Our lectionary text on the final Sunday of this “Who We Are” sermon series is Ephesians 3:14-21. In the first phrase of our upcoming text, Paul, the author of Ephesians, writes, “When I think of all of this…”
You may wonder what Paul means by “this.”
I did!
In this post, I am including what Paul references here with "this," which is the first half of chapter 3. I’m sharing the first half of chapter 3 ahead of our lectionary text so that you, like me, get where Paul is coming from when he begins a prayer for us in verse 16.
Our focus verse moving into Sunday, the 28th, is verse 16. I want to pop that out for you now so that you can begin to build for yourselves where the sermon will go. Here is verse 16. “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.”
This single verse is a powerful source for an entire sermon. This single verse is also a powerful source for our lives each day!
I have been working toward this July 28th sermon since the sermon series began. I have revealed stories of how I am to inspire stories of who you are. This Sunday, I get to the greatest story I am living, which is being a single dad of six children. This isn’t a Sunday about me, oh no. This is our Sunday about verse 16 and the glorious, unlimited resources God provides each of us through the strength of His Spirit.
I repeat. Our text this Sunday begins with Ephesians 3:14. We start this scripture intro with Ephesians 3:1.
God’s Mysterious Plan Revealed
3 When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles[a] . . . 2 assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. 3 As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. 4 As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. 5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.
6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.[b] 7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone[c] this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Because of Christ and our faith in him,[d] we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. 13 So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.
Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth
14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,[e] 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.[f] 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Footnotes
3:1 Paul resumes this thought in verse 14: “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father.”
3:6 Or because they are united with Christ Jesus.
3:9 Some manuscripts do not include to everyone.
3:12 Or Because of Christ’s faithfulness.
3:14 Some manuscripts read the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3:15 Or from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.
PRAYER:
Dear Lord,
Like Paul, we have all felt like prisoners of some kind in our lives. Prisoners of sin, of grief, of remorse, of unhealthy thinking or unhealthy habits… our list can go on.
But there is an interception course in this text and this sermon series. You are helping us see who we are, and we are a people who receive Paul’s prayer. We are a people who receive Your glorious, unlimited resources.
Hello, awesome!
May these resources show as we prepare for worship of You this Sunday.
Amen.