Ians chapter 3. Next week we begin our series in Thessalonians. And we're really looking forward to that. We're going to walk our way through those two books, First and Second Thessalonians. And so I thought I'd start with before we get into that series, a a note from Ephesians. Ephesus and Thessalonica geographically were close together. Thessalonica, the the capital city of the Macedonian region. Ephesus, another major city in that region. And so what was said to the Ephesians would have certainly resonated with the Thessalonians.
And so I thought we'd start here this this morning and this year as we launch a new year. Sir George Adam Smith told the story. He wrote down the account of him climbing the Weisshorn, which is a mountain in the Swiss Alps. And he had with him, of course, a guide who had done it multiple times to help him along the way. They made their way up the sheltered side of the peak. And then they finally got there and you can imagine their sheer joy upon getting to the top of the mountain.
They were thrilled. They were exhilarated. This was at a a key moment in his life. And so losing his sense of himself, remember he's on the sheltered side of the mountain, he got to the peak and he jumped up with his arms in the air. And the winds nearly knocked him down to the glacier way below. The guy grabbed him and yanked him down. And he said this to him, "On your knees, sir. You are safe here.
Only on your knees. How's your prayer life, brothers and sisters? There is wondrous beauty and safety in prayer. It's there that we declare our dependence upon the Lord, our need of him, our musth have of him. We must be people of prayer. And yet I would venture to guess if I I'm not going to ask for a show of hands, but if I were to ask how many of you between reading your Bible and prayer, which one is easier for you to do?
I would probably bet that 95 plus% of you would put your hand up for I find reading the Bible easier than prayer. And yet it's in prayer that we come before this God, the the really the only one who can do anything in this world, the apart from me, you can do nothing. Jesus said in John 15, we must we must be people of prayer. And so here today, we're going to see Paul on his knees for the Ephesian believers in chapter 3 is where we're going to be.
And not only does he does he tell them that he's praying for them, he tells them how he is praying for them. And I hope as we walk through this that this would be a wonderful launching point for each person here for our year. This is the the manner in which we want to understand and live and set our thinking a right as we come into 2026. So let's look at this prayer picking it up in chapter 3. I'm starting in verse 14 and I'm going to read through to verse 19. Here's what we read.
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.
What a wonderful way to pray. Have you ever found yourself struggling with the words to pray? Have you ever found yourself saying, "I feel like my prayer I'm just saying the same thing over and over again." Maybe I'm the only one who struggles with that. You much holier than me, but I struggle with that. One of the great things to do to increase your prayer life, read the prayers of the Bible. It helps you to learn how to pray. It's a good thing. So as we move here as as Paul moves from theology to practice because that's what happens in Ephesians.
Ephesians might be the clearest picture of Pauline literature. All of Paul's letters have the same general basic pattern there. The first portion of the letter is theology, the doctrine of the gospel. And then the last part of each Pauline letter is okay, now that you understand the gospel, here's how your life should reflect that practically. And Ephesians is probably the clearest picture of that because the first three chapters, gospel, gospel, gospel. The last three chapters, practice, practice, practice.
And so we have this turning point happening here at the end of chapter 3 as he's moving from theology into practice. And what do we see here? Well, he starts off by giving them a reason for prayer. In fact, it says it right off the hop. For this reason, that's what he says in verse 14. We see it that little phrase used multiple times actually in Ephesians. In fact, at the very start of this chapter, chapter 3, he starts the whole chapter by saying, "For this reason." In fact, this isn't the first time Paul's prayed for them in this book. Or at least he's told them how he's prayed for them.
In chapter 1 which might be on the same page or maybe one page back for you in chapter 1 verse1 15 and on he gives them his prayer for them but notice something interesting there in verse 15 of chapter 1 he says this for this reason and then there's a comma if you have the ESV for this reason because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints so in chapter one he gives the reason embedded ated right in the verse.
Here's the reason. I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints and because of that I'm praying for you. And here's how I'm praying for you. As you come to our text in chapter 3, he doesn't give that same embedded reason. He says, "For this reason I pray." What reason? Well, one would have to conclude that this is the the reason being everything he has taught up to this point. And in fact, our our prayer here is going to flesh that out.
The reason is everything that's been said for the first three chapters, that's what we have. So, in light of the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus, chapter 1. In light of the hope to which you were called, chapters 1 and two, in light of the fact that at one time you were dead, but now you've been made alive in Christ. Chapter 2. In light of the fact that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone and the finished work of Christ alone, chapter two.
In in light of the fact that you have been reconciled to God through Christ, chapters 2 and three, in light of all of those great blessings, in light of that great gospel news, Paul says, "I'm praying for you for this reason." It's, by the way, friends, this is a good reminder for us to pray for the saints. If I can be guilty confession time, and it's not a bad thing. So what I'm about to say is it's actually a good thing, but sometimes it can come at the neglect of another good thing.
I can sometimes focus my prayer time so much on the lost. And that's a good We should pray for the lost. Those who don't know the Lord, those who are apart from Christ, who if they die, they're going to spend eternity in hell. We should pray for them to come to faith. Yes and amen all day long. But we should also pray for the saints. We should also pray for one another as believers. And that's what Paul does here over and over again, not only in Ephesians, but in Philippians and Colossians. You see it all over the place.
In fact, later on here in this same book in Ephesians chapter 6, look at how what Paul says here in verses 18 and on. This is the armor of God passage. And he says, "Praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication to that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints." And he says, "Pray also for me." So pray for the saints. In Acts chapter 4, we have the same thing. Praying for all the saints. Praying for those who are the mouthpiece of God that they would declare the mysteries of God with boldness.
We should pray for one another. Now notice here he says for this reason I bow my knees before the father. Notice this from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. Isn't that an interesting phrase? Every family in heaven on earth is named after the father. Well did you know and you might even have a footnote beside the word. Did you know that the word family the derivative of the word family is fatherhood?
That's actually the the correct translation of the word. We translate it family, but it can be translated fatherhood. Fatherhood matters. And you see it whenever there's a fatherless home. Some of you perhaps grew up in a fatherless home and you felt the effect, the painful effect of that. We are meant to have dads because this is how God has designed it. This is why it's biblical for a woman to take her husband's name upon marriage, her his last name.
Because by God's design, the father is the head of the home. This is the design of God. Our father in heaven is the originator of family. Every other fatherhood is a copy a good hopefully a good copy of God as father. Now I want to clarify something for you. As creator God is the father of all men. So because you notice here it says from whom every family in heaven on earth is named.
As creator he's the father of every man. As savior. He is the father only to those who believe. If you are not saved, if you are not born again by the spirit of God, you cannot realistically call God your father because you are not his child. We must be born again and thus adopted into the family of God so that then we can call God our father. And what a privilege it is to call God father.
The Jewish people in the time of the writing of scripture would not dare call God father. He was God. And so it was scandalous when Jesus referred to him as father. And then certainly when the followers of Christ were calling God father. This was too personal. It's too intimate. In John chapter 3 when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, notice what we read here. He says to Nicodemus in verse 5, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again." And so the the he is the father of all who are born again. From whom every from whom every family derives its name whether they acknowledge him or not. But he is truly the father of those who believe. Now notice another thing here. He says, "For this reason I bow my knees." That is actually not the normative posture for prayer in the Bible.
And you might say, "What? Really?" Go with me if you will to Matthew chap 6. This is in the midst of the sermon on the mount in Matthew chapter 6. And there in verse 5, Jesus says, "When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to what? Stand and pray in the synagogues." And you might say, "Okay, well that's just the hypocrites that are doing that." Well, no, actually that's not true.
Mark 11, listen to what we read there, starting in verse 25, if I can get there. Mhm. I'm getting there. Bible pages very thin. I cannot turn this page. Trust me, it's about standing. Okay, there we go. 25. And whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so that your father who is in heaven may forgive your trespasses.
So this is his instruction for prayer. And he says whenever you stand praying, that's the normative position for prayer. But we do have a few examples of those in scripture who were on their knees in prayer. And I want you to see what is common about those particular prayers because here he says, "I bow my knees." That should tell us something about this prayer. Let's look at two prayers where someone was on their knees. Go with me if you will to Luke 22. Luke 22 starting at verse 41 says this, "And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.
Nevertheless, not yours, not my will, but yours be done." So here is Jesus in the moment of his greatest anguish. We read that blood was coming out of the the pores of his skin because of the enormity of the stress and a weight that was upon him. And in that moment he's on his knees. Turn with me to Acts chapter 7 and Acts 7 starting in verse 59. Listen to what else we see there.
And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep or he died. So here he is in a moment of great turmoil. He is about to die and he falls to his knees. So you can see there's a desperation to the posture of being on one's knees which lends weight then to Philippians chapter 2 where we read that this king the king of all kings the one who humbled himself became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross who the one who was highly exalted and given the name that is above every name to him every knee will bow every person in this room will one day bow their knee to Jesus and you will call him Lord.
Because notice what it says in Philippians 2. In heaven, every knee will bow. On earth, every knee will bow and under the earth. Even those in hell who rejected Jesus all of their life will acknowledge the lordship of Jesus. There's going to be a desperation to it. I remember in 2013 we lived over here where Pastor Bryce and Karen just moved from.
We lived there before then we warmed it up for you. They came to him. They came in there. But we were there during the flood of 2013. I I feel old saying the flood of 03. Like I'm an old man or something. But anyways, we were there for that. And and that was a brutal thing to go through. But and so that in and of itself was emotional. But we were boyed in our spirit, Carla and I, by the fact that there was a birth mom who had promised us her child. And so we were, even though all of this was going on, we were so excited.
And while we were out of our house, because it was getting torn apart and what have you in in the fix of it all, we were staying in a basement suite of a lovely family. And in that basement suite, we had a lot of memories there. One day we got word that the birth mom had changed her mind and we weren't going to get that child. It's one of the few time I wish I would tell you I wish I could be so holy as to tell you that I'm on my knees all the time. I'm not. Not physically, but then I was. I hit my knees in anguish in this position and posture of my heart of brokenness and calling out to God in desperation.
And I I get the sense here that that's what Paul's doing. For this reason, I bow my knees. You, brothers and sisters, need to hear this. I'm praying for you because this is something you desperately need. And so, I'm calling out to God in that posture. What a moment. One more thing before we move on. Notice in this prayer that I read from Ephesians 3 that he doesn't pray for their broken legs. Or for their little dog Skippy that's sick.
Not to say those things are inherently evil or bad. Not at all. But notice what he prays for. Their heart, their inner man, who they are at their soul level. And actually, if you read the other Pauline prayers, let me just read you one other as an example. Philippians 1 9-11. It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
Notice that he's praying for their heart. He's praying for their soul, the inner man. Now, it's not to say that the praying for the practical things are wrong by no means. But those things take a distant backseat to the soul of a person. Where are you before God? Where are you before the judge of this world? Where do you stand before him at the heart level? That is how we should pray. So when someone comes to you and asks you to pray for them or for their friend or for their neighbor or their family member, we should always of course say yes. We'll happily pray.
But how should we pray? Before we get to the presenting issue, whatever it may be, pray for their soul. Pray for their heart. Pray that they would come to know the depth and breadth and height and length of the love of God and be filled with the fullness of God. So that's the reason for prayer. Now he gets into the meat of the prayer. And so with that, he gives he prays so that they would have ultimately a strength to comprehend. Notice what he says verse 16 that according to the riches of his glory.
What riches? What is he talking about? Well, I'm so glad you asked that question. In chapter 1:3, listen to what he says. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Come thou f of every blessing, every spiritual blessing. Notice that in verse three there, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus who has blessed us.
Past tense, it's already done. If you are in Christ, here is a small list of what you already have. You have justification. You have sanctification that you're positionally sanctified and you're being sanctified. You have adoption. You have been propitiated and expedated. You have you have been brought into the family of God. You had no name and now you have a name.
You had no identity. Now you have an identity. And more and more and more on and on and on we go. All of this you already possess. Riches. You might have a zero in your bank account, but if you're in Christ, you are wealthier than anyone on the planet. Riches. So, in accordance with God's riches, he says here, he's praying that they would be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
Now, remember, if you go back to the start of the book, he's writing to those who are already believers, to the saints. So, and when he says that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, well, doesn't they're believers. Isn't Christ already dwelling in their hearts through faith? What does this mean? Well, it means ultimately that Christ would be consistently formed with everinccreasing glory in their life that they would look more and more like Christ. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, we read this starting at verse 16.
But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom and we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another for this comes from the Lord who is the spirit. So there is this ongoing transformation more and more into the likeness and image of Christ. John chapter 14.
This is in the upper room discourse. And this is immediately following his statement in verse 15 where he says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." Just a few verses later in verse 23, he doubles down on that. Jesus answered them, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." If you love me, you will obey me.
This is the sign, and we're going to see this in Thessalonians. The indicator of the one who is saved is that they obey. If you love me, you will keep my word and my father will love you and make his home in you. And so this is what's being referred to here when he says that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. So then he says that you being rooted and grounded in love. These are two words we want to pause on.
Rooted, that's an a horicultural word. Any gardeners here? A few of you? Yeah, God bless you. My home is the place where plants come to die. Right Carla, like we just not a green thumb amongst us. So, if you give us a plant, it will be dead in about 2 days. So, don't give us a plant. Unless it's of the plastic variety. So the little plant in my office, by the way, it's plastic.
But it is a horicultural term. So, a plant or or a tree, the root system is the most important part of the tree, isn't it? It's what goes down and gets the nutrients. It's what goes down and gets the water for sustenance. All everything is down there and it's rooted. And the stronger the roots, the deeper the roots, the more that tree or that plant can withstand. So the the winds may be raging on the surface, but if it's rooted, that tree is going to hold firm against gale force winds because it's grounded in that way.
That's what leads us to that second term, which is now an architectural term. Grounded. You cannot build high until you first build deep and strong. And so that's what this speaks of. It's a foundational term. Christ is our cornerstone. Scripture says to us, he's the steadfast anchor for our soul. Hebrews 6 tells us. And so here's the one who secures us. He so rooted and grounded what? In his love. In his love. It's fascinating to me and it it's happened in my own heart because the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick.
And I'm sure it's happened in your heart. When the surface issues of your life that don't feel very surface, they're heavy. They're hard. It's not to take away from those issues. There can be some very deep, pressing, difficult, hard things in your life, but in comparison to the love of God that are this big. And and yet when we face them, we can find ourselves deceiving ourselves and thinking, I don't know if God loves me. I would ask you to read the last three or four chapters of any one of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
Read the first two chapters of first Peter. Read Isaiah 53. And then tell me that God doesn't love you. The father sent his son to be murdered for you. We celebrated the Lord's table here. His blood was poured out for you. More than just the physical side of it. His wrath. The wrath that I deserve. If you're if you're self-aware, you understand you're a sinner. I deserve wrath.
I rebelled against God. My wrath was placed on this one. He took my place. He was a substitutionary atoning sacrifice in my place that when I repent and believe, I am justified, adopted, brought into the family of God, set apart, sanctified, glorification is sure, all of that is mine in Christ. And then I say, "But I don't know if God loves me." Rooted and grounded in love. So he's praying that they would that they would know this.
They would be rooted and grounded in love and that they may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth. That is to say, the the breadth, height, length, depth of his love. Now, some have made a big deal of those four words. They're not four different facets of his love. They're not four different dimensions of his love. What the what is God is saying here is that my love is vast.
It goes in all directions. My love is enormous. And it shouldn't take much for anyone who knows the Lord to see the love of God and how vast it is. Everywhere we look, we can see pictures of the love of God. The horrost on the trees for your pleasure. That is the love of God.
Christ left the splendor of perfection to come to this earth to deal with my sin. That's love. He willingly went to the cross to pay my penalty in full one time for all time. That's love. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. As Psalm 23 says, that is love. He provides fellowship among the saints.
He provides, he gave the church, the institution of the church, that we would be built up, that we would grow together, that we would be sanctified more and more each day. That's love. And on and on we could go. How high, how deep, how long, how wide is the love of God for you and I. Now he kind of starts to bottom line it here in verse 19. And to know the love of Christ, to know it, not just that it would be something academic, something in our thoughts, but that we would know it at the heart level.
He's praying,"Lord, I want these saints not just to hear about your love, not be able to point to chapter and verse about your love, but to know it at their heart level." And we all know there's a difference in that, right? Any marriage that has had some struggles knows what I'm talking about. Anyone can say to their spouse with their words, "I love you." It's another thing that your spouse knows that you love them because of how you treat them, because of how you care for them, because of how you sacrifice for them.
That's different than merely hearing the words. And that's what Paul is saying here. That you would know that he loves you. That you would know this love. But notice what he says. And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. So, I want you to know something that can't be known. How on earth can we know something that surpasses knowledge? You can't know this, but I'm praying that you know it.
It seems like an oxymoron, doesn't it? Here's the reality. How do you know something that's unknowable? Only by God's good pleasure in revealing it to you. Unless the Lord reveals his love for you, you will not comprehend it. Those who are of the world, who do not belong to the Lord, but rather to the kingdom of darkness, what will they believe? Not the truth. They will be believe lies and they will not hold to the love of God. John chapter 8, Jesus says as much.
Verse 43 and on, he says, why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You were of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character. For he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell you the truth, you don't believe me. They will never believe it until the Lord reveals it to him.
In John chapter 6, he said that too. It is the sublime privilege of the believer in Christ alone to know the love of God. This is the reality. You the world cannot know God's love until they know God himself through faith in Christ. Haden Robinson, the famous preacher and teacher of preachers, he told once of an old recipe that he found for rabbit stew.
Step one on the recipe first, catch the rabbit. That's true. To know the love of Christ, to know the love of God, step one, find Christ. Know him by faith. It is then and only then that you will ever comprehend or apprehend lay hold of the love of God in its fullness. And that's what leads us then to understand the fullness of God. Right? He says here to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with the fullness of God.
More and more understanding how much he loves you, the depth of his love. Every day you're going to understand it more and deeper and better because of the sanctifying work of God in you. And so as you grow in your knowledge of God and your knowledge of the love of God, the fullness of God will manifest itself more and more in you. You'll be more and more like him. And that's how he's praying for them. Reminds me of First John chapter 3. Famous verse if you've grown up in the church. Says this, "See what kind of love the father has given to us that we should be called children of God." And so we are.
The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. We need to know him to know his love. But when you know him, you can see the love of God toward you and toward those around you. And so as we start a new year, what a way to pray for one another. If you're wondering, how can I pray for my brother or for my sister? Turn to Ephesians 3. This might be a great place for you to start praying for your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
And might you understand with greater clarity in your own heart the height, depth, breadth, and length of his love for you. And as we start Thessalonians, we walk through and you're going to see a lot of these things worked out in the the book of Thessalonians that we just walked through here today, may you have a tent of hearts. May we all have a tent of hearts to hear what the Lord is saying to us and that we would all remind ourselves again and again and again how deep the Father's love for us, how vast, beyond all measure.
So God, I pray that we would understand these things. That our love for you would grow white hot. We love because you first loved us. And so, Father, we thank you for the enormity and the depth of your love. May we never take that for granted. And may our lives be a living reflection of that love to a lost and broken world and to our brothers and sisters in Christ as well. And so we entrust these things to you in Jesus name. Amen. Stand together with me. Let's close in song.
Transcribed automatically from YouTube captions, so names and words may be misheard.
