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Summary

TITLE: House of God: The Not So Impossible Dream – Ephesians 3:14-21 AIM: Christ is w/in! We can live this life - focus on His love & give way. INTRO: A song that was popular when I was in high school was “Impossible Dream.” It was the principal song for the musical “Man of La Mancha,” which was an adaptation of the book Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes in the 17th century. It tells the story of the "mad" knight, Don Quixote, as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition – a battle between idealism & realism. In the musical, thru the song Don Quixote explains his quest & the reasons behind it, as he goes off to fight the famed windmill on behalf of his love. The words are enduring tho quite existential – stressing the active role of the will rather than of reason in confronting the problems of life. “To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe, to bear w/unbearable sorrow, to run where the brave dare not go; to right the unrightable wrong, to love pure & chaste from afar, to try when your arms are too weary, to reach the unreachable star: this is my quest, to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far, to fight for the right w/out question or pause, to be willing to march into Hell for a heavenly cause. And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest, that my heart will be peaceful & calm when I’m laid to my rest. And the world will be better for this, that one man, scorned & covered w/scars, still strove w/his last ounce of courage – to reach the unreachable star.” That, I think, expresses the absolute best of man, left to himself. We can all do a whole lot more than we think we can, & people have done things thought impossible & mankind has made great accomplishments thruout history, but there are still yet unreachable stars – impossible dreams. I don’t agree w/the thinking that tells our youth, “You can do/be whatever you want.” I agree w/encouraging others to be all they can be, but let’s be realistic. Not every child can be 2 a great athlete or grow up to be president. Can go a lot farther & do lot more by trying than can by not trying, but there are still impossible dreams. Having said all that, & acknowledging that we as Christians are walking against the tide of humankind, climbing a nearly un-scalable mountain as we try to live the Christian life - we fail so often that sometime we question whether or not it is an impossible dream. I want to tell you this morning it is not. Theme: Household of God – understanding that in Christ we are the Household of God & seeking to understand what it means to be the Household of God. I believe Paul would have us understand that while it is difficult to live the Christian & truly impossible to do it on our own, living as members of God’s household is not an impossible dream, but a God-worked reality, realized by faith. Let’s turn our attention to God’s word in Eph.3:14-21. A little different: I’ll read it for you now, but then we will work thru it phrase by phrase, as it comes up on the screen. [READ] Paul began this section of his epistle just as he did the 1st part of chap3: “For this reason…” – again referring to what he has previously written, about these Eph. Gentile believers’ standing in God’s Church, & God’s eternal purpose to bring all things together in Christ. “I bow my knees before the Father…” As he did at the end of chap1, so Paul breaks into prayer for the Ephesian believers, & by God’s providence, for us. 1:17 – prayed to “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.” Here he prays to “the Father” – our Father. Because of Christ’s atoning work, His Father is our Father – everyone who believes, receives Christ by faith belongs to Him! As A.R. Fausset wrote, “The foundation of all sonship is in Jesus Christ.” “From whom every family in heaven & on earth is named.” God’s family includes not only the redeemed of mankind thruout history, but also the realm of unfallen angels. God created, gave life to us all, redeemed us who were under the curse of sin, & so we all are called by His name, ided w/Him. Fausset correctly 3 wrote, “The Church is part of the grand family…which comprehends besides men, the higher spiritual world.” “…that according to the riches of His glory…” – Paul had used a similar phrase in Phil.4:19 – “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” God is abundantly supplied w/glorious riches. From Him emanates all grace & strength & love & power, etc – whatever we might need. It is no stretch for God to give us strength from His inexhaustible supply – like asking a billionaire for $1. “He may grant you to be strengthened w/power through His Spirit in your inner being…” God has already given us His Holy Spirit – to be w/us, w/in us, to empower us; He has already given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places; He has given us everything we need to live the Christian life. I believe Paul was asking God to move in us by His Spirit to enable us to know what we have & access all we have in Christ & embrace by faith all that is ours, deep w/in ourselves – His Spirit connecting w/our spirit. Just as Paul prayed (chap1) that God would give us “a Spirit of wisdom & revelation in the knowledge of Him” & open the eyes of our hearts, so here he is asking God to make us able to know the truth. “…so that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…” That phrase almost caused me to stumble, 1st because Paul is writing to Christians. Doesn’t Christ already dwell w/in us? And 2ndly, because if Christ dwells w/in me, why doesn’t that make more of a difference in how I live my life? Why do I fail so often? Why am I not more righteous in my daily walk? It is true that Paul was writing to Christians, but it seems they might have struggled w/their identity in Christ, feeling like 2nd-class Christians, unworthy. He wanted them/us to embrace this truth by faith, that Christ does dwell w/in us. We are never w/out Him & never left to ourselves. And yes, that should/must make a huge difference, a complete difference in how we live our lives, but here’s the key: believing & embracing – giving way to Christ w/in. That word 4 dwell is “katoikeo” – “dwell, settle, inhabit; metaphorically, in order to govern, prompt, pervade” (Strng’s). Jesus is not interested in coming to visit once in a while; He wants to make His permanent home w/us, w/in us. Jesus wants to settle down in our hearts, as Moule wrote, “As a Master resident in His proper home!” That’s what Paul was praying for. David Gudzik wrote, “The glory of the indwelling Jesus is something for us to know, & to know by faith. It is there for us, but must be taken hold of thru faith.” Then he asks, “Why do we need spiritual strength to let Christ dwell w/in us (or to know that He is)? Because there is something in us that resists the influence of the indwelling Jesus. That something can be conquered as the Spirit of God gives us the victory of faith.” Again, Moule wrote, “The indwelling is, from one side, the sovereign gift of God. From the other, it is a matter for the simplest & most personal reception by man. And…the form of that reception is…faith – reliance, submissive trust, not animated action, not exalted aspiration, but acceptance.” Will you accept by faith the rule of Christ w/in you? Most of us stumble because we’re trying to hold onto & maintain control over our lives. We don’t trust the indwelling Christ or the love of God or the grace of God or the sovereign will of God. Perhaps these Ephesian believers struggled in the same way. So Paul’s prayer continues: “…that you, being rooted & grounded in love…” – The wd “rooted” brings to mind a great oak tree – strong, fixed, established, because its roots go so deep. No wind can easily topple it. And the wd, “grounded” puts us in mind of a great building, the foundation of which is strong & firm, stable & again, established. Paul prays that we be rooted & grounded, firmly established in love. Whose love? God’s love; Christ’s love – why? If we’re going to give way to another’s rule, we will do so either because of fear of the consequences of not giving way or because we believe he has our best in mind, that he loves us. Do you believe God the Father loves you? Do you believe 5 that Christ loves you? Rom.5:8 – “God shows His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.” John 15:13 – “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” Paul’s prayer was that we be firmly established, fully convinced of the love of God for us. Then we can be more comfortable w/His indwelling rule/control. Then we can more fully see the superior pleasure of following Him. And then we can begin to understand that we don’t know the half of it! “…may have strength to comprehend w/all the saints…” That wd “comprehend” is “katalambano” – “to lay hold of, so as to make one’s own” (Strng’s). Paul’s prayer & the Father’s desire is that we, in community – all the Church, all this church – together, would comprehend. Again, we’re not lone rangers, not meant to stand alone. We belong to a great family/God’s household, & He would have us all, together comprehend, “…what is the breadth & length & height & depth…” Obviously these are dimensions, but Paul doesn’t specifically say of what. The context certainly leans toward Christ’s love – “rooted & grounded in love…”; “know the love of Christ…” That’s probably Paul’s line of thinking. “How high & how wide, how deep & how long, how sweet & how strong is your love!” The more established we are in God’s love for us, the more we can grasp just how endless, measureless that love is. We can’t get to the end of it. We can’t reach around it. Can you make God stop loving you? No! Does His love only go so far & then He’s done w/you? No! But this measurelessness expressed by Paul describes more than God’s love – also His grace/ unmerited favor, lavished on His children; His power – limitless; His person – God Himself. If we comprehend the vastness of God & His love & grace & power, etc, then why won’t we trust Him to rule in us for our good? “…and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” The wd “know” here is a different Greek wd from the one used in Eph.1:18. There it is “oida” – “understand the full meaning, 6 grasp the ramifications of” “the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, &…the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us…” Here the wd is “ginosko” – “get a knowledge of, perceive, feel” (Strng’s) & really, “to experience.” It was a Jewish idiom for relations between a man/woman; so it means to know intimately. Paul acknowledges that this love is beyond knowing – that is fully knowing. There’s much more to the love of Christ than we can get; but his prayer is that we might experience the love of Christ far beyond our present experience. That means that we can grow & grow & grow in Christ’s love & never get to the end of it. Then Paul’s prayer continues to an extraordinary conclusion. “…that you may be filled w/all the fullness of God.”(!) Several commentators point out that the word “with” can & should be translated “unto” – “that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.” That wd “filled” means “to capacity,” like a ship laden w/goods & a full complement of sailors. Gudzik wrote, “Paul wanted Christians to experience life in Jesus Christ (who is) the fullness of God (Col.2:9), & to be filled to their capacity w/Jesus, even as God is filled to His own capacity w/His own character & attributes.” Fausset adds, “This is the grand goal, (that we be) filled, each according to [our] capacity, w/the divine wisdom knowledge & love, even as God is full, & as Christ who dwells in [our] hearts has all the fullness of the God-head dwelling in Him bodily.” Filled up w/God! Isn’t that Paul’s meaning when he wrote (Gal.2:20), “I have been crucified w/Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me & gave Himself for me.” Now, let’s be honest; this does indeed seem like an impossible dream! How can we grasp the vastness of God & His love/grace? How can we know/experience that which surpasses knowledge? How can we be filled to capacity w/God? How can this be? Only because it depends on God, who alone is able! “Now 7 to Him is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think…” God alone is able to carry this off! Paul coins a new word – God is able to do “superabundantly”- beyond measure, beyond what we might ask or even think to ask. He can do it according to His power at work w/in us – the same power that raised Christ from the dead & seated Him at His right hand & gave Him the name above every name & put all things under His feet & gave Him as head over all to the Church. Our God & Father can strengthen us w/power thru His Spirit in our inner being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts thru faith, that we, being rooted & grounded in love, may be able to comprehend w/all the saints what is the breadth & length & height & depth, & to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled w/all the fullness of God. Ours is to believe it & take hold of it by faith, & pray for each other along these very lines. Then Paul closes his prayer w/a fitting doxology, which Gudzik properly points out, “does not only belong to the prayer that precedes it, but also to every glorious privilege & blessing spoken of in the 1st 3 chapters.” “…to Him be glory in the Church & in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever & ever. Amen!” This is the only fitting response to our great/loving God – give Him glory. He has done all things for His glory & He will be always glorified in Christ, but when we get it, embrace by faith all that God has given us in Christ, not only individually, but together, He is glorified in His Church, which is how it should be. We are the Household of God!