3. Ever hear that phrase?
•Know where it comes from?
•The Bible!
•Your body is only the temporary container for
that inner person– the real you
•How ‘bout this one– ‘Beauty is only skin deep’?
•I’m not against looking good on the outside,
but the “inner man” is what counts
4. Paul’s greatest prayer…
•That’s how this passage is remem-
bered
•As he explained about the riches, goodness, grace,
and mercy of Christ, he got so excited he burst
into a spontaneous praise, adoration, and prayer
to God the Father
•Considered one of the greatest prayers of apostle
Paul that takes us to the heart of God, which is
rich toward us beyond our ability to grasp!
5. 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the
Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven
and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would
grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with power through His
Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may
dwell in your hearts through faith; and that
you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may
be able to comprehend with all the saints what
is the breadth and length and height and
6. depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which
surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up
to all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more
abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us,
21 to Him be the glory in the church and in
Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.
Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21, NASB
7. A. Prelude
•Vs 14-15– what prompted this
prayer? The awesomeness of
God’s Mysterious plan to unite
Jew and Gentile as equal Believers
in Himself!!
•Note Paul’s prayer posture…
•Typically Jews do not pray this way; only in
deep adoration, submission, and urgency
8. A. Prelude
•Prayer posture doesn’t really matter, heart
posture does…
•That we bow our hearts and wills
to the Lord and ask for our needs
is the vital matter
•Contrary to what the lost would
like to believe, we are NOT all
children of God by birth
9. A. Prelude
• Instead, we are children of disobedience and wrath by
natural birth
• As Creator, God is the Father of each
man; but as Savior, He is only the Father of
those who believe, repent and
receive Him
• There is no such thing in Scripture as the
universal fatherhood of God
that saves all men; Man must be born
again!
• Paul basically prayed 4 things for us:
10. 1. Strength with Power of His Spirit
•Vs 16-17a; Ever wonder what the “Riches of His
Glory” means? Me too—
•It is “everything in God that shows Him to be
glorious; the proper object of ado-
ration”
•Paul prays that God would deal with
His people according to that abun-
dance of grace and power, which con-
stitutes His glory and makes Him the
Source of all things good, to His
creatures
11. 1. Strength with Power of His Spirit
•This is important– get this:
•Presence of the H.S. in life is evidence of
salvation
•But Power of the Spirit is enabling
Christian living!
•Working for Jesus is awesome! But
working by my own power is burn-
out!
12. 1. Strength with Power of His Spirit
•Don’t miss this one either; two words in this
verse: “According to”
•It did not say “Out of” the riches of
His Glory”
•It said, “According to” the riches…
•Get it?
•I want a proportion, not just a portion!!
13. 2. Rooted and Grounded in Love
•V 17b, like a tree planted by the water
14. “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the
counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path
of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in
His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall
be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose
leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he
does shall prosper.”
Psalm 1:1-3, NASB
15. 2. Rooted and Grounded in Love
•V 17b, like a tree planted by the water
•Like that tree, a life rooted in Christ ’s
love also feeds and shelters others -
and it, too, is firmly planted and refreshed
constantly by God’s love for us
•‘Grounded’ has the same idea, but with
building the very foundation of
our lives in Christ should be love
16. 3. Comprehending Vastness of His Love
•Vs 18-19a, Get that? The Paradox?
•We’ll probably spend eternity on it
•Here’s what we can do though:
•Continually remember all He has
done for us, in us, and through us
•We can learn to see all our brothers in
Christ through “Jesus” eyes…
17. 4. Filling with God’s Fullness
•V 19-b, If you are born-again believer,compare
yourself before Christ and now. You were
hopeless, guilt-ridden, hell-
bound and isolated
•Now you have the Bread of life,
the Living Water, and the
resurrection power of the HS
•But if you’re still un-re-born…
18. The Benediction…
• Vs 20-21, God’s greatness over-
whelmed Paul, as us today
• So he turned his eyes and ours from
ourselves to the One who deserves our
worship and all the glory
• As the heavens are higher and greater
than the earth beyond our wildest
imagining, our God is greater than
the heavens. Yet He chose to work through us, His
church to bring about His new, redeemed society of
His divine love
19. Take Home…
•Unless we yield ourselves obe-
diently to the H.S.’ teachings &
guidance through His Word, we
cannot step into the fullness of
God’s love
•Evidence/Enabling
•Portion/Proportion
