TEACHING NOTES Introduction Last week we began chapter 3 of Ephesians where Paul began to pray for his readers, but got sidetracked. Today, we’re going to study Paul’s prayer to find out what he thought was most important - the Spirit’s power. As we read and study Paul’s prayer we need to compare it, or contrast it, with our own prayers. We’ll quickly find out that our prayers need to be updated. ​ Ephesians 3:14–16 ESV 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, Every family named from the Father = If we go as far back as Genesis 1, we find that God names certain parts of the creation that He is bringing into existence. As the story moves from creation of the world to humans, we see God naming them as well. Sometimes God even changes someone’s name to give them a new identity and purpose. This is what Paul is talking about here. In Christ, God has “named” every family on earth and in heaven with a new identity and purpose. This is why the early church in Acts was so concerned with the name of Jesus. When we trust in the name of Jesus, our identity changes from sinner to saint, from dead to alive, and from no purpose to full of purpose. Riches of his glory = The Greek word for “glory” is doxa and refers to splendor, brightness, or radiance. Paul knew firsthand the radiance of Jesus. When Paul was converted from Judaism to Christianity, Jesus appeared to him so brightly that it blinded him for days (Acts 9:3-9). In our sinful condition we cannot stand the brightness of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). But through faith in Christ, we are transformed into bearers of His light. When we are resurrected in the future, we will receive a new body that has been “glorified” or made like Christ’s resurrected body (Col. 3:4; Phil. 3:20-21). Jesus is so rich in glory that He shares it with us. Strengthened with power = The Greek word for “power” is dynamis, which is where we get our English word for dynamite. This communicates a unique kind of power that cannot be generated on our own. This is supernatural power. Paul prays that the Ephesians will be strengthened (Grk. strong, healthy, vigorous) with supernatural power. Through his Spirit In your inner being = This supernatural power is provided to us through God’s own Spirit dwelling in us. Paul makes clear that this needs to happen in our “inner being” because that’s where the battle is fought. In Greek, “inner being” is eso anthropos, which literally means inner man or inner person. Paul uses the same phrase in Romans 7 to describe an inner battle between the person we are naturally and the person God is recreating us to be. Why do we need power on the inside? Paul knows that we have a tendency to be externally focused. We obsess over appearance and many other physical distractions. We also have a tendency to focus on external religion, which is merely the “Christian” way to keep up external appearances. All of this external focus is a distraction from the real battle taking place on the inside. Who we are on the inside is who we really are. Who we are outside the church is who we really are. That’s why our inner person is what God is focused on. If the real battle is on the inside, that’s where we need supernatural power. What does this inner power want to accomplish? Ephesians 3:17–19 ESV 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. So that = Anytime you see “so that” in your Bible, you should circle it. “So that” is an indicator or sign that a purpose statement is coming up. Before “so that” is the what and after “so that” is the why. Paul gives several whys: That Christ may dwell in your hearts That you will be rooted and grounded in love That you may have strength to comprehend that love To know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge To be filled with all the fullness of God Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith = Just as God had dwelt in a temple in the past, He now wants to dwell in us as His new temple. How? Through faith, or faithfulness. As we remain faithful to God, Christ fills us and transforms us. Rooted and grounded in love = Paul uses two illustrations here to drive home his point that love should be the source of our lives. “Rooted” is an agricultural term and “grounded” is a term of architecture. For a tree, the roots are the source of life that draws moisture and nutrients from the soil. For Paul, love is the good soil in which we must be planted. Also, in most cases every branch above the surface has a corresponding root below the surface. Therefore, every fruit produced ultimately comes from the root. In the same way, if our lives are rooted in love, we will produce the fruit of the Spirit. For a building, the foundation must be strong, level, and square for the rest of the structure to stay together and withstand the weather. In the same way, if love is our foundation, our lives will stay together and withstand the storms. As Jesus said in Matt. 7:24 “24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Strength to comprehend = As we become more and more rooted and grounded in love, it gives us the ability (strength) to understand His love. Obviously, we need this because our definition of love is severely flawed. With all the saints = Notice that this process is done within the community and family of believers. We are not intended to follow Jesus on our own. This is why the church (family of God) is vital to being a disciple of Jesus. Breadth, length, height, depth = For Paul, the love of Christ is multifaceted and is endless in all directions. As Christ dwells in us we learn just how wide, long, high, and deep His love is. To know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge = Knowing the love of Christ is not merely knowing about His love, but know it personally by experience. The Greek word for “know” that Paul uses here is ginosko, which refers learning something through personal experience. The Greek word for “knowledge” used here is gnosis, which refers to mere acquaintance with something at a surface level. That’s why Paul says it “surpasses knowledge.” We intended to personally experience the love of Christ beyond mere information. Filled with all the fullness of God = The fullness of God in the Old Testament is usually about God’s presence filling the tabernacle or temple. God’s presence was visibly seen by cloud or fire when He filled the temple (Exodus 40:34). In the New Testament context, believers are the new temple of God. What does God want to do in His new temple? He wants to fill it up with His presence. Jesus was so full of the fullness of God that He is described as “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3). Paul wrote to the Colossians that Jesus, “is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15) and “in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:19) and “you have been filled in him” (Col. 2:10). Jesus actually prayed for us to be filled... John 17:20–21 ESV 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:26 ESV 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Now Paul is going to finish his prayer with powerful statements... ​ Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV 20 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, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. To him = Referring to God the Father. Paul began the prayer with the Father and end with the Father. Why? Because that’s how Jesus taught His disciples to pray in the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13). The early church recited the Lord’s Prayer at every gathering. This practice helped them learn to pray and focus their prayers in the right direction. Far more abundantly than all = Paul uses a Greek phrase here that is meant to communicate that God’s ability is infinitely more than we can imagine. For Paul to use “far more abundantly than all” shows that he is grasping for every word he can think of to describe God’s power and ability. All that we ask or think = Paul has just placed a tall order in the courts of heaven. He has asked the Father to fill the Ephesians with all the fullness and power of God. But Paul has no doubt that the Father can answer that prayer. He is fully confident that the all-powerful Father of creation can do anything we ask of Him. According to the power at work within us = God is infinitely able to do more than we ask of think because God’s power is at work within us. If we have been strengthened with power through the Spirit, and Christ is dwelling in our hearts, we will be full of God’s power. And that kind of power transforms us. To him be the glory in the church = Friday’s devotion will cover this in detail. In the Old Testament, God’s glory lived in a temple. Now God lives in millions of human temples all over the world. In the past, people came to God’s temple to draw near to His glory. Now God’s temple goes all over the world to draw near to people. Big Question: Is this what we’re praying for? Conclusion As we end our time together, we should give God glory in worship and invite Jesus into ourselves with Communion. Then we’re going pray the Lord’s Prayer together.