Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Text: Ephesians 3:14-21, but especially these words –

I pray 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 saints, 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.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear Friends in Christ Jesus:

           We say, “I believe,” and not, “We believe,” because faith is always something personal. I can’t believe for you, and you can’t believe for me.  And you may even have a Christian father or mother, a very godly and dedicated grandfather or grandmother, but their faith will never be able to save you. Each one of you must believe for yourself.

           And yet, while faith is a personal matter, we are not alone in our faith. Others believe as we do. The prophet Elijah thought that he was the only one in Israel who believed in the true God, but he learned that there were 7,000 people in Israel who had not bowed down to the idol Baal. When you confess your faith, you can be sure that there are many others who join you in your loyalty and devotion to Jesus Christ.

           And they not only join you in a common confession of faith, but they are also very concerned about you. For the Christian Church is not a group of people who just happen to believe the same things, but it is a body of men, women, and children deeply involved with one another. We are the body of Christ, as the apostle Paul so beautifully put it, joined to one another in faith and sharing with one another the joys and sorrows of life and the concerns of our common faith. There are millions of people today who believe as you do and whose prayers ascend to the throne of God on your behalf. Their words may differ, but the thought expressed in their prayers is much the same as that of the apostle Paul when he prayed for the congregation at Ephesus – that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

           St. Paul had a reason for addressing this prayer to the Lord. His stay in Ephesus, when he established the congregation, had been marked by much opposition. He said that he fought with “wild beasts.” To be sure, the behavior of the enemies of the Gospel was animal like. Again, speaking of his stay in Ephesus, he said – “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.” The situation was such that St. Paul thought he was going to die. And even at this time, as he was writing this letter to the Ephesians, he was a prisoner of the Roman government.

           What bothered the apostle Paul was this – what effect would his personal troubles have on these new Christians at Ephesus?  St. Paul claimed that he was a servant of the true God. He taught them that the Lord was all-powerful and that He was a God of love and kindness. But his experiences in Ephesus didn’t quite give that impression. Where was this God of power when Paul was “under great pressure” by Christ’s enemies? What happened to this God of love as Paul was wasting away in a Roman prison? Is this the way God treats His children? If anything, the apostle Paul appears as one rejected, and his God stood weak in these presence of the enemies.

           That all this disturbed the apostle and that he was concerned about the effect it might have on the Ephesians is apparent from his letter. “I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you,”” he wrote, and added – “For this reason I kneel before the Father…that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power in your inner being.” He was afraid that the trouble and opposition he met in Ephesus might reflect on the power of the Gospel and the love of God. For that reason he prayed – “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

           The world hasn’t changed much since the days of the apostle Paul, and so his prayer on behalf of the church, on behalf of the people of God is still very relevant and important – “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” For there is still opposition to the teachings of Jesus Christ.  You hear it in the classroom. Historians not accepting miracles. Scientists for the most part not believing in the divine origin of the universe. Psychologists questioning the Biblical teaching about sin. The entertainment of today is in direct conflict with the will of our God. Sex is distorted, cheapened, and abused. Alcohol and drugs are indulged in excessively. Business practices don’t always go along with the moral code expressed by the Savior. You see, the world in which we live is far from being a religious paradise.

           But maybe the greatest danger that confronts our faith is the satisfaction with which our society and even the church, accepts averageness, weakness, and shallowness. We’re content to leave religious matters in the air.  Religion becomes a kind of vague and sentimental belief in a god. People today meet the teachings of Jesus Christ with the question – “How do you know it’s true?” – and are satisfied with that. They want us to be tolerant, open-minded, and non-judgmental – and in the process, we stand for nothing.

           Believe in everything a little bit - that’s the spirit of our age! We ask questions but don’t take time to find the answers. We take pride in being tolerant but forget that we have no real convictions of our own. Unfortunately, this spirit has crept into the church. And as a result, so much of Christianity today is shallow and without any real depth. There is often no real conviction. We are satisfied with a lukewarm effort. We accept failure as inevitable. In the apostle Paul’s day the enemies of the Gospel viciously attacked the church and wanted to destroy it. Today, these enemies come with the voice of sophistication and say – “It may be nice to believe in Jesus, but why don’t you face life realistically and get rid of all this sentimental stuff?” And this makes the religious climate of our day very dangerous. Under the pressure of public opinion, there is the distinct possibility that we might become discouraged.

           What was the nature of Paul’s prayer for the congregation at Ephesus? Please notice that he didn’t ask God to release him from prison. He didn’t ask God to remove the stigma that was attached to the preaching of the Cross. He didn’t pray that God would destroy the enemies of the church. Rather, his prayer was very simple – “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power…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.”

           There was no doubt in St. Paul’s mind that these Ephesians were Christians. He calls them – “saints…the faithful in Christ Jesus”. He expresses his gratitude to God for their faith and love. These people knew Jesus. They received Him as their Savior. They followed Him as their Shepherd and Lord. But Paul’s prayer asked that they know and experience this love of Christ to its fullest extent – that they would be able to comprehend how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ really is!

           The apostle Paul was confident of this – if their faith and love were made stronger, nothing would be able to dent their shield of faith. And this is true also today. No matter how great the temptation that confronts us, if we receive power through God’s Spirit, we will stand firm. Taking hold of the love of Christ gives us the strength to withstand anything.

           To overcome the temptations of our time, you need to know yourself. Know Christ – and you will know yourself. You’ll remember that portion of Scripture, when Peter stood in the presence of Christ after our Lord had told him to let down the nets for a great catch of fish. Peter responded – “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” In the presence of Christ’s majesty and power, he felt his own insignificance and guilt. Also the apostle Paul, when he learned to know Jesus, declared that he was – “the worst of sinners”. In the presence of Jesus Christ, we see ourselves as we are – sinners who have fallen far short of Christ’s perfection.

           But in Christ, we also are able to see what we can be – children of the heavenly Father, “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” St. Peter writes – “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” For “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

           For Christ has broken down the wall of separation between us and our God. As our Savior He fulfilled the Law of God for us. He suffered, died, and rose again to pay the price for our sins. Knowing our Lord by faith not only brings us into the family of God, but it also enables us to draw on the power of Christ. St. Paul writes – “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Our Lord’s disciples were transformed by the love of Christ. On Easter morning, they hid behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. But on the day of Pentecost, they were empowered by God’s Spirit and stood before a hostile world and boldly proclaimed their faith in the risen Savior.

           Christ is the source of strength and power. The apostle Paul declared that he was convinced that nothing in all of creation would be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord – for “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” So you can understand why St. Paul prayed as he did – “For this reason I kneel before the Father…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

           This priceless treasure, faith in Jesus Christ, is God’s greatest gift to you. You have learned to know Jesus as your Savior and Lord. My prayer for you as you go out into the world is that you “may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love” – and in His power to overcome and be victorious each and every day, until you hear these words of the Savior – “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness” in heaven above, eternally. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.