By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Sermon Text: Ephesians 3:14-19
Sermon Theme
Prayer is a vital and necessary part of Christian life. Paul in Ephesians is offering a prayer for all of us. He prays that we may have power through God’s Spirit. This power is completely outside of us but flows through us. God’s power enables us to prevail in a difficult world through Christ’s love. Paul prays for nothing less than our perfection, our being “filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19).” On Father’s Day it is important to realize that God is the Father of “every family in heaven and on earth,” “all things” (Ephesians 1:10). Paul’s prayer ultimately is that In Christ, we experience the full reality of God.
Sermon Outline
- Power. The Christian life cannot be lived in human strength. This applies to individuals as well as churches and Christian communities of whatever kind. Paul prays that we have God’s power. Power is essential to the gospel and to the life of faith (Romans 1:16; I Corinthians 1:18; II Corinthians 4:7; Ephesians 1:19). This power is necessary because we live in a world of conflict and indeed opposition to the gospel. The opposition does not only come from the world (John 17:14). It can come from within the church itself (Acts 20: 30); more seriously, this opposition can come from within our own hearts, our sinful nature, which the New Testament calls our “flesh” (Romans 7:18-19; Galatians 5:17). The Lord’s Prayer can be summarized as a plea for God’s active power in our lives. We need to pray daily for this power. Without it we cannot function.
- Prevail. God’s power becomes active in us through faith and love (Ephesians 3:16-17). The word translated “comprehend” in verse 18 actually has the sense of overcoming or grasping something in the face of difficulty. Paul prays that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith as we are being rooted and grounded in love. He is asking that God’s power will prevail in us to the point where we are free to “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). Paul’s prayer is that Christ’s love shines through us. What is this love? It is not a sentimental feeling or an emotional attachment. It is loving each person as a child of God, for whom God is their Father. This love is neither blind nor indulgent. Love does not accept all things. It does not excuse sin. It does, however, bear all things, believe all things, hope all things and endure all things (I Corinthians 13:7). There is no more effective way to share the gospel than to demonstrate Christ’s love to everyone. God’s love cannot be explained, but it can be shown.
- Perfect. Paul prays for nothing less than for our perfection. This is the meaning of being filled with “all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 1:19). This is hard to imagine, much less achieve. We know all too well what it means to be full of ourselves. Being filled with God can only mean to praise God and follow him faithfully. It is only in this perfection that we truly love completely. Perfection, however, remains only a goal in this life. We cannot achieve it on this earth. Nonetheless it is a goal for which we should strive (Philippians 3:12-14). We cannot make progress toward it without prayer. Knowing this, Paul prays for the Ephesians Christians and, by implication, for all of us. There are many examples of prayer in Scripture. Yet what is perhaps the dominant type is one we often neglect. This is the theme of wrestling or striving in prayer (Colossians 4:12). Jacob wrestles with God (Genesis 32:24). The Canaanite woman wrestles in prayer with Jesus (Matthew 15:21-28). Jesus himself wrestles in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:41-44). Paul speaks of praying night and day most earnestly (I Thessalonians 3:10). He wrestles with God over his thorn in the flesh (II Corinthians 12:8-9). To wrestle in prayer is to face the obstacles to our prayers, to be wounded in the process (Genesis 32:25-26). Yet in this wrestling we are blessed by God (Genesis 32:29). The ultimate blessing is to experience God’s fullness.
Questions for Us
- Why do you think we don't pray for God's power in our lives more regularly? Do you see how much of the Lord's Prayer is a petition for God's power?
- How do you think viewing every person (without exception) as a child of God, for whom God is their Father, affects the way we treat all people?
- Have you experienced prayer as wrestling with God? How can this wrestling help us experience "all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19)?
