Every generation of Christians clings to the promise that God “is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,” but what happens when He doesn’t? This sermon explores the story behind Ephesians 3:20 and what we will need to not lose heart in the face of suffering. (1)
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I can still remember the first time it captured my all. I was sitting at a little white desk by a window in my bedroom, and I was reading the introduction to a book that promised everything I wanted:
“Would you like to experience life to the full?” the author asked. “Jesus said, ‘I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.’” (2)
“You may have been frustrated in your Christian experience because you know God has a more abundant life for you.” (3)
“Let the Spirit of God bring you into an intimate relationship with the God of the Universe ‘who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.’” (4)
“Exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think . . .” (5) It was those words, that verse, that captured not only my mind but my heart that day, and it spoke to me even louder and clearer from other Bible translations:
God is able “to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think,” it says in the New Living Translation.
God is able “to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,” it reads in the New International Version.
God is able! God is able!
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If you, like I, went to camp meetings in the 1990s, you may have stood beside hundreds of other lovers of Jesus, and in the spirit of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, you may have clapped your way through their song as you sang:
God is able
God is able
To deliver from the fire
He will rescue those who serve Him
When the flames are burning higher (6)
If you don’t remember that song, maybe you’re from a previous generation to mine, and you remember piling into a car with friends and heading to the beach or mountains with a guitar. There, sitting around a campfire, you may have sung the 1960s equivalent:
He’s able, He’s able
I know He’s able
I know my Lord is able
To carry me through (7)
If neither of those songs is ringing a bell for you this morning, maybe that’s because you landed on planet earth in the 21st century. If so, the promise of Ephesians 3:20 may have been burned into your being as you raised your hands with Hillsong and sang:
God is able
He will never fail
He is almighty God
Greater than all we seek
Greater than all we ask (8)
Every generation of Christians, it seems, clings to this promise that God is able. Indeed, this characteristic of God, the power of God, is far more than just an attribute; it’s an attribute we claim!
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But what happens when “God who is able” doesn’t do what He is able to do? What happens when He doesn’t deliver from the fire? When the captives aren’t set free, the lame don’t walk, the blind don’t see? What happens when we seemingly ask more of God than He is willing to do?
Perhaps the best way to keep this real this morning, is by asking some other questions:
Who of us are, right now, not asking something of God, because although we believe He can do it, we don’t actually think He will? Who of us are, right now, questioning other attributes of God – like is He Just, or even True? – because He hasn’t done something that we thought He would do?
When God has the ability, the power to do something, but He doesn’t do it, the reality is that it can deeply challenge our faith, and I’ve come to believe that this was precisely the apostle Paul’s concern when he wrote Ephesians 3:20.
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I have to confess that it wasn’t until I was recently studying Ephesians that I ever considered the context of Ephesians 3:20. Until then, I had always used this verse like I had always seen or heard it used; simply as a proof text of what God is capable of.
While there’s probably nothing wrong with that in this instance, what I learnt from my study is that the context of this verse gives us a much deeper insight into its application, and that’s why this morning we’re first going to reflect on the story behind this verse before we reflect on its significance for us today.
To kick us off, can anyone tell us where the apostle Paul was when he wrote his letter to the church in Ephesus?
– Rome
And what was he doing there?
– He was a prisoner
Okay, so as you may already know, God called Paul, at the time Saul, to share the good news of Jesus with both Jews and Gentiles. (Acts 9:15) In the process of sharing Jesus, however, Paul offended many Jews, and one day, after being falsely accused of creating a riot at the temple in Jerusalem, Paul was put into prison by the Romans. (Acts 21:17-23:11)
When the Romans then heard that the Jews were plotting to kill Paul, they took him from Jerusalem to Caesarea. There they kept Paul in prison for two years because although they didn’t think he was guilty as charged, the governor was more concerned with keeping the Jews happy than keeping Paul happy. (Acts 23:12-24:27)
When that governor was succeeded by a new governor, the Jews again sought to have Paul tried, but when the new governor asked Paul if he was willing to be tried before him in Jerusalem, Paul, as a Roman citizen, appealed to Caesar. It was for this reason that Paul was shipped to Rome where we find him writing his letter to the Ephesians. (Acts 25:1-28:30)
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Something else you may already know is that Paul wasn’t daunted by any of this. Acts 9 tells us that God was clear from the get-go that Paul would suffer for His name, and when the prophet Agabus foretold that the Jews in Jerusalem would hand Paul over to the Gentiles, Paul said he was ready to not only be bound but to die for Jesus. (Acts 9:16, 21:10-14)
Now just because Paul was ready to die for Jesus, that didn’t mean the church in Ephesus, a church Paul himself had planted, a church full of new believers, was ready for their beloved leader to die, and we see something of their feelings for Paul at his farewell. When Paul had left Ephesus, he had called the elders together to say goodbye to them, and Acts 20 tells us all the elders:
“began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again.” (Acts 20:36-37)
That was now five years previous but what’s clear from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is that he still deeply cares for his former church, and he is very concerned about how they will deal with his imprisonment. He seems to know that his suffering will challenge their faith, that it will challenge their belief in the “God who is able,” and that may have been for good reason . . .
You see more than any other New Testament church, the church in Ephesus had seen God perform “extraordinary miracles.” (Acts 19:11) When Paul had laid his hands on some of the Ephesians, they had begun speaking in tongues and prophesying. (Acts 19:1-7) When handkerchiefs and aprons that had merely touched Paul’s skin had been taken to the sick and demon-possessed, the sick had been healed and the demon-possessed delivered. (Acts 19:12)
If God had used His power to deliver so many of their church members, why wouldn’t God now use His power to deliver Paul? Why would God allow Paul to be kept as a prisoner when He could physically free Paul so Paul could help spiritually free others?!
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Given this context, it may come as no surprise that we find Paul in Ephesians 3:13 asking / begging the Ephesians to “not lose heart” or “become discouraged” over his sufferings. The Greek word that Paul used here (ekkakéō) literally means to be “exhausted” or “wearied out” or “spiritless” and these word pictures give us further insight into Paul’s concern.
We also see Paul’s concern for the Ephesians in the next verse, verse 14, where he seems to realise that they are going to need more than his asking to not lose heart; they’re going to need his praying. And before he prays, he tells them he’s not praying standing, as he might have done as a Jewish Christian; or sitting, which he might have done to be comfortable; he’s down on his knees.
As we might now also expect, Paul then goes on to pray not for himself and not for something external. Not that “God who is able” will deliver him from prison like He delivered Daniel from the lion’s den, and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fire. No, he prays for the Ephesians and he prays for something internal. He prays that “God who is able” will give them the strength they will need, the power through His Spirit in their inner being, so they will not lose heart.
14 For this reason (Paul says) 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 self, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)
Wow. Did you get all that? If you did, you’re way ahead of me. I think my head was still spinning after I’d read this prayer a dozen times! 🙂 But after I’d waded through it, word by word, phrase by phrase, I realised this prayer is actually an outline of everything the Ephesians would need to not lose heart in the midst of suffering, and because this is everything that I believe we too will need, we’re going to break it down!
Christ living in our hearts
In short, Paul prays for three specific outcomes in this passage, and each one builds on the one before it. The first outcome is that Christ would dwell in – that is, permanently live in – the hearts of the Ephesians. We find this in verses 16 and 17 where Paul prays that God will strengthen the Ephesians with power through His Spirit in the inner self; that Christ will live in their hearts through faith.
Now at first glance, this could look like Paul is praying for two separate things here, but the second depends upon the first. For Christ to permanently live in our hearts through faith, the long and the short of it is that we will need His supernatural power. It’s that simple. We will never be able to keep the faith – especially in the midst of suffering – on our own!
Is anyone else ironically encouraged by this? When I was reminded that I can’t do “faith” on my own, that I will never be able to answer all my own questions, get rid of all my own doubts; that I will only be able to keep the faith if God enables me to, a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
But something else I was reminded is that I therefore need to be intentional about prayer; about praying for you and for me. If we want Christ to live in our hearts through faith, we will need to be praying for one another!
And what will happen when we do? We will attain Outcome 2!
Us experiencing Christ’s love
The second outcome that Paul asks God for in this passage is found in verses 18 and 19. Here Paul prays that the Ephesians will be able to comprehend the width, length, height and depth of Christ’s love, and to know – or more accurately, experience – the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.
Did you happen to notice the word “able” in verse 18? That Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be “able” to comprehend the extent of Christ’s love? The Greek word used here (exischýō) literally means “have the strength to,” and it begs the question: why would we need “strength” to comprehend the extent of Christ’s love?
Of course, the obvious answer is because Christ’s love is so huge, so vast, and I 100% agree with that. But might it be that we will also need “strength” because it can be very difficult, even seemingly impossible at times, to comprehend Christ’s love in the midst of suffering?!
Do you know, when I was writing this sermon, I actually began to weep at this point because it’s so real, right? When Christ has been living in us and our faith has grown to the point where it’s now sprouted out of the ground but it’s no longer protected “from the elements” so it’s copping the full brunt of scorching heat and beating rain and howling wind, it can be extremely difficult to even believe God is Love.
That’s why Outcome 2 has to be built on Outcome 1. Ephesians 3:17 says that it will only be as we are rooted and grounded in love, only as we are nurtured and sustained by Christ, that we will be able to comprehend and experience the extent of His love.
And what will happen when do? We will attain Outcome 3!
God filling us to His fullness
According to verse 19, the third outcome that Paul prays for in this passage is that the Ephesians will be filled to the fullness of God. This phrase, this concept of God’s fullness, is generally thought to mean spiritual perfection but given Paul’s use of the same phrase in the next chapter, we can think of it here as spiritual maturity . . .
In Ephesians 4, Paul says that the reason God gives ministry gifts to the church is so we can mature “to the measure . . . which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13) And when this happens, he says, we will no longer be tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind, and the same principle applies in Ephesians 3. (Ephesians 4:14-16)
As Christ lives in our hearts through faith . . . as we come to comprehend and experience the extent of His love . . . we will grow, we will mature, until we become like the tree planted by the water that doesn’t fear when heat comes or get anxious in the drought. Our leaves will remain green, even in the midst of suffering, and we will not cease to bear fruit. (Jeremiah 17:8) We will not lose heart!
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Like to think this could be possible for you? Like to think that you or a loved one will be able to stand against the elements that life throws at you? Let’s read how Paul finishes his prayer:
20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Friends, although Ephesians 3:20 is usually used to tell us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or seek externally, the context of this promise actually tells us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or seek where? Internally! In other words, if “God who is able” doesn’t use His power to miraculously heal us from sickness or deliver us from debt or free us from us from whatever our personal “prison” may be, the promise is that “God who is able” will give us the strength to not lose heart!
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As we look back on the last few years and we stare into the face of the next few years, the reality is that it can be a little daunting, yes? For some of us, it may even be a big bit daunting.
That’s why I want to share the lyrics to one more song with you this morning – another song that you be familiar with. I had hoped to share this song as a video clip but because that’s not possible, I’m simply going to read the words to you, and that may be better anyway because it will make it more personal.
You see the reality is that there have been times in my life when I have felt disheartened, when my faith has been challenged, when I’ve wondered why “God who is able” hasn’t done what He is able to do. But through Christ living in me, through experiencing His love, I can somehow miraculously stand before you today and testify to His strengthening power.
Does this mean that I never have questions or doubts? I’ve already told you that I still do. Does it mean that I never feel afraid or get anxious? I definitely haven’t overcome those things either. But in Christ, I always have heart:
Another sleepless night
Praying hope comes with the morning light
Right now you’re feeling like you’ve lost this fight
And fear is screaming out your name
When you say God help me
You wonder if He’s even listening
Truth is, I’ve wondered the very same thing
So, you don’t have to feel ashamed
Let me walk with you through this valley
And tell you all that I’ve learned to be true
Don’t lose heart
Don’t you dare let go
I’ve been where you are
You are not alone
I know it gets dark
I know it gets hard
But we’re gonna make it home
So don’t lose heart
Take my hand
And I’ll show all the scars from where I’ve been
Remind you how we both know this story ends
And I know you’ll do the same for me
These afflictions that are only temporary
Are gonna turn to glory beyond compare
So don’t lose heart
Don’t you dare let go
I’ve been where you are
You are not alone
I know it gets dark
I know it gets hard
But we’re gonna make it home
So don’t lose heart
Don’t lose hope
Don’t lose faith
Just hold on tight
Every promise God has made
You lose the fear
In the light of grace
Just lift your eyes to your Father’s face
Hear the song He’s singing over you
Don’t lose heart
I won’t ever let you go
I’m right where you are
You’re safe in my arms (9)
Notes
(1) This sermon was preached on January 14, 2023.
(2) Henry T Blackaby and Claude V King, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God (Nashville: B&H, 2008) 2.
(3) Ibid, 4.
(4) Ibid, 6.
(5) Ephesians 3:20, New King James Version.
(6) Charles Allen, “God is Able,” Only to Him, Brooklyn Tabernacle Music, 1992.
(7) Paul E Paino, “He’s Able,” John W Peterson Music Co, 1958.
(8) Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan, “God is Able,” Forever Reign, Hillsong Music, 2012.
(9) Steven Curtis Chapman, “Don’t Lose Heart.” YouTube, uploaded by Kingdom Lyrics, 27 July 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM-7rBptd1Y.