Live Full Lives
Ephesians 3v14-20 from The Message Version of the Bible
Context of Paul’s prayer:
Ephesians 1v17-23 The realisation of the energy of God - the immeasurable greatness of his power - that has raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at his Fathers right hand in deepest heaven.
Ephesians 2v4-10 The incredible wonder that God has embraced us in his love out of his immense mercy and has made us alive with Christ, seating us in Christ's company in highest heaven
Ephesians 2v11-21 The wonderful news that we are now all part of one body, one family. That the kingdom of faith is now our home country we belong here in Christ. Now there is no longer any barrier between Jew and Gentile. Together we are being built together as a holy temple belonging to God.
Ephesians 3v1-13 Just as Paul is about to start the prayer in response to all this wonderful news he gets caught up with these purposes of God which he has been called to express deeply. Paul’s contemplation focuses around this being ‘my life long work: helping people understand this message. It came as a sheer gift to me a real surprise’.
What wonderful news for those who embrace Jesus as part of their lives. All of a sudden we are seated in the company of Jesus in highest heaven. And yet the paradox is this is not in some way ‘up there’ or ‘away from’ here. It is here, it is now; not distant and remote but here and close. Scripture tells us of a promise of a new heaven and a new earth where Jesus will walk with us. This is our future promise here in God’s presence, guaranteed by the gift of the Holy Spirit to us here today sealing this promise in our hearts.
In Ezekiel 36v26-28 we read about receiving a new heart and spirit, removing our heart of stone and giving us a heart of flesh and thus being called people of God. This is it! It’s what we read of in these opening words of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Now God has removed our heart of stone and given us a heart of flesh; now God has given us a new heart and put his Spirit in us. Now we are in the presence of God, seated in the company of Christ in highest heaven, here and now. Our future promise is today’s reality!
And so we reach Paul’s response in Ephesians 3v14-20 to this brilliant news!
It is to pray! On his knees before this wonderful Father in heaven. Here we must understand that kneeling for us may be common place but, for Jews they only knelt as a expression of deep earnestness and emotion:
Solomon knelt at the dedication of the temple - 1Kings 7v54
Stephen knelt at his martyrdom - Acts 7v60
Peter knelt at the deathbed of Dorcas - Acts 9v40
Jesus knelt in the garden of Gethsemane - Luke12v41
Paul prays for us to experience God’s love. This is not an intellectual response which we are often so good at! It is a living together in love which we are to experience and is no easy thing. Paul intends us to feel with our heart, our minds and our intuition the many, varied and incredible dimensions of Christ's love. His intention is that we weave this love into the very fabric of our daily lives - our living together love.
It is a love that Paul intends us to take in with ‘all the saints’. It is not an isolated, individual love that we can experience on our own. It is such a love that the only way we can possibly touch some its incredible dimensions is with others. Paul knows that our understanding as an individual is limited and that it is only as we see this love worked out in the building together of the body that we have any hope of fully experiencing such a love.
So this is it - to live full lives! To live full lives full of God’s love can only be fully experienced as part of a body, a family. Live full lives, full or the realisation of all Christ has accomplished for us, full of the understanding of our future hope and destiny, and yet knowing that our future hope can be today’s reality.
Live Full lives, full in the fullness of God!!