Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23 reveals that believers can know God more deeply by understanding the hope of His calling, the riches of His inheritance in the church, and the exceeding greatness of His power demonstrated in Christ's resurrection and exaltation. The sermon emphasizes that God's ultimate purpose is to display His grace through the church, which is Christ's body and bride. This divine plan highlights God's glory, not human merit, and points to the future perfection of the church in Christ. The message concludes by urging believers to grasp the immense power God has made available to them through Christ, who is now seated at God's right hand, sovereign over all things for the church's sake.
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to the Ephesians. We began last week a study of the two prayers that we find in this Ephesian letter. The first one beginning in chapter one at verse fifteen. The other one we will find later on, God willing, beginning next week in chapter three at verse fourteen. Well, may I give a background again before we go further? My beloved, let me encourage every one of us to realize the tremendous miracle of divine love and divine grace that is revealed in the teaching of this epistle.
In the opening of chapter one, the great work of God the Father. and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is emphasized. May I repeat again, there's nothing in the Old Testament like it. It is a miracle of divine love and grace that is only found in the New Testament teachings. and particularly is it magnified by the writing of the Apostle in this epistle to the Ephesians that God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit together without human effort without any human merit on our part is bringing into existence and has brought to existence already the greatest testimony for the glory of God in the whole history of God and the history of the world.
And that is Christ and the church. I do not say this boastfully, but I do say it scripturally. According to the Word of God, the greatest miracle of love and grace that will be exhibited throughout all eternity will be the bride of Christ. Let me give you the thought for just a moment. You don't have such a relationship between Christ and the Old Testament saints or even the saints that are yet to come in the millennial age as you do have in relation to this great miracle the bringing in of the church which is the body of Christ let me read the prayer in chapter one from verse fifteen to the end of the chapter and cover it briefly and thoroughly as possible in the time we have to gather Paul praying wherefore I also after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love unto all the
saints feast not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. And note he addresses this prayer to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. Let me insert right here at this moment what we stated in past week that as you have in chapter one and verse three, there is a eulogy saying, Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now let me just insert the fact. This first prayer is addressed directly to God. The second prayer in chapter three will be directly addressed to him as Father.
A different approach. But here we read the prayer that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you The spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the complete knowledge of him. Oh, may I emphasize what I need in my own soul. This exhortation that I should know God better and better. More and more. One dear sermon of God of the past century wrote, I never forget reading it, saying, the greatest education that one can have is to know this mighty being as far as we can know him.
And surely there's no better, greater ambition of education than that. But now we will know. He prays in verse eighteen that the eyes of your understanding, which we interpreted last week, the eyes of your heart, being enlightened. And now we have the approach to the request. For which he prays that we may know. First of all, number one. What is the hope of God's calling? Now please let me emphasize again. From chapter one and verse four. Go back to chapter one and verse four.
Let me read verse four. Where we find the calling of God. According as he has chosen us in Christ. before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. My beloved, let me say, God calls you with me. You read Romans chapter eight sometimes. Look with me for just a moment. Romans chapter eight. I'd like to quote a scripture there, and you will note it very carefully in this wonderful eighth chapter of the book of Romans. And plead me, I know.
Verse thirty, if you please, referring to you and me, who were saved. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, whom he wanted to save. Then he also called, and whom he called, he justified and so on. Why did he call us? Now, don't forget, as we emphasized it last week, we do it again. Why did he call us? chapter one and verse four tells us and let me read it according as he had chosen as he had before the foundation of the world for this purpose that we should be holy without blame before him in love and beloved let me emphasize with joy the perfection there will be yours and mine and there I said what will it be like Christ and God will have great joy to see you and me my beloved fellow believer and all believers in that blessed testimony of the church looking like Christ please let me have this like this this is not
my portion it's God's portion what he's going to get out of it and I will confess we are more selfish as to what we are going to get out of this when it comes to salvation look It's going to get more. But now go on in our reading. The second thing that we were to know is what the riches of the glory of his inheritance. Not ours. His inheritance in the things. The glory that's going to be God's. His inheritance. Go back in chapter one again. Let me go down to verse five with you, if you please, or verse six, rather.
at the end of this little section down into verse six, that we might be to the praise of the glory of His grace. Now let me re-emphasize in our reading of verse eighteen, the second request is that we might know the glory of God's in him, what he finds and what he will have in the same. Now I want you to be very careful. He's going to not going to say, look up how proud I am of mine. No, he's not going to indicate how proud he may be of you or how proud he may be of. No, it's got nothing personal as far as we're concerned.
And the glory of that blessed day is going to be for him more than it will be for us. Now go in chapter two for just a moment. In chapter two. We find we were quickened with Christ. Let me go to verse four and read. But God who is rich in mercy for his great love where he loved us. Even when we were dead in sin, perhaps quickened or made us alive. Quickened us together with Christ. By grace you're saved. Then know the next thing. He not only made us alive, he hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Now, beloved, I don't know how much you do is.
But you and I should be enjoying the fight. He has put us in heavenly places in Christ. But now I want you to note the purpose in verse seven. This is the explanation of what the glory will mean to him. Please let me refer again. It has no reference to the same being his glory. But what he has done for the saint. Look in verse seven. Now let me read it. I may translate one word. I hope you'll notice it. That in the ages to come.
Now get it into your heart and mind. Not now. But in the ages to come. In eternity. He might show the exceeding riches of his grace. in His kindness toward us in Christ. It's Luke. That word show should be translated and can't be translated. The word display. And no. The glory of the church. It's going to be redeeming. The riches of His grace. What His grace has done.
Not what we have done. what he has done for us. Remember chapter in the book of Corinthians, first Corinthians chapter eight, verse nine. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. How that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be what? Rich. And may I say that? When the church is and let me emphasize the period for Asia to come. I hope you can take it in your mind and heart and in your soul.
Please, the beloved bride of Christ, the church which is its body, will be the display of the riches of God's grace more than any other people of the universe. Someone made this interpretation of the word grace, G-R-A-C-E, and made this across me. God's riches at Christ's extent. Can I put it in this door?
God's going to get more out of the display than you and I will. Proud will he be indeed unhappy, and glory will be to his name. This is what my grace, and don't forget, fellow believer, grace means undeserved favor on your part and mine. When it comes to you and I, both in what kind of faith, forget it. I'm sure you and I can remember the words of the Lord Jesus reminding us, that he has done the will of God. Say that we are unworthy servants, unprofitable servants. In other words, God will not be displaying the glory of the saints in their character and work.
No. But he said, this is what my grace made them. And I would say this in closing about this particular portion. I am only a sinner. Save by grace. Have the old hymn right then. This is my story. To God be the glory. I am only a sinner. Save by grace. The old hymn put it in this way through receiving those words. Suffer a sinner whose heart overflows. Loving his Savior to tell what he knows. Once more to tell it. Once more to claim it. I'm only a sinner.
Say, but God says, you don't know how much glory I'm getting out of it. Now I'll go back to chapter one as we close that section. I want you to know it again in chapter one. And begin, and particularly at verse six, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory. not to the glory of his faith, the glory of his grace. Now let me say again, do we know it? Paul prayed that you might know it, the hope of his calling, and then the glory of his inheritance in the faith.
Now we come to the third thing. As we go on in chapter one, And then in chapter one we begin to read another thing. In verse nineteen. And this is the third request of false prayer. And that you may know what is the exceeding greatness. Emphasize the word greatness. The exceeding greatness of his power to us when we believe. My beloved let me say it. Please let me repeat. I say it to my soul earnestly I'm unable to measure the exceeding greatness of his power but Paul describes it here but it's towards us you feel weak don't worry how we need to realize we have a God whose power exceeds the greatness we could imagine.
But there's an example of that greatness given to us. According to the working of His mighty power, and this is what He did in verse twenty, which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. Can I stop for just a moment? We all know it's been mentioned in prayer. the particular time of season that we're living in right now. But I want to tell you it's not important as this, what we're reading. Very important, yes, I know it is, that Christ came to the earth.
Look! Aren't you glad we don't... We've got a living Savior. As one of our brethren prayed, He's risen! He's living! And note the power that was done to raise him from the dead. Verse twenty again. Which he wrought in Christ. When? He raised him from the dead. Let me pause for just a moment. I've got to. Raising him from the dead was a greater miracle than bringing him into the world at Bethlehem.
I've often thought of the past. You will never find a scripture exhorting the believers to keep Christmas as the birthday of Christ. But I find plenty of scriptures we're told to cherish his death. And we're told to remember it might be requested of himself. This is my body. This is my body. as he instituted the Lord suffer great a miracle is it the power of God's resurrection when he raised him from the dead but I want you to notice where he put him far above now read on and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places my beloved I want to emphasize I'm glad my Savior's not in Bethlehem tonight.
I'm glad he's not in Galilee tonight. I'm glad he's not in Nazareth. I'm glad he's not even at Calvary. He says, God's right hand. How high is that? Now look the mighty power. He goes on to explain it. Far above. Notice verse twenty-one. Far above, my beloved, let's pause for just a moment. Is there a scientist? An earthly man? Who can even tell us where this location is?
How far it is? But no, it's above all. I don't know how many trillions and miles away. I do know this. As Paul says in St. Corinthians chapter twelve, it's paradise where Paul was caught up, whether in the body or whether he was dead, he did not know. To the third heaven. I don't know the distance, but I want you to take it in. Why he wants you and me to know it. He was raised far above all princes. Now note, he's naming everything in the universe under God. Angelic?
Humans? Maybe, I don't know, things that we may not even know about. But all principality and authority and might and dominion and every name that is named. And no, not only in this world, meaning this age, but also in that which is to come. Beloved, I cannot, I cannot emphasize sufficiently How high in glory God has raised his beloved son. As we well know from Philippians chapter two, he has given him a name that is above every name and his own right hand.
In my beloved plea, God says, I want you to know it. Paul prays, I want you to know how high he's going. And when you and I cross out to consider how low he came, the same as he deserved to be so high. But let's read on. And note verse twenty-two, and have put all things under his feet. We know from other scriptures, even from Old Testament scriptures, as well as New Testament scriptures. Everything in the universe is going to be under his feet.
at the end when God's divine purposes will be all fulfilled. You only need to do it. Go to the last two chapters of the Revelation, twenty-one and twenty-two, and you read about it. And my beloved, that was great power, wasn't it? To put him so high that he can go no higher? Above all? and to his authority everything under him oh I want to tell you we need to enter into the greatness of our faith the words of Psalm hundred and ten come to mind when David said by inspiration The Lord said unto my Lord, sit now on my right hand till I make thine enemy thy foot.
Please, may I say, the world needs and the world will yet see that Christ is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. my beloved while they may be trying to remember him in his verse I want to tell you people should be start thinking are they ready to meet him when he comes back that's nearer than his verse the plea may I know with you not only are all things put under him but here's something special belonging to the church and gave him in to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body.
Not made the head of the church, but made him the head of everything pertaining to the church, which is his body. I want you to think of something very precious. We don't take it in as we are. The relationship of Christ to the church. We often, and rightly, he's called the head of the church. But you know, you and I are called His body. First Corinthians, twelve, thirteen, by one spirit, we have all been made to be baptized. We have all been baptized into one body. And in its fourth chapter of the Ephesian epistle, Paul writes, there's only one body.
Not one denomination. You can find hundreds of them. But there's only one true body, which is the church. And you and I know, to be a member of this body, you've got to be born again and saved, trusting the Lord Jesus in His finishment. By grace are you saved through faith, then none of yourself. It's the gift of God, none of work, unless any man should move. Mind your lover, let me say, there's no reason to be troubled where you go to church. What you need to rejoice in if you say you're a member of the body of Christ. Now let me repeat what I said before from this platform.
When questioned by others, what church do you belong to? I've answered, are you saved? Do you know the Lord as your Savior? You're born again. And if they say, yes, I belong to the same church you do. No. I desire you to find this Christian that when the Lord comes for his saints, it's going to take them because they're Baptist or Methodist or Presbyterian, Episcopal Opians or whatnot. No. The dead in Christ. They're the members of his body. And the living in Christ. They're the members of his body. But I want you to note this precious truth at the end of it.
He gave him to his head. Over everything that relates to the church which is his body. Not just alone down here. Forever. Forever. I'm sure you know what the responsibility of a husband over in the family and over the wife is supposed to be, as you may read later on in the Ephesians and Scripture in chapter five. But I want to tell you there's never been a faithful husband like Christ, and there never will be. To the bride, to his wife, his bride. And may I note in the closing verse of the chapter, which is, please know, his body.
Let me give you the thought. I won't take the time to turn to chapter five. But you know, in chapter five, David Lund Apostle tells the relationship of a husband and wife what it ought to be. And why? One flesh. Next one. You know, I never forget, I remember a dear servant of God who was a Bible teacher in a Bible seminary years ago said a man is not a full man until he's married. You remember what Paul writes, the two shall be one. And you can recognize it.
And then he adds, but I speak. This is a great mystery, he says. In verse chapter five, verse thirty-two, he said, but I speak concerning Christ. and the church. Beloved, let me just emphasize again in closing the church which is his body. The Lord Jesus will never be complete until he has the church, the bride in heaven with him. Ephesians five, do you remember the words in verse twenty five and on? Christ loved the church.
And he gave himself for it. That he might sanctify it and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word. And that he might present it to himself. A spotless. Without blemish. A glorious church. Now, one to tell you, I want to, please let me tell you, the Lord Jesus is not going to be happy until he gets all the members of the body home. And in that day, I know why the power of his resurrection? Why so great?
So, look, let me give you this question. What kind of power will it be that will raise from the dead All that have died in Christ. And it will change all the living that are living in Christ. In a moment. And in the twinkle of an hour. Ooh. What power. And God demonstrated it in Christ. From the grave to the pinnacle of eternal glory. But he's not going to be in that glory without his glory.
the body. And in that day, there's going to be a perfect wedding. A perfect bride in a perfect bride room. I often, in my earlier days when I've attended wedding ceremonies, heard sometimes the song, Oh, Perfect Love. My beloved, let me say this, humbly. But the most perfect love and the only perfect love you'll ever find is Christ loving his church. I'm not going to boast of my love, but I can boast of it.
Now, please let me say, Paul prayed these three things that we may know the hope of God's calling. Second, the glory of his inheritance in the second. His portion, not what you're going to get out of it, what he's going to get out of it. Through the ages to come. And then, last of all, what Christ is going to get out of it. His bride, his body joined to himself forever and ever. Shall we pray? Oh, our beloved Father, no wonder thy sermon wrote elsewhere. I have not seen, hear, have not heard.
Neither hath it entered into the heart of man. The things which God hath prepared for them that love him. And, Father, we're so glad we loved him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. And even under thy word in this section, the dear prayer of the Apostle, for thine people, for us, we say, Lord, answer us. Help us to take in these three great requests. that Paul mentioned, to know, indeed know the hope that God's going to get out of it, and the glory that God's going to get out of it in Christ, and the glory that the Lord Jesus is going to get.
Oh, bless this Lord. May we close by saying, all hail to the Father, all hail to the Son, all hail to the Spirit, bless we in one. We are saved by the blood of the crucified one. Dismiss us with thy blessing. We ask in the name of the Lord Jesus, sanctifying thy word to our souls and hearts, and in our lives. Amen. Thank you for coming.