Ephesians chapter 3. I'm taking
the title for the message from what is said in verse 16. That
He would grant you according to the riches of His glory. Now
just stop right there and think about that for a moment. That
He would grant or give you, not according to as you have merited
anything, not according to your deeds or works, but according
to the riches of His glory. Now what does that include? That
includes all things. The riches of His glory to be
strengthened with might by His Spirit in you, in the new man,
in the inner man. May God grant you, bless you,
or give you according to the riches of His glory. That's kind
of a long title, but we could shorten it. according to His riches." Now,
it's His riches that we're interested in. It's His righteousness that
we're interested in. You remember we've seen this
word before. Look back at Ephesians 1, verse
7. Verse 6 says, "...to the praise
of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of His grace." And then he mentions
this again in chapter 3 verse 8, turn there. Chapter 3, verse
8. He said 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. The unsearchable riches of His
glory. Now don't turn, let me just read
this one to you. This is familiar. We had this
not too long ago from Philippians chapter 4. Verse 19, but my God
shall supply all your need, notice, according to His riches in glory
through Jesus Christ. Now, aren't you glad that salvation
is according to His richness, the richness of His grace, the
richness of His mercy, the richness of His love over the breadth,
the depth, the length, The height of His love? That's what we're
going to see. What we have here is Paul's prayer
for the church, and what a prayer it is. This should be our guide
when we pray for mercy and grace to help in time of need. These
verses are oozing and overflowing with God's love, His mercy, and
His grace unto His people. In this prayer for God's people,
we learn something of the importance of prayer. Our Lord said men
ought always to pray. We learn something of the privilege
of prayer. What a privilege we have to come
before God and call Him our Father and ask Him to bless us for Christ's
sake. And then we see the object of
prayer, always praying unto God in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And then we see the thanksgiving. the thanksgiving of prayer. Unto
Him be glory, verse 21. Unto Him be glory in the church
by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end. That's going to be the song of
the redeemed, worthy as a lamb, that was slain to receive all
honor, glory, blessing, and power both now and forever. Now let's
go back to verse 13 and work our way down through these verses.
Ephesians 3, verse 13. Wherefore, I desire that you
don't faint or be upset at my tribulation for you, which is
for your glory." Remember, this epistle, along with many others,
Paul is writing from prison. And he's writing to these people
and says, now don't be upset because I'm in jail. He said,
I'm the prisoner of the Lord. I'm here by God's purpose, God's
decree. God put me here for His purpose,
according to His eternal purpose, which He purposed in Christ Jesus
our Lord. So, he's telling the church here,
don't be upset. What has happened to me has happened
to me to the fervent of the gospel. If you'll turn over a couple
pages to Philippians chapter 1, verse 12, he says here, but
I would you understand, brethren, I would that you should understand,
brethren, that the things which happen unto me have fallen out
rather to the furthest of the gospel. So Paul being taken there
to Rome as a prisoner and put in jail did not hinder God's
purpose. It was all according to his purpose
and will given in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the
world. Paul reminded them that the suffering and tribulation
and hardship he endured for the gospel was for the glory of God
and for the good of God's people. When he writes to Timothy in
2nd Timothy, again he's writing from prison, he says this, he
says, But the Word of God is not bound.
Therefore, he said, I endure all things for the elect's sake,
that they may also obtain the salvation which is in the Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal glory. So don't faint. Don't be upset
over my heartache, my tribulation, my trouble, my imprisonment.
The Apostle Paul endured a lot for the Gospel, didn't he? Thank
God he had a traveling physician that traveled with him in Luke. to take care of his many wounds.
He was beaten all the time, wasn't he? Stoned, whipped, shipwrecked. He had to have a physician to
take care of him, and the Lord did provide. Look at verse 14,
for this cause, he says, For this cause, everything God does,
He does on purpose. For this cause. You remember
in this same chapter, chapter 3, verse 1, He said, For this
cause, I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ. Is there not
a cause? Everything that God does, He
does on purpose. And it's for the cause of His
glory. And for the cause of the good of his church, he said,
for this cause, for this reason, this purpose, he says, I bow. I bow the knee. Now, it doesn't
mean that he physically bowed the knee, but what he's saying
here, he's saying, I'm willingly and gladly submitted unto the
will of the Lord. For this cause, I bow my knees
unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For this cause, we bow
unto His will. Our Lord taught us to pray, remember? He taught us to pray, not our
will, but Thy will be done. Prayer is much more than the
attitude of the body. You can bend the knee and bow
the head, but yet be upright and rebellion in your heart."
So prayer is much more than the attitude of the body, it's the
attitude of the heart before God. The Lord looks on the heart,
not the outward countenance. He looks on the heart. And then
he says, verse 15, For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family, the whole
family in heaven, And the whole family on earth is named. He's
talking about all the redeemed of the Lord. The whole family
that is with the Lord, who has died in faith in Christ and has
been taken to glory. As we read in John 17, remember,
he said, Father, I will that those You have given me be with
me where I am. Of whom the whole family in heaven
and earth His name." What is the name of the family of the
Lord Jesus Christ? You know, we wear His name as
He is our husband, He is our head, we are in Him and we wear
His name. His name is called, remember,
the Lord our righteousness. And then when it talks about,
in Jeremiah 33, when it talks about the church, he said, this
is the name wherewith she shall be called. What is it? The Lord
our righteousness. That's our name in Christ. Of
whom the whole family, the whole family of redeemed in heaven,
and the whole family of the redeemed in the earth, is named by His
name. What is that? Look at verse 19
in chapter 2. He said, now therefore you are
no more strangers, and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints, and you belong to the household of God. We are sons
of God by His grace, by His love. Again, in chapter 3, he talks
about it and describes it this way, verse 6, that the Gentiles
should be fellow heirs of the same body, partakers of the promise
in Christ by the gospel. So we are fellow citizens, we
are the saints, in Christ, and we belong to His household. We
are sons of God by His purpose and by His grace. Our Lord prayed
for those given to Him in that covenant of grace. Remember we
read a moment ago, He said, Our Lord prayed, I pray for them,
those you have given to Me. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given Me. For they are thine, all mine
are thine. in Christ Jesus. You see, He
laid down His life for the family. He came as a surety for the family,
of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, and He died
to put away the sin of those people, His family. He prays
for them. He intercedes for them. He loved
the church and gave Himself for it. We pray for those that are
chosen and married to Him by grace and those who bear His
name. The Lord Jesus Christ is called
the head of the family. He's the head of the family.
His body. He is the head of the family,
which is His body. And as such, He is a generous
provider for them. Let's look back at chapter 1.
Ephesians chapter 1. Verse 22, "...he put all things
under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to
the church, who is the church which is his body, the fullness
of him that filleth all in all." He is the head of the family. And as the head and husband of
the family, he is a generous provider. A generous provider. What is a father? provide for
his family? I know today you set aside his
father's day. What does a father provide for
his family? Food, shelter, clothing, right?
Food, shelter, clothing. Our Lord Jesus Christ, He is
our shelter in the time of storm. He is our refuge. Isaiah 32,
He's a hiding place from the wind, a cover from the tempest,
as rivers of water in a dry place, and a shadow of a great rock
in a weary land. He is our shelter. Our Lord provides
for us that refuge from the storm. He provides for us all food,
doesn't He? Spiritually speaking, as our
head, as our husband, as our provider. He is called the bread
of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and shall never thirst. Shelter food, and He provides
all our clothing." Now, I'm not talking about the suit you have
on or the shirt you have on. I'm talking about the robe of
righteousness we have in Christ. Isaiah 61 10, I will greatly
rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my
God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He
covered me with the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom, decketh himself
with ornaments, as a bride adorneth herself with jewels. As the head
and husband of his body, he provides all things for us, of whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named." Verse 16, that, what? That he would grant you. according to the riches of His
glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit inwardly."
Now here we have in these following verses, verses 16, 17, 18, and
19, Paul prays for those believers there at Ephesus. Let's make
this our prayer right now. I want to make it personal for
us. Let's pray this for one another.
And let's make this our prayer that Almighty God would grant
unto us according to the richness of His grace and the fullness
of His glory. Now, if He's pleased to do so,
All things will be well. All things will be well. Notice the first thing that he
says here in verse 16. And I want you to notice particularly
the things that he prays for are spiritual blessings. He doesn't
pray for things physical. He prays for things spiritual.
Notice what he says that he would grant you according to the riches
of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit inwardly
in the new man, to be strong in the Lord, to be strengthened
by His Spirit in the inner man. That is the new nature that's
given in the new birth. Now, oftentimes I think we pray
in a way that's maybe not correct. Oftentimes we pray for things
physical and fleshly. rather than things that are spiritual.
Oftentimes we pray for someone to be healed or someone to be
strengthened naturally. Someone is sick or someone's
going through a trial and we do pray for them, don't get me
wrong. But that's not the emphasis of what he's saying here for
our spiritual strength inwardly. Oftentimes we pray for things
natural and forget our real need is growth and strength spiritually
in the new man created in Christ Jesus. Now, if any man be in
Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away and
behold, all things have become new. If you look just across
the page, Ephesians chapter 4, Look what he says here. Verse
21, "...if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught
by him, as the truth is in him." Ephesians 4 verse 22, "...that
ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man." Talking
about the flesh. "...which is corrupt according
to the deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your
mind." that you put on the new man, which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness. So put off that old man, and
then put on that new man. Seek to grow in grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord. The Apostle Paul says this in
2 Corinthians 4.16, For the which cause we faint not, though the
outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. So this flesh, it is perishing.
Paul didn't say that we pray that your flesh might be sustained.
No, we pray that you might be strengthened inwardly, spiritually
in your heart. The believer in Christ is in
need of daily mercy, refreshing grace, fresh supplies of His
love to each to us each day, to live for His glory, to combat
the lust of the flesh, the old nature, to endure trials that
come our way, that we might serve the Lord. These daily provisions
come by the means of the power of God the Holy Spirit. Notice
that you would be strengthened with might by His Spirit. In the inner man, what is the
fruit of the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, temperance, meekness. Now, if you want to turn with
me, you can, but just back a few pages. In 2 Corinthians 12, when
the Apostle Paul talked about his trial and the thorn in the
flesh, and asked the Lord to remove that thorn in the flesh,
You remember the answer that came back? This is 2 Corinthians
12 verse 9. And he said unto me, my grace
is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in your
weakness. Most gladly, therefore, would
I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessity, in persecution, in
distresses for Christ's sake. But when I'm weak, That's when
I'm strong. Weak in the flesh. The flesh
is just flesh. But to be strengthened inwardly
by His Spirit. I pray that for all of us here,
that we might grow inwardly. To grow in grace. To grow in
love. To grow in faith. To grow in
long-suffering. To grow in patience. in the inner
man. The second thing he says here,
he prays for, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. Now how precious is faith? Peter
said that we have this precious gift of God, this precious faith
that's given to us. I know this, the scriptures teach
that without faith It is impossible to please God. We know that faith
is a gift of God. Faith is not something that's
natural to this old rotten flesh, this sinful flesh. That Christ
may dwell in your hearts, that He might dwell there by faith. Believing Him. Now what a privilege
it is to have the gift of faith. That Christ may dwell in our
hearts by faith. This word dwell means to reside. It means to inhabit. It means
to house permanently. Christ in you is the hope of
glory, and He dwells there by faith. Saving faith is always
looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus does reside in
the hearts of His people. He does. Christ in you, and oh,
that we may be more aware of this by faith. Our Lord said,
I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you, I'm with you always,
even to the end of the earth. Lord, help us to believe that.
Give us faith to believe Him. He dwells in His people as the
sovereign king in His palace to rule, to guide, to protect,
and to rule over them. Isaiah says this, Isaiah 43,
verse 1, But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob,
and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed
thee, I have called thee by thy name, you are mine. Oh, for faith
to believe him. What great peace and comfort
to have in our heart. By faith to lay hold of the promise
of God, all the exceeding great and precious promises, and to
believe him. to grow in grace, to grow in faith. He dwells in
His people as a sovereign king. He dwells in His people as a
loving shepherd to lead them and to provide for them. The
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He dwells in His people
as a generous Father to graciously watch over them and to love them
and to care for them. Now let me show you Scripture.
This will bless you if you'll turn and read with me. 1 Peter
chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5. Again, this is the Lord Apostle
Paul praying for us. But look at 1 Peter chapter 5,
verse 7. 1 Peter 5, 7. Casting all your care upon Him. Do you have any? Do you have
any cares? Cast all your care upon Him,
He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith,
knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren
that are in the world." Verse 10, but God. But the God of all
grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after that you've suffered a while, make you perfect, Establish,
strengthen, settle you to Him. Be glory and dominion forever
and ever. Amen. Oh, to be given faith to
rest in Him. That Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith. And then, next he mentions this. Look back to the text. Ephesians
3 verse 17. The last part of verse 17. That
you being rooted And grounded in love. Faith, hope, and love. Remember that? Faith, hope, and
love. The greatest of these is love. That you being rooted and grounded
in love. To be strong in love. Faith and
love go together. Where you find one, you find
the other. Rooted in love like a tree planted by the rivers
of living water. Grounded in love like a house
resting upon that foundation which is Christ the Lord. This
is the love of God that's shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit. That you would be rooted and
grounded in this love. His love for us. That's what
he's talking about here. Turn to Romans chapter 5. His
love for us. We love Him only because He first
loved us. Romans 5, verse 5, Hope maketh
not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us. Now, read on. Look what He says about His love.
For when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ
died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man would one die, yet for a good man some would even dare to die.
But verse 8, God committed His love toward us, and that while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being
now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through
Him. Oh, to know something of this
love, to be rooted, to be grounded in this love, the love of God. We read in Romans 8, nothing
can separate us from the love of God which is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. We are more than conquerors through
Him that loved us. To know more of His love for
us. to more of His love for us, who died for us. And then look
at verse 18. Here's the fourth thing. To be
strong in love, to have greater understanding of His love, to
be able to comprehend by His grace, or apprehend this great
love, this love of God in Christ, that you may be able to comprehend. That is to understand, that is
to grasp, and to lay hold of. that comprehend with all the
saints what is the breadth of this love, the length of this
love, the depth of this love, the height of this love. We might comprehend, that word
means to eagerly seize, to possess, to lay hold of fondly. This love of God, which is in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that chapter in 1 Corinthians
13, where it talks all about the love of God? We read these
words, Love never fails. Love beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, and nothing
can separate us from the love of God, which is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And then he says here in verse
18, to know the breadth of it, the
length of it, the depth of it, the height of it. Some old writer
called this the geometry, the geometry of his love, or the
four dimensions of God's love to us. The breadth of it, which
means the scope of it, or the reach of his love to all of God's
elect, in all ages, in all places, in all nations, having loved
his own, he loved them to the end. That's the breadth of it.
And then the length of it. How long has God loved his people?
He said, I've loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore,
with loving kindness, I'll draw you to myself. How about the
depth of his love? How far down does the love of
God reach? It reached way down when it reached
down for me. The depth of His love to the
lowest sinners, He's able to save to the uttermost all that
come to God by Him. Here is a faithful saying worthy
of all acceptation, the Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He committed His love toward
us, we read a moment ago. While we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. The breadth of His love, the
length of His love, the depth of His love, how about the height
of it? But God, who was rich in mercy for His great love wherewith
He loved us, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us
together with Christ. Do you remember where that's
written? Over here in chapter 2. By grace
are you saved and has raised us up together, verse 6, chapter
2, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ.
Well, that's pretty high, isn't it? That's as high as you can
go. That in ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of
His grace, there it is again, in His kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourself, the gift of God not of works
that any man should boast. You see how He prays for these
spiritual blessings for us. Now look back at Ephesians chapter
3 verse 19. And to know. To know this love of Christ.
I mean, to experimentally, in your heart, know this love of
Christ to you. We love Him. Yes, we do. Not
like we should. Not like we will one day. We
do love Him because He first loved us. And to know this love
of Christ, look what it says there, it surpasses any knowledge. Now, we know something of this
love. We've experienced something of this love. But to totally
know the full extent of His love, God so loved the world that He
gave everything for us. Oh, that we might know more of
how He loved us and gave Himself for us. Look at verse 19 again,
that we might be filled Now you get a hold of this, filled with
all the fullness of God. Of His fullness have we all received
grace for grace. To know this love of Christ,
I mean this sacrificial dying love the Lord has for His church. He laid down His life for the
church. He loved the church and gave
Himself for us. God bought us with His own blood
that you might be filled with all this fullness of God in Christ. Now, look at verse 20. Who gets the glory for all this?
now unto Him that is able." Well, He is able, isn't He? We're not
able. We're totally depraved sinners.
Totally dependent upon Him. But He is able. He's able to
do abundantly. He's able to do abundantly. But
He's able to do exceeding abundantly. You see that? Above all that
we would ask or above all that we'd even think. He's able to
do above, exceedingly above, all we ask or think according,
notice, to His power. His power that works in us. God who had begun a good work
in you will perform it, will perfect it. Isn't that a glorious
verse? Sometimes when you want to study a word, sometimes study
that word able. What is God able to do? You remember
Romans chapter 4, where it said, Abraham was strong in faith,
giving God all the glory, being persuaded that all that God had
promised, what? He's able to do. God is able
to do. He's able to do. Able to perform
all He promised. Able to save them to the uttermost. Hebrews 7, verse 25. He's able
to change our vile body and fashion it like unto His glorious body.
Philippians 3, verse 20. And He's able to keep us from
falling. Jude 1, verse 24. He is able. Aren't you glad He's
able? He's the able Savior. Listen
to this verse. God is able to make His grace
abound toward you. God is able to make all grace
abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency
in all things, may abound to every good work. And it's all
to His glory. He's able to build us up. When
Paul met with those elders at Ephesus. You remember, we studied
in Acts chapter 20, and Paul told them that they would see
him no more, and how they wept on one another's neck and hugged
one another, and he said this, Now brethren, I commend you to
God with the word of His grace, which is able to build you up,
and to give you inheritance among them that are sanctified. He is able. He is able to do
all this. Now watch this. Who gets the
glory? Verse 21. Unto Him be glory. Unto Him be glory. In the church,
by Jesus Christ, throughout all ages, world, without end. And then He says, Amen. Amen. I can say Amen to that. And I
pray that the Lord would give this and grant this to us. according to the riches of his
glory. Unto him be all the glory, both
now and forever, in all ages, world without end. The hallmark
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how you know you're
hearing the true gospel and not another, is this bottom line,
who gets the glory. Who gets the glory? Is it the
creature or is it the Christ of God? He gets all the honor
and glory. As Paul said, God forbid I should
glory saved in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord
teach us to pray this way. to pray this way, to pray for
one another, and to forgive one another, that we might be strengthened,
that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith, that we'd be
rooted and grounded in love, and to know more of His love,
more of His saving grace, and that we might give Him all the
honor and glory.