Ephesians 3:16-21
The key words and themes in this passage are: pray, power, love, fullness, immeasurable. This is a prayer that Paul is praying for the church in Ephesus. He has one main request: that the church would receive power from the Spirit so that a) Christ may dwell in their hearts and b) they would be able to know a love that surpasses knowledge (or, to use Paul's other word picture, to measure a love that is without limit). The result of receiving this power and knowing this unknowable love is that the church will be filled with the fullness of God. In my own words; "I pray that you would know the full measure of Christ's love so that you would be filled with the full measure of God.
Paul repeats himself in this prayer. First, he prays that God would fill the church with power so that Christ may dwell in their hearts then he prays that the church would have power so that they would be filled to the measure of the all the fullness of God. The second time he just gets a bit more specific about what he wants the church to have power to do; to be able to measure the unmeasurable love of God. The two "ends" are the same: that Christ, in all his fullness, would dwell in the hearts of the church. The two ends are achieved in the same way: only by God giving the church power.
Paul continues this idea of power in the next verse: by God's power, he can do immeasurably more than anything I could ever imagine, including, but not limited to, filling the church to the measure of all the fullness of God. What this means is that when the church displays strength, it is a miracle in the sense that it is an act of God; when the church grasps, even for a moment, the limitless love of God, it is a miracle. For me, it means that I need to pray for more miracles. To answer the question I posed in the title: the only way that the church can measure the unmeasurable love of God is by a miracle. It will take a miracle for the church to know, experience and extend the unknowable love of Christ. Only God can make it happen. I need to pray that God would fill the church with power to stand firm in the face of temptation. Only God can make that happen. I need to be reminded that I am part of the church and equally dependent on God for his miracle in my personal live. I am reminded that whenever I don't sin, it's a miracle; that whenever I do something good and right, it is not by my strength or moral character, it's a miracle. God, I need more miracles!!
Showing posts with label Ephesians 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ephesians 3. Show all posts
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Monday, March 10, 2008
this is my prayer (the sequel)
Ephesians 3:14-21
Paul's request for the Ephesian church: that they would be strengthened with power, that Christ may dwell in their hearts, that they would have the capacity to understand the dimensions of Christ's love and experience that love, that they would be filled to all the fullness of the measure of God.
There are a couple of phrases that I have questions about: First, what does it mean that every family in heaven and on earth derives its name from the Father? Second, is the meaning of being filled with all the fullness of the measure of God really what it seems to mean?
I don't think that Paul is praying that the individual Christian would be filled with the fullness of God. This is a corporate letter written to a church body so I think that it's the church body that gets filled in this way. This also fits better with the tone of the rest of the letter: the church is the fullnes of him who fills all things in all ways (1:23) and the church unified shows the wisdom of God to the rulers of the spiritual realm (3:10).
I also have confidence that this prayer will be answered based on Paul's next statement: God can do more than we can ask or imagine for his glory. Christ brought glory to God and now, according to this prayer and other passages of Scripture, the Church's role is to bring glory to God. In the context of this letter, we do that when we are unified.
Paul's request for the Ephesian church: that they would be strengthened with power, that Christ may dwell in their hearts, that they would have the capacity to understand the dimensions of Christ's love and experience that love, that they would be filled to all the fullness of the measure of God.
There are a couple of phrases that I have questions about: First, what does it mean that every family in heaven and on earth derives its name from the Father? Second, is the meaning of being filled with all the fullness of the measure of God really what it seems to mean?
I don't think that Paul is praying that the individual Christian would be filled with the fullness of God. This is a corporate letter written to a church body so I think that it's the church body that gets filled in this way. This also fits better with the tone of the rest of the letter: the church is the fullnes of him who fills all things in all ways (1:23) and the church unified shows the wisdom of God to the rulers of the spiritual realm (3:10).
I also have confidence that this prayer will be answered based on Paul's next statement: God can do more than we can ask or imagine for his glory. Christ brought glory to God and now, according to this prayer and other passages of Scripture, the Church's role is to bring glory to God. In the context of this letter, we do that when we are unified.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
we're making God's wisdom known
Ephesians 3:7-13
The mystery in this paragraph is explained in the previous paragraph: Gentiles and Jews are equal heirs through the good news of Jesus. Paul's specific role was to bring the Gentiles into the family of God by taking this good news message and revealing this mystery to the Gentiles.
If you were to ask me how God reveals his wisdom (before I read this passage) I would probably say something about through Jesus or through his divine providence, possibly through history or even through the Word. Never in a million years would I say that God reveals his manifold (I like that word!) wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms through the church. Paul is clear: the rulers and authorities look to the unity between Jew and Gentile in the Church to find evidence of God's wisdom. Wow! I still can't fathom it - that the rulers and authorities are struck by how wise God is when they look at the church. The next verse goes on to say that the unity between Jews and Gentiles in the Church was his eternal purpose which he accomplished in the work of Jesus Christ. This means that before time began, God determined that he would prove his wisdom to the angels and demons by bringing Jews and Gentiles together into one body.
So here's the question for me: am I helping to accomplish the eternal purpose of God? Am I helping my local expression of the Body of Christ to testify to God's wisdom or do I cause the spiritual realm to scoff at God's idea of unity? The point that is driven home to me is that the Church is God's idea, God's plan and reveals God's glory. I can either get on board in pointing to the glory of God by joining him in building his Church or I better get out of the way.
The mystery in this paragraph is explained in the previous paragraph: Gentiles and Jews are equal heirs through the good news of Jesus. Paul's specific role was to bring the Gentiles into the family of God by taking this good news message and revealing this mystery to the Gentiles.
If you were to ask me how God reveals his wisdom (before I read this passage) I would probably say something about through Jesus or through his divine providence, possibly through history or even through the Word. Never in a million years would I say that God reveals his manifold (I like that word!) wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms through the church. Paul is clear: the rulers and authorities look to the unity between Jew and Gentile in the Church to find evidence of God's wisdom. Wow! I still can't fathom it - that the rulers and authorities are struck by how wise God is when they look at the church. The next verse goes on to say that the unity between Jews and Gentiles in the Church was his eternal purpose which he accomplished in the work of Jesus Christ. This means that before time began, God determined that he would prove his wisdom to the angels and demons by bringing Jews and Gentiles together into one body.
So here's the question for me: am I helping to accomplish the eternal purpose of God? Am I helping my local expression of the Body of Christ to testify to God's wisdom or do I cause the spiritual realm to scoff at God's idea of unity? The point that is driven home to me is that the Church is God's idea, God's plan and reveals God's glory. I can either get on board in pointing to the glory of God by joining him in building his Church or I better get out of the way.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Mystery Solved
Ephesians 3:1-6
The key word in this passage is mystery. The mystery is not a puzzle to be figured out our a problem to be solved (like a mystery novel) but indicates that the truth that Paul shares in this passage, hidden to past generations, is revealed in Christ but still beyond our ability to fully comprehend and explain it. The mysterious truth revealed in this passage is that the Gentiles and the Jews are co-heirs, belong to the same body and share together in the promise of God. Again, this union is in Christ.
I don't think we, as western Christians, fully understand the impact of this mystery. I feel like I've always been a part of the body and a "sharer" of the promise ofGod. I can trace my spiritual heritage through generations (actually, I can't because I don't know it much beyond my great-grandparents but I know that I could if I did the work to dig into my family's history). It's almost like we've flipped it: Gentiles are in and Jew are out. In Paul's day, this mystery would have blown the minds of the Jews and those who understood anything of the Jewish religion. Gentiles were clearly outside of the promises given to the Jews but now, through Jesus, they have free and equal access to the blessing and promises.
This clearly speaks of God's grace. The Gentiles did nothing to earn their way to the "inside". God granted them access through the death and resurrection of Jesus. No wonder the Judaizers (Jewish Christians who tried to impose the ceremonial law on Gentile Christians) tried to keep the barriers up! It wasn't fair that these dirty barbarians got equal access without doing any of the work that the Jews had done for centuries (at least in their eyes): carefully keeping the laws and observing the ceremonial feasts and holidays, etc.
It's human nature: once I'm in I want the club to be elite and so I work hard to create rules and barriers to keep others out. The question that the Scripture is asking me this morning is: who am I working to keep outside the promises of God? Are their individuals? Are there whole people groups?
God, please let me be a conduit of your grace and not a dam that keeps it from flowing to the people who need it. Help me to remove barriers to your promises and not erect obstacles that would prevent people from becoming your children, just as I have.
The key word in this passage is mystery. The mystery is not a puzzle to be figured out our a problem to be solved (like a mystery novel) but indicates that the truth that Paul shares in this passage, hidden to past generations, is revealed in Christ but still beyond our ability to fully comprehend and explain it. The mysterious truth revealed in this passage is that the Gentiles and the Jews are co-heirs, belong to the same body and share together in the promise of God. Again, this union is in Christ.
I don't think we, as western Christians, fully understand the impact of this mystery. I feel like I've always been a part of the body and a "sharer" of the promise ofGod. I can trace my spiritual heritage through generations (actually, I can't because I don't know it much beyond my great-grandparents but I know that I could if I did the work to dig into my family's history). It's almost like we've flipped it: Gentiles are in and Jew are out. In Paul's day, this mystery would have blown the minds of the Jews and those who understood anything of the Jewish religion. Gentiles were clearly outside of the promises given to the Jews but now, through Jesus, they have free and equal access to the blessing and promises.
This clearly speaks of God's grace. The Gentiles did nothing to earn their way to the "inside". God granted them access through the death and resurrection of Jesus. No wonder the Judaizers (Jewish Christians who tried to impose the ceremonial law on Gentile Christians) tried to keep the barriers up! It wasn't fair that these dirty barbarians got equal access without doing any of the work that the Jews had done for centuries (at least in their eyes): carefully keeping the laws and observing the ceremonial feasts and holidays, etc.
It's human nature: once I'm in I want the club to be elite and so I work hard to create rules and barriers to keep others out. The question that the Scripture is asking me this morning is: who am I working to keep outside the promises of God? Are their individuals? Are there whole people groups?
God, please let me be a conduit of your grace and not a dam that keeps it from flowing to the people who need it. Help me to remove barriers to your promises and not erect obstacles that would prevent people from becoming your children, just as I have.
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