that. And with that growth. There will come strength. And that's what Paul wants for the Ephesians.
Paul:Yeah, he, he had talked about knowledge back in chapter one, so I'm not diminishing knowledge at all.'cause Paul does it in his praying. What's he doing here? He's taking it to another level. He gives us, I think, the reason that you might be filled with the fullness of God.
Mm-hmm.
Paul:Now the prayer's going to end like you finished, but if you erase chapter divisions now, he had already alluded to power. Back in chapter one, in his first prayer, he references the spirit's power. Where? In the inner man, but whose power? The spirit's power. Don't ask me to explain all that. But again, it's not my power. It's God's power. I. Yeah. Now, Christ in your heart, by faith, if the Holy Spirit dwells in me, and he does well, so does the Father and the Son. Now that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. So we've got power. Before he finishes the prayer, he goes back to the power able do exceedingly. And we've already referenced this, the superlatives. Yeah. Paul likes the, I'll pause and say, if the Apostle Paul could use superlatives this. Okay. But anyway, now he did it much better than I do, but, but look, supers are great to him. Who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to what? Not my power. His power. If you erase chapter divisions and you go into chapter four, what's he going to start dealing with now? Walk worthy of the calling, right? So it's our worthy walk. Connected to what he had said that referenced the calling, and he's doing that in this prayer. Why He's interested in us living Holy Lives, he's interested in us, in God's family, having the right attitudes toward one another, dealing with each other in love, in gentleness. On and on. We could go, but, but before you talk about the worthy walk, what do you say to people in a prayer? I want you to increase in your capacity to be rooted and grounded in love. There's disability and it's not knowledge. It's love rooted in, grounded in love, but who's love. God's love.
Mm-hmm.
Paul:I personally emphasize or try to, in my preaching before you appeal with. Gentleness and you scripture, there's your authority for people to live a certain life in Christ Jesus that matters. But before you make that appeal, I. Show them the love of God.
Hmm.
Paul:Help them to be rooted and grounded in love. I don't know that we can do any better than that, because if you talk by telling the people to love unlovable people in the church, who's gonna help me with that?
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:What's gonna help me with that?
Noah:Yeah. So, and in the end, this is all pushing towards. This is not only is it God's power that's, that's working in this way and his love that is that it's this demonstrable love that's creating this foundation, but it's also all to his glory. That's what the last couple of verses there in, in chapter three are talking about to him, who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us. You said that already to him, be glory in the church. In Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Now we could get into a discussion about why he phrased it that way, but I think. I think it should be. And especially like you said, as we get into chapter four and there's a shift in how Paul is addressing these Christians. He's talked about the calling. Now he's gonna be talking about walking worthy of that calling to conduct that he says all of this is to be to God's glory in the church. And then he says, and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, well, what does it mean in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, that that. The, the work that Christ, that the things that Christ did in order to redeem his people throughout all time, throughout stretching into the future as, as more and more people come to Christ and answer the call of Christ, that upward call of Christ and our transformed into his image. If we wanted to pull from Paul's writing in Philippians that what we see is this calling. Is always, and always will be answered with a certain way of living that brings God glory. That's right now, and it's forever and ever. Amen. Love it.
Paul:Love it. Glory. In the church. In the church,
you
Paul:can't, you can't reference the calling without. Referencing the church, and when you reference the church, you're talking about people. What kind of people saved people? And you can't do any better than say, Hey, listen. If you want to desire, if you wanna desire the things that God wants you to desire, then you've gotta love and you've gotta understand how God has first loved you. I, I just. I can't wait for us to get into chapter four to, to talk about how we should live and to talk about the attitudes that are necessary in that. But Paul doesn't use the apostle card in command that you live this way. He begs, he entres them.
Mm-hmm.
Paul:And that's, that's the kind of apostle, that's the kind of preacher and the man that he was, he did not abuse his authority. Yeah. And he made sure that they understood who this God was. He was begging for them. To honor and glorify.
Noah:Yeah. Well, there's your teaser for next week as we will enter chapter four. We've gotten halfway about halfway through Paul's letter to the Ephesians. And for those who have been with us along the way, we are thankful that you've been joining us. We pray that this has been a beneficial study for you. We're looking forward to getting into even further into this beautiful letter that Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus next week. So we ask that you join us again next week as we get into chapter four, and until then we pray that you continue to stand strong.
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