Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Looking at v17-19 tonight
• A struggle in preparing for this passage
• Paul prays that the Ephesians would:
• Know the fullness of this love
• Know what surpasses knowledge
• Filled with the fullness of God
• Paul is praying for all the saints

Christ in the Heart (v17)

• Why would Paul pray that Christ would dwell in their hearts (when they are already Christians)?
• Paul also prayed 'that Christ would be formed' in the Galatians
• To conform us to the image of Jesus - Rom 8
• Whilst Christ is in us there is still so much work to be done
• Dwell, in the Greek means settle down/home
• Do we know something of Christ's comfortable presence?
• Are we grieving the Spirit?
• The heart is like a home
• There are different rooms in a home
• Think about your thought life, your appetites/desires, fellowship with Christ, any secret things
• Revelation - Jesus knocks at the door of the church/of our heart
• Jesus wants to come in and dine with us
• Do we respond to His prompting
• John 14:21
• Christ will come in a special way to the obedient Christian
• The obedient Christian knows something of the manifestation of Jesus in their life
• In order for Christ to dwell in our heart we need the power of the Holy Spirit
• Example of the young man
• Is our love for Christ strong that it frees us from the things that pull us down
• Jesus dwells in our heart by faith

Rooted and Grounded in Love (v17-18)

• Rooted - a tree; grounded - a building
• What is securing the Christian?
• The love of God
• Our foundation is God's word
• Love for the Brethren
• Love is not a feeling - true love is very practical
• Love never fails
• Love is a strong as death
• We do not love the world (for then the love of God would not be in us)
• The consequence of being rooted and grounded in love is that we would comprehend the nature of God's love
• God loves the world with a wide love
• There is room in God's house
• God's love is so long it is from and to eternity
• Jer 31 - an everlasting love
• God's love is so deep it brought heaven to earth
• Jesus came from glory
• Man rejected Christ but Jesus cried on the cross for their forgiveness
• Forgiveness for the vilest of sinners
• God's love is so high
• It raises people (believers) up to heaven
• They become children of the living God and heirs of glory

Knowing the Unknowable (v19)

• This is not hyperbole but reality
• To have such an experience of God's love that you cannot explain it
• Unless you have experienced this it is difficult to preach about it
• Quote from Edward Pason
• Quote from unknown person
• Does this deflate or encourage us?
• Example of the Hymn writers
• We can know something of the fullness of God
• We become like God
• If we feel empty and barren
• We need Christ's strength
• We need to be filled with the fullness of God
• We can pray in this manner for others
• Let us pray big things

Closing Comment