Ephesians overview – 3:14-19, Pauls prayer (inner man), part 7.

Sunday March 22, 2020

 

EPH 3:14-17

For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

 

Paul prays for the inner man to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit so that we may be able to see the Person of Christ fully. This seeing would produce worship and obedience.

 

The New Testament records the final revelation of the sublime holiness and glory of God, and that in the person of the God/Man Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews say that He is:

 

HEB 1:3-4

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

 

John explains that although no one has ever seen God, the only begotten Son has revealed Him, JOH 1:18. John also claimed that we beheld His glory as He dwelt among us, JOH 1:14.

 

On the Isle of Patmos, John received the revelation of the risen Christ in glory, a vision that brought together the many revelations of the Lord given down through biblical history. John reported how Jesus fulfilled the suffering servant prophecy of Isa 53 as well as the ministry described in Isa 6.

 

JOH 12:36-41

These things Jesus spoke, and He departed and hid Himself from them. 37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him; 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" [ISA 53:1] 39 For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 "He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them." [ISA 6:10] 41 These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.

 

It was the second person of the Trinity in glory, the preincarnate Christ, who was revealed to Isaiah as the holy Lord, high and lifted up. And now, through the Spirit within and the complete revelation of God’s word, the complete revelation of Him may be seen by us. There is something we should note about Isaiah seeing it, and indeed everyone who saw it (and they saw less than we can now).

 

Seeing the revelation of the glory of God in Christ, produces an overwhelming humility, adoration, reverence, obedient worship.  

 

Don’t then set out to fake this response or conjure it up by your will, as some have seen fit to do. If this response isn’t within you, then set yourself to the faith of allowing the Holy Spirit and the word of God empower and strengthen you so that you may see Him. All who have seen Him have had this response, and this makes sense. When confronted with someone so vast, transcendent, holy, and full of glory, we would necessarily have to be completely overwhelmed by it. We can see why Satan’s greatest weapon against the human race is ignorance.

 

ISA 6:4-5

And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said,

 

"Woe is me, for I am ruined!,

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I live among a people of unclean lips;,

For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."

 

ISA 57:15

For thus says the high and exalted One

Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,

"I dwell on a high and holy place,

And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit

In order to revive the spirit of the lowly

And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Jo 5:30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.    5:31 "If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true.    5:32 "There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.    5:33 "You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.    5:34 "But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.   5:35 "He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.    5:36 "But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish--the very works that I do--testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.    5:37 "And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.    5:38 "You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.    5:39 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;  5:40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.    5:41 "I do not receive glory from men;    5:42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.    5:43 "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.    5:44 "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?    5:45 "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.    5:46 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.    5:47 "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"   

 

Ps 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.    46:2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;    46:3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.