Well, New Year's Day is often a day of looking back and looking forward. And for many, it's a day of reflecting on the failures and disappointments of the past year and of making new commitments for the year ahead. Maybe many of you have done that yourself already. Perhaps you've taken some time to reflect on this past year already, and you remember the commitments of years a year ago, and it may be as you've reflected on your spiritual state a year ago that you determined that you were going to, by God's grace, do better. You maybe identified some specific areas in your life that you wanted to do better, to grow in. Maybe you determined that you were going to grow in your personal relationship with God in your prayer life and in your reading the word of God. Maybe you committed that you were going to do better in your marriage. Maybe you desire to strengthen your relationship with others in the church and to serve more. Perhaps there's a particular sin that you were struggling with and by God's grace you made a commitment that you were going to gain victory over that sin this past year. Well here we are, New Year's Day 2012. So how'd you do? I dare say that many of you have to admit perhaps that you didn't do very well. Maybe there seemed to be some progress at the beginning. It seems like it's always that way. We kind of get out of the starting blocks, don't we? And we're doing pretty good for just a little while, and then it isn't long before we stumble, before we run out of energy, and it seems like that we just kind of slog along the rest of the year. Well, I want to be an encouragement to you this morning, because if you're a child of God, I'm sure that even this morning, as you've thought about this year, that it is your heartfelt desire to do better. We have that desire because of God's grace in us. We do want to serve. We do want to live for God. We do want to grow in our relationship with him and to obey him more and more. And I'm sure we want that this year. But I want to be an encouragement to you this morning, and I want to do this by looking at a prayer of the Apostle Paul that's found in the book of Ephesians. And I want us to see that living a life with the glory of God, living a life to honor God, is something that is possible What we need to understand, though, is that it is not possible if we simply attempt to live for God at our own strength. It's not something that is going to be possible if we're not motivated by the right motivation. But it is possible, and God even promises to do far more. that we ask our faith if we rely on His grace, His power, and if we are motivated by love for Christ. I would ask you to open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 3 this morning. Ephesians chapter 3 and our text this morning is the second prayer of the Apostle Paul contained in this book of Ephesians. Trace read the first one in the first chapter and this is the second prayer of Paul. I'm going to ask you to stand as we read the word this morning Chapter three, verse 14 through 21. Paul says, for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, oh God, I pray that, Lord, you would take your word this morning, and I pray that you would give us understanding of it, and I pray that you would use it, Lord, in our hearts and lives to be more humbled before you to worship you, Lord, as we ought to worship. And I pray that you would use it to bring about your purposes in us. I pray that you would grant to us, Lord, this morning, a greater depth of understanding of Christ's love. And I pray that you would grant to us a greater dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, be glorified through your word by your spirit in our hearts this morning, we pray in the name of Jesus, amen. Please be seated. Well, as we look at this great text, this second prayer of Paul in the book of Ephesians, I want to begin by looking at the context of the prayer. Verses 14 and 15, Paul begins this prayer, for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. It's evident that this is a prayer. You know, it's always very instructive important to pay very close attention to the prayers of the Apostle Paul that are recorded in the letters that he wrote. Because these prayers, I believe, are a key to really understand what it is that Paul is writing about, the passion that he has in the particular letters that he writes to the churches. And I think that is very, very true of this prayer recorded in Ephesians chapter 3. I want to spend a few minutes explaining the context of the prayer in the light of what comes before this prayer and what comes after this prayer. I think this prayer forms a transition between the first half of the letter and the second half of the letter. And if we understand this prayer in the context, it will be, I believe, immensely encouraging for us this morning. It's often noted that the first three chapters in this letter to the Ephesians is a doctrinal section, and the last three chapters are practical. And that's true. In the first three chapters, Paul lays a foundation of his letter by opening up some great theological truths. And in the last three chapters, Paul focuses on how to live the Christian life. But what's important for us to see, though, is that these two sections are intricately connected. Sometimes we kind of tend to stop at the end of chapter three and begin with chapter four as if that they are two distinct, unrelated sections, and that's not true. There are great theological truths in the first three chapters. Chapter one is the go-to passage in teaching the doctrine of election, isn't it? Chapter 2 is the go-to text in teaching the doctrine of depravity and the necessity of the sovereign grace of God and salvation. But we have to be careful because Paul was not primarily writing a book of theology. He was not primarily writing a doctrinal thesis here. Remember, Paul had spent approximately three years in the city of Ephesus. And in Acts 20, in saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, remember what Paul says. He said, I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable. And in verse 27 of Acts 20, he says, I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. And my point is that the great doctrine of salvation And the great doctrines of God's electing, saving grace that Paul writes about in the first three chapters are not, for most of those that were hearing this letter read to them, are for them not new doctrines. In the three years that Paul had been with them, he had already taught them these things. They were not new, to some they were, but not to many, not to perhaps most. Why then does Paul write these doctrinal truths in the first three chapters? Well, I believe Paul's words were written, first as praise to God, but they were written as a reminder to the Ephesian believers of what God had graciously done for them. And these great truths of God's gracious saving mercy's to them were intended, not strictly as theology, but were intended to stir up the hearts of the Ephesian believers, to stir up the church in the midst of their struggles and trials, to press them on, to encourage them on to live their lives for the glory of God. The things that he's going to be talking about in the last three chapters. We'll see this more clearly. In fact, I believe that the last three chapters that Paul writes were actually the purpose that he writes the book, and the first three chapters then are written as a foundation, as an encouragement to help them, to press them, to encourage them on in the things that he's going to write in the last three chapters. We'll see this as we get into the substance of the prayer. But before looking at the content of the prayer, look at verse 14 and 15 quickly. It's evident that this is a prayer And Paul's prayer is based on what he had already written. He says as he begins, for this reason, he's pointing back to the first three chapters, the great theological truths that he had already written about in the first three chapters. He's pointing back to the great truth that God had blessed these Ephesians with saving grace. He had given them salvation. He had chosen them before the foundation of the world. He had adopted them to be his children. He had called them out of darkness when they were dead in trespasses and sins and brought them into the glorious kingdom of his own dear son. Those are the things that he's encouraging and reminding these believers about so that their hearts would be stirred up to remember, yes, wow, how gracious God has been to me, how good God has been to me. I'm a child of God. I'm a child of the King. Jesus is my Savior. He has done so much for me. And in essence, Paul was praying then that as they remembered these things and as the Spirit took these things and reminded them of these things, that the glory of God's grace would then continue and would be even more powerfully displayed in the lives of these believers. Paul prays, I bow my knees before the Father. I think we see here two important things about prayer. First of all, he bows his knees Because prayer means that we are coming to God in reverence and in awe as we worship the greatness of our God. He is the King, He is the Creator, He is the Sovereign, He is all of these things. But we bow our knees in humility and awe to God who is our Father. And so there's a sense in which we come in awe and reverence, but there's also a sense in which we can come with confidence because God is our Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul comes in both of these ways, to a God who is great and can do everything that he prays, and to a God who is his Father, who delights to do all of his holy will and delights to hear us as we pray. Well, as we look at this prayer this morning, I want us to look at three things that Paul prays about. And we find, actually, in this prayer, I believe, an answer to the question, how can we do better this year in living our lives for the glory of God? Paul's gonna answer that as he prays here. And Paul gives us three things that he prays for. Notice, first of all, Paul prays that these Ephesian believers would be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 16 and 17. Paul says that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. Again, beginning in chapter 4 verse 1, Paul is going to be admonishing the believers to walk in a manner that is worthy of the manner of which you have been called. And he will be very specific in the rest of this book, chapters four, five, and six, very specific about what he means by that. Paul is going to talk about needing to have a renewed mind. Paul is going to talk about how that as believers walking in a manner worthy of the calling that we have been called means that we are going to conduct ourselves in the house of God, in the church, in the local church, in certain ways. He's going to admonish and instruct about how to live for God and the family. He's going to be instructing about how we ought to conduct ourselves in the workplace He's going to instruct us in many many practical areas in these last three chapters Paul knows that he is as he instructs and as he exhorts and as he admonishes that these Believers in Ephesus will hear these things, and Paul knows that they will understand that these things that he exhorts them unto are not going to be easy things. They are not going to be things that come automatically, and they are not going to be things that come easily. He knows that these Ephesian believers are going to have to contend with the remaining sin that is within them. He knows that they will have to contend with the flaming darks of the wicked one against them. And he knows that they will have to live in the context of an evil society, an evil world all around them. All of these things are against them. And he knows that sometimes they will fail. He knows that they will struggle. He knows that they will be difficult things. And He knows that they will be tempted to discouragement. And so, before He even begins to give this exhortation, before He even begins to make a list of all of the ways in which they are to honor God in their lives in very practical ways, before He begins any of these things, He wants to remind the Ephesian believers and encourage them with a great truth. And the first thing he wants them to know is that living the Christian life for the glory of God is possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. And so the first thing that he prays for, perhaps the central thing that he prays for, is that God would grant to these Ephesian believers power, the power that comes through the Holy Spirit. Now we know as believers that we already possess the Holy Spirit, don't we? The Holy Spirit is already within us. Ephesians 1.14, Paul said that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The New Testament tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. So what is Paul praying for here if they already have the Spirit? Well, Paul is praying that the power of the Holy Spirit that is already within them would, by his power, give to them an increased influence of Christ in their heart and their life. He particularly, and first of all, prays that this power would be exerted in the inner man, that is, in the heart, in the desires, in the controlling will and desires that are within us. In verse 17, Paul says that the result of this power of the Holy Spirit is that Christ would dwell in their hearts And the word dwell here means to take up residence. not praying that for the first time that Christ would take up residence, but rather the word dwell has a sense of a continuing dwelling or a more permanent dwelling or a more influence based on that dwelling. And so he's praying that Christ as he dwells in us would begin to influence and exercise his power in all the various areas of our heart. By room of our heart he goes in and room by room. He he gives to us an understanding of what his will is and room by room He he by his power roots out remaining sin and helps us to grow by in his influence and in his control and power within us And again, I want to make sure we understand this prayer in its context Before Paul begins the last half of the letter, Paul wants to emphasize that living for the glory of God in our daily Christian lives is possible, but must be dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit within us. You know, it's true that as Christians, we have a responsibility to yield to the Spirit's power. As Paul will point out, we are going to have to use the weapons of the spiritual warfare in living the Christian life. But I don't think that Paul is thinking in those terms as he's praying here for the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Ephesian believers. I think as Paul bows before God the Father, that he's praying that God would grant, that God would give out of the abundance of the riches of his glory, the very grace and faith that's necessary to even appropriate the power that is available through the Spirit. In other words, even though it's true that we as believers are involved in and exercise faith and use the means of grace to grow and to fight against sin and to live our Christian lives, it's also true that we can't even do these things apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you understand that? We apply to the grace of God, we use the means of grace by by his power, but who gives us the desire? Who gives us the influence of the heart to even make use of the means of grace? It is the Holy Spirit that does these things. And so he's praying for an increased power of the Holy Spirit to even influence us to make use of all of these things. You see, we are so dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit. And so many times it's exactly the problem. We depend too much on ourselves. We depend too much on our own efforts. We depend too much on the fact that we've read the word of God. We've done this and we've done that. We've availed ourselves of this and we've got this kind of discipline. And if that's what we're trusting in, we're gonna fail every single time. We've got to trust and come and pray that God would give to us renewed power of the spirit. And again, I'm not discounting the effort that we have to put in, that we have to use the means of grace, but for instance, just in salvation, just think of what Paul has already written. Do we, or have we, did we come to God in our own strength, in our own power? It's the Holy Spirit that gave to us the desire to come, the Holy Spirit that gave to us faith, the Holy Spirit that gave to us salvation initially. No work of ours, nothing that we've done, But somehow or another, now that we're the children of God, we think, now it's all up to us. Now it's all of our doing. Now it's all of our working. And it's not. It is the Holy Spirit that we must depend on. And we must pray initially, God, I'm weak. I can do nothing. I do things on my own strength. I do things on my own power constantly. Lord, give me your strength. Help me to even want to love you more. Help me to even want to serve you more. Help me to even want to read the word of God. Help me, God. Give me power. That's what I think Paul is praying. One writer said it this way, God's glorious riches comprehend everything. His goodness, his love for his people, his immeasurable resources, the fullness of his perfections. And all of that is not simply for the purpose of the admiration of the angels. All of the riches of God's grace and power are for us, for the church, so that we might be strengthened to live for him and for his glory. Well, we need to be encouraged with the promise of God, and we need to pray for ourselves and for one another that God would grant us power through his spirit in the inner being. If you're going to live for God this year and do better this year, you've got to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit that God promises that he will give in great measure. Well, there's a second and another vital part to Paul's prayer for the Ephesian church. Notice, secondly, that Paul prays that the church would understand and be motivated by Christ's love. Verses 17b through 19a, Paul prays in that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ would surpass his knowledge. Well, after praying that God would grant spiritual power, Paul now prays that these believers would become more and more grounded in God's love and would come to know more and more the greatness of Christ's love for them. And this request regarding love is intricately connected to the prayer for power because there is no greater powerful controlling influence than the power and controlling influence of love. And once again here, we see that Paul is praying for that which will encourage the believers to be able to do the things that he's going to be exhorting them to in the last three chapter. Paul knows that nothing will motivate, nothing will enable faithful Christian living more than love. And I would say that for many of us, that this is one of the, if not the primary reason that we so often fail in our Christian life. You see, most of the time, Isn't it true that it isn't that we don't know what to do? We know what to do. Isn't that true? So many times it isn't that we don't know what God requires of us in his word. We know so many times what we ought to do. Sometimes we even know how we are to do it. The problem is that so often we try to keep doing and keeping up with the demands of the Christian life. from the wrong reason, with the wrong motive. We try to keep up with living the Christian life somehow or another being pressed on us as if it is simply out of duty. It is simply because this is what is required of us. And if we simply try to live the Christian life, if we simply try to obey God in all of the areas of our life out of mere duty, out of mere obligation, we will fail every single time. We must be motivated by love. That alone will keep us faithful to Christ. For many Christians, we think that the love of God rises and falls depending on the level of our obedience. Unconsciously, we think that. And so, if we fail God for a week, and we don't have our devotions, and we've struggled with particular sin, and we haven't been faithful in particular areas, then we hesitate to even come to God. And we think God's love for me just cannot be as great as it would be if I had been more obedient. Or even worse, whenever we are, for a particular week or whatever amount of time it is, we've been in the Word and we've prayed, then somehow or another we think that God surely loves me because of what I've done. And both of these are a gross misunderstanding of the love of God. And that's what Paul wants to help these believers to understand. God's love is not based on what we've done. God's love is not based on what we have performed or whether we have or haven't performed that day or that week. God's love is based on His love for us because of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ. God's love for us is unchangeable and we must understand. We must understand something and we must be grounded firmly in God's love. And so Paul prays knowing that all of the things that he's going to exhort unto, they will never be able to do. if they're not motivated and have an understanding of God's love for them. And I want us to look at two things here quickly. These are two headings that I borrowed from Brian Chappell's commentary on Ephesians. And he says that help and encouragement for God's people comes when we grasp two things, two things that are bound together. We must grasp, first of all, that we are secure in God's love. And secondly, we must grasp the greatness of Christ's love. First of all, Ephesians 3, 17b, Paul prays that you being rooted and grounded in love, When a lawyer asked Jesus what's the greatest commandment, what did he answer? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Loving God, Jesus said, is a prerequisite, is essential. It's an essential quality for living for the glory of God and pleasing him and for obeying him. In 1 John 4, 19, John tells us we love God. Why? Because he first loved us. And Paul knew that a consistent godly life The kind of life that we are to live must flow from a heart that loves God supremely and a heart that is rooted and grounded in God's love for us. And Paul uses two analogies, one from agriculture and one from architecture. And he says that as believers, we must be convinced that we are firmly planted, rooted in the soil of God's love. that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Our great salvation rests on the great foundation of God's eternal love, and that foundation of God's love for us that is not based on us, but based on God's good pleasure and his eternal purposes for us is an unshakable foundation. When we grasp that we are secure in God's love, We will be motivated then to return love to him in obedience. And this is the reason, I believe, that Paul with such passion reminded the believers in Ephesus of God's love for them in the first three chapters. It was to stir their hearts up, to establish them further in the unchangeableness of God's love for them. Just look at a couple of verses from the first two chapters and bask yourself if you're a child of God in these words. In Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 through 5, as Paul reminds these Ephesian believers, listen to what he says and imagine yourself as an Ephesian believer in the early church hearing these words read from this letter for the first time. As Paul reminds and says this, Dear ones, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. Can you imagine these Ephesian believers hearing those words as those words were read to you? And you are included in the us and the we of what is being written here. Does your heart know something of being overwhelmed at the wonderful love and grace of God for you? Are you continually marveling at God's wonderful grace? That's what these Ephesian believers, I believe, did. They thought to themselves, what greatness, how wonderful, how blessed I am to have been chosen by God. They didn't deserve it. They were pagan idolaters, and they thought of themselves out of the whole world. God brought the gospel to Ephesus. And not only did God bring the gospel to Ephesus, but I heard the words of the gospel and the Spirit worked in my heart. Lord, I know that there are people all over the city that heard the gospel, but not all of them responded. It was your grace that gave to me grace and faith. And God, how could it be that I am one of your children? God, how could it be that you've loved me so much? And they understood something of the greatness of God's love and that the love of God was unshakable and unchangeable. And dear ones, we need to read these words with the same wonder and amazement. This was not just theology that Paul was writing. This wasn't just a doctrinal statement. This was intended to stir the hearts of these Ephesian believers up. Chapter two, he does the same thing as he reminds these Ephesian believers in verse one. You were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air and of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them, we all too formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh. And he goes on, but in verse four, but God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us. But God, because He loved us, didn't leave us in that state, but when we were dead in our transgressions, He made us alive together with Christ and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. These words are intended to stir our hearts up to know something of the greatness of God's great, great love for us. This should not cause us, when we think about the love of God, I know There's so many times we hear it and we know that the love of God is misunderstood and it's misrepresented as if God is simply a God of emotion and so on. But you know, because God's love is so misrepresented many times, that should not rob us of just basking in the knowledge of just how great God's love is. I want to read just a short paragraph from Octavius Winslow on the love of God in his book, Our God. As he begins this study in his book on the attributes and character of God, he begins with this, and listen, listen to these words. In commencing a series of studies designed to unfold some of the perfections of our God as they are revealed in the Bible and embodied in Christ, we begin with what may be regarded as the central one of all. the perfection of love, around which in the salvation of men all the others cluster, and with which they harmoniously and resplendently blend. If one perfection of God shines brighter in redemption than any other, it is this. Love is the focus of all the rest, the golden thread that draws and binds them all together in holy and beautiful cohesion. Love was the moving, controlling attribute in God's great expedient of saving sinners. Justice may have demanded it, holiness may have required it, wisdom may have planned it, and power may have executed it, but love originated the whole. It was the moving cause in the heart of God. Had not God's love resolved to save man, all his other perfections might have been employed and displayed in destroying him. We must be grounded, we must be rooted in God's great love for us. Well, secondly, we must grasp the greatness of Christ's love. In verses 18 and 19a, Paul says that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. This is what he prays for. Of course we know that the love of God The love of God the Father and the love of Christ are bound together. Their purposes are the same. But though they are one, they are also two persons, God the Father and the Son, and both in the scriptures, we are told that both in the scriptures loved us in purpose to redeem us. God's love is expressed for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. But it was also love that moved Christ. to give himself for us. This love is everywhere presented in the scriptures. Ephesians 5.2, walk in love just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us. Ephesians 5.25, husbands are told to love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. In our text, Paul is praying, I believe, that the spirit would open the minds of these believers to a greater comprehension of the love of Christ. And that this love of Christ, as they understood it more in the great truths that he already presented in the first three chapters, would stir them up to a greater love and desire to serve and honor the Lord Jesus. You know, we should never, we ought never, ever cease to desire to know more, to comprehend more the depth and the greatness of Christ's love. Again, as Paul writes, he knows that this love, the love of Christ, is a truth that is so vast, though. So even as he writes this, and he talks about God giving to us this greater understanding of Christ's love, he knows that it is so vast, and so he speaks of this love in terms of its breadth, and length, and height, and depth. And Paul says, you know what? Mere words cannot begin to plumb the depths of Christ's love. Paul says, no matter how I would try to open it up and explain it, sometimes the love of Christ is just better felt than it is expressed. And he says it is so vast and so mighty. You know, we've just come through the Christmas season. We've just celebrated the incarnation of Jesus, and in the incarnation, do we not see the vastness and the greatness of Christ's love displayed in his birth? We read the gospel narratives, and we see the love of Christ every place as he deals with poor, lost sinners, giving sight to the blind and setting captives free. And of course, the greatest display, though, of Christ's love is on the cross, isn't it? And no matter how much we try to comprehend them, when we come to the cross, we are left with a sense of awe and wonder and amazement. We're astonished that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That the sinless eternal son of God, God incarnate, the creator of the universe, would die on a cross for us. That he would suffer and bleed for us. We that were his avowed enemies, we that hated him, we that were alienated from him, we that did not want him, We that were actively engaged in rebellion against him, this Jesus gave himself for us to die for us. What Paul prays for and desires here for the Ephesian believers is not just, though, that they would understand more of the love of Christ in their mind. That's not just what he's talking about. He is talking about that. He wants them to have more, though, of Christ in their heart. Having more of Christ in our heart comes by having more of Christ in our mind. The greater we understand the depth of sin, the greater we understand of just what it costs for our salvation. But this love of Christ is not again primarily something in the mind that stays there, but something that is moved then to the heart. And so Paul prays that they might know the love of Christ. And that's a different word for know than the first. It's not just comprehend with the mind, but to know within us, to know in our heart, to know in our inner being, I dare say to know something of experiential knowledge of the love of Christ. And I know sometimes we hesitate to talk of experience, but you know what I'm talking about. When God, by His Spirit, sometimes takes the gospel, takes the freshness of Christ's death and what He has done in His love, and we experience it by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we are brought near to Christ and we fellowship with Him knowing something of the love of Christ. That's what He's talking about. Maurice Roberts wrote in his little book this about the love of Christ. Listen to what he said. The believer would do well to roll himself in this love of Jesus and wrap themselves in it each day. By this we mean that they should take time daily to get their mind and heart worked up to a sense of the truth and reality of Christ's love for them personally. We are terribly guilty of emptying the Bible's words of their meaning and power. We end up with a mind full of great biblical terms and phrases, but do not somehow savor the truth and reality of these phrases in our souls. This is true even of the oft-repeated biblical expression, the love of Christ. How many times we read it in God's word, and how many times it leaves us unmoved by its sublime, sublime significance, end quote. If we are left unmoved by the gospel when we hear it, then something's wrong. If we are left emotionless when we read and hear and contemplate the cross, there's something wrong. If we sung the two songs, especially focusing on Christ and what He has done and amazing love, and we are left singing with simply our words flowing from our mouth without our heart being engaged and having our emotions involved in what we are singing, there's something wrong. We need to comprehend. We need to know by experience because we daily are at the cross and daily basking in the love of God and daily thinking about the greatness of Christ's love. We need to be moved and motivated by this love. And that's what Paul, I believe, is praying here for the believers in Ephesus. He knows that they must be motivated by more than just duty. They must be motivated by the greatness of God's love, the greatness of Christ's love for them. In this way, they will be filled up to the fullness of God. And that's what he prays for in the third place in verse 19b. This phrase, filled up to the fullness of God, isn't an easy one. Commentators differ on what this means, but I believe what Paul is simply saying here is something similar to what Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1.3 when he says that those called by God's power become partakers of the divine nature. Partakers of the divine nature. Jesus, remember, is the radiance of God's glory. Jesus is the exact representation of God's nature. To be filled with the fullness of God, I believe, is simply to be given grace to be conformed more and more to the image of the Lord Jesus. Because as we are filled up more and more to the image of the Lord Jesus, as He controls us, dwells in us, and we become more like Him, we then radiate the fullness of God. But as I look at this whole context, I don't think that the central theme has changed at all in this verse. I think Paul is still focusing on love. God's love was seen in the sending of his own son. God's love is first of all a love for himself and for his own glory. And then his love is expressed in the salvation of sinners. And Christ's love is the same. Christ loved first of all his father and delighted to do the will of his father. But then his love is expressed so much in the dying and the giving and the redemption of men. It is love to God and then love to men. And it is the same for us. What is it to be filled up with the fullness of God, but to love God supremely with all of our heart? And then to love Christ and to love others. And I think the overall context helps us to understand why Paul prayed this. Because love for God, supreme love for God, that results then in love for others is the basis of everything that we are to do. Again, that's what Jesus said. We love God with all our heart and mind and soul and then love others. That's the fulfilling of all that God would have us to do. And in chapters four and five and six, what is Paul gonna deal with? Exactly those things. Love for God and then love for others. And I wanna try to tie all of this together before I wrap up with Paul's encouragement in verse 20 and 21. Just with a couple of examples, listen and try to understand why Paul prays this prayer and how important it is in tying together the whole book. In Ephesians 4, 1-3, Paul will admonish the Ephesian churches in the area of unity. And later he will deal with a matter of bitterness and slander and malice. And he will instruct regarding relationships with each other. In chapter four, verses 19 through 24, Paul will tell these Ephesian believers that they were to lay aside the old self. He reminds them that this old life included giving them over to sensuality and every kind of impurity with greediness. And they were to put aside this and to put on the new self. In verse 24, the new self that is in the likeness of God. In chapter 5, Paul will instruct husbands to love their wives. He'll tell wives to be submissive to their husbands. He'll talk about the matter of glorifying God in the workplace, of honoring God in society. He's going to instruct in every area of life the things that he instructs us in how to live, the things that we've made our resolutions about that are such a struggle for us that we've failed in so many times. These are the very things that Paul's talking about in chapters 4, 5, and 6. Well, what will promote, what will maintain humility and peace in the church? What will enable us to be patient and kind and forgiving of one another? It is being filled up to the fullness of God. It is loving and giving as God loved and gave to us. What will empower those who are being tempted and struggling in the area of impurity and sensuality? There will never be victory simply by knowing what to do. There will never be victory simply by discipline alone. Victory like this will only come by the power of the Holy Spirit and by having a supreme love for God and returning love for Christ. What will enable husbands and wives to have the kind of marriages that God wants them to have? It is being motivated by the love of Christ in our heart. This is the same in every area of Christian living. What will keep us pressing on? even when we fail over and over again. What will help us to persevere in the midst of a warfare when it seems like that we are so weak and often wounded? What will help us in the face of difficult circumstances and trials that we will face this year? What will help us to live lives for the glory of God this year that's different than last year? And it is being filled up to the fullness of God. which simply means that we are depending on the power of the Holy Spirit, that we are secure in God's love for us, that we bask daily in Christ's love, and that we then pray with all of our hearts, desiring, Lord, you've loved me so much. Lord, I want to return that love to you by being obedient to you. Well, Paul closes with an encouragement, the same encouragement I wanna close with this morning. Paul encourages them with God's power and points them to God's glory. In Ephesians 3, 20 and 21, now to him who is able to do more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Paul closes here with this wonderful doxology. It's a praise to God, but it's also a doxology that contains such encouraging words for us. In these words, Paul, in a sense, has come full circle. He began by praying for God to grant his power through his spirit, and he closes by commending these Ephesian believers to the power of God. And at the same time, he makes known to these believers that the same God and Father that he called on at the beginning of this prayer is the same God and Father that he commends them to, a gracious, wonderful God who desires for them everything for their spiritual good. And he makes known to these believers that this father that he called upon is both ready and able to do for them even more than they could ask or think. Once again, Paul is aware of the kind of life with all of its dimension that these Ephesian believers must live. He knows something of it. And he anticipates, I believe, some who might wonder, Paul, do you really think it's gonna be possible for me to live in all the areas that you're talking about in these last three chapters. Don't you know how weak I am? Don't you know how many times I've struggled? Don't you know how many times I've failed? Don't you know how difficult my marriage is? Don't you know how unreasonable my boss is? Don't you know how much I've already tried and how many times I failed? You identify with this? And Paul anticipates all of that. And he answers by saying this, I know because I've been there. I know because I failed. I know because I struggled. I know because I have to fight the warfare every single day. I know it, but you know what? It isn't up to you in your own power and your own strength. And Paul says, I'm telling you, I want to encourage you, if you come in the right way, if you come depending on the Spirit, if you come motivated by the right thing, if you focus your attention on God's eternal unchangeable love, and if you focus your heart on Christ who loved you and gave himself for you, if you come to God with this kind of heart, then I want you to know something. that God is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to his power that works in us. That includes every single one of us, every single one of you that are a child of God. It is possible. It is possible if we come in this way. And dear ones, I submit that many times we fail because we don't come depending on the Spirit. Many times we don't understand the eternal nature of God's love. We're not secure in God's love. And so many times we do not bask in the greatness of Christ's love for us. Dear ones, this morning, this is a promise and encouragement for you if you're a child of God. And so I would exhort you to do this. If you're gonna resolve to do something better this year, to make it your purpose to depend more on the power of the Holy Spirit. Make it your purpose to daily bask in the joy and delight and the security of God's love. Make it your purpose to spend more time plumbing the depths of Christ's love for you. Make it your purpose to pray more that God would fill you with his fullness. And God will do amazing, amazing things by his grace. Well, before I close, let me address just a brief word to some of you that may be here this morning. And you know in your heart that you've never experienced the love, the saving love of God in Christ. You've never turned from your sin, you've never fallen at the feet of the Lord Jesus. And if you're lost this morning, I want you to know that the love of God that I spoke about is wide enough for you. He calls for you to come with your sin. There's nothing you can do but come to Him, asking for His grace and mercy. And you know what, if you look around you, you'll see those that have all come that are the children of God the same way. They've come sometimes faltering, sometimes with weak faith, sometimes wondering, sometimes questioning, but coming, coming to God and praying, God, give to me what I don't have. Give to me faith, give to me repentance, give to me salvation, give to me your son. God is a great God and a God who loves and delights to save sinners that come to him in this way. Go to him. Well, after I close in prayer, there'll be two counselors down front. Trace and Anne will be down here in the front. And if you have questions or desire to know more, then I would encourage you to go and speak with them. Well, I'm gonna ask you right now to close your eyes for just a couple of minutes with silent meditation. in prayer, simply reflecting on God's word and asking right now that God would take his word and that he would fill you with his fullness by his grace. O great and mighty God, our Father, Lord, I wanna thank you so much for your word. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for having Paul to record this prayer. Lord, thank you, O God, for your love for us and sending your own Son, Lord Jesus. Lord, we just bow before you and thank you for giving yourself for us. Holy Spirit, thank you for your work in our hearts. And our God, I pray that the prayer that Paul prayed here for the believers in Ephesus would become our prayer. And Lord, we would pray these things for ourselves individually, and we would pray these things for one another as the church. Oh God, we just bow before your great love. Thank you for what you've done for us. And I pray that it would be our great desire that, Lord, the way we live this year, would bring glory, more glory to you, Lord, than we could ever imagine, Lord, because of our responding to you. Lord, help us, we are in need, and we acknowledge our need. Lord, thank you for your promises. And now to him who is able to do far more abundantly, beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. May be dismissed. Thank you so much.