REVIEW (Verse 1: “For this reason” vss. 2-13: Review)
1. The
“mystery” (verse 6): …that through
the gospel the Gentiles are HEIRS together with
Israel, MEMBERS together of one body, and SHARERS
TOGETHER in the promise in Christ Jesus.
2. The
mission (verse 8): … to preach to
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ …
3. The
motivation (verse 9): …to make plain
to everyone the administration of this mystery … that now,
through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should
be made known …
JOURNEY
TOWARD JESUS! (Disciple-making)
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15
from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its
name.
“His whole
family” – Saints in heaven, Saints on earth
Jews with
Abraham as their father, Gentiles under Christ
Both have
their new FAMILY name: CHRISTIAN (followers of JC)
3 THINGS
TO NOTICE THAT PAUL PRAYS FOR…
1.
Spiritual strength in the “inner man”
16 I pray that out of his glorious
riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in
your inner being, (KJV: “strengthened with might” =
mightily strengthened)
Romans 8:11 -
And if the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from
the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his
Spirit, who lives in you.
1 Corinthians
2:12-14 - We have not received the
spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God,
that we may understand what God has freely given us.
13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom
but in words taught by the Spirit,
expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
PURPOSE: power
for discharging duty, resisting temptations, enduring
persecutions, etc.
How do I
get strength in the OUTER man?
(Exercise, diet, rest, staying away from danger)
How do I
get strength in the INNER man?
(“through His Spirit”)
Gal 5:16 -
So I say, live by the Spirit, and
you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Rom 8:13-
For if you live according to the
sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to
death the misdeeds of the body, you will live)
Exercise
= prayer, personal purity/integrity (staying away from danger)
Diet =
study of God’s word, “fellowship of the saints”
Rest =
solitude, silence
2)
Christ may “dwell in your hearts
through faith”
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
SONG: “In to my heart, in to my heart, come in to my heart, Lord
Jesus”
Eph 2:22
And in him you too are being built
together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Through faith =
listening and responding/inviting
Rev 3:20 -
Here I am! I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with me)
NOTE: Spoken
to believers OT: SAFE HAVEN Mystery revealed!
Communion:
“This is my Body”, this is the “new covenant” in my blood
3)
Filled with the fullness of God
That you, being “rooted and
established” in love Not just planted, but rooted and
established in love for each other,
MAY HAVE THE POWER, together with ALL the saints – the
fullest knowledge comes from community
TO GRASP the love that “surpasses
knowledge” and be filled!
…and to know this
love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the
measure of all the fullness of God.
“He
has given us everything we need. He has given us his very great
and precious promises, so that through them you may partakers of
the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4)
“be
perfect as your Father in heaven is
perfect” (Matthew 5:48)
Phil. 3:12-14)
“Not that I have already obtained
all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to
take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me…
But one
thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what
is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Eph 4:13 “It
was he who gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of
service, so that…the
body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the
faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Message Bible:
“until
we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other.
Efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature
adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive - like
Christ.”
RESPONSE: It
was His intention “…that THROUGH THE CHURCH…the manifold wisdom
of God should be made known
1. ASK –
inquire, petition, request
2. SEEK –
look for, search, (go beyond just asking)
3. KNOCK –
ultimately what God wants is fellowship; when in His presence
the need for asking and seeking seem less important
