Well, turn with me to Ephesians
and the third chapter. We are getting to the halfway
point in this epistle of six chapters. And it has often been
said that chapters one to three are the doctrine, and chapters
four to six are the practical outworking. And it's the same
sort of pattern in most of Paul's epistles, a doctrinal foundation
and then a practical outworking. I would say it's perhaps better
to say that the first chapters are the building, the foundation,
laying the foundation. And then on a solid foundation,
you put the building. You know, it's often used in
planning for projects. You say, why do we need to plan
the project? Well, and the illustration that's
always used is building a house. You know, don't go try putting
the roof on until you've built the walls. Don't try building
the walls until you've laid the foundations. They'll just fall
down. There's many an old building in this country that doesn't
have proper foundations, and they're always in fear and trepidation
of the ground shrinking and moving, and the building falling down.
You need a solid foundation. So before Paul comes to the exhortation,
I don't know if your Bible has got the little italics at the
top of the page, they're not in the original, and it says
that chapter 4 in my King James Version, exhortations to holiness,
love, etc. Before he gets into that, he
lays the foundation, he lays the foundation, he seeks to strengthen
the foundation, because there's no point, there's no point, so
many preachers set about this, they get it completely back to
front, they put the cart before the horse, whereas the horse
goes before the cart if you want the the thing to be the right
way around. They do it the other way around.
They think let's preach to people about what they ought to be and
how they ought to be living and gradually they will become Christianized
and they will start to adopt Christian behavior and they'll
start to know the truth. Absolutely back to front. Lay
the foundation. Lay the foundation. There is
no point whatsoever It's like setting off in your car and putting
water in the tank. It ain't gonna go. You've got
to put proper fuel in there. And so this is what this is about.
Before he starts to exhort to holiness and love and all of
these other things, he lays the foundation again. He strengthens
the foundation that he has already laid. So what I want to do is
to look in verses 12 and 13 at his confidence, first of all,
and then at his prayer, because he bows the knee in prayer for
these people, and he does it for all believers. Now you say,
how do we know it's for us? This is God's word. It was written
nearly 2,000 years ago, probably about 1,950 years ago. to some people that lived in
a place that you can still go to this day and I know many of
you have been to the place which is where ancient Ephesus was. This great old city there in
Turkey in the Middle East. You've been there and you've
seen it and you've walked around those places and 1950 years ago
this was written to people there but it's just as relevant to
God's people wherever they are and today especially. So I want
to look at the confidence and then I want to look at the prayer.
the prayer which is at the root of the foundation that he's strengthening. Let's read verses 12 and 13.
He says, in whom? He's talking about Christ, the
eternal purposes which he purposed. In Christ Jesus our Lord. In
whom? In Christ. We have boldness and
access with confidence by the faith of him, wherefore I desire
that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
What were Paul's tribulations for them? He was a prisoner in
Rome. He'd been sent to Rome for trial
because he'd appealed to Caesar and he went there. Why was he
there? Because the Roman judicial process
was going to try him as to whether he was a causer of insurrection,
political insurrection. But God put him there that he
might write these epistles and other ones that were written
from prison. That's why he was there. They were his tribulations.
And they were for the glory of those people. Why was it for
their glory? Because he was there for the
sake of the gospel of God's grace. It was preaching the gospel of
God's grace that had caused the Jews to rise up against him,
that had caused the rulers to say we've got a problem here.
that had sent him to Rome, and that he was now going to stand
trial. But he says, I desire that you faint not at my tribulations
for you. What was the basis of his confidence,
which really is the reason why he says, don't faint for my tribulations. See, wherefore? Whenever you
see a wherefore or a therefore, ask what they're there for. Wherefore,
why is that there? Because of the boldness and the
confidence that he's got. Don't faint because of that boldness
and confidence. Well, what's the basis of it?
You see, verse 12 says, in whom we have boldness and access with
confidence by the faith. What's this boldness and access? What's this access? Well, I tell
you, it speaks to me of the holy of holies in the temple. You
know the temple In the Old Testament order, the tabernacle first in
the wilderness wanderings, and then the temple which Solomon
built, and then the ones that came after it. They, in the economy
of God, they were pictures of spiritual reality. They were
pictures of the house of God, which is the church of God. They
were pictures of the dwelling of God, where God comes and is
the God of his people, and his people, to them, he is their
God. It pictures in all of its types
and sacrifices. What does it picture? You know
what it pictures. It pictures the gospel. It pictures
the gospel of sovereign grace in every aspect of it. And if
you remember, and all of it is now taken away because it's now
all spiritual reality, but if you remember, it was all there
for pictures. You know, a little bit like little Timmy, our grandson's
getting into painting pictures. He likes to come and paint pictures.
and he painted us a picture of our house. Well, of course, it
was very, very sweet, and we can see what he meant, but it
has, you know, it's not a good representation of our house.
I tell you, it really isn't. It's just a child's picture.
Well, I know it's not a very good illustration, but in a way,
although the temple was all in the economy and purpose of God,
compared with the spiritual reality of which it was a type and a
shadow, it's a very, very dim picture. A very dim picture,
but nevertheless it's got things to teach us. And there was a
day every year, one day per year, the Day of Atonement. And only
then, when the High Priest, and him alone, nobody else, with
the names of the tribes of Israel on his glorious robes that he
wore, and they're all described in the books of the law, would
go into the Holy of Holies, the very inner sanctum. You know,
they could go into certain, different ones could go into different
places, but the inner sanctum, the Holy of Holies, where was
the Ark of the Covenant, only the High Priest, only once a
year, only with the blood of an acceptable sacrifice, was
the sacrifice acceptable. I can imagine the congregation
gathering every year outside there in the outer court waiting. It's the day of atonement. They'd
seen what God did when his laws were not obeyed, when his truth
was not obeyed. They'd seen what happened to
Uzzah when with the greatest of sincerity he reached out his
hand to steady the ark which God had said only the Levites
must bear it. And he was struck dead and David was angry, David
was terrified, furious, a mixture of all these emotions. They'd
seen that and they saw once a year the high priest go in to make
atonement for the sins of the people with the blood of an acceptable
sacrifice. Would he be consumed? Because
the lamb was not without blemish or without spot. Because it hadn't
been kept and reared correctly. Would that blood be acceptable
as a symbol of the blood of Christ which was to come for the remission
of sins? Would he come out of there or
would he be struck dead in that process? Was the blood acceptable? And there would be fear and anxiety
in that congregation. And there would be an enormous
sigh of relief when that high priest came out and he hadn't
been consumed by the wrath of God for approaching in an unacceptable
way. Matt, just keep that thought
in mind. And then think about communion,
we're going to share bread and wine at the end of this message. And we read in the communion
instructions in 1 Corinthians 11, 28, let a man examine himself,
whether he comes in the right way, discerning the body and
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because if you don't come the
right way, oh, it doesn't happen in a bolt of lightning now, but
God says this in his word, He eats and drinks damnation to
himself if he comes not discerning the body and blood of Christ.
So what's this confidence? We have boldness and access. You see, the high priest had
fear and trepidation when he went in. But Paul says, in Christ
we have boldness and access with confidence. No fear, no trepidation,
no shrinking back. Boldness and access. We can come
into the very holy of holies by our Lord Jesus Christ, for
we are seated with him in heavenly places in Christ. And what's
the basis of that confidence? It's not the blood of a picture,
a lamb, a type, a pattern. it's the blood of Christ himself
for he is our lamb our lamb is God's own lamb God will provide
himself a sacrifice said Abraham to Isaac when Isaac asked where
is the lamb for an offering God will provide himself a sacrifice
and when we come with this confidence and this boldness into the axis
of the holy of holies we come with that confidence by him He
is our confidence. He is our lamb. Other lambs'
blood could never take away sins. As Hebrews tells us, Hebrews
10, 4 says, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of
goats should take away sins and all of the other animal sacrifices.
They were just pictures. They themselves couldn't do it.
And verse 12 of that chapter then says, but this man, speaking
of Christ, this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for
sins forever. Not repeated. Not repeated every
day, every week, every year in the day of atonement. This man,
after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on
the right hand of God. And the basis of our confidence
is, notice what it says, by the faith of Him. The basis of your
confidence is not your faith in Him. Because that wavers. The basis of your confidence
is His faithfulness and the faith that He's given you to see it.
You see, He was obedient unto death, He who is God. He was
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And you know
that so well-known verse, 2 Corinthians 5, 21, that there he who knew
no sin was made sin for us, his people, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. Turn back a page to Ephesians
1 and verse 19. chapter 1 and verse 19, he's
already asked that the eyes of their understanding might be
enlightened, that they might know, verse 19, what is the exceeding
greatness of his power to usward who believe according to the
working of his mighty power. How do we know that there was
a working of mighty power which God wrought in Christ. Here it
is, see, verse 20. What's the basis of your faith
and your confidence? You read these words, and God
gives you faith to believe it. When he raised him from the dead. Why do I know that I can come
with boldness and access with confidence into the Holy of Holies? Because Christ my Lamb has shed
acceptable blood for me. And how do I know it's acceptable?
God has raised him from the dead. That's how I know. That's the
basis of our confidence. That's our confidence. And he
gives me faith to see his faithfulness in saving me. And I have confidence
on the basis of his faithfulness. That's what it is. Again and
again you read of the faith of Jesus Christ. Yes, there's an
element where it's the faith that we are given to believe
it, but what do we believe? We believe the faithfulness,
the obedience unto death, even the death of the cross of the
Son of God, and the salvation that was accomplished and purchased
on the basis of that. And so, we can come, we have
access. Look back in chapter 2 and verse
18. where we read this, for through him, and he's been talking of
Christ, through him, through Christ, we both have access,
and the both there is Jews and Gentiles, whatever religious
background, for through him, Jews and Gentiles have access
by one spirit unto the Father. We have access unto the Father
through him. And you see in him, in him, look
down at verse 15, it says, of whom, he's talking again about
Christ, of whom, of Christ, the whole family in heaven and earth
is named. God has a family. It's the family
of his people, his blood-bought people, his elect from before
the beginning of time, this family. And in him, if you're in him,
if you have faith in him, if you believe in him, if you trust
in him, if you know and love the gospel of his grace, In him,
you are a fully paid up member of God's family. And you have
family rights. You have access. You have access. You know, I remember growing
up as a kid and I went to a school. I grew up in rather humble surroundings. Comfortable but humble. And I
had some friends who were very much better healed than me at
the school I went to and I used to go to their beautiful houses
on the coast at Barnside and with lovely views over the bay.
And I remember one guy, I won't mention any names in case he
happens to listen to this, but he had a beautiful house. Fantastic
house. And I felt as if I really wasn't entitled
to be there. You know, these beautiful grounds
and this lovely house. And he used to say, effectively
he used to say to me, it's okay, you can come. I've got family
rights. This is my house. This is my parents' house. I'm
a fully paid up member of this family. You can come with me. Now, if you can get the picture,
This is what Paul is saying here. The whole family, his people,
have got this access right into his presence, into the Holy of
Holies. So he says, don't worry, verse
13, because of this confident basis that we have, of knowing
that it is well with my soul, that I'm right with God, this
boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Christ Don't
be concerned. Don't be bothered about me. Don't
be troubled. Yes, he's in prison, but don't
be troubled about it, he says. Yes, he's in prison. He's a prisoner
of the Roman Empire, of the Roman government. He's going to be
brought before Caesar, the Roman Emperor. He's a prisoner in Rome. Rome's prisoner. But all the
time he's Rome's prisoner, he's the Lord's free man. You know,
this is what people like John Bunyan said, locked up in Bedford
jail for 12 years. But they couldn't lock up the
inner man. They couldn't do that. They couldn't stop the inner
man from worshipping the God of heaven. The blessings, you
see, he says, don't worry about me. Oh yes, I've got some physical
trials, but actually it's all in the hands of God. When he
looks at the scale of things and he puts all of the blessings
of this access and confidence by faith on one side of the scale,
it doesn't matter what you do in tribulation aspects on the
other side of the scale, it's totally outweighed by the blessings
of spiritual things that have come to him. And that's a difference
between Old Testament blessings and New Testament blessings.
Yes, the patriarchs, I believe, truly knew the gospel of grace.
They knew the basis of it. You know, the gospel wasn't invented.
in Nazareth and Bethlehem and at Calvary 2000 the gospel was
in the mind of God from before the beginning of time obviously
and it's worked out in the Old Testament and the Old Testament
saints like Abraham and Isaac that I've already mentioned they
knew exactly what the gospel was about God had taught them
God had shown them again and again and again but when it comes
to blessings Old Testament blessings tend to be physical and material
blessings whereas New Testament blessings are always spiritual
They always are. You know, if you read Deuteronomy
and the warnings and the encouragements, and God always encourages the
people that if you do this, then your vineyards will flourish
and your flocks will be fertile and prosperous and everything
will go well. But if you walk out on me, if
you follow idols, if you do all of these other things, your vineyards
will wither, your lambs will not be born, this, that, and
all of these things, they were always expressed in physical
things. But in the New Testament, It's
spiritual. Spiritual blessings. You see? As far as material things are
concerned, in the New Testament we're encouraged to be content.
Paul said, I've learned whether I abound or I'm abased. Learned therewith to be content. With whatever our lot is. And
so, Matthew, Jesus speaks in Matthew 6, 33. He says, what
does he tell them to do? Seek first the kingdom of God. Not these material things. Seek
first the kingdom of God. Oh, get it the right way round.
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. As for
me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness and all these other things the
Lord knows that you have need of things he knows give us this
day our daily bread he knows what you need he knows that you
need food he knows that you need shelter he knows that you need
clothes give us this day our daily bread just pray to him
he'll look after all of those things you see Paul was in prison
for the gospel, for preaching the gospel, and that was their
glory. What is your glory? This is your
glory, the gospel of grace that he's brought me to believe, to
know, to see, to understand in a measure, to have confidence
that I have boldness and access with confidence by Christ Jesus.
So that's the basis. Is that not a good foundation?
How many people try to embark on this do, that do, you mustn't
do this, this is the way to live, this is the rule of life for
you, when actually they've completely missed this basis. They're not
built on the rock, which is Christ, that solid rock. They haven't
got an anchor for the soul. They're tossed to and fro by
every wind of doctrine. This is the right way round.
Solid, solid basis. And then in verses 14 to 19,
Paul prays. He expresses what he prays for,
for their and for our blessing. Let's just read those verses.
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to
be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, 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
ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. In verse 13,
Paul desires. Wherefore I desire that ye faint
not. He desires for this cause. Because he desires, I bow my
knees. He prays. You see that? He desires
that they faint not. And because he desires that they
faint not, what's he going to do about it? Just tell them to
pull themselves together? Tell them to give themselves
a good shake up? Tell them not to worry about things stupidly?
No, he prays. He desires, so he prays. Do we
do that? Is that our natural reaction?
It should be, shouldn't it? I have a desire that God would
do great things here amongst us. What do I do? Pray. We pray
to him. We ask him. We ask him that he
will do it. You know, you read in the Old
Testament, a thing I've noticed again and again, is when an issue
was coming up and he inquired not of the Lord. What should
he have done? Of course, his first port of
call should have been to inquire of the Lord. Lord, what should
I do in this situation? I won't pick out any one example,
but there are many examples where Somebody suffered loss because
he inquired not of the Lord. Paul desired, and therefore he
prayed. And he prays to the one true
God. Look, I bow my knees, verse 14,
to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He prays to the one true
God. Look, please, for once and for
all, get rid of this notion that we're all effectively praying
to the same God but some of us in a right way and some of us
in a wrong way and some of us in a misguided... No, no, no,
no, no. You only come to the one true God through Christ and
the basis of his gospel. You only come to the true God
who is the Father of Christ, who is the God revealed by Christ,
who is the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For, as
John tells us in 1 John 5 and verse 7, there are three that
bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Spirit, and the Word. these
three bear witness in heaven this is the triune God to whom
he comes and he's the father of Christ you pray to the father
of Christ, how? when Isaiah was given the promise
that a son would be given that a child would be born Isaiah
chapter 9 verse 6 what was the name to be what were the names
to be of this son that was given Wonderful. Counselor. Mighty
God. Everlasting Father. Prince of
Peace. These were the names of this
Christ. The one who was seen by Isaiah in chapter 6 when he
saw the Lord in the year that King Uzziah died. He saw the
Lord in the temple and his train filled the temple and the place
was you know that the language is such that when it's translated
into our English we can't really get the picture but it's obviously
a tremendous vision that he had there in Jerusalem and we know
from John chapter 12 Isaiah saw Christ the pre-incarnate Christ
that was the glorious God that he saw sitting on the throne
the one who manifests God the one seen by Isaiah the one seen
by Philip and the other disciples. Do you remember? I've told you
often enough. John 14, Philip says, show us
the father and that will do for us. That will suffice us. And
Jesus says, Philip, have I been so long with you? And yet you
have not known. He who has seen me has seen the father. This
is who he prays to. The God who is manifest in our
Lord Jesus Christ and in him alone. And what does he pray?
Verse 16, that he would grant you. that he would grant you
because you see this I think we often pray that God
would have a good try against all of the powers of darkness
that would try and oppose it that God would have a good try
and there's a bit of a struggle goes on no he prays that God
would grant you according according note that that he would grant
you according, verse 16, to the riches of his glory. That he
would grant you in proportion to the riches of his glory. Not
just, you know, he's a man who's got millions of pounds in his
pocket and he looks very generous because he gives you a ten pound
note. That's not very generous. He's giving you out of his money,
not according to his money. that he would grant you. The
fact that he's saying that God would grant you is an acknowledgement
that all things are in God's gift to give, to grant. He has the power, the resources,
the riches, the wherewithal, the will, the unstoppable will,
the unchangeable will, to do these things that he would grant
you according to, not just out of, not physical blessings. Look,
he doesn't pray for physical blessings. He doesn't pray that
they might have health, wealth, and happiness. Oh, we all love
our health. We all love the idea of having
enough money to live on. And we all want to be happy,
of course. But this isn't what Paul prays. He prays for spiritual
strength. Look, that you might be strengthened
with might by his spirit in the inner man the inner man in there
inside not physical external buildings it's the man that God
sees the one that that's inside the inner soul the spiritual
man the new man that you might be strengthened in those things
in fact if you turn to the end of Ephesians chapter six and
verse ten put on Sorry, I've got the wrong reference, but
I've got the verse written down here. Finally, my brethren, be
strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. And it's
in there somewhere. We won't spend time looking for
it now unless somebody's eyes already settled on it, but it's
in there. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might,
not in the material things that you have. So before he exhorts
to holiness of life, he prays that God would give inner strength
For without it, and without Christ as Jesus said, we can do nothing.
It's absolutely foundational. And as I've said already, many
preachers exhort to sanctified living when they haven't yet
built the right foundation. Just turn back with me just for
a few moments to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. I just want you to
see this because I believe this is clearly, 1
Corinthians chapter 3 verses 10 to 15 is about what you preach,
what preachers preach. As I said, they preach sanctified
living when they haven't yet laid the foundation upon which
different from the world, living, is built. Now look at verse 10
of 1 Corinthians 3. According to the grace of God
which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, see that's where
we are, that's where the picture is, building. I have laid the
foundation and another buildeth thereupon. But let every man
take heed how he buildeth thereon. And I believe he's talking about
preachers, preaching on this foundation that's written here.
For no other foundation For other foundation can no man lay than
is laid, which is Jesus Christ. That's it, the gospel of his
grace is the only foundation on which you build that encouragement
and that exhortation to how you live. Now if any man build upon
this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, you
see it's going down in terms of quality and ability to withstand
fire. Every man's work shall be made
manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed
by fire and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort
it is. But if any man's work abide which he hath built thereon,
he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned,
he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so
as by fire. Don't bother with the foundation,
but they carry on building their wood, hay, stubble, must do this,
must do that, this is the way to live. Without that foundation
being in place, it will just be burned up, it will just prove
to be utterly worthless, it will have no lasting strength. So
then, let's go on. He prays for strength, and I
want you to see, in these closing moments, three things that he
prays for in terms of strength. So he's asked that they might
be granted, according to the riches of God's glory, to be
strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. And
then, verse 17, he prays that Christ would dwell in their hearts
by faith. Then he prays that they would
be rooted and grounded in love. And then he prays, and I'll tell
you why in a minute, that they might apprehend with all the
saints the breadth and depth and height of the love of God.
These are the things that he wants them to be strengthened
with. And rather than health, wealth, and happiness, and material
and physical blessings, this is what we ought to pray for
one another. Because if these things are right, So much else
is right. It's the foundation of everything
else. It's the foundation of every natural human relationship
that we have. If these things are right, other
things are right too. Firstly, that Christ may dwell
in our hearts by faith. Christ may dwell in our hearts
by faith. Are you a Christian? So many
people would think that they're Christians in this land of ours
today, and yet the concept or the experience is a million miles
from them, that experience of Christ dwelling in the heart
by faith. You know how God dwelt in the
Old Testament temple? He said that's where his presence
would be in the Holy of Holies. Symbolically. Symbolically. And we know that Paul elsewhere
in Corinthians says to believers that they are the temple of the
Holy Spirit. And we know that there is a more
perfect, a greater and more perfect tabernacle now than was ever
that Old Testament tabernacle. Where does God live When Solomon
built the temple in 1 Kings 8, 27, he said in his prayer, which
is recorded there in that chapter, heaven and the heaven of heavens
cannot contain thee. How much less this house that
I have built. To think that God would be squashed
and squeezed into a little building in Jerusalem. How silly. God
is so much greater than those things. Where does God dwell?
Clearly, not in a building made with hands. Oh yes, he dwells
in his church. by Christ, in that which has
become the living temple, built of living stones. He dwells in
Christ, because Christ is God. But Colossians 2.9 says this,
in him, in Christ, dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And we know this, that in Christ,
great is the mystery of godliness, as Paul writes to Timothy, 1
Timothy 3.16, God was manifest in the flesh. God, the infinite
God who cannot be contained in the heaven of heavens, was manifest
in the flesh. But how does God in Christ dwell
in believers' hearts? How does He dwell in my heart
and how does He dwell in your heart? It isn't a thing to do
with place. It isn't a thing to do with locality. This is what it is. It's all
based on Scripture, and on Scripture alone. It's all based on the
knowledge of Scripture, and on the testimony that Christ gives
to those who believe Him as they read the Scriptures. He says,
Jesus said, Matthew 13, 11, unto you is given to understand the
mystery. to his people, he gives that
ability to understand the mystery of the gospel. But it's experienced
in these ways. It's experienced in the understanding.
As you read it, he gives understanding. And so Christ dwells in our heart
by faith, as he gives understanding of his word. As his word is preached
and it comes to us, yes, this is me, this is mine, he's dwelling
in our hearts by faith. In your conscience, you know,
we all have consciences and some have a conscience that is seared,
that is effectively numbed, effectively killed off by abuse and by sin. I'm not sure whether that's in
James, I think it might be, we might be getting to that in James.
But in the conscience, Christ dwells in the hearts of his people
because we read in his word and does not the word direct our
conscience as to what's right and what's wrong. There are those who always want
to set up laws to make us behave in certain ways. No. If Christ
is dwelling in our conscience by the knowledge of his word
and the presence of his spirit You don't need to be told that
this is right and that's wrong and you ought to do this and
you should do this and you're an obligation to do that. No,
you know it. You don't kill because a law
says thou shalt not kill. You don't kill because of that
conscience and that presence of Christ. I know it's not just
Christians that believe like that, but I'm just using that
as a clear example. It's not because law tells you,
it's because of the presence of Christ in the conscience,
in the understanding, in the heart by faith. And the will,
he adapts the will to his will. And the affections, the things
that we You know, you talk to somebody who's become a Christian
and they more and more start to find that the things that
they used to love and the company and the presence and the atmosphere
that they used to love It just doesn't appeal anymore, it just
doesn't have the same draw, it doesn't have the same affection. Because it's changed by the way
that Christ is dwelling in our heart by faith. This is truly
knowing God. This is the new man who has the
mind of Christ, oh he prays. Before I'm going to tell you
anything else in chapters four to six, oh that Christ might
dwell in your hearts by faith. That you secondly might be rooted
and grounded in love. Now the picture changes, rooted
rooted. Think of plants, think of, let's
say you've got a fruit tree. What's the most effective way
that you can make it produce fruit? You go down in the garden
when it's coming up to fruit time and you stand there and
you preach at the tree that it ought to be producing good fruit
and you tell it it's got an obligation, it's an apple tree. You are obliged
to produce fruit and if you don't produce fruit No, what you do
is you do some work earlier than that. You make the soil good.
You do what you can to make the soil good so that it establishes
a good root system. That it's rooted. Rooted in what? In the love of Christ. Rooted
and grounded in love. That's what it is. You make it
so that its roots are strong and healthy because good, nourished
roots produce strong, healthy plants. And what is it for the
believer? It's the roots and the nourishment
of the love of Christ which passes knowledge as we're going to see
in a moment. It's all expressed in love to Christ and love to
his people because what is the first fruit of the Spirit? Go
to Galatians 5.22 when you have time. The fruit of the Spirit
is Love, joy, peace, and so on. The very first one is love. And
grounded. The illustration changes again.
Built on a solid foundation. That you might be built on a
solid foundation. You know, God said, Isaiah 28,
16, Behold, I lay in Zion a foundation stone, which is Christ. He is
the foundation. 1 Corinthians 3, 11, No other
foundation can any man lay but Christ. What did the wise man
do in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7, 24? The wise man built
his house upon a rock, because the rock was solid. And what
was that rock? Paul tells us explicitly, you
know, they followed a rock, they got water out of the rock in
the wilderness, and Paul says, and that rock was Christ. That
rock was Christ. And then thirdly, Thirdly, verse
18, not that you may be able to comprehend, which means understand,
because he then goes on to say, you can't understand it because
it passes knowledge. You can never plumb the depths
of it. You can never get to the bottom of it. You can never measure
the breadth and height of it, but that you might see that it
is vast and beyond your comprehension, that you might apprehend that
you cannot comprehend it. You might apprehend that which
you can, but know it's so big. In what way is it so big? In
what way is it beyond our understanding? The breadth of it, that you might
apprehend how wide, how wide is this salvation of the Lord
Jesus Christ. You see, we often think of it
as limited, but it's limited by our own understanding and
our own sight, which is limited. This is the extent of the covering
of Christ's substitution for his people. It's sufficient to
cover all of them. It's sufficient to cover all
their sins. My sin o'er the bliss of this
glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole is nailed
to his cross. The breadth, the breadth of it.
The length of it. How long does it last? From eternity
to eternity. Where does it go back to before
there was anything? In the mind of God, there, right
the way through to eternity. And time is a little blink in
the middle of it. the depth and the height of the
reasons for God's redemption to apprehend that it was because
of his grace can I understand his grace no I can't but I can
apprehend that it was for his grace and his glory and his love
that he saved a people and he's filled his people with all the
fullness of God filled with all the fullness of obviously Christ
in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily so not in
that way to each believer but As Christ is the embodiment of
the fullness of the Godhead, so with his spirit dwelling in
the heart by faith, his people are filled with a measure of
that fullness of God. To know the true God. Do you
realize what riches are yours if you're in Christ? If you have
this faith, you know everything else, as it was with Job, everything
else can be removed from you. And yet you will still know that
my Redeemer lives. And he shall stand at the latter
day upon this earth. And the worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God." What have you got left, Job?
Nothing. Everything was taken from him. But that was so powerful,
so eternally enduring. This is true spiritual riches. It's well with my soul. I'm anchored
in the storm. I'm built on the rock. I'm settled
for eternity. And it results in an effusion
of praise. What else can he say? Now unto
him that is able to do exceedingly 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. And so now With that foundation
strengthened, that prayer for that to be the experience of
all of his people, then we'll go on and look at his exhortations
to live differently from the world. Amen.