(Audio/Video/Text)
Title: The Five Prayers of Paul (Part One)
Intro:
WE have no time for an introduction!
Overview:
V. 1 “For this reason…”
V2-13 (THE GREAT TANGENT) Paul explains, in detail, how he has been uniquely called and gifted to explain the union between Jew and Gentile in Christ, and how that sends a message of unity, not only to the human world, but to the supernatural world as well.
V.14 “For this reason…”
Question: What IS the reason?
Answer: You have to go back to the end of chapter 2 to see the reason Paul is referencing both before and after his tangent.
Ephesians 2:19-22 “Christ is the Cornerstone”
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
As you can see from what I’ve underlined, I want to draw special attention to verse 21. The idea that Paul is pushing forward is that Jew and Gentile not only fit together, but also GROW together into a holy temple in the Lord.
“I bow my knees”
Look at these verses really quickly with me:
Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.”
Luke 18:11 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men…”
Do you notice anything about the physical posture of prayer for the Jewish person?
This is an interesting phrase from Paul because Jews normally prayed standing up. In this context, kneeling appears to be an expression of both humility and urgency for the prayer request that Paul is about to share to the Father on behalf of both the Jewish and Gentile followers of Christ.
In other words, what he’s about to pray, he is pleading with God for.
In this prayer request, Paul names fives specific things that we will be looking at. Two today, and the last three next week.
Prayer request one:
“To be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man”
I would first draw our attention to the reminder here that this is not OUR strength. This is the strength “on loan” from the Holy Spirit which dwells within us. We are capable of things we never thought possible when the Spirit is flowing through us.
(Jim Mayes story of man saying, “I’m here to kill you.”)
J.I. Packer has an interesting reminder about the phrase “inner man”
This is some of Paul’s most pointed language about the work of the Holy Spirit within individuals. Much of Ephesians addresses believers’ corporate identity (Jews and Gentiles unite as Christians to form one family)
But Christ also dwells in the individual Christian heart.
KEY: Christianity is neither a common confession to the exclusion of the individual experience, nor a private piety without corporate vision.
So here is my pastoral warning and follow up questions to Packer’s excellent observations:
1. What does it look like when Christianity becomes only a common confession to the exclusion of the individual experience?
(take answers…this is only of my issues with responsive readings and confessions/statements of faith/covenants, etc. It strips the individual interpretation and expression from the believer)
2. What does it look like when Christianity becomes only private piety without any corporate vision?
(take answers…my biggest issue here, there’s no accountability and common submission to a higher power…most usually expressed in one of two ways: 1. “God told me that…” 2. “Well, that’s just where you are and we have to agree to disagree…”
Prayer Request Two: That Christ may dwell in your heart through faith
Is Paul being simple here? This seems a bit obvious, doesn’t it? Well, how else is Christ going to dwell in your heart? I’m not being silly here. I mean this as a serious question, how else might someone have a Christian belief system?
Let me ask it another way: Show of hands, how many of you spent some amount of time in your life believing your were saved, only to actually get saved later in life and realize that you were not previously saved? This is certainly part of my story. Ok, so what made you think you were saved, what made you think you knew Jesus?
- How we were raised
- What the Church told us (Just say this prayer)
- We participated in certain things and avoided other things
- We were never challenged to consider the fact that maybe we are not saved
- You were logically convinced that Christ had to be real
- Others?
So let me return to the original question: If not faith, how else is Christ is Christ going to (authentically) dwell in your heart?
Answer: He’s not. Faith is the only true way.
And What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1 gives the most direct answer in all of Scripture
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (NASB)
PB’s paraphrase: I can’t honestly deny the reality of Christ.
If this is not you, PLEASE don’t leave here without talking to me.