06/29/14 DEPOSITED TO YOUR ACCOUNT

06/29/14 DEPOSITED TO YOUR ACCOUNT

This has always been one of my favorite passages. It is a prayer Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus, and is the promise of God to us. Take just a moment to read it, or a little longer to meditate on it and allow it to transform you.

Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

DLG notes...
THE POSTURE OF PRAYER...
Verse 14 "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
In humility, praying on bowed knees to the Father, aware of His great glory.
By faith, praying in boldness, aware of His great grace (He. 4:16).

THE PARTIES IN PRAYER...
Verse 15 "Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,"DLG notes...
Prayer is the communication within God's family, which originates with our heavenly FATHER , is conveyed by the HOLY SPIRIT, reverberates in HIS CHILDREN, is offered in the name of HIS SON and presented back to the FATHER. Since it begins with God, it must be according to His will. This is one reason it is important to have the mind of Christ; so that we will know how to pray. Since we are still weak and finite, God's Holy Spirit will guide us in our prayers.

THE PETITIONS OF THIS PRAYER...
1st Petition...
Verse 16 "God grant you to be strengthened with might by His Spirit."DLG notes...
God wants to give all of us the strength and miraculous power we need, at all times, which is drawn from the immeasurable abundance of power that flows from the Person of the Holy Spirit, so that our inner man is more than adequately supplied for whatever situation we face.

2nd Petition...
Verse 17 "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,"DLG notes...
Christ entered our hearts by faith, and He continues to abide, take up residence, in response to our faith. As a loving and faithful husband remains with a faithful wife, Christ remains with a faithful believer. Our relationship with God is based on a continuing and living faith (Ga. 3:26, Ja. 2:26).

It is essential that we have a continuing faith that results in being "rooted and grounded" in love. Remember, the purpose of our trials is to perfect us (Ja. 1:3-4), so that we, "love from a pure heart" (1 Tm. 1:5).

There is nothing more fundamental, or more sublime than LOVE. God is love. It is His love that prompted the sacrifice of His Son and the salvation of sinners. It is love that is the fulfilling of the law. It is love that proves our discipleship and faithfulness. It is perfect love that conforms us to the image of God. To lack love is to lack strength, stability, soundness. Knowledge is good, wisdom is good, hope is good, faith is good, but the greatest is love. If we are not rooted and grounded in love, we will fail. We can be filled with love, only as we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 2:6-7
(6) As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
(7) Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Jude 1:20-21
(20) But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
(21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.DLG notes...
The imagery of the agricultural term, "rooted" communicates a living, growing, reproducing plant, that draws life and nourishment through its root system. "Rooted" also implies secure stability. All of these ideas can be found in passages that use this imagery.

The imagery of the architectural term, "grounded" ("founded," in Greek), reminds us that Jesus is the foundation upon which the Church is built. Ephesians also points out that Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone and the (writings of) the apostles and prophets are our foundation. As the foundation is set, so goes the superstructure. As long as the superstructure maintains the integrity of the foundation, the superstructure is safe.

Luke 8:13 tells us that people who receive the word of Christ with joy, but do not set out roots, will believe for awhile, but will fall away in time of trouble.

3rd Petition...
Verse 18 "That you may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;"DLG notes...
In the Greek, Paul is praying that we "may be made strong enough to grasp the breadth, and length, and depth, and height." Our inner man needs the empowering and enabling of the Holy Spirit to lay hold of Divine concepts.

This part of the petition includes all believers, actual, active believers. While God only gives certain gifts to specific people, He makes all of the Fruit of the Spirit available to all who follow Him fully and delivers them from all sin, as they walk in the light. God gives us everything that pertains to life and godliness in this present, evil world. The hunger for, and the fullness of faith, grace and love are signs of spiritual life. To be alive in Christ is to be growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

4th Petition...
Verse 19 "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,..."DLG notes...
God wants us to "know the love of Christ" experientially, not just intellectually. But what an interesting way to state it! To know it, though it passes knowledge. Faith not only takes us to the level of knowing, it takes us to the level of knowing that which is beyond knowing. It brings to mind the verse, "Joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Pe. 1:8). It is the joy of "sitting together in heavenly places" and eating and drinking from a table that cannot be seen. It is being so enormously blessed that time and food and pain and sorrow fade into nothingness. It is but a glimpse of heaven.

5th Petition...
Verse 19 "...that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."DLG notes...
And to think, this is the path to being "filled with all the fulness of God." When we get saved, we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives. When we get sanctified, we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit into our lives. When we get times of refreshing, we receive refillings (to overflowing) of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Christian life is a journey from glory to glory, from faith to faith, from grace to grace, from strength to strength. As we grow in grace and knowledge, so our capacity for the fullness of God grows.