Strengthened
Notes
Transcript
Handout
BELIEVE AND LIVE
SERMON 6
“STRENGTHENED”
INTRODUCTION:
UP TO THIS POINT IN HIS LETTER, PAUL – REMEMBER THAT HE IS WRITING UNDER THE INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – UP TO THIS POINT, PAUL HAS BEEN LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR WHY THE EPHESIAN BELIEVERS SHOULD LIVE IN A WAY THAT REFLECTS THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH CHRIST.
IN OTHER WORDS, PAUL’S ARGUMENT TO THESE BELIEVERS, AND TO US BECAUSE THESE WORDS HAVE BEEN PRESERVED AND DELIVERED TO US, IS THAT BECAUSE OF WHAT WE KNOW TO BE TRUE…
CHAPTER 1 – THAT YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN, REDEEMED, MADE HEIRS WITH CHRIST, AND SEALED;
CHAPTER 2 – THAT THIS SALVATION YOU HAVE RECEIVED WAS A GIFT OF GOD’S GRACE, AND WAS NOT GIVEN BASED UPON MERIT, AND;
CHAPTER 3 – THIS SALVATION HAS BEEN OFFERED TO ALL PERSONS, EVERYWHERE,
BECAUSE OF ALL THESE THINGS…HERE ARE THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE…
SO HE’S BEGINNING NOW TO MOVE OUT OF THE EXPLANATION PHASE OF THE LETTER TO THE EXPECTATION PHASE OF HIS LETTER…
AND WE SEE IN THESE VERSES THE BEGINNING OF WHAT HE WANTS THESE BELIEVERS TO UNDERSTAND…
THE OVERARCHING POINT OF THIS SECTION OF EPHESIANS IS THAT PAUL WANTS TO SEE THESE BELIEVERS STRENGTHENED FOR THE JOURNEY THAT IS THE CHRISTIAN LIFE…
WE ALL NEED TO HEAR THIS…BECAUSE WE TEND TO BECOME NUMB TO THE REALITIES OF OUR FAITH AT TIMES…
AND SOMETIMES A GENTLE – OR NOT-SO-GENTLE REMINDER – IS NECESSARY TO HELP US GET BACK ON TRACK…
AND PAUL HELPS THE EPHESIANS, AND YOU AND ME, SEE WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT STRENGTHENS THE INNER BEING…
LET ME SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PHRASE “THE INNER BEING…”
WHAT IS THAT? AND TO WHAT IS PAUL REFERRING?
IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT PAUL WAS A MASTER OF CONTEXT…
HE COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD THE CONTEXT INTO WHICH HE WAS SPEAKING.
- SO OFTEN WE FAIL TO UNDERSTAND CONTEXT, AND IN DOING SO, WE OFTEN IMPROPERLY IMPOSE OUR CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING ON SOMEONE WHO IS LIVING IN A DIFFERENT CONTEXT.
BUT PAUL UNDERSTOOD THE CONTEXT INTO WHICH HE WAS SPEAKING, AND HE KNEW THAT THESE EPHESIANS BELIEVERS WERE LIVING IN A GREEK CONTEXT.
AND HE ALSO KNEW THAT THESE GREEKS WOULD UNDERSTAND “THE INNER BEING” TO DESCRIBE THREE THINGS…
¾ HUMAN REASON – HE WANTED THESE BELIEVERS TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO PROPERLY DISCERN BETWEEN WHAT WAS RIGHT AND WHAT WAS WRONG.
¾ HUMAN CONSCIENCE - IT WAS PAUL’S PRAYER THAT THE CONSCIENCE OF HIS PEOPLE SHOULD BECOME INCREASINGLY SENSITIVE. IT IS POSSIBLE TO DISREGARD CONSCIENCE FOR SO LONG THAT IN THE END IT BECOMES DULLED. PAUL PRAYED THAT JESUS SHOULD KEEP OUR CONSCIENCES SENSITIVE AND ON THE ALERT.
¾ HUMAN WILL - SO OFTEN WE KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT, AND MEAN TO DO IT, BUT OUR WILL IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO BACK UP OUR KNOWLEDGE AND TO CARRY OUT OUR INTENTIONS.
SO WHEN PAUL SPEAKS OF THE INNER BEING, HE IS SPEAKING OF THE OUR CAPACITY TO REASON BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG, TO MANAGE OUR CONSCIENCES, AND TO CARRY OUT WHAT WE KNOW TO BE THE WILL OF GOD…
ALL THESE THINGS ARE TO BE STRENGTHENED WITH POWER THROUGH HIS SPIRIT, BECAUSE OF REDEMPTION.
HERE’S WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS IT WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN THIS HAPPENS…
1. THAT CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS…
a. EXPLANATION
i. GOD’S DESIRE IS THAT BELIEVERS WILL BE COMPLETELY SOLD OUT TO HIM…
ii. THE SECRET OF STRENGTH IS THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN OUR LIVES.
iii. CHRIST WILL GLADLY COME INTO OUR LIVES—BUT HE WILL NEVER FORCE HIS WAY IN.
b. ILLUSTRATION
i. THE WORD PAUL USES FOR CHRIST DWELLING IN OUR HEARTS IS THE GREEK WORD USED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE, AS OPPOSED TO TEMPORARY RESIDENCE.
ii. THINK OF IT LIKE A REAL ESTATE SALE
1. WHEN A PERSON BUYS A HOUSE, WHAT TYPICALLY HAPPENS IS THAT THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAS TO VACATE THE PROPERTY IN ORDER FOR THE NEW OWNER TO MOVE IN…
2. THE SAME IS TRUE IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER…
c. APPLICATION
i. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE BEGINS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT TAKING UP RESIDENCE IN THE HEART AND LIFE OF THE BELIEVER…
ii. BUT IN ORDER FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, THE OLD PERSON HAS TO MOVE OUT…
iii. THE PROBLEM WITH MANY PEOPLE IS THAT THEY NEED TO SERVE THEIR FORMER SELVES WITH AN EVICTION NOTICE…
iv. THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE – THE NEW, CHRIST-LIKE MAN, AND THE OLD, DEAD MAN - TRYING TO COHABIT THE SAME SPACE, AND THIS IS THE REASON MANY PEOPLE STRUGGLE IN THEIR FAITH, BECAUSE THEY ARE UNWILLING TO BREAK WITH THE OLD MAN, AND ALLOW THE NEW MAN TO TAKE CONTROL…
d. IN ORDER FOR YOU TO FIND STRENGTH IN CHRIST, YOU MUST SURRENDER TO CHRIST…
e. PAUL SAYS THAT IF YOUR INNER BEING IS BEING STRENGTHENED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, CHRIST WILL HAVE PERMANENT, FIRST-PRIORITY RESIDENCE IN YOUR LIFE.
f. HERE’S A SECOND THING…
2. THAT YOU MAY HAVE STRENGTH TO COMPREHEND THE LOVE OF CHRIST…
a. EXPLANATION
i. IT IS INCREDIBLY HARD TO UNDERSTAND, AND SOMETIMES EVEN HARDER TO EXPLAIN THE LOVE CHRIST…
ii. HOW IS IT THAT A PERSON COULD POSSESS THE TYPE OF LOVE THAT WOULD CAUSE HIM TO GIVE HIS LIFE IN THE MOST PAINFUL WAY?
iii. HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND THE BREADTH OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST, HOW DO WE EXPLAIN ITS LENGTH, AND ITS HEIGHT AND ITS DEPTH?
b. ILLUSTRATION
i. WILLIAM BARCLAY EXPLAINS THE LOVE OF CHRIST THIS WAY…
1. IF WE WANT TO WORK THIS OUT, WE MIGHT SAY THAT IN THE BREADTH OF ITS SWEEP, THE LOVE OF CHRIST INCLUDES EVERY INDIVIDUAL OF EVERY KIND IN EVERY AGE IN EVERY WORLD; IN THE LENGTH TO WHICH IT WOULD GO, THE LOVE OF CHRIST ACCEPTED EVEN THE CROSS; IN ITS DEPTH, IT DESCENDED TO EXPERIENCE EVEN DEATH; IN ITS HEIGHT, HE STILL LOVES US IN HEAVEN, WHERE HE LIVES ALWAYS TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR US (). NO ONE IS OUTSIDE THE LOVE OF CHRIST; NO PLACE IS BEYOND ITS REACH.
c. APPLICATION
i. AND THIS LOVE IS TO BE EXPERIENCED IN THE BODY OF CHRIST…
ii. PAUL SAYS THAT THIS LOVE IS TO BE COMPREHENDED, OR WORKED OUT, WITH ALL THE SAINTS…
iii. AND WHAT HE IS SAYING IS THAT YOU NEED THE CHURCH…
iv. JOHN WESLEY IS QUOTED AS SAYING, “NO ONE EVER WENT TO HEAVEN ALONE.”
v. HIS POINT WAS THAT THIS THING WE CALL CHRISTIANITY IS MEANT TO BE EXPERIENCED IN FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHERS WHO BELIEVE THE SAME WAY.
vi. THE CHURCH MAY HAVE ITS FAULTS; CHURCH MEMBERS MAY BE VERY FAR FROM WHAT THEY OUGHT TO BE; BUT IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE CHURCH WE FIND THE LOVE OF GOD.
d. PAUL SAYS THAT IF YOUR INNER BEING IS BEING STRENGTHENED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, YOU WILL BE COMMITTED TO EXPERIENCING THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF OTHER BELIEVERS…
e. AND THEN HE GIVES ONE FINAL DESCRIPTOR…
3. THAT YOU MAY BE FILLED WITH THE FULLNESS OF GOD…
a. EXPLANATION
i. WHAT IS THE FULLNESS OF GOD?
ii. A PHRASE IN CHAPTER 4 GIVES US A CLUE ABOUT WHAT PAUL MAY MEAN HERE BY THE FULLNESS OF GOD…
iii. IN , PAUL SPEAKS OF THE NEED FOR BELIEVERS TO MOVE TOWARD MATURE MANHOOD…
iv. IT’S LIKELY THAT THIS IS WHAT HE HAS IN MIND HERE WHEN HE SPEAKS OF THE FULLNESS OF GOD…
b. ILLUSTRATION
i. IN A DAY WHEN IT SEEMS LIKE THE PARENTS ARE AWAY AND THE CHILDREN ARE IN CONTROL, WE DESPERATELY NEED PEOPLE TO MOVE ON TO MATURITY…
c. APPLICATION
d. PAUL SAYS THAT IF YOUR INNER BEING IS BEING STRENGTHENED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, YOU WILL BE COMMITTED TO CONSTANTLY BECOMING A MORE MATURE DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST.
CONCLUSION: