Well, let's turn to God's Word
once again in that chapter that we read, Ephesians chapter 3,
and directing you to the last two verses. I'm sure familiar
words, maybe we often would remember these words and try to plead
these words when we come to pray. Paul's doxology of praise 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, unto
him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end. Amen. When Christ gives instruction
to his disciples concerning the matter of prayer, They desire
that he would teach them how to pray and we have that pattern
prayer which we call the Lord's Prayer. Remember how in Matthew's
account certainly it concludes with a doxology. An anthem of praise as it were,
I mean, is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. And so, as the Lord's Prayer
closes with doxology, here we have Paul's prayer. We find many
times in the epistles that he does turn, as he were, from addressing
the churches and begins to pray for them. And that seems to be
the case here at the end of this chapter. Verse 14, to the end
he says, for this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ and then the manner of his request his prayers
follow and as I've said when we come to these last two verses
we have this doxology of praise and in the course of the prayer
he's very much been speaking and praying with regards to the
divine love. His request in verse 17, that
Christ may dwell in your heart by faith, that she being rooted
and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints
what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to
know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that she might
be filled with all the fullness of God, all the the dimensions
of that love, the experience of that love. How does God express
that love? Well, we see it really in the
person of his only begotten Son. As he says here in verse 19,
it's the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. But how that
love is there, of course, in all the persons in the Godhead,
as John says in his first epistle here, in his love. Not that we
love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. And Paul, as he speaks of the
love of Christ, asks that they may be able to comprehend with
all the saints the breadth, the length, the depth, and the height
of that divine love. It's been well observed that
we cannot know God as an absolute God. We know that God is that
one who is infinite. In other words, he's so great
that we cannot really begin to fathom Who God is? Canst thou by searching find
out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is high as heaven, deeper
than hell. What canst thou know? All the
wonder that God is, we cannot know Him surely when we think
of the mystery of the doctrine, the doctrine of God, the doctrine
of the Trinity. No man has seen God at any time.
the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, we
are told He hath revealed Him. He is the image of the invisible
God. We know that there is one God
and one Mediator. There is only one way whereby
we can approach through the Mediator Christ, the way, the truth and
the life. No man, He says, cometh unto the Father but by me. And
doesn't Paul remind us here in verse 12 that He is the one in
whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith
of Him that is by the faith of Christ Jesus our Lord and there
we need to have some experience of that love of God and yet it's
that that passeth knowledge we're taught here in verse 19 the love
of Christ which passeth knowledge and yet strangely it's something
that can be known because God is pleased to reveal it to his
people we go back to the opening chapter and his prayer there at verse
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory may
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of him God is unknowable and yet God can be known because
God is pleased to reveal himself. He has revealed himself in the
person of his only begotten son. As we said, he is God's image.
But there's also that personal revelation and certainly the
apostle Paul had experienced that, he knew that. He pleased
God, he says, to reveal his son in Mary. or there is a revelation
and doesn't Paul really express his desire with regards to these
Ephesian believers when he says that you might be filled with
all the fullness of God to be filled with all the fullness
of God and does he utter such words he then as it were cannot
but go on to express himself in the words that I read as a
text As he speaks of God, he must praise God. 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, unto
him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all
ages, worlds, without end. He speaks in here of God's power. And God's power, he says, is
an abundant power. The exceeding greatness of that
power. Exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, he says. Well, let us for a while consider
how this power is an abundant power. Again, he says as much
back in that opening chapter, chapter 1 verse 19, we have this
expression, what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us
would who believe. And the language that we have
in this epistle is so obviously the language of Paul. There's
something rather different about Paul's language. He seems to
pile words, one on top of the other, as he addresses himself,
as he seeks to tell something of that gospel that had been
committed to his church, as he speaks of the God of salvation,
as he speaks of the Savior of sinners, as he speaks of all
that the gospel is, all that the gospel contains. It is evident that God himself,
of course, as we've already intimated, is far above us. He challenges
the folly of the children of Israel when they wanted to be
like those nations, those idolatrous nations round about them. They
wanted gods that were more tangible than the true gods. They had
no image of God. That was forbidden. They were
not to make any graven images. But they were taken up with what
they sought amongst those other nations. And now God challenges
them through His servants, the prophets. Through Isaiah, for example,
Isaiah 40, 25, To whom then will ye liken me? or shall I be equal,
saith the Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold, who hath created these things, that bringeth out their
host by number? he calleth them all by names
by the greatness of his power for that he is strong in power
not one fails what God has himself created is a witness to his greatness
men don't need to make images of God they only need to open
their eyes to the wonder of the world and the universe that God
himself as made and created merely by his feet simply by saying
let there be light and there was light by the word of the
Lord were the heavens made all the host of them by the breath
of his mouth and when we come to a prayer meeting or when at
any time we would turn to the Lord in prayer surely we're to
be those who would be mindful of how great God is. Think of
the language of dear John Newton. Thou art coming to a king. Large
petitions with thee bring for his grace and power as such.
None can ever ask too much. Sometimes we have such low views
of God. We seem to be so straightened
in our own hearts because of that sin of unbelief that is
continually besetting us. and God is that one with whom
everything is possible. But look at the language that
we have here in verse 20. As I said, it's typical four-line
language. There's such a fullness, such
a pregnancy in the way in which he uses words, and he's using
words, of course, as he is inspired by the Holy Ghost. It's not Paul's
words, it's the word of God. But what does he say? Well, he
tells us that God is able to do all that we ask. Whatever we ask, God is able
to do it. With God, nothing shall be impossible. He says, Ask, and it shall be
given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened unto you. Whosoever asketh, receiveth.
He that seeketh, findeth. To him that knocketh, it shall
be opened. But what we dare not ask, but
can only dream of, why God is able to do that also. He is able
to do above, all that we ask or think we might
feel that we cannot really express our thoughts and our desires
and our dreams they seem so great at times maybe but they're never
greater than God and God can do even more than our minds could
ever comprehend because he said that he does above all above
all that we ask or think. But he goes further still, doesn't
he? Because he keeps piling the words one on top of the other.
He can do abundantly above all that we ask or think. And yet,
even more, because it's exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think. We believe that this book, the
Bible, is verbally inspired. In other words, as we've said
on other occasions, they're God's words. They're not the words
of men. It's not that God has inspired
Paul in his thoughts, and then Paul has sought to find words
to express in his own language those thoughts that God has inspired
in his mind. No, the miracle of divine inspiration
is greater than that. The very words that the apostle
writes are God's words. And we know how the authorized
version is really, in many ways, a very literal rendering of what's
there in the original. The faithfulness of the translators,
you know, is evident because if they have to at any time introduce
additional words to bring out the proper sense they will indicate
that by the use of words in italics or the plenary and the verbal
inspiration of the word of God and here we see it in the way
in which Paul speaks about God's great power and God's ability
to do all and above all that we could ever ask or think. The
psalmist says, Great is the Lord, and of great power His understanding
is infinite. And this is what we must remember
then when we come to pray to the Lord God. But also, in the
second place, we have to recognize that this power of God is not
some abstract thing. It's true that as God's love
passeth knowledge, yet can be known, and that's what we have
in verse 19, that they might know the love of Christ, he says,
which passeth knowledge. But as God's love is greater
than we can know and yet can be known in some measure, so
also with regards to God's power. And he speaks of that, doesn't
he here? and he refers to it as that power that worketh in
us. How has God demonstrated his
power? Two things here we see. He has
demonstrated it in his people in the church and he has demonstrated
it by the Lord Jesus Christ. The power that worketh in us
and then he says unto him be glory in the church by Christ
Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. These two things
then with regards to this power of God, how he demonstrates it
in the saints, in his believing people. Look at what he says previously
in this chapter, verse 10, to the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known
by the church the manifold wisdom of God what are the principalities
and powers in heavenly places? well these are the angelic beings
these are the Seraphim, the Cherubim Michael the Archangel, Gabriel and it's in the church And what
God is doing here in this world amongst sinful men in saving
them and bringing them to himself and gathering them in local churches.
Oh, the angels of God behold these wondrous works. Again,
we can think of the language of Peter. The same Spirit who
inspires Paul inspires Peter, so not surprisingly we see that
there's a wonderful harmony in what these men write in their
epistles and in their various books. There in 1 Peter 1. Verse 10, Peter speaks of the
salvation. With salvation the prophets have
inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that
should come unto you searching by all what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified
beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should
be revealed unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves
but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported
unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the
Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. And then he adds this, which
things the angels desire to look into. He's speaking of the ministry
of the New Testament apostles, he's speaking of that great salvation
that is coming to sinners, sinners of the Gentiles as well as to
Jews. It's what was spoken of by the prophets in the Old Testament,
but their ministry is for the saints of the New Testament,
but the angels also. desire to look into these things. The great work of God in salvation
is what he's speaking of there. And of course, not surprisingly,
we see the angels looking into it in time in the Old Testament. The significance of the of the
mercy suit. And remember There in Exodus
25, with regards to the mercy seat, there was to be a cherub,
one on each end of the mercy seat, with their wings outspread
and their faces towards the mercy seat, their wings overshadowing
and their looking down upon the mercy seat. And what was the
significance of the mercy seat? Well, it was there on the great
day of atonement that the high priest entered into that holy
of holies the only day in the year when he would go and he
would go with the blood of sacrifice and he would sprinkle the blood
of the sacrifice before that mercy seat and upon that mercy
seat with the cherubim looking upon the mercy seat and it was
the day of atonement It was a great propitiatory sacrifice. It was
a foreshadowing of the work of the Lord Jesus, that love of
God, by sending His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We've already referred to that
verse there in 1 John 4.10. And the angels, you see, the
angels look into these things. Not surprisingly then, the Lord
Jesus says there is joy in the presence of the angels of God
over one sinner that repenteth." Oh, what a great work is God
doing there. How God is revealing in the church
the wonder of His grace. It's here that mercy and truth
come together. Righteousness and peace kiss
each other. All the divine attributes in
God harmonizing in the salvation of sinners and angels are in
God's presence. They are before the throne of
God and yet they look upon what takes place in this fallen world,
the salvation that God brings to the sinful sons of men. And clearly, as he addresses
these Ephesians, Paul is speaking of what God does in this day
of grace. There's the preaching of the
Gospel. Look at the context, verse 7, "...whereof I was made
a minister." He's a minister of the Gospel, he's the apostle
to the Gentiles, and that's what he's speaking of, the great revelation
now of that mystery, that there's salvation for Gentiles. "...whereof
I was made a minister." according to the gift of the grace of God,
given unto me by the effectual working of his power unto me,
who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given,
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches
of Christ, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of
the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in
God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. Oh, there's the
preaching of the gospel, but with that preaching, it's not
just the declaration of the message, there's the ministry of the Holy
Ghost, His glorious coming on the day of Pentecost, or that
best of all God's donations. No, it must be the Spirit who
would come to apply that word of preaching. God's kingdom is
not in word only, but in power. It's in the Holy Ghost. And even
here in chapter 2, Paul doesn't speak of these things. In chapter
2 at verse 5, he reminds them, Even when we were dead in sins,
hath he quickened us together with Christ? By grace ye are
saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved,
through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God or the Spirit must accompany that work and there must be that
that quickening in the soul, that work of regeneration, a
new birth and it's all in the fulfillment of God's eternal
purpose we're familiar with the words in that great opening chapter
of the Ephesian epistle having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good
pleasure of his will to the prize of the glory of his grace wherein
he hath made us accepted in the beloved. God's power then is
to be seen in the church according to the power that worketh in
us. Unto him be glory in the church. And the angels, the angels who
behold all these things, verse 10, that now unto the principalities
and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God. But as God demonstrates it in
the church, it is altogether by Christ Jesus. It's in the
Church, by Christ Jesus, it's throughout all ages, worlds,
without end. These are the last days. And when the last days have their
end, that's the glorious consummation of all things. When the Lord
returns and presents to the Father that Church that is complete,
in all its parts, without spots or wrinkle or any blemish, the
fruit of His sufferings, the travail of His soul, one of those
for whom He shed that precious blood, lost, but all now safely
gathered here. Oh, no wonder He says, unto Him
be glory. Unto Him be glory in the church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world, without end. Amen. There is you see a union
between Christ and the church and he said that hasn't he in
what we have in the opening chapter and there at the bursary, blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world."
There's an eternal union here. All the elect, they are chosen
in Christ Jesus. He is the head and they are his
body. These are the children which
God gave to him in the eternal covenant. There's an eternal
union. But then also, he goes on, doesn't
he, there in chapter 1 to speak about Christ came to accomplish
salvation for those that were given to him. Verse 7, in whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins
according to the riches of his grace they were those who were by nature
dead in trespasses and sins as he says in the second chapter
they were alienated from God their very minds were enmity
they were far off from God and Christ with whom they are united
in the eternal covenants, must come in the fullness of the time
and accomplish their redemption." So we have that eternal union,
but then also he indicates there's a salvation that had to be accomplished,
and then also they must come to an experimental knowledge
of it. They must know it for themselves. And he says that,
doesn't he? There, again in chapter 1, verse
19, he speaks of the exceeding greatness of his power. To us
who do believe, according to the working of his mighty power
which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead,
and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
The power that is there in Christ's resurrection and then in his
ascension is the same that they experience when they come to
believe, when they come to saving faith. The exceeding greatness
of his power. He says it's according to the
working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ. As I said
Christ is the head, his body, he says thy dead men shall live
together with my dead body shall they arise. Well this is the
wonder then of that power of God that he is speaking of according
to the power that worketh in us. In order for sinners to believe, there must be a mighty demonstration
of God's power in the soul of that sinner. There must be then
an experience of the grace of God, its sovereign grace. It
comes to those who are dead and with it there comes new life,
regeneration, saving faith, true evangelical repentance. It's all of God, it's all of
the grace of God. This is how Paul then comes to
the conclusion of this prayer. He would bow his knee unto the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and pray for them. Oh, what an encouragement there
is then when we come to consider what He is saying in this doxology. Because God is able to do all
things. Nothing is impossible with Him. Should it not be an
encouragement that we pray with that spirit of expectation in
that we We expect to see answers to our prayers. We know that
there will be a return of prayer, because none can seek his face
in vain. He never says to the seed of Jacob, seek ye my face
in vain. He answers our prayers and we
know how he has answered prayer in recent days, certainly in
this decision to reverse the mandatory vaccination that was
going to be required of all NHS staff. That is no more, we have to pray
on of course. We see that this world lies in
wickedness, it lies in the wicked one. we're involved in a constant
conflict but when we think of course even of the armor that
he goes on to speak of later in the same epistle in that sixth
chapter does he not also remind us of the importance of our prayers
yes God has provided a spiritual armor remarkable there at verse 14 in the sixth
chapter and the following verses And then he says at verse 18,
praying, praying always with all prayer and supplication in
the spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints. Again, it's Pauline, isn't it?
The words, he speaks of prayer, supplication, watching, perseverance,
supplication again. And then he wants prayer for
himself and for me. that utterance may be given unto
me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery
of the gospel." Or the mystery of the gospel which has been
revealed in these last days, that great mystery of godliness,
that God was manifest in the flesh. And are the angels delighting
in all that? Why at the very incarnation,
at the birth of Christ, when God in the fullness of the time
does send forth his Son made of a woman, is there not a host
of angels in the heavens singing praise unto God, peace on earth, goodwill towards
men, or that we might be those then who seeing these words, reading these
words, thinking upon these words We see from them some real encouragement
to be bold in our prayers to God, or to have a vision, to
think. He does abundantly, exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think. We know where there's
no vision, the wise man says the people perish, or that we
might come then to prayer as those who have a vision of the
greatness of God and the power of God, and that nothing is impossible
with our God. And He will be glorified in the
saints, glorified in you and in me, by the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless His Word to
us. Now let us, before we pray, sing
our second praise, it's the hymn 3, 7, 9, the tune Providence 490. Come, my soul, thy suit prepared. Jesus loves to answer prayer.
He himself has bid thee pray. Therefore will not say thee nay. Thou art coming to a king. Large
petitions with thee bring for his grace and power as such.
None can ever ask too much.