10/22/17-Eph. 3:14-21-In Christ: His Love In You

This prayer from Paul speaks to our hearts to draw us close, close to God for worship. And not only to worship but also to an endgame, a conclusion.

 

We looked at the statement, “He became what we are, so that we could become what He is”. The first half (“He became what we are”) fits nicely with the first half of Eph.

 

Today we start the second half of that saying (“so we could become what He is”). Being “in Christ” is the main point of the book of Ephesians. Being “permeated with His grace” is all throughout the book.

 

Grace is how “we become what He is”. V. 14-Paul is not only praying for the Christians in his day, but he is also praying for us as well!

 

v. 15-To understand the power behind these words, we must go back. In Genesis, it says that God made humans in His image. In this sense, God is a father to all people, not just in a creative sense, but a loving sense.

 

We see and know that we are broken by sin, YET God’s grace is constantly drawing humanity close to Him that we would accept His offer.

 

Humanity, in our brokenness, may have rejected God as their adopted Father, but Jesus the Son of God had a special relationship with Him that He now invites us believers to accept, and to show others that God is our true Father, the one who loves and cares for us.

 

To show that instead of belonging to that evil kingdom, that instead humanity was created for their true Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.

 

In Jesus Christ we see a new Adam. In Him, we see what humanity was designed to be. In Him we are a new people, with one Father whom we do recognize.

 

v. 16-17-Paul wants us to know Jesus personally, to not just know about Him but to know Him. Paul prays that we would know that power, and that power comes from accepting God’s grace, not our own moral effort or good works.

 

It comes from accepting the humble truth that are not, by nature, good or moral. It comes by saying to Jesus, “I give up! I need you, here to dwell in my heart, take over me”

 

That scares us. We want to have it both ways. We desire to be happy and joyful, but we still want to be in charge of our own lives, but we can’t have both. It is because we were made for Him.

 

If we were made for that purpose, we can’t hang on to our own way. We don’t want to surrender our will, but without doing that, we won’t experience true life.

 

That transaction of grace where we trade our sins for His grace won’t become real in our lives. Jesus says, “if you seek life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life (give it to me), you will find it”.

 

We will find true life, life as it was meant to be lived: full, joy-filled, grace-abounding.

 

Paul not only means grace as a one-time divine trade, but also grace as a daily reality. Grace is a way of life, and it must be daily lived out or else we won’t see lasting change in our lives because God will remain distant.

 

Grace not only guarantees our salvation, but it is the source of power to help us live righteous lives. It is that “new heart of flesh” that Jeremiah talks about.

 

When we accept His grace and surrender, Christ dwells in our hearts and He gives us an unlimited supply of grace. Don’t ever underestimate the power of grace to change you or anyone else! For Paul, grace is a reality that must be lived out.

 

God is our Father, the Holy Spirit gives us power, and Christ dwells in our hearts (notice the Trinity reference?)

 

v.17-19-Paul talks about being rooted in love, God’s love, and coming together as a body. Christianity is deeply personal, but not private, and we must living it out among each other.

 

Finally, Paul prays for us to be filled to the measure with the fullness of God. This is the purpose of a Christian: To be filled with Christ and look so much like Him in our lives that we others see us, they will see Jesus,

 

“Deification”-Means through being in Christ, and He in us, just as He became what we are (fully human), so we could become what He is (perfect).

 

Through Christ, we become by grace what God is by nature. We become like Him! This is our purpose, and it is the Father’s joy to give this to us.

 

If we believe this, then we will behave like it. A simple prayer goes, “Lord, more of you and less of me”. As we grow in Him, everything not godly will be gone, and everything touched by sin will not be touched by grace.

 

Through daily walking with Christ, grace interpenetrates us. We start to take on properties of God: holiness, love, justice, mercy, and peace.

 

God is our Father who created us and all humans. Paul wants us to know the purpose of that creation and its endgame, to know and live out God’s grace and love daily because Christ is in control of our lives, so that one day just as He became what we are, so we may become what He is!