Grow With Pastor Joe

We live in a physically focused world. We tend to focus on what is in front of us, the things that we can see, feel, taste, touch and hear. Very few of us ponder spiritual things or the spiritual significance of mundane earthly activity. Most Christians, like the lost world, spend more time thinking about the physical or temporary than the spiritual or eternal. Let’s take Sunday mornings for example. How long do you spend getting ready for church? I admit that there are many variables, for example, are you male or female? Single or married? Kids or no kids? How close do you live to church? Taking away the many variables, when I ask the question, “How long do you spend getting ready for church?” The natural tendency is to think about the outward preparation to look presentable enough to head out the door to be on your way to church. Granted, I too spend some time to look decent (it’s a part of being a pastor) including having recently added ironing my dress shirts to my morning routine. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look or feel your best as you gather with the saints to give the Lord your best. However, I wonder how much time we spend preparing our inner man for the worship of God on a Sunday morning? The truth of the matter is that our outer physical man is temporary and perishing. Little by little and day by day our bodies are rotting until one day they slip into the grave. Our outer man is decreasing in abilities, strength and beauty. In short, our bodies are slowly losing a boxing match and will one day either be knocked out or saved by the bell. God cares about our outer man, but His focus of our physical living begins with our inner living. The Lord cares more about your soul in this present life because one day, those in Christ will be resurrected to a new and glorified body free of decay or disobedience. For those in Christ, the inner man isn’t descending like the outer body is. No, for those in Christ, the inner man is ascending to the heavenlies where Christ our Prophet, Priest, and King reigns. The inner man of the saved is not losing but winning. For the saved, we feel our outer man rotting away but our inner man is renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). The work of God in your life is an inside job. As God works inside you, then He will work through you in the outside world. As much care as we spend on getting our outer man to be healthy or beautified, how much more time should we spend on our inner man being healthy and holy?

We can mask our outer man but who we really are is who we are on the inside. You can’t put a mask on your soul and fool God. He sees your motives, thoughts, emotions, and outer behavior on top of that. Our salvation deals with both the inner and outer man. As we continue our study of our wealth and walk in Christ, we must see that it is an inside out process. Being in Christ is more about our belonging and belief than behavior. If we understand who we belong to (Christ and His Church) and believe it by faith then our behavior will slowly but surely match. Meaning, who we belong to and what we believe determines how we behave. How we behave outwardly is merely a representation of what we believe and who we belong to. In Eph. 3:1-13, Paul pauses to give a parenthesis of reminding us of the mystery now revealed in Christ of a unified Church made up of believing Jews and Gentiles. Eph. 1-3 has been chalked full of doctrine, doxology, and devotion. These three themes will continue in Eph. 4-6 as Paul gives more detail to how the walk of the Christian is to be lived in response to the believer’s wealth in Christ that he explains so richly in the first three chapters. Paul picks up with the details of a prayer that was begun in Eph. 3:1 with the phrase “For this cause.” Now, in Eph. 3:14-19 the prayer will be offered up to the Lord for the benefit of the Ephesians believers. Eph. 3:14-19 says, “14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Paul bows his knees in prayer in prison (under house arrest in Rome) to ask God to do a deeper work in the hearts of believers. Specifically, his prayer is that they would come into a fuller awareness of their wealth in Christ so that they may appropriate it by faith in their daily walk in Christ. Doctrine is always for doxology and devotion. Learning is always for living. The positional truths are always for practical training. As Paul bows his knees in prayer for these things, he approaches God in humility, sincerity, and concern for all Christians to understand the riches that are in Christ. He addresses his prayer to “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” not to show a universal fatherhood but rather to remind us of the relationship that we have with God. Because we are in Christ, we have a Heavenly Father who is concerned for His family (the Church as in Eph. 2:19-22) and cares for their growth, unity, and protection.

In this prayer, there are several specific requests that Paul gives. Eph. 3:16-19 are overflowing with practical positional truths that are rooted, revealed, and realized in Christ. This prayer not only shows Paul’s heart for the Church but also God’s heart for the Church. God wants us to be empowered (v. 16), established (v. 17), and enlightened (v. 18-19). Paul had already prayed for their enlightenment in Eph. 1:15-23. Now, Paul is praying that they would experience by faith a fuller and deeper daily walk in the infinite wealth of riches in Christ. Our prayer and desire should be the same as his. We should pray and pursue a depth in our walk. Far too many believers are drowning in the shallows when they could be plunging into the depths of God’s grace in their life. Let’s dive deeper together.

As Paul begins his petition to God and expresses his heart’s desire for all believers, he prays that we would be empowered in Eph. 3:16, which says, “16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;” The thrust of this verse is not for us to attain a spiritual power that we don’t have but rather to appropriate by faith what has already been given to us in Christ. The act of appropriation is where you take something for your own use. Most Christian’s walk in Christ is poor because they have not appropriated the riches of wealth that is in Christ. If you are in Christ than not only is the wealth of Heaven available to you but it can be continuously appropriated by faith to live the Christian life. God has not saved you and left you powerless in this life. Your Christian life is impossible without Christ. Christ makes it possible to be a Christian and to walk as a Christian. Eph. 3:16 is to show us that the wealth in Christ must be appropriated by faith so that it can be applied for constant use in our daily walk. First, we need to see the proportion of power that is available to each believer. Notice that the empowerment of the believer is “according to the riches of His glory.” Praise God that our power is not according to our faithfulness, ability, or inability. His power becomes our power to live the Christian life. The empowerment that God gives to those in Christ is not “out of” His riches but “according to the riches of His glory.” Think of it this way, a wealthy man may give to a charity out of the abundance of his wealth. However, it is entirely different to give according to the proportion of your wealth. Because God is infinite in the riches of His glory (His glory being sum of His divine being, both in attributes and actions) His empowerment too is infinite. God never gives us too much, but we often ask of Him too little. God has given us the infinite riches and resources that are in Christ to each believer. There is not one believer who has more available to them than another. The difference between Christians is not what spiritual resources are available but rather if those resources have been appropriated by faith. Just as we are as close to Christ as we want to be, we too will live as poorly or richly as we choose. God has given us the infinite riches of Christ of which we are joint heirs (Rom. 8:16-17), therefore our walk should match it.
Secondly, God wants us to not only the proportion of our power in Christ but also the provision of the power. The power needed to be a Christian and live as a Christian could never come from within us. All power in the Christian’s life is in the life of Christ. God provided the power of grace to produce new life within you through faith in Him. If God doesn’t supply the power, then nothing in our life will ever work. Many Christians live with the resources of God around them without ever tapping into what He has provided. Imagine sitting in a car that is in perfect condition with a full tank of gas but complaining that you can’t go anywhere in it, but you have yet to turn the key in the ignition. This is symbolic of many Christians today. They aren’t going anywhere in their walk because they have turned the key in what God has provided. God has specifically provided to every believer the ability to be “strengthened with might.” Many today think that God gives us a boost of grace but what this is saying is that He alone gives us the strength, ability, and power to achieve a life lived in Christ. Any ability that we have to obey God comes from Him. Any ability or strength that we have to say “Yes” to righteousness and “No” to sin comes from Him. The provision of our wealth in Christ is our power in our walk in Christ. The power to live the Christian life comes from his constant provision of empowering work for, in, and through us. His power in us is for His plan and purposes to be done through us. God doesn’t give us the power to do what we want but rather He gives us the power to walk in the will of God. This provision of power comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit. Christian living is only done “by His Spirit.” The moment of salvation, I and every other believer was given the indwelling Holy Spirit to be our comforter, corrector, teacher, and enabling agent (John 14-16 and Eph. 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit gives the proof of God’s work for us and in us through Christ and gives the power to yield to that very same work in our life. The power of the Holy Spirit is not attained by force but appropriated by faith. I can’t strong arm the Spirit. I must yield to Him. I must be emptied of self and filled by Him. The Holy Spirit shows us that the ownership of our life belongs to Christ and the daily operations of our life are to be done by the power of the Holy Spirit. To not live in His power is to live in your own strength. His power is infinite, yours is not. His power is perfect, yours is incomplete. We must see that the Holy Spirit is our enabling power for everyday problems and pursuit of Christlikeness. God doesn’t want you to walk in your power or in your own wealth. You’ll quickly end up broken and broke. God wants you to walk in His power and wealth that He has provided to you in Christ by the provision and power of the Holy Spirit.
Thirdly, we must see our participation in the power that has been given to us. The power of the Holy Spirit will do you no good if you do not yield to His word and work in your life. Our participation with the empowerment of God through the Holy Spirit is “in the inner man.” Our mind, emotions, and will must yield to Him before our body will ever respond to Him in obedience. Our inner man, soul (thinker, feeler, chooser) and spirit (union with Christ) must be submitted to the word and work of God in our life through the Holy Spirit. We will only yield fruit for Christ when we yield in faith to Christ. Simply, we must embrace the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to execute His expectations in our life. What does this look like in our everyday walk? Constant repentance as the Holy Spirit reveals our sin and the truths of the Word of God. Constant refocusing on Christ and looking to Him alone for empowerment. This is the only way that we can be renewed and transformed day by day (Rom. 12:1-2). Everything that God expects of you in your Christian walk He gives you the empowerment by His Holy Spirit and His Holy Scripture. If you are in Christ, then His Holy Spirit is in you. Are you in His Holy Scripture? By faith, appropriate the empowerment of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God in your daily walk in Christ.

Grow with me as we study the believer’s wealth and walk in Christ.

Grow deeper.

Grow higher.

Grow wider.