Ephesians 3:18-21b

SPEAKER 01 : 0:07

Welcome to Expository Truths, where we exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with Dr. John Kyle, pastor of Faith Community Church in Vacaville. As Christians, we’re called to know the truth and be able to proclaim it. We can know truth when we know the Word of God, which is precise, without error, and powerful and effective for both salvation and spiritual growth. Enjoy digging deeply with Dr. Kyle as he takes us verse by verse through the powerful book of Ephesians, giving us a marvelous summary of the good news of Christ and its implications for our daily lives.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:44

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 3, verses 18 through 21. Ephesians 3, 18-21. The letter of Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians living in the city of Ephesus. Paul wrote this while he was under house arrest in Rome, and he wrote it to lay a proper doctrinal foundation for these believers, chapters 1-3, so they could then live out those doctrines for the glory of God, chapters 4-6. If you remember, Paul began by giving praise to God. He then gave a great prayer for the Ephesians, and then he went on and he reminded the readers of what they once were before Christ rescued them, so they would then be captivated by Christ and what He has done for them in saving them from the eternal wages of their sin. The call now is to respond accordingly. We now find Paul giving another wonderful prayer for these Ephesian Christians. And we looked at the first part of that prayer last week, where Paul prayed three things for these believers. That they would be strengthened with might. That’s a great prayer. That Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith. Great prayer. And that they would be rooted and grounded in love. A great prayer. We ended really in the middle of a thought. And verse 18 picks up with that thought. Let’s look at that. Verse 18. That you may be able to comprehend with all the saints… What is the width and length and depth and height? To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. That you may be filled with all the fullness of God. We’re going to stop here for now. And here we see two more things that Paul prayed for. First, Paul prayed that they would be able to comprehend the love of God. Oh, is that all? Think about that. It’s very interesting because this is a partial sentence. That you, being rooted and grounded in love… may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and the length and the depth and the height, and then the thought seems to end there. However, the mention of love in verse 17, and then the mention of love in verse 19, sets the context of what Paul wants these believers to comprehend, the love of God. Or as verse 19 says, the love of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge. So let’s try to get a better grasp on God’s love. The love of God, His love for us, His children. And note that this is good for us to do. This is very important for us to do. I mean, we do well to think deeply about this. As Martin Lloyd-Jones noted, it’s not surprising that the apostles should pray so earnestly that these Ephesians might know this, because this changes your entire outlook when you tend to feel depressed. when you’re tempted to doubt whether there is any future for the church, seeing all the chaos that’s going on in our world. The answer is to look at the breadth of Christ’s love. Because once you begin to realize the breadth of His love, you will lift up your head again. Your heart will begin to sing once more. And you will realize that you have the precious privilege of being one humble member in a mighty army. See? One member in this thronging multitude who will spend their eternity in the presence of the Lamb of God and enjoy Him forever. Oh, the breadth of His love. That’s absolutely correct. Okay, so there’s that. What about the length of His love? The length of His love conveys the endless character of the love of Christ. We read in Jeremiah 31.3 about the everlasting love of God, and that thought alone should mess with our heads a little bit. The everlasting love. Love of God for us. I mean, come on. Have you ever really thought about the eternity of Christ’s love towards you, His child, and towards all the saints? Everlasting means that God’s love for us, His children, is something that began in eternity. It was always there. Mind blown? Right? Think about this. Before time, before the world and man was ever created, look, an agreement was made between God the Father and God the Son. It was an agreement concerning us, concerning the salvation of everyone who would be saved. See, everything was known about what was going to happen before anything was ever created, including sin and the fall of man. And so Jesus, God the Son, entered into an agreement with His Father that He would save and redeem His people, us, all who would believe. How? How? God the Son would leave glory and come here. He would take on human flesh. He would live a perfect life. He would die on the cross in the believer’s place as our substitute for sin. And then He would rise up from the dead three days later, proving that what He would do on the cross would be a reality. What would that be? He will die and pay the full wages of the sin of every true believer in human history so they could then be forgiven of all that sin that condemns them to eternity in hell. He will face God’s wrath on the cross in the believer’s place so that the believer can instead be showered with grace and mercy and saving love. This means absolutely everything for us in Christ today. But oh, what a cost to Him. What a plan. God the Son, think of this, doing this for us. That’s the plan. Talk about love. He set His heart on us and His affections rested upon us in eternity past. So is the length of His love toward us before time. Before time. But even more, look, it began in eternity and it continues on in time. We’re experiencing His love right now. And then it continues on throughout eternity future. See, this length is an unbroken line. It doesn’t suddenly cease and then start up again. No, it’s an unchanging love. It’s a love that never gives up or lets us go. It’s a love that never falters. As God says to His own, I will never leave you. nor forsake you. If He’s set His heart and His affection upon you, then guess what? It’s going to remain there. Nothing will ever be able to pluck you out of His hand. Nothing will ever rob you of that love, the incredible love of God. Nothing. One said, if hell be let loose, if everything goes against you, nothing will ever cause Him to let you go. It’s incredible. Okay, but what about the depths of His love for us? You want to see how deep God’s love for you goes? How about this? Philippians 2 tells us Jesus humbled himself to the lowest degree to save us. Think about the depths of his love for you as he entered into a virgin’s womb. As he took on to himself a human nature and as he came and lived as a man in a sin-stained world. Think about that. We know about the poverty and the lowliness of the home into which he was born. We know that He felt everything that we feel as human beings minus sin. He felt pain. He felt hunger. He got bruises. He bled. He got calloused feet. He had to work. And all the while, He was the eternal Son of God. And then think about how much He suffered to save us. All the hatred and the malice and the spite. Think of men laying cruel hands on Him and arresting Him and trying Him, mocking Him, jeering at Him and spitting into His most holy face. Think of cruel men condemning Him to death and then scourging Him. Look at Him suffering under the weight of the heavy cross on His way to Golgotha. Look at Him as He’s nailed upon that cross and listen to His expressions of agony at the thirst He endured and at the pain He suffered. And then, think of the terrible moment when our sins were laid upon Him. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? The agony! He died a brutal, gory, painful, horrible death. And then He was buried and laid down in a grave. He, God the Son, the author of life, the creator of everything, He lies dead in a grave. Why? Why did He do this? Because of His love for us. Because of His love for you and me. Because He loved us. Such is the depths of His love. Okay, but how high does His love for me go as His child? How about this? He not only loved us enough to die for us and to save us, but look, He desires that we should be with Him forever in glory. And that we should see something of that glory which He has shared with the Father from all eternity. He isn’t satisfied with purchasing our forgiveness and delivering us from the pollution of this sinful world, as amazing as that is, but He wants us to be there with Him in heaven and to spend our eternity there with Him. Thus, we see the incredible love of God. He loves us. He wants us. He died for us. He gives Himself to us to help us, His Spirit, right? So that we won’t fall short of glory with Him. Oh, what lengths He went through to save us. so is the love of God, the intense love of God for you, his child. All right, second, Paul prayed that they would be filled with the fullness of God, the end of verse 19. Look, that, or in order that, which means that as we grow in our understanding of God’s great love for us, that that will then lead to us being filled with the fullness of God. This too is mind-blowing. That the eternal God, the almighty God, the creator God, the sustainer God, the God of the universe, the God who made everything, the God who fills all of it, He can fill me. And look, not just part of Him, but He can fill me in His totality. And look, every Christian already has God the Spirit indwelling them, right? The Bible is very clear about that. Not a part of Him, but all of Him. God, the Spirit of God, lives in us. But later on in Ephesians 5.18, Paul will say, don’t be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. And the call there is to be continually filled to the brim with the Spirit, which is something that isn’t always the case with believers, thus this command. Sadly, many Christians are content with being half-filled. Again, He’s all there, all of Him, God the Spirit, is in us, but we push Him down by sin and by mediocrity. One said, positionally, we are complete in Him, but practically, we enjoy only the grace that we apprehend by faith, and many Christians don’t apprehend it. Why not? Why are so many Christians not filled with all the fullness of God? Well, clearly, because they don’t really understand the love of Christ. Because understanding the love of Christ more and more leads to us being filled with all the fullness of God. Think about this. A young man has just fallen… Deeply into love. And he’s all in. He’s head over heels. Because of that, he doesn’t regard spending time with his new love as a difficult duty. No. It’s not a burden to him to spend time with her anymore in any way. He doesn’t think, I really need to spend time with her today so she’ll stop bugging me. No, he doesn’t think that. But instead, he can’t wait to see her. He can’t wait to spend time with her because he’s motivated and he’s captivated by love. And so he rearranges everything else in his schedule to make time to be with her. In fact, his love for her has greatly affected how he lives. I mean, he now has gel in his hair because she likes it that way. He now wears Hawaiian shirts because she likes Hawaiian shirts. He now eats sushi because she likes sushi. See, love changes everything. Same is true for us in Christ. Here we find love. That it’s God’s love for us and our understanding of the depths of it that change and affect us. Here’s a thought. He loves me that much? Me? He loves me that much. Nothing else matters in light of this saving and eternal love of God. And now, He’s so very precious to me that He’s the only one who can truly satisfy me. I mean, now I’ve got a glimpse of Him. Compared to Him, everything else is rubbish. This love then leads to us glorifying Him, to reading and studying His Word, which alone is truth, to prayer, to fighting and hating sin, to Him dominating our lives more and more. So because of His love for me, which I am continuing to understand day by day by day, all the lesser things seem to fade away, and He is what dominates my heart more and more, and my mind, my aim, my affections, my life, see? In one sense… Being filled with all the fullness of God will only be truly attained in glory, right? But Christians still make this their aim day by day because all we want is more of Him when we really see His love for us. More. That’s the aim of the heart that’s captivated by His love. More. And that’s when we see His power more fully in our lives. Henry Ironside wrote, The secret of holiness is a heart occupation with Christ. As we gaze upon Him, we become like Him. Do you want to become like Christ? Then let the loveliness of the risen Lord so fill the vision of your soul that all else is shut out. Then the things of the flesh will shrivel up and disappear, and the things of the Spirit will become supreme in your life. This is the only way whereby we may be delivered from the power of the flesh and the principles of this world. Another said it like this, Love for Christ drives out love for the things of the world. Our love for Christ must first spring from an awareness of His love for us. That’s right. So, it’s God’s love for us to realize more and more and more that cures the mediocrity and the powerlessness of so many Christians around us. And that then fuels God’s fullness and power for the God-honoring life that He’s called us to live. So, how about this? Pray this prayer. that we will continually understand God’s love for us so that we can then be filled with all the fullness of God and all that other stuff will fade away more and more day by day until He takes us to glory. Lord, help us to be so captivated by His love that everything else just falls by the wayside because guess what? It should. It should. Paul then moves on in this prayer and he gives us two praises. Let’s look. Verse 20. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. What a prayer. What a prayer. Now to Him who is able, and guess what? He is able. The word able is in the present tense, which tells us that God is continually able. See, He’s not a part-time God. No, He is ever ready and able to come to our aid and to help us. And so the conclusion to this prayer begins with an acknowledgement of the omnipotent power of God. He is the all-powerful One who can accomplish surpassingly great and mighty deeds on behalf of His children. Yes, He is. He is able. The word means powerful. It refers to God’s ability to do literally above all things. But it’s not just that. but it says that he is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think. So his capability is inexhaustible, it is exceeding in measure, it is over and above, and it is more than necessary. This word describes an extraordinary degree. It involves infinitely more than what we would ever, ever have expected. Do we really believe this? I mean, do we really believe this, that God is exceedingly able? Too often, our asking and our thinking is limited and feeble. Oh, God could never save my lost child. God could never change that person. God could never forgive me for all the terrible things that I’ve done. God could never do this or God could never do that or blah, blah, blah. It’s feeble. Feeble. And instead of believing that God is able, too many Christians believe that God is unable. So they limit their asking and their own low thinking. But here we see that God’s ability to answer prayer transcends not only our spoken requests, but it far surpasses even our thoughts. And even when we think we’re asking something big from God, Even those big requests are insignificant requests compared with the power of God. Because God is able. That doesn’t always mean that it’s His will to do what we ask. Right? And it doesn’t always mean that it’s best for us for Him to do what we ask because we don’t always know that. But to not ask is just foolishness. Look, there’s no limit to what God can do. He can accomplish things through us that we never dreamed of. But as one said, not until we follow His pattern, thus the prayer. Not until we realize we have to yield to the Spirit to be strengthened in the inner man, that Christ may fill us with Himself, that we keep growing in understanding of His mighty love for us, and that we may be filled with all the fullness of God, and that the power will then flow through us. And then ask Him and believe that He indeed is able, thus this prayer. Can He use someone like you? Can He use someone like you? Can He? Can He forgive you? Can He save your lost child? Can God help you forgive that person who hurt you? Can He change your loved one from the inside out and make him new? Can He use us to change the world? Can He help you to overcome that sin? Can He answer that prayer? What’s the answer? Absolutely he can. So ask and then trust him to do what’s best with the rest of it. But at the very least, believe that he was able and then ask him to do it knowing that this doesn’t come by our own feeble power, but it comes on a power that works in us as Christians, the power of the working of the Spirit of God in our lives. Talking about real power here. That means that there’s no limit to what God can do in and through us as we yield to Him, as we pray to Him, as we grow in our understanding of His love, as we dive into His Word, as we battle sin, and as we pursue His glory in our lives. Lord, help us all to understand this great power that works in us more and more because we certainly need it. We certainly need it. The second praise that Paul ends this prayer with is this. To Him be the glory in the church. Verse 21. To Him be the glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations forever and ever. Amen. This is a great aim of the church and of every Christian who makes up the church, the glory of God. What is glory? The word glory means to give a proper opinion or estimate of something. It describes a thing that’s beautiful, impressive, or worthy of praise. The glory of God therefore expresses all that He is in His own being and in His nature, character, power, and acts. See, He is glorified when He’s allowed to be seen as He truly is. And then, when He’s acknowledged for that glory accordingly. So God is glorified when we show Him to the world His love and His mercy and His truth and His justice and His grace and so on. And then He’s glorified when we ourselves acknowledge who He is back to Himself. And look, our aim in life is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, which we will. And so our call here is to please Him, to honor Him, to obey Him, to show Him to the world, to be like Him, to glorify Him in our own lives and in our church. That’s it. That’s our aim. That’s our aim. May that be true of each one of us here more and more. And may that be true of this church in growing measure more and more. Think of this. The chief aim of God is to glorify Himself. What could be better than that? That’s the end all right there. That reality makes it all the more incredible that he would choose to use redeemed sinners to be his lights as windows of his glory in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation. But that’s exactly what he does. Lord, help us to do it well. Look, our church and you as an individual Christian, you’re a living advertisement for God. When people look at you, do they say, wow, God is good. God is powerful. God changes things. God is able. God makes all things new. God is true. God is just. God is loving. God is a glorious God. Or do they say, wow, God’s a hypocrite. God is unable. God is mediocre. God is angry and bitter and unforgiving. God is not all that glorious. See? We display God to the world. Do they see His glory or do they see something else when they see us? Note this. Note that we’re able to glorify God because of Christ who rescued us and gave us life. And then look, the glory is to continue to all generations forever and ever. Amen. That speaks of a period that’s made up of a series of ages through unending cycles of eons where glory is to be ascribed to God. Eons and eons. This tells us that the obligation to glorify God lasts throughout eternity. And look, the glorified church will ever delight in rendering praise as is most due Him. We will glorify Him throughout eternity and it will bring us joy beyond measure when we do that because He’s the source of all true joy and of everything that’s truly good. See, we find our greatest joy in life when we are glorifying the God who loves us and who we love back. So how about making this your aim right now? I mean, that’s true wisdom. Do you want to be truly happy? Do you want to be truly joyful, satisfied? And do you want to experience true love, peace, and everything else that’s truly good? Then glorify God with your life. All else leads to misery in the end. So pray this prayer for yourself. Pray this prayer for each other. Pray this prayer for me, please. And may that thing that we pray for become our reality more and more for the glory of God. Let me close with this illustration that I read from John MacArthur this last week. He said this, One of Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman’s meetings was being held and a man gave a remarkable testimony. He said, I got off the Pennsylvania Depot as a homeless man. For years, I begged on the streets for a living. One day, I touched a man on the shoulder and I said, Hey, mister, can you give me a dime? As soon as I saw his face, I was shocked to see that it was my own father. I said, Father, Father, do you know me? Throwing his arms around me with tears, he said, Oh my son, I’ve found you, I’ve found you. A dime. Son, all that I have is yours. How good is that? The man then said, Think of that. I was homeless and I stood begging before my own father for ten cents when for eighteen years he had been looking for me to give me all that he was worth. MacArthur concludes with this, Don’t ask your heavenly father for a dime. Take all that He’s got for you. Don’t live as a beggar on a pittance when the resources are there to live as a child of the God of glory. Amen? It’s absolutely right. He is able. And look, He loves you more than you could ever think or imagine. So let that catapult you forward as you seek to give Him the glory in your life, which brings true joy back to us.

SPEAKER 01 : 24:48

Thanks for joining us for today’s exposition from the book of Ephesians on expository truths with Dr. John Kyle. Continue on with us next week at this same time. And to find this sermon in its entirety as well as other sermons, visit vacavillefaith.org. Faith Community Church seeks to exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the Scriptures with a commitment to glorifying God through the pure, deep, and reaching message of the Gospel through faithful exposition. Pastor John is the preaching pastor at Faith Community Church of Vacaville, a seminary professor and a trainer of preaching pastors overseas. Join Faith Community Church for worship Sundays at 9 and 1045 a.m. Located at 192 Bella Vista Road, Suite A in Vacaville. To learn more, visit vacavillefaith.org or call 707-451-2026. That’s vacavillefaith.org.