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SERMON
Today we come to the end of the first half of this letter. The first
three chapters focus on doctrine; the last three will deal with ethics.
In chapters 1-3 Paul confirms the new life we have in Christ. In
chapters 4-6 he will talk about how God expects us to live out that new
life. And so today he draws the first part to a close, and he does so
with one of the most eloquent prayers you'll find anywhere in Scripture.
Last week we noted how Paul had introduced this prayer, only to
interrupt himself mid-sentence with a rather lengthy "digression." There
he waxed eloquent about how God expects the church (you and me) despite
all our shortcomings, to be a living demonstration to the rest of the
world of his unsearchable wisdom. That is a huge assignment. Yet Paul
says that God expects garden-variety Christians like us to reveal to the
world the mystery of his wisdom. Now, speaking only for myself, I'm not
sure I'm up to the task. Nor do I think Paul had reason to be all that
confident of the church's ability to deliver. And that, I suspect, is
what drove him back to his knees in prayer. Paul knew that we need help
– big time. And so help is exactly what he asks for in this prayer.
So at verse 14 Paul reintroduces his prayer: "For this reason I kneel
before the Father…" Paul isn't talking here about submitting a
polite request. He says that he's on his knees, pleading with God. Why?
It's because, as he said earlier, God has "appointed Christ to be head
over everything for the church." So Paul kneels in prayer because
he knows that you and I will not be able to live up to that high
calling, unless we are fortified from within. And so Paul lays out three
requests. First, he asks that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us on
the inside. Second, he asks that Christ will dwell in our hearts
through faith. And third, he prays that God will fill us with all
his fullness.
1. First, Paul asks that God will "strengthen us in our inner
beings" through his Spirit. In Greek, the inner being has three
facets: reason, conscience and will. And all three
of them need to stay fit. So Paul prays here that the Spirit of truth
will give us strong reasoning power. It's easy enough to talk
about your faith in the company of those who agree with you. But when
someone outside the Christian community challenges your intellectual
integrity as a Christian, that's when your faith is really put to the
test. Not only do you need to know what you believe; you need to know
why you believe it. And it's not enough to be able to simply spout Bible
verses in defense of your position. The world is full of counter-spouters,
some of whom are highly articulate and very persuasive. So Paul prays
that God will give us intellectual strength.
And when he prays for strength in our inner being, he is also praying
that God will give us a strong conscience. It's possible to be a
brilliant logician and have little or no conscience. I've come across
too many people with sharp minds and dull hearts. As Paul said in his
first letter to the Corinthians: "I can have the kind of absolute
knowledge that understands all wisdom. But without God's love inside,
I'm nothing." So Paul prays here that the Holy Spirit will work
within us to keep our conscience strong.
Third, when Paul prays for God to strengthen our inner being, he's
praying for strength of will. Reason can persuade our heads to
know what is right. Conscience can urge our hearts to embrace what is
right. But it takes a strong will to do what is right.
Righteousness isn't just a state of being; it's an act of the will. Paul
talks about that struggle in his own inner being in Romans 7. He says,
in effect, "I know what is right. I may even want to do
what is right. The problem is that often I don't do what's
right." Then Paul cries out, "Who can save me from my own weak
will?" And back comes the answer to the deepest longing of his
heart: "Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
2. The answer to his dilemma is the indwelling Christ. And that
is just what he goes on to plead for here in this prayer: "that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith," he says. This is
the centerpiece of his prayer. His dearest hope is that Christ will
dwell in us – that is: take up permanent residence and not simply be
passing through. One of the less familiar verses of the hymn "Abide With
Me" makes the same point eloquently. It goes:
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as thou dwell'st with thy disciples, Lord;
Familiar, condescending, patient, free –
Come, not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Here Paul comes to the very heart of his prayer: that Christ might
dwell in our hearts. That's what we need, whether we realize it or not.
We don't need a savior on retainer, available on request – although he
is that. We certainly don't need Christ sitting by the phone, awaiting
our emergency 911 call – although he does that. We don't need a
reference librarian who can point us to the answers we need – although
the Lord is willing to do that, too. And we don't need a rich relative
who will bail us out when we're in a bind – although he would even go
that far. What we need more than anything else is a Savior who is
willing to take up permanent residence in our inner life.
But note this: Christ will not force his way in. He doesn't crash in
uninvited. He comes within us only by invitation – "through faith" as
Paul puts it here. But keep in mind that not much faith is needed, so
don't be intimidated by that word. Do you remember what Jesus said about
faith the size of a mustard seed being able to move mountains? A little
faith, coupled with God's grace, can do amazing things.
Paul goes on: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in
love…" When he talks about our being "rooted," it calls up images of
being well anchored, like a tree with a healthy root system. And when he
talks about our being "established," the image is one of being set on a
firm foundation. Ah, but this is no ordinary foundation. Paul prays that
we will be "rooted and established in love." But you have to
understand that the word translated "love" is
agaph, and
it is unlike any other word for love.
Agaph is a
uniquely Christian word to denote the peculiar kind of love that has
little to do with sentimentalism and everything to do with the will. Of
course, the most eloquent expression of
agaph love
is Christ on the cross – willingly giving up his life for our sake. So
the foundation that Paul wants us to be grounded in is God's remarkably
tough, resilient, self-giving love.
Paul says that once we are grounded in
agaph love,
we will then have the "power to grasp how wide and long and high and
deep is the agaph
love of Christ." It may sound like Paul is talking in circles. He's not.
In fact, he is dealing here with one of the deepest mysteries of faith.
And the mystery is this: It is only when we are personally grounded in
God's love that we will be able to grasp the magnitude of God's love.
Are you confused? How can I explain that mystery? Let me try by speaking
quite personally. During a break in my seminary career, many years ago,
I was a counselor at a Young Life high school camp. One evening the
speaker was talking to the students about the crucifixion of Jesus, and
he was doing it in graphic detail. There I was, a bright young
theologian wannabe, standing at the back of the room, arms folded,
listening with a critical ear and trying to maintain my cool
objectivity. After all, there was nothing new here. I understood
perfectly well what he was talking about. I'd heard it all before.
And then it happened – without any warning. For reasons I can only guess
at, it seemed as though the speaker started talking directly to me.
It was as if there was nobody else in the room. He was talking to me
about the humiliation and pain Christ had gone through for my sake.
Suddenly I was undone. I lost all objectivity. In one moment I found
myself humbled and shaken and embarrassed and grateful beyond words for
what Christ had suffered out of love for me. But the curious
thing is that, in that same moment, I remember being overwhelmed at how
absolutely immense God's love must be for all his children. Being
grounded in his love for me, I was able to grasp, if only for a moment,
something of the vastness of God's love.
Paul makes the same connection here. Notice that he prays that we will
have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp the love
of Christ. Agaph
love is, by definition, a shared experience. I don't think it's possible
to grasp the magnitude of God's love for us in isolation. This is where
Paul's doctrine of the church dovetails with his doctrine of grace.
They're inseparable. The true church cannot exist, let alone survive,
without experiencing and expressing that same
agaph love.
3. Paul's final petition is a rather confusing one at first
reading. He asks that we may be "filled to the measure of all the
fullness of God." What does he mean? Taken at face value it
seems utterly unrealistic. None of us could possibly contain the
fullness of God. We don't have the capacity. So if we were in any sense
"filled to the measure of all the fullness of God," I suspect something
of God's fullness would inevitably spill over.
Perhaps that's what Paul was getting at here in this last petition. It's
clear that he wants us to be overflowing with godliness. For three
chapters he has been painting a picture of the church as God intends it
to be – terrible and wonderful and gracious and exciting beyond words.
And so in this closing petition he pleads with God to give us a greater
vision of who we can be. But Paul knows that we can never become all God
wants us to be on our own. So he ends with a doxology calling us back to
the One who alone is able to make us into all we can be.
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," he
writes. It's as if Paul were saying, "Don't worry about asking too
much of God. More often than not our problem is expecting too little of
God." We can't even imagine all that God is capable of doing in and
through us.
And so Paul concludes: "to him be glory in the church and in Christ
Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." The
psalmist could write about how "the heavens declare the glory of
God." But Paul says now it's the church's turn to bear witness to
that glory. And we are to bear that witness to every generation and in
every place until all things find their perfect place under the lordship
of Christ.
I heard of a preacher who stood up one morning and, instead of
delivering a sermon, he simply read the Scriptures. His argument was
that he couldn't improve on the original, so why should he try. I'm not
prepared to be quite that adventurous. But I would make bold to end
today with Paul's prayer.
I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and
on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may
strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all
the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of
Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be
filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
That was Paul's deep desire for those to whom he wrote this letter. As
your pastor, that is what I covet for you as well. But infinitely more
important, that is what your heavenly Father wants for you. So I beg of
you: Don't settle for anything less.
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