EPHESIANS OUTLINE 21 of 34

Eph. 3:14-21

I. Introduction

A. The Cause for Prayer (14)

1.what is the cause? The chaotic condition of men.

(a). Paul had previously painted a picture world in chaos.

(b). Hatred between peoples and nations (2:14-15)

(c). There is division everywhere not only among peoples and nations but also in our inner life.

(d). It is God's purpose that all warring and discordant elements be brought into harmony thru Christ.

(e). Jesus Christ is the instrument whereby men are brought into a oneness of unity (2:10) (2:13) (2:15-18)

2.The Manifold Wisdom of God (10)

(a). The church is to be God's instrument to carry this message of Christ to the lost world of men.

(b). The church is meant to be the body through which the spirit of Christ acts and operates

(c). If the church which is the wisdom of God is to fulfill its role it must have a certain kind of people.

(d). This concern is the essence of Paul's prayer

B. The Position of Prayer (3:14)

1. I bow my knees - this means something more than kneeling. It conveys the idea of prostration

(a). Ordinary Jewish position in prayer was standing with the hands stretched out, palms upward

(b). Paul's prayer, which we are about to consider, is so intense he prostrates himself in an agony of entreaty

C. The Object of Prayer (3:14)

1. His prayer is addressed to God the Father

(a). It is interesting to note the different things in this letter which are said about God the

Father.

2. God is the Father of Jesus (1:3,17)

3. God is the Father to whom we have access (2:18-3:12)

(a). Essence of O.T. is that God was the person to whom access was forbidden.

(b).The High Priest only could go into the Holy of Holies and that only one day per year, a father requirement mandated the sprinkling of blood

(c). The way to God was limited in the O.T. worshipers was virtually barred from all access to God.

(d). what access he had was through a mediator

(e). In the N.T. we discover the unrestricted access we have through Christ to God the Father

4. God is the Father of Glory (1:17)

(a). This is the other side of the matter just mentioned

(b). We must balance the accessibility of God with the glory of God.

(c). God welcomes the sinner into His presence and into His love but not to trade on that love in order to remain in sin.

(d). Our free access to God does not grant us the right to live anyway we want too.

(e). We should ever seek to walk worthy of His calling

5.God is the Pattern of True Fatherhood (3:15)

(a). All fatherhood is but a copy of His fatherhood

(b). Remember that as we teach our children to call God Father the only conception they have is the fatherhood we convey to them.

(c). As a father I must model my pattern of father hood upon His.

(d). We are under obligation as a father to be as good a father to our children as He is to us.

II. The Prayer for Spiritual Strength (3:16)

A. The Sphere of That Strength (Inner Man)

1. What did Paul mean by "Inner Man"

2. The Greeks understood three things

B. Strengthening of the Reason

1. He wanted them to be able to discern between right and wrong.

2. He wanted them to exercise control over their passions

3. He wanted them to have the wisdom which would keep them pure and clean

C. Strengthening of The Conscience

1. In this day when men will sell out their convictions for dollars we need a conscience that is sensitive and alive to God

2. It is possible to disregard your conscience and

become dull and incentive toward holiness

D. Strengthening of the Will

1. It is so often true that we know what is wrong but there is a weakness in our will to carry out our best intentions.

Grant us the will to fashion as we feel

Grant us the strength to labor as we know,

Grant us the purpose, ribbed and edged with steel, To strike the blow.

Knowledge we ask not, knowledge Thou hast lent, But, Lord, the will-there lies our deepest need. Grant us the power to build, above the high intent, The deed, the deed!

2. The inner man is the reason, the conscience, the Will

E. The Source of That Strength

1. The Holy Spirit is the source of that strength

(a). The Christian can only be made strong by a power outside of himself.

(b). The Holy Spirit acts upon us to empower us with divine energy.

(c). The weakness of the body has nothing to do with the strength spoken of here

(II Cor. 4:16)

(d). Inner can continue to grow stronger as the body grows weaker.

2. The measure of our strength is the measure of our daily reckoning upon the Holy Spirit activity in us. (Romans 7:12-13)

3. The Holy Spirit is sent to teach us and also to remind us of the things of Christ

(John 14:26)

4. Holy Spirit will glorify Christ and reveal His truth to us (John 16:13-14)

5. Holy Spirit empowers the believer to witness (Acts 1:8)

6. Holy Spirit filled the believers with joy (Acts 13:52)

7. Holy Spirit sheds abroad love of God in our hear (Rom. 5:5)

III. The Prayer for Christ's Indwelling (3:17)

A. The Spirit of God by His working in us discloses that which hinders Christ full possession of us

1. The Holy Strengthens in order to prepare us for the enthronement of Christ as Lord.

(a). He is not referring to Christ initial entrance into us

(b). He is already there as Savior. To most of us He is more a house guest than the rightful

owner of the house.

(c). When God exalted Christ to be Head over the Church, He gave Him the right to be the Lord over every Christian

2.Christ it is said desires to dwell in our hearts

(a). Our human personalities are to become the fixed and permanent dwelling of Christ

(Gal 2:20)

(b). Christ desires to permeates and possess for usefulness our entire being.

3. By Faith

(a). From God's viewpoint the indwelling of Christ is made effectual by supernatural work of the Spirit

(b). From our side it rests upon the willing yielding of the individual Christian.

(c). We must appropriate Christ by faith, it is thin His presence becomes a living, laminating, reality.

IV. The Prayer for Divine Love (17-19)

A. The indwelling of Christ brings with it the all encompassing love of God

1. If you would know and experience God's love, it can only be done by the strengthening of the Spirit and the indwelling of Jesus Christ

2. Notice He roots us and grounds us, both ideas refer to permanence and stability.

B. Notice the all inclusiveness of God's love (18)

1. It is as if Paul invited us to look at the universe to the limitless sky above, to the limitless horizons on every side, to the depth of the earth and the seas beneath us, and said, " The love of Christ is as wide as that."

2. He prays that we may comprehend (to seize, take Possession)

(a). That which we are to grasp and to experience is the love of Christ.

(b). This love is to be both known and unknown.

(c). I can know this love of Christ and yet there is an ocean of love yet to enjoy.

V. The Prayer of Fulness (19)

A. This fulness is that which God imparts through the indwelling of Christ in the heart.

1. In Christ the fulness of God was pleased to dwell (Col. 1:19)

2. This same God in the same fulness is pleased to dwell within us in the same manner

3. In Christ that fulness is without measure in us it is certainly a measured experience

B. Fulness is the keynote of this book

1. Filled (1:23) Fulness (3:19) Fill (4:10) filled (5:18)

2. There is nothing conceivable beyond the fulness of God

3. God is willing to fill us according to the measure of our emptiness, our thirst, our faith.

VI. The Divine Ability (20)

A. However great our petition it can never exceed God's ability.

B. God's power is available to us.