| Introduction In the beginning of our series on the Ephesian church, we saw that one of the things this epistle is about is prayer. Prayers, prayer reports, prayer requests – Paul includes all of them. In our passage this morning, we have our first encounter with Paul the prayer warrior. This is not so much a prayer as it is the report of a prayer. I. The Bible Gives Us Plenty of Motivation to Pray to God through the Lord Jesus Christ (Three Motivations Here). A. The work of God in redeeming sinners motivates the Christian to pray, 3-14. 1. In the NKJV, verse 15 begins with the word therefore. a. A better way to translate those two words in the beginning of the verse is for this reasonor on account of this. b. Paul is referring to the previous sentence in verses 3-14. 2. Paul is motivated to pray for the Ephesians because God has a plan to redeem his people and he is going to accomplish it. a. Paul prays because God is at work. b. Paul prays because God is moving all of history and all the specific details of our lives to the point when Jesus comes back, and we are raised in perfection. 3. In essence, Paul prays for the Ephesians because God is absolutely sovereign. a. Some people ask, "If God is absolutely sovereign, why should I pray? God is going to do whatever he is going to do anyway." b. For Paul, the question was, "Why should I not pray? Since God is absolutely sovereign, all my prayers will be answered!" 4. You see, in his absolute sovereignty, God ordained or appointed everything that is going to happen. a. He ordained all the ends. b. But he also ordained the means through which he will achieve all his ends. c. And a powerful means that he ordained in order to achieve his ends was your prayer. 5. We pray for the brethren because God has planned to do wonderful things for his church through our prayers. 6. And that's why we pray for the unbeliever to believe – because God will often use our prayers to save them. 7. Therefore, the absolute sovereignty of God is a great motivator to prayer. a. It propels us to storm the mercy seat of God, as the Puritans would say, and wrestle with God in prayer. b. It empowers us to persevere in prayer because our prayers WILLbe answered. B. The faith and love of the brethren motivates the Christian to pray, 15. 1. It had been now quite a few years since Paul had been to Ephesus (4-7 years). a. He is now under house arrest in Rome waiting for his appeal to be hear before the imperial court (somewhat the equivalent of our supreme court). b. He is not able to go visit the city and the church where he spent the longest time during all of his Christian ministry (the only place Paul spent longer at than Ephesus was in jail). 2. Yet, Paul longs to hear how the brothers and sisters in Ephesus are doing. a. Are they growing in Christ? b. Is the city being transformed by the gospel? c. Is the preaching and teaching faithful to the doctrine he had imparted to them? 3. Finally, he receives a report from them. a. A traveler comes by the place Paul is serving time and mentions how the church is doing. b. Or, the church sends him an emissary to visit him in jail. c. Whatever the means, Paul hears from his beloved church and they are doing well! 4. Paul is so thankful that his brothers and sisters are doing well and that leads him to thank God and to pray even more fervently for them – Paul celebrates their faith and love. a. Paul is thankful particularly for what the Lord is doing in the brethren. b. Paul is thankful that their faith in Christ is being displayed through their love for the brethren. c. Notice that this love is an indiscriminate love. 1) All the saints= saints who are part of the church in Ephesus and possibly the neighboring churches that they had planted in the last couple of years (Colossians, Philadelphia, Hierapolis, Smyrna, Laodicea, Pergamos, Thyatira, and Sardis). 2) So, they loved all the saints, not just some of them. 3) There didn't seem to be any animosity among them. 4) That's a great contrast with the church in Corinth where disdain for each other was clearly evident. d. A sure proof of faith in Christ is Christian love for the brethren. 5. Another thing that it is important for us to realize is that Paul hears about their faith and love because he is looking to hear about their faith and love. a. He wants to know how they are doing. b. He wants to know how he can pray for them. 6. If we love the brethren, their faith will excite us and drive us to thanksgiving and prayer for them, 15. C. The power of God to answer prayers motivates the Christian to pray, 19-20. 1. We already touched on this under the first heading of motivation, but it is worth thinking about it again. 2. The power that is at work in us is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. 3. We know what that power is because Paul already mentioned him throughout vv. 3-14. 4. The power of God who is at work in us, the power of God who is at work in us, is the Holy Spirit himself. a. He raised Jesus from dead and he will raise us from the dead in the last day. b. And he empowers us to pray. Rom. 8:10-11, 16, 26-27– And if Christ isin you, the body isdead because of sin, but the Spirit islife because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you…. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him,that we may also be glorified together…. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will ofGod. 5. The Spirit of God dwells in you and me and empowers us to pray because he opens our eyes to see that God answers our prayers. II. Believers Pray for One Another Frequently and Specifically, 16. A. Believers in Jesus Christ pray frequently for one another. 1. Paul can't help but pray constantly for the Ephesians. 2. Our lives must be filled with prayers for one another. 3. Someone might say, "Pastor, I don't have time for that. There are so many things that I need to pray for. I don't have time to keep on praying for people in the church." a. Time seems often to be the issue or at least the excuse for why we don't do what God calls us to do, so some self-examination might help us see if time is really the issue. b. Did you watch any TV, YouTube videos, or the like this past week? If the answer is yes, time is not the issue. c. Did you spend any time on social media of any kind this past week? If the answer is yes, time is not the issue. d. Did you read any portion of a novel this past week? If the answer is yes, time is not the issue. e. Did you have time to read/write blogs or watch podcasts about cooking, RC cars, the weather, cotton candy, Hollywood intrigue, and the like this past week? If the answer is yes, time is not the issue. f. I think you catch the gist of where I am going. 4. Brothers and sisters in Christ pray frequently for one another. B. Believers in Jesus Christ pray specifically for one another. 1. The way that Paul words the making mention of youimplies naming them by name in his prayers. a. He knew their needs and prayed for them individually. b. He did that because he cared for them. 2. We see that Paul thought that praying specifically for one another was the norm for every believer when he asks them to pray specifically for him, 6:19-20. 3. To pray specifically for the brethren, you need to actually care for them and know them. 4. The more we pray specifically for one another the more we will grow in love with one another. III. Believers Pray for Spiritual Blessings for Other Believers. A. In this prayer report, Paul tells the Ephesians that there were two specific things that he was praying for them. 1. He was praying that they would grow in their knowledge of God, including his power, 17. 2. He was praying that they would grow in knowing the hope of God's calling their lives, 18b. 3. There are other sub-requests, but these two encompass them all. B. I am sure that Paul cared for their physical wellbeing. 1. He certainly prayed for healing for their sicknesses, for financial provision for them, etc. 2. After all, he is the one who told the Philippians to pray about all things. Phil 4:6– Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God… C. But what he is excited about telling the Ephesians, what he wants them to know, is that he is praying for them to grow in Christ and to be filled with hope because of Christ. 1. This is a lesson for us. 2. Our prayers for one another should be filled with requests for spiritual blessings for one another. 3. You should ransack the mercy seat of God above and take spiritual blessings with you for the brethren. D.Let's pray for one another's colds, and surgeries, and financial needs, and employments. E. But let's also pray for each other's growth in Christ. IV. Believers Are to Pray for Knowledge of Christ and Hope in Christ Because They Need This Knowledge and Hope. A. The fact that the Holy Spirit chose to immortalize this prayer report about knowledge of Christ and hope in the pages of the Bible teaches us that we need these two things. B. Paul's first petition for the Ephesians is that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation, 17. 1. They already had the Holy Spirit that came to dwell in them when they were born again. a. That's what Paul means by the eyes of your heart[not understanding]being enlightenedin v. 18a – the enlightening or illuminating took place prior already. b. Paul is praying that they would continue to grow in the wisdom and the knowledge of the revelation of God. 2. The Ephesians, having been redeemed by God and already being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, needed to grow in Christ – that's why Paul prays for them. 3. We too are redeemed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and we too need to grow in Christ. "… nothing is more dangerous then to be satisfied with that measure of spiritual benefits which has been already obtained." John Calvin 4. Notice what God Paul wants to know and what God he wants to be working is us. a. The God of our Lord Jesus Christ – the Father of our Lord. b. The Father of glory – the glorious Father. 5. This is the God that we grow in knowledge of. C. Paul's second petition for the Ephesians is that God would help them to know more and more the of God's falling in their lives, 18b-20. 1. The hope Paul is speaking of is described in two ways: a. the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in the saints, 18c; b. the exceeding greatness of God's power that is at work in those who believe – the same power that brought Jesus back from the dead, 19-20. 2. In Colossians, Paul brings these two ideas together and express our hope as Christ in you're the hope of glory, 1:27. 3. Paul prays for hope because we need hope, so let's break down this expression hope of his calling. a. God has effectually called us, that is, his grace invaded our lives, changed our hearts, and enabled us to believe in Jesus – that's his calling in our lives (more on this in the afternoon service). b. The same Spirit and power who brought Jesus back from the dead raised us from spiritual deadness, 2:1. c. So, we hope in that, namely, that God has made us alive by his Spirit and saved us through faith in Jesus Christ and has raised spiritually to newness of life and will raise us physically to newness of life at the return of Jesus Christ – that is our inheritance. d. We hope in the fact that we will see the Lord Jesus Christ face to face in glory. e. Yet, there is even more to hope than that. 1) In the Bible, hope is a certain and confident expectation that God will do everything that he said he would do. 2) God who is all powerful and all good and loving has said that he is always with you. a) It is one thing to have promises made to you. b) It is another thing to know that the one making the promises to you has every intention to fulfill them and has all the power to do what he promised. c) That is God and the evidence of that is his Spirit in you. Rom. 5:1-5– Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that,but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Here we have Paul the prayer warrior. He prays for the Ephesians constantly and specifically motivated by the sovereignty of God and their faith. He wants them to be filled with knowledge of God and the hope of glory. That is our pattern and our desire. O that we all would be filled more and more with the knowledge of God in Jesus Christ and we would grow in our hope of glory!
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2019/03/paul-prayer-warrior-eph-115-20.html
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