St Theodore's

Wattle Park

Sermon of the Week
Look up the passage

30/4/06

The Ephesus Code for Calling on God Eph 3:1-21

It's been suggested that the first three chapters of Ephesians are one long prayer; long not because Paul couldn't stop praying, but long because his thoughts kept getting interrupted. His prayer begins in 1:16 and finishes in 3:21. We shouldn't be put off by the interruptions, because they generally help us to see why and how Paul prays and that gives us a model for our own prayer. Let me suggest some things we might learn from these chapters. What we find here is that Paul's prayer is centred on Jesus Christ and his Spirit who lives within us.

1. We should pray in the Spirit

Paul begins his letter by saying: "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." The grounds for his prayer, the grounds for all of his relating to God is the Holy Spirit who has been given to us as a blessing from God, and who will empower us, remind us of his goodness to us and bring us together into a unity that proclaims the gospel. And so Paul prays that they might know

The power of God (1:19-23) "what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power." This power is shown in raising Jesus from the dead and exalting him to his right hand in the heavenly places. He wants them to know the power of God so they can have confidence in their Christian walk, confidence in knowing that their hope of eternal life is secure, confidence in knowing that their preaching of the gospel will bear fruit.

The mercy of God (2:1-10) "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us ⁵even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved-- ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph 2:4-6) The wonder of the gospel is that God chooses us when we're totally helpless; dead in our sins and raises us up through the work of his Spirit who comes to indwell us and raise us to new life. And having done that he makes us part of the church.

The wonder of the church (2:11-22). Here's the wonder of the Spirit's power at work: he's taken two groups that were at enmity with one another and made them one. He's broken down the barriers that divided Jew from Gentile, barriers of race and culture and language and religion and made them all one in Jesus Christ. He's brought peace with God and in so doing has brought peace between us human beings.
This is something that will be a test for us if we go ahead with a merger with St Michael's. Can we demonstrate the unity of the gospel in the way we meld our two congregations together? Can we overcome differences in expectation on how services are run? Can we learn to understand the differences in our background so that we can be united in our proclamation of the gospel?

The glory of the gospel (3:1-13) (Eph 3:8): "Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ." The gospel is such a great treasure! And we have the privilege of sharing it with others. Notice what a special place we as a church have in this proclamation: v9: "and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; ¹⁰so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." Again we have a great opportunity if we move to a merged congregation to demonstrate the wisdom of God through the way we interact with one another under the Lordship of Christ. So we should pray in the Spirit, but, secondly

2. We should praise God for his Spirit

Look at what God has done for us by giving us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us:

We're chosen to be holy 1:4 "He chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love." How can we ever be holy and blameless? Only through the Holy Spirit working in us to change the way we think and act and speak.

We're adopted as God's children v5. You may remember that I commented on Easter Day that when Jesus breathed on the disciples and said "receive the Spirit" it was like God in Gen 2 taking the man and breathing into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. When the Bible speaks of God adopting us, there's more to it than just a legal fiction. He actually brings us to new birth through his Holy Spirit; remaking us in his image the way we were meant to be in the beginning.

He's forgiven our sins v7. As a result of the Spirit dwelling within us, God now looks at us differently. Instead of fallen human beings he sees Christ indwelling us.

We're given God's wisdom vv9-10. The Spirit not only brings us to new birth, makes us holy, enables us to have a new relationship with God, but he also teaches us how to live, how to speak, how to make wise choices. Jesus described him as our counsellor, our advocate, our attorney. He's the one who'll make us wise if only we'll ask him to.

He's blessed us abundantly with spiritual blessings v3. In fact if you look back at v3, at the beginning of the letter, you'll see that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. There isn't any blessing that we could desire that God hasn't given us through his holy Spirit dwelling within us. We may not always see them, but they're there. And if they're not there then it may be that we haven't asked for them. James says "You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures." God delights to give good gifts to his children. All we have to do is ask - as long as we ask for the right reasons of course.

So let's pray in the Spirit, knowing that it's God's Holy Spirit who enables us to communicate with God. Let's thank God for the Holy Spirit who makes the salvation Christ has won for us accessible to us and who brings us all the blessings that God has prepared for us and then let's

3. Pray to God for his Spirit 3:14-21.

If you jump over to ch 3:20 you'll see that Paul had no doubts about God's mighty power at work in the believer. In fact the only question in Paul's mind is whether we have the ability to grasp just how powerful God is, to plumb the depths of his great love for us.

So Paul prays that God would keep on

strengthening them by his Spirit (vv16-17). The Ephesians had a long way to go in their growth as Christians. They'd made a good start, but as we'll see in the coming weeks there were many pitfalls to get over. Just like us they lived in a secular society, surrounded on all sides by those who'd oppose the gospel, who'd seek to turn them away from faith in Christ. They and we face an enemy who can't be fought on human terms, in human strength. They and we need God's strength if we're to persevere to the end. We need God's strength if we're to faithfully proclaim the gospel; if we're to demonstrate the power of the love of Christ in the way we live together. So he prays that God's Holy Spirit would strengthen them in their inner being with his power.

Is that something you pray for yourself, or for your Christian brother or sister? Is it something you pray for me or Roy or Camille or Michael P. Is it something you pray for the wardens or vestry members, the leaders of our church? Everyone of us, but especially our leaders, need to be strengthened with God's power through his Holy Spirit.

giving them an understanding of Christ's love (vv18-19). He prays that they'd be able to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, of the love of Christ. In fact he wants them not just to comprehend it but to know it, even if it surpasses knowledge. He wants them to have an intimate acquaintance with God's love, so it fills them to overflowing. How will he give us that intimate knowledge of Christ's love? Through the work of the Spirit who brings us Christ's presence to dwell within us.

filling them with all God's fullness (v19). He prays that they would be filled with all the fullness of God. This is an echo of 1:3: God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Now he prays that we would be filled with all the fullness of God. We've been blessed, but we still need to be filled. Notice that there's nothing static about the Christian life. Just as we can never fully comprehend the greatness of the love of Christ, so we can never be filled enough. It's not like going to one of those cake shops in Acland street and thinking you could really pig out in there. In fact we all know that you can eat only so much of those rich cakes before you begin to feel rather poorly, perhaps even sick. But you can never get enough of God. Nor can we ever stop seeking to grow more like Christ. The phrase has the idea of being filled with what fills God: that is, his nature, his perfection. It's the idea of being holy as God is holy. So it's a prayer for ongoing growth in maturity and holiness. It's a prayer for God's Holy Spirit to continue the process of transforming us into the likeness of Christ.
Do you think that's likely? "Not in my lifetime," you may be thinking. Well if that's what you're thinking think again. Because what is impossible to us is possible for God. Look at vs 20-21 again: "Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,

²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." There is nothing in this prayer that's beyond God. We may think the job of transforming us into the likeness of Christ is an impossible ask, but God through his Holy Spirit is able to do abundantly far more than anything we can imagine.

Paul's desire is that his converts in the Church in Ephesus might grow in their knowledge and love of God. So he gives them a pattern of prayer that they can learn from. And it's a good pattern for not just for them, but for us to follow as we pray for each other:

Pray in the power of the Spirit who dwells within us, enabling us to speak directly to God

Thank God for his Spirit, poured out on the church and on each one of us, filling us with all of God's blessings and

Pray that God would continue to fill us with his Spirit until we're filled to overflowing.

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	Sermon of the Week	Look up the passage
	30/4/06
	The Ephesus Code for Calling on God	Eph 3:1-21

	It's been suggested that the first three chapters of Ephesians are one long prayer; long not because Paul couldn't stop praying, but long because his thoughts kept getting interrupted. His prayer begins in 1:16 and finishes in 3:21. We shouldn't be put off by the interruptions, because they generally help us to see why and how Paul prays and that gives us a model for our own prayer. Let me suggest some things we might learn from these chapters. What we find here is that Paul's prayer is centred on Jesus Christ and his Spirit who lives within us.
	1. We should pray in the Spirit
	Paul begins his letter by saying: "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." The grounds for his prayer, the grounds for all of his relating to God is the Holy Spirit who has been given to us as a blessing from God, and who will empower us, remind us of his goodness to us and bring us together into a unity that proclaims the gospel. And so Paul prays that they might know
	The power of God (1:19-23) "what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power." This power is shown in raising Jesus from the dead and exalting him to his right hand in the heavenly places. He wants them to know the power of God so they can have confidence in their Christian walk, confidence in knowing that their hope of eternal life is secure, confidence in knowing that their preaching of the gospel will bear fruit.
	The mercy of God (2:1-10) "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us ⁵even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved-- ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph 2:4-6) The wonder of the gospel is that God chooses us when we're totally helpless; dead in our sins and raises us up through the work of his Spirit who comes to indwell us and raise us to new life. And having done that he makes us part of the church.
	The wonder of the church (2:11-22). Here's the wonder of the Spirit's power at work: he's taken two groups that were at enmity with one another and made them one. He's broken down the barriers that divided Jew from Gentile, barriers of race and culture and language and religion and made them all one in Jesus Christ. He's brought peace with God and in so doing has brought peace between us human beings. This is something that will be a test for us if we go ahead with a merger with St Michael's. Can we demonstrate the unity of the gospel in the way we meld our two congregations together? Can we overcome differences in expectation on how services are run? Can we learn to understand the differences in our background so that we can be united in our proclamation of the gospel?
	The glory of the gospel (3:1-13) (Eph 3:8): "Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ." The gospel is such a great treasure! And we have the privilege of sharing it with others. Notice what a special place we as a church have in this proclamation: v9: "and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; ¹⁰so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." Again we have a great opportunity if we move to a merged congregation to demonstrate the wisdom of God through the way we interact with one another under the Lordship of Christ. So we should pray in the Spirit, but, secondly
	2. We should praise God for his Spirit
	Look at what God has done for us by giving us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us:
	We're chosen to be holy 1:4 "He chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love." How can we ever be holy and blameless? Only through the Holy Spirit working in us to change the way we think and act and speak.
	We're adopted as God's children v5. You may remember that I commented on Easter Day that when Jesus breathed on the disciples and said "receive the Spirit" it was like God in Gen 2 taking the man and breathing into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. When the Bible speaks of God adopting us, there's more to it than just a legal fiction. He actually brings us to new birth through his Holy Spirit; remaking us in his image the way we were meant to be in the beginning.
	He's forgiven our sins v7. As a result of the Spirit dwelling within us, God now looks at us differently. Instead of fallen human beings he sees Christ indwelling us.
	We're given God's wisdom vv9-10. The Spirit not only brings us to new birth, makes us holy, enables us to have a new relationship with God, but he also teaches us how to live, how to speak, how to make wise choices. Jesus described him as our counsellor, our advocate, our attorney. He's the one who'll make us wise if only we'll ask him to.
	He's blessed us abundantly with spiritual blessings v3. In fact if you look back at v3, at the beginning of the letter, you'll see that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. There isn't any blessing that we could desire that God hasn't given us through his holy Spirit dwelling within us. We may not always see them, but they're there. And if they're not there then it may be that we haven't asked for them. James says "You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures." God delights to give good gifts to his children. All we have to do is ask - as long as we ask for the right reasons of course.
	So let's pray in the Spirit, knowing that it's God's Holy Spirit who enables us to communicate with God. Let's thank God for the Holy Spirit who makes the salvation Christ has won for us accessible to us and who brings us all the blessings that God has prepared for us and then let's
	3. Pray to God for his Spirit 3:14-21.
	If you jump over to ch 3:20 you'll see that Paul had no doubts about God's mighty power at work in the believer. In fact the only question in Paul's mind is whether we have the ability to grasp just how powerful God is, to plumb the depths of his great love for us.
	So Paul prays that God would keep on
	strengthening them by his Spirit (vv16-17). The Ephesians had a long way to go in their growth as Christians. They'd made a good start, but as we'll see in the coming weeks there were many pitfalls to get over. Just like us they lived in a secular society, surrounded on all sides by those who'd oppose the gospel, who'd seek to turn them away from faith in Christ. They and we face an enemy who can't be fought on human terms, in human strength. They and we need God's strength if we're to persevere to the end. We need God's strength if we're to faithfully proclaim the gospel; if we're to demonstrate the power of the love of Christ in the way we live together. So he prays that God's Holy Spirit would strengthen them in their inner being with his power.
	Is that something you pray for yourself, or for your Christian brother or sister? Is it something you pray for me or Roy or Camille or Michael P. Is it something you pray for the wardens or vestry members, the leaders of our church? Everyone of us, but especially our leaders, need to be strengthened with God's power through his Holy Spirit.
	giving them an understanding of Christ's love (vv18-19). He prays that they'd be able to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, of the love of Christ. In fact he wants them not just to comprehend it but to know it, even if it surpasses knowledge. He wants them to have an intimate acquaintance with God's love, so it fills them to overflowing. How will he give us that intimate knowledge of Christ's love? Through the work of the Spirit who brings us Christ's presence to dwell within us.
	filling them with all God's fullness (v19). He prays that they would be filled with all the fullness of God. This is an echo of 1:3: God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Now he prays that we would be filled with all the fullness of God. We've been blessed, but we still need to be filled. Notice that there's nothing static about the Christian life. Just as we can never fully comprehend the greatness of the love of Christ, so we can never be filled enough. It's not like going to one of those cake shops in Acland street and thinking you could really pig out in there. In fact we all know that you can eat only so much of those rich cakes before you begin to feel rather poorly, perhaps even sick. But you can never get enough of God. Nor can we ever stop seeking to grow more like Christ. The phrase has the idea of being filled with what fills God: that is, his nature, his perfection. It's the idea of being holy as God is holy. So it's a prayer for ongoing growth in maturity and holiness. It's a prayer for God's Holy Spirit to continue the process of transforming us into the likeness of Christ. Do you think that's likely? "Not in my lifetime," you may be thinking. Well if that's what you're thinking think again. Because what is impossible to us is possible for God. Look at vs 20-21 again: "Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,
	²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." There is nothing in this prayer that's beyond God. We may think the job of transforming us into the likeness of Christ is an impossible ask, but God through his Holy Spirit is able to do abundantly far more than anything we can imagine.
	Paul's desire is that his converts in the Church in Ephesus might grow in their knowledge and love of God. So he gives them a pattern of prayer that they can learn from. And it's a good pattern for not just for them, but for us to follow as we pray for each other:
	Pray in the power of the Spirit who dwells within us, enabling us to speak directly to God
	Thank God for his Spirit, poured out on the church and on each one of us, filling us with all of God's blessings and
	Pray that God would continue to fill us with his Spirit until we're filled to overflowing.

St Theodore's

Wattle Park

Contact us

Check our Mission Statement

Our Mission Strategy

Our 5-Year Plan

Preaching Program

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Last Week's Sermon

Next Sermon in the series

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sermon by email