Episode 7: Ephesians 3:14-21: How big is the love of Christ - really?
We're diving into one of the most famous prayers in the Bible today, dwelling on the riches of God's love. But is there more than meets the eye here?
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How does this prayer compare to the first one in Chapter 1?
Take some time to put this prayer into your own words
Pray this prayer for yourself, and for others.
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This episode is sponsored by Crossway.
Crossway publish gospel-centered, Bible-based content that honours our Savior and serves his church. They seek to help people understand the massive implications of the gospel and the truth of God’s Word, for all of life, for all eternity, and for the glory of God.
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The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.
Felicity: You're listening to the Two Sisters and a Cup of Tea podcast, the Bible Study podcast for everyday life. We're here for a 20 minute burst of Bible chat over a cup of tea and an English style biscuit as we make our way through a Bible book over the course of the season and drive it to our hearts. And this season we're getting into Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Whether you've been listening for a while or you've just found us, we're so pleased you're here.
Sarah: We're grateful for the sponsorship of Crossway this season. In Bread of Life, Abigail Dodds invites readers to ponder and celebrate God's spiritual and physical provision in Christ through the hands-on art of bread making. This unique book is an enriching blend of devotional meditations and recipes that invite readers to ponder the true bread of life as they bake for their families and friends. I regularly come back to this book both to the recipes, a couple of which are now staples in our home, but also to the devotionals as they always both challenge and encourage my heart in equal measure. Do go and grab a copy or seek to give a copy to a friend. You can find them at crossway.org.
Felicity: Welcome to Two Sisters and a Cup of Tea. My name is Felicity and I'm in the States and I'm here with my sister Sarah. She's in the UK. We're excited to be getting into the second prayer in Ephesians, second half of chapter three this episode. I've been enjoying a little mousy-bouche Sarah of some homemade... that's like a little just a little nibble, a little something to go with my cup of tea. Is that not a universal phrase? Mousy-bouche.
Sarah: What is that? But what's that phrase you just said? What did you just say?
Felicity: That might be a Carswell family term. I've just introduced to the wider world. You're welcome everybody. Anyway, the thing, the moosey-boosh, is a tiny little banana and blueberry muffin and it's just been... And they're small enough that you don't feel too, you know, gluttonous by eating maybe two.
Sarah: And it's got two of your five a day, so win-win there.
Felicity: Two the five a day, gluten free, I mean all in all, winning at life right now.
Sarah: Lovely, love that, brilliant. Felicity, our question before we get into this extraordinary prayer today is what do you do when you're just feeling a bit spiritually dry, when you're just not feeling it, when you're not appreciating God's love, what do you do in that? Where do you go with that?
Felicity: Hmm. Yes, good question. And one which, you know, in some ways nothing really changes in my actual actions because the habits of getting God's Word open and praying and meeting with His people, I'm still seeking to do that when I feel spiritually, and that might not be that I feel like doing those things in the midst of that. So I'm seeking to keep reading his word, when I often go back to a gospel actually when I'm in those moments, try and get Jesus bigger in my view. And I keep praying, I keep praying that the Lord would enrich my desire for him and for all that he's saying. And in that I'm just always really grateful for actually God giving us prayers in the Bible, whether it be Psalms or these kinds of things. I don't need to conjure up the words or have some sort of profound thought to be able to pray in this way.
Sarah: No, because that's the thing, isn't it? When you're feeling like this, you don't feel like praying necessarily. But actually to be reminded that we have prayers to pray and that we can head to these prayers and they will help us because we're praying God's will for our hearts. That is really helpful, isn't it? I think for me, crucially telling someone, telling more than one person probably, because I think when you're feeling like this and you're alone feeling like this, that's a very hard place to be. But as soon as you tell someone, you've got someone who's gonna be your wingman, who's gonna pray for you and who's gonna encourage you and even asking them, please tell me what you're enjoying about Jesus at the moment. I feel like I'm not enjoying him and I really want to be kind of reignited by you sharing what you're enjoying and also remembering that we are in a spiritual battle and we're going to kind of see that right at the end of Ephesians but just remembering that that of course the devil wants to kind of put things in the way and of course he wants to kind of just kind of prod you into just thinking now I don't really need to do my Bible reading today like just those things and actually what you were saying just keep reading your Bible even when it's hard keep reading your Bible even when you don't feel like it keep praying this prayer that he'd give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation that you may know him better. Keep praying that he would work even when you don't see any kind of tangible change. Actually just the regular rhythms of keeping coming to him in humility. Yeah, the Lord delights to answer those prayers, doesn't he? In that way.
Felicity: Absolutely, absolutely. Well let's get into this prayer Sarah, why don't you read it for us. Chapter 3 verses 14 through to 21.
Sarah: Great, let's go.
“For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Felicity: Amen. So good. And as we were saying at the very start of the season, Ephesians splits into two halves really, doesn't it? We've got two halves of structure. So chapters one through three, this sort theological engine. And then as we hit four verse one, we're going to hear about this walk, what it is to live it out. so that amen, the kind of end, is a ha ha. Okay, and now.
Sarah: Just imagine him in prison doing it in song, yes.
Felicity: Yes, absolutely, why not? I love though that we do have a bit, kind of a couple of bookends really to this prayer. If we have a look at the start and the end, we have this kind of definitely God, like glory to God. And he says, I kneel before the father. And even just that posture of kneeling, whether he is literally kneeling or his just his being is kind of in worship to the Lord God in that. The father from whom every family in heaven and earth again, expanding like this is bigger, God is greater, like his reach is more than we can really conceive of.
Sarah: Well, and it's just that reminder, isn't it, that everyone is under him. We've had that kind of together, together, together, togetherness, and he's just like, yep, still there, still, still together, under, for the Father, everyone in heaven and on earth derives its name from him. And that's just, yeah, a wonderful kind of roundup of what he's been saying, isn't it? And then it's this language of out of his glorious riches. He's praying that out of all that we've seen of God, of Christ in this letter so far he may strengthen you or bolster you to your kind of your very core, isn't it? With his power, with his spirit, so that you may just grasp Christ and all you have in him more, isn't it?
Felicity: I think so, I think that this strengthened with power that you might say that Christ may dwell in your hearts. It could be a little bit confusing because Christ is already in our hearts. We have the spirit. We've been told that already in Ephesians. And I loved the way John Stott described this, “lay hold more firmly”. That phrase strengthened that we would lay hold more firmly to that which we already have, which God has given us. And then this idea of strengthening and like continuing to grow in that is a it's a thing of degrees Stott says a settling down in our hearts of Jesus and I've just found that a really helpful way of thinking about this as I pray this as I understand what Paul is praying for the Ephesians that that I would have Christ settle in my heart that the Ephesian church would be those who are settled in Christ you know it's that kind of steadfastness, which I think is what he's getting at.
Sarah: Yes, that's really, really helpful, isn't it? And it's then kind of being rooted in that, re-established in that, grounded in that, established in love, which is in Christ's love, isn't it? God's love, first and foremost. Again, that may have power together with all the Lord's holy people. So a reminder that this is a together thing. This isn't just a prayer for individuals. This is together with everyone to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge." And that that is a really funny saying that isn't it? Like as I've been dwelling on this more and more I'm like huh like what? Like he's saying he wants you to grasp and to know and to understand this love but also know that this love surpasses knowledge so you can't know it. You you cannot possibly grasp it but even if you grasp it a little bit more you there's yeah that's yeah.
Felicity: Yeah, and I kind of love that it surpasses knowledge because I think that means that we can never reach the end of the love. There is always more love than we can possibly understand and that in itself is just massively reassuring. The depth and breadth and width. I love the kind of four-dimensional description of Christ's love there, that this is just all-encompassing and it's so profound that we cannot even get to the bottom of it.
Sarah: No, I love this quote from Spurgeon, he says on this love: “your love is so vast and boundless but as the swallow skims the water without diving into its depths, so all descriptive words merely touch the surface of your love, while depths immeasurable lie beneath, for your love took you from the height of majesty and glory to the depths of shame on earth.” Isn't that just a wonderful description? of what's going on here. And then he actually continues and he says this, “the most inspired mind must utterly fail to fathom this love. Here is love and truly it is love that surpasses knowledge”. Yeah, amen.
Felicity: I mean, know, could we better suspect? No. It's so good. The very fact that he's brought in swallow skimming into that description is just it. It was amazing. Amazing. And I think then we have, and we were noticing at the very start all the way through Ephesians these words in relation to knowledge and revelation and wisdom. And just to notice, I know we're talking about how this surpasses knowledge, but to notice that there is a continual thread all the way through chapters one through three that we have this kind of the engine by which God is is working is through the revelation that is known as he enlightens the eyes of our hearts and as here that we might pray to know this more again to know the love of Christ more and as we seek to even just touch the tip of understanding what this love is the means by which we do that is to pray and as we pray, verse 19, to know this love, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. And again, we've had that language before and really we hear it in chapter four, we hear a bit more clearly that that really means maturity, so a kind of growth in Christ, a steadfastness in him, a bearing the fruit of the spirit as Christ dwells in us. And that's just been a helpful thing for me to really dwell on actually this time round of being in this prayer of thinking, well, as I pray this and as God gives me a greater understanding of Christ's love for me, as a result of that, I will become more Christ-like. And that just is so right and sensible, but for some reason, this has been the first time I've really kind of been like, huh, that is exactly it.
Sarah: I know. I think when you said that to me the other day and you were describing that kind of realisation I was like hmm what? Why is that only just kind of clocking there? But yes that is right though isn't it? That actually the more that we know his love, the more that we are bowled over by this love, the more that we are steeped in just how much he loves us, just how much... just the weight of cost, just all of this that we've just been reading really, the last three chapters, when we see that it's all born out of love, when we see what it costs in every way, well of course we then want to respond. Of course we're then gonna grow and live in light of this love aren't we? And we're going to see that in the very next breath of this next half of the book aren't we? With the first instruction is to walk in the way of love basically but just the reality that actually to be filled with the fullness of God is to be filled to the brim with what it looks like to live in light of this truth isn't it? And for it to be really grounded in everyday life which is again what he's going to go on to for the second half of the letter that like this love impacts, it impacts deeply every crevice, every corner, every part of me. And if it's not, I'm not understanding it and I'm not appreciating it. And yes, of course that's a learning process that's always going to be a work in progress because he's asking us to keep praying for more knowledge of it. We're, you know, we're always learning and know in this kind of growing in this knowledge, but it should always be, yeah with the that at the end, shouldn't it? It should always be that it is producing an effect in us.
Felicity: Yeah. And if you just press into that a little bit more, what it is to be loved with this kind of love and to really begin to grasp that more. And I think that what comes about as a result is a steadfastness, a settledness, kind of something that's actually apparent to others that we know we are secure, we know we are loved like this. I really remember when I came to faith through a friend at university. As I reflect on it, her, in relation to these verses, I think that's what I saw in her actually. This kind of steadfastness, a settledness in Christ that I didn't have because I didn't know Jesus. that just was really remarkable as I reflected on it over this last few weeks. I think that was part of it. This is very encouraging that it actually outworks. It's beautiful. Yeah, really beautiful. So at the end he comes to this doxology, to the book end, we have the posture of prayer and then here now to him again pointing up really who is able to do immeasurably more, again like immeasurably more, like the expansion is continuing and to him be the glory and of course, of course as we know the love of Christ, as we pray this prayer to him be the glory because that's where it's at, he's given us Jesus.
Sarah: Yeah and glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations. It's so expansive, isn't it? But I think that, again, that just the kind of these last couple of verses just remind us that he can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. So if we're feeling spiritually dry, if we're feeling like, I don't get this love at the moment, or I'm not bothered by it, or I'm just feeling like I'm not feeling it, just take hold of these verses and pray them and kind of really kind of just ask the Lord to do immeasurably more than all you can ask or imagine. You know, pray, pray what he's asking you to pray. And this is why these prayers are given. This is why Paul writes down his prayer, isn't it? That they would then be encouraged to pray for each other to this end. And what better gift than to pray this for those that we know and love? We could not be praying anything better could we than for them to grow in their knowledge of Christ that that original prayer in chapter one, spirit of resurrection and revelation that they may know him better but also that they would be just grasping more of the depth and the breadth and the height and the width of his love for them.
Felicity: Yeah, yeah, and that love is distinctively Jesus's love. That is different to the love that we fear, we experience, we hear of around and about, but in his word, and to therefore pray that with confidence as well, as you were saying, because God does do a measuring more, but we are confident that God wants us to grow in our understanding of how much we are loved. And even just that is. Well, it's just profound, isn't it? That that would be something that God longs for us to know. Yeah. Sarah, you want to pray that for us?
Sarah: I'd love to. Heavenly Father, we thank you that we have this prayer to be able to pray. And so we pray it now. We pray that for all of us listening, for all of us right now, Lord, that being rooted and established in love, that we may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is your love and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, Lord, that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to you who are able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine according to your power that is at work within us. Lord, to you be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Felicity: Amen. Well, that is one of those, isn't it, where you could, I mean, the more you think about it, the more you've got, the more we've got to pray and think on and chat. But who could you reach out to this week in your local church? Who can you be praying this for? But also go further than that, who could you actually be connecting with this togetherness that we're hearing all through Ephesians? Why not ask the Lord to show you and to give you courage to reach out to someone in your local church. And we will be back in your ears for kicking into the second half of Ephesians chapter four on Friday next week. And we will see you then.
Sarah: See you then, bye bye. This episode has been sponsored by Crossway.
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