The following is an adaptation of my Sunday morning sermon on Nov. 20.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 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, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
Paul begins by praying that his readers may be strengthened in our inner being with power through His Spirit. Let’s pray that for each other! Then Paul prays that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. The Greek for dwell doesn’t mean just passing through, but rather refers to permanent residence. Is Jesus a permanent resident in our hearts?
A pastor was preaching on this passage, and in the middle of her sermon she noticed a typo, as I often do. Instead of typing that Christ may dwell, she typed that Christ may swell in their hearts by faith.
She soon realized that was more right than wrong. Faith allows Christ’s presence to swell and take over a larger and larger place in each of our hearts. Maybe it wasn’t a typo after all.
In verse 17, being rooted refers to having a strong foundation, as a tree with very deep roots. Are we deeply rooted in Christ? It doesn’t mean that we will be immune from bad things happening. It does mean that if we are rooted and grounded in Jesus that we will know that He is with us and will give us strength, no matter what comes our way.
In verses 18 and 19, we see that Paul’s desire was for the Ephesians (and us) to somehow grasp how much we are loved by Christ. Paul wants his readers to know what surpasses knowledge. Perhaps we can’t intellectually comprehend the love of Christ for us, but we can experience it.
To illustrate, I co-direct camp for adults with special needs at Sky Lake for a week every summer. I will never forget what happened several years ago when one camper came forward for Communion on the last day of camp. As I handed him a piece of bread, I said, “Richard, this is for you because Jesus loves you, big time.”
He looked up and said, “Jesus loves me?”
“Yes, Richard. Jesus loves you!”
Smiling from ear to ear, he repeated, “Jesus loves me!”
For the first time in his life, even though he had heard it many times, Richard finally knew that Jesus loves him. What a blessing and privilege it was to be able to be an instrument that God used to show Richard that blessed truth! We can’t comprehend with our minds the vastness of Christ’s love, but we can experience it. Richard did.
Paul’s prayer included a desire for the Ephesians to be filled with all the fullness of God. We can be easily crushed by the pressures that surround us in life, but it’s harder to be crushed when we are filled with the fullness of God through daily devotions of prayer and scripture reading, attending worship regularly, participating in Bible study, etc.
Paul’s prayer concluded with reminding us that God is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine. Can you get your mind around that? Neither can I. I need to dream bigger. How about you?
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