Ephesians 3:13-21
My Father-in-law just retired from his job of 23 years on Friday. 50 years of work. He sacrificed so much to follow God and care for his family. He would have done whatever he had to for his family – which is an example that I am incredibly thankful for. Paul did the same for the churches he planted. He was in prison and had no control – even over his own life! But, like my father-in-law, Paul wasn’t concerned about the difficulty or suffering; only service.
Paul willingly went through all that suffering so that we get Jesus. That’s it – really. We. Get. Jesus. Remember the multi-ethnic early church goers are hearing this (v15) and what the power of unity in diversity can accomplish – the world tears apart, Christ pulls together. Thus is also a huge battle today. Jesus is for All. Of. Us! Paul “bowed his knees” for us to be unified in Christ as we face the evils of the enemy. He went through all that suffering for us to have what we need to stand against the devil.
Power to Live in Faith
As Paul begins the transition to the “action” section of his letter, he sums up the need for the Ephesian believers to gain power from the knowledge of their identity in Christ. Knowing who we really are is the key to accessing the power God gives.
A lot of Christian counseling uses Ephesians 1 as a scriptural basis to help people fight back against negative thoughts. If you’re like me and have a tendency to beat yourself up over mistakes, then you know what I am talking about. Only by leaning on what we know from God can we counter the negative influences that we hear from this world. Replacing the lies of the enemy with the truth of God is a huge step in relying on the power that comes with faith, which gives us the ability to stand against the enemy. With that, we can begin to root ourselves in God’s grace by rooting ourselves in the love of God.
Strength to Comprehend His Love
In battle, footing is everything. Your balance – the power to stay on your feet – can easily mean the difference between life and death. God wants us to be firmly planted in His love; but to have that, we can’t just academically accept God’s love for us – it must go deeper than head knowledge.
Consider Passion of the Christ. It’s such an incredible, but almost unwatchable movie. Seeing Jesus in HD receive those lashings scars my eyes – yet sometimes we need that reminder of His love that goes well beyond knowledge and into deep, rich, and painful emotions. Feeling that love on an emotional level helps to solidify our footing in His love so that we can stand up in this battle. And strength to stand in and hold on is necessary. So also is the courage to let go.
Courage to Live in the Fullness of God
The best thing to do when you lose control of your car on ice is to let go. I’ve been in that position and as I remember sliding downhill in that car, the scariest thing to do is let go, yet that’s exactly what I had to do to let the car right itself. We will see this in more detail in ch. 5 as Paul talks about the evils of getting drunk, yet flipped here. You see, the fullness of God means that it is Him fully in us – thus in control. Our decisions, our days, our actions are to be given over to Him and for us to take a back seat, letting Jesus in the driver’s seat of our lives. That’s a scary thing to do! But when the New Testament refers to the idea of filling of the Spirit or fullness, it refers to this kind of living – being a passenger in your life while God drives.
Next Steps
When we are fully empowered in Christ, amazing things will happen! Things we could never ask for or imagine. Share a tribute to old house and how much of a blessing it was for you and ministry. Paul wants his readers living in the realm of the unimaginable! Here are a few steps to move towards that life.
- Memorize verses from Eph 1 to help remember who you are (example)
- Allow emotion – don’t make faith only about facts and rules; watch Passion of the Christ if you need help with that.
- Pray that you would let go of control and allow God to stretch your boundaries – which will lead to opportunities to trust Him.
Remember all of the amazing things God has done in your life. Now imagine what He could do – dream a bit. Let your imagination run wild. Now trust that God will go way beyond that and trust that your life – no matter who you are or what you are dealing with – can be a story of untold power in God to light this world!
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