Praying for Strength

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, July 26, 2009. The text for this week's message is Ephesians 3:14-21.

This is our third week in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. Two weeks ago, we looked at Ephesians 1:3-14 and explored what it means to be “in Christ.” Last week, we looked at Ephesians 2:11-22 and saw that there is no place for divisions within the Church. Regardless of past history, culture and socio-economic status, there is room for all people, and all are on equal ground at the foot of the cross. We aren’t asked to be perfect before we come to Jesus, but God doesn’t leave us in our sinful state either. Jesus came for those who are both far and near, and it is our responsibility to share the gospel in both word and deed. And this brings us to today’s passage - Ephesians 3:14-21.

As we read through the letter, picking back up at the beginning of chapter 3, we start to see the thread of Paul’s thought. Verse 1 begins in the same way as verse 14. In both verses Paul says, “For this reason…” If we just start reading it here, we have no idea what Paul is talking about. For what reason? What is it that is causing him to say what he’s about to say? This is where our chapters and verses don’t help us at all. Did you know that it took me until I was a freshman in college to realize that Paul’s letters should be read as a whole, and not chopped up segments? I know that it sounds so obvious, but it really took me that long to realize it. Paul’s letters, the gospels, the epistles, the prophets – all of them need to be read as a whole. They need to be understood as a complete, and often complex, work that builds on what came before. And this is crucial to remember when reading through Scripture. This one principle would help clear up so much confusion when it comes to interpreting the Word.

Remember a couple weeks ago when I said that Paul has a tendency to go down some trails and then jump back to where he was? That is what is going on here in chapter 3. He begins in verse 1 by saying, “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles-“ and then he elaborates on his call to be an apostle to the Gentiles. It’s like he gets sidetracked because he doesn’t want to make any assumptions about what they may or may not know about his call and ministry to the Gentiles. Next thing you know, we’re in verse 14 and Paul jumps back to what he was saying in verse 1, which of course, brings us back to the question, “For what reason?”

In order to answer that question, we would have to look back at what came before. This is where the cohesion of the letter is important. So, what was Paul talking about? Unity in Christ. About how at one time there were distinctions and divisions between Jews and Gentiles; about how there was a “dividing wall of hostility.” But Christ broke it down, and in the rubble of this broken wall, he started to build up a holy temple on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as its cornerstone. A holy temple that is still being built to this very day by members of the body of Christ working together, saved by grace through faith, and being added to by making disciples of all people in obedience to Christ’s Great Commission. For that reason, Paul enters into this prayer found in verses 16-21. Because of this newfound unity in Christ, Paul lifts up a prayer specifically for two things: strength and insight.

Verse 16 begins, “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” This is the first major petition of the prayer - that the readers would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit. There are a few key things about this part of the passage that are important for us to explore. Things that help us understand what it means to be strengthened by the Lord; things that put our lives and our strength in the proper perspective.

First of all, it’s important to note that the verb “to be strengthened” is in the passive voice. What is strength? Strength is not something that we get on our own. Yes, we can go to the gym. We can exercise day in and day out, but does that give us strength? Sure, it makes us strong, but does that mean we have strength? Because I’m not too sure exactly where our dictionary is, I looked up the word “strength” online. And I discovered something. There’s not a single, clear idea of what strength is. In fact, there were 13 definitions of strength; strength referring from anything to physical, mental, and moral characteristics to properties of beverages. There appears to be a lot of fuzziness when it comes to defining this supposedly simple word.

But what Paul tells us is that strength is not something we gain through our own efforts. Strength is given to us by God. Strength comes to us by the riches of God’s glory. We have strength not by anything that we do, but by what God does in us. Strength comes from the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Strength is something that exists within us.

Again, notice what Paul says, “through his Spirit (the Holy Spirit) in your inner being.” Through the Spirit, we gain the personal presence of God in our lives, and that’s where our strength originates. I still can’t tell you exactly what strength is, but it seems like it’s one of those things that you understand it when you see it. It is a deep characteristic that is developed within by the work of the Holy Spirit. It comes by putting our faith in Christ, realizing that we can’t do everything on our own, laying it all before the Lord and finally allowing Him to work in our lives.

Paul goes on to point out that there is a purpose for this strength. The purpose is so that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” And it may seem odd that Paul is praying for strength so that they may have faith, but this is once again where the context and the whole of the writing come into play. When Paul was writing this letter, he was sitting in a Roman prison because of his faith, and he knew that the church at Ephesus would be facing some serious trials as they continued living out the gospel.

At the time, there were local persecutions going on, but nothing throughout the Empire. However, in Ephesus, there had already been some trouble with some of the local metalworkers. When Paul was in Ephesus, the gospel was spreading so much that some of the local metalworkers were losing business. And why were they losing business? Not because there was a sudden shortage of metal, but because the metalworkers primarily crafted idols out of metal.

Ephesus was where the Temple of Artemis was located, and it also obtained the right to house the Temple to the Divine Julius Caesar. Idolatry was a major part of the city of Ephesus, and when people started putting their faith in Jesus, business went down. And as people tend to do when business goes down, they start looking for someone to blame. In Ephesus it was going to be easy to blame the Christians, after all, it was their fault that people were turning away from idolatry. It wasn’t going to be long before the church in Ephesus was under stronger persecution. And the members of the church in Ephesus were going to have to rely on their faith in order to make it through this difficult time. They were going to need a different kind of strength; the type of strength that only comes from God.

The second major petition of the prayer is that the reader receives, “strength to comprehend… and to know the love of Christ.” Again, we see the word “strength” here, but it is now linked to the power to understand something that goes beyond understanding. It is the power to understand something that those who have gone before them in faith have understood – the love of Christ. Paul is praying for the type of insight that is needed to help get them through the difficult times that lay ahead.

I think one of the keys to understanding what Paul means here is the phrase at the beginning of this petition – “being grounded and rooted in love.” Living a life of love is the inevitable way to live for one who has placed his/her faith in Christ. We read elsewhere in Scripture that God is love. Love is a core characteristic of who God is; it is the primary concern for God. So, for one to be grounded and rooted in love, one is grounded and rooted in the very heart of God. And it is in the heart of God that we begin to wrap our minds around the magnitude of His love.

Paul refers to those who were “the saints” that came to terms with the magnitude of God’s love, and his prayer is that the reader – that we – would also understand the incredible impact of God’s love. He mentions the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth of God’s love. Sounds like he’s covering all the angles here, doesn’t it? But he has to! And the amazing thing is that he still cannot encompass all of God’s love! Just when we think we understand who God is and the magnitude of his love, He does something else that totally blows us away.

He says that the love of Christ surpasses all knowledge. No matter how hard we try, we cannot fully understand the love of Christ. You see, the problem is that we live in a society that thinks everything can be quantified and mapped out. We live in a culture that is looking for “all the answers.” But when it comes to God, there is no quantifying, there is no mapping and there is no such thing as “all the answers.” We will never be able to fully comprehend who God is. But Paul’s prayer is that at least we could at least get to the point that we understand that his love is unsurpassable.

Have you ever just stepped back and stood in awe of who God is? Have you ever looked at the world that He created and were just amazed? The complexity of even the tiniest of insects all the way to the beauty of the mountains and even the vastness of the universe; all of it simply amazes me. And when we stop and really think about it, doesn’t it just blow you away? Yet, in the midst of it all, God’s primary focus is on you. God created humanity in His image. Sin has marred the image of God in all our lives, but God is restoring us from its stranglehold – because of His love. And that’s something that surpasses knowledge.

But again, there is a purpose. The purpose that Paul prays for such insight into the love of Christ is so that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. How can we have insight into such a love and not be affected by it? We all watch movies that bring tears to our eyes because of the type of love that is shown. Even guys will have to admit to shedding a few tears at Braveheart or Saving Private Ryan because there is something about that deep, unexplainable type of love that tugs on our hearts, and that is the type of love that is shown by Jesus on the cross. It is difficult to see that type of love and not be moved. And when we break it down far enough, we know that is the type of love that all of us long to have in our lives. Being filled with the fullness of God will lead us into nothing less than this type of love, not only for God but for all people.

Paul closes the prayer with a reminder – a reminder that God is far beyond anything that we could ever imagine. God gives us more than we could even ask for or think to ask for. God is at work in all our hearts; some just realize it sooner than others. So this week in the same thread as Paul, I want to lift up a prayer for you. May you take some time this week to be in awe of who God is. May He give you the strength to be a witness for him every single day. May you be filled with His love. Amen.