Ephesians 3:13-21

¹³ So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. 

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This text is a prayer that you would be strengthened, rooted, and grounded in faith so that you would know the love of Christ. Whether you know it or not, that is why you are here today. You are here so that you would know the love of Jesus. Now, beware. The prayer in this text is very humbling for us. But if you are willing to be humbled, you will receive a gift greater than you can imagine. So, let’s walk through the text.

In v. 14-15, Paul is basically getting to his knees to pray. Then, in v. 16, the prayer begins. Paul asks that God would strengthen our inner being so we would know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. Now, Paul wouldn’t pray that we be strengthened if our inner being were already strong enough to hold on to and grasp Christ’s love. And we can’t make ourselves strong enough by working harder than others or being smarter than others. Of course, it’s good to be smart and work hard, but this text isn’t about that. This strength comes from outside of us.

As we come to v. 17, we need to remember that Paul is writing this text to and praying this prayer for Christians. If you go back to the opening verses of this letter, you see that Paul is writing to the saints who are faithful and have already been blessed in Christ and have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:1-3). So, it is good and right to imagine that Paul is praying this for you. But his prayer asks for something you would expect to have already happened. He prays that you, Christian, would be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit so that Christ would dwell in your hearts through faith. Isn’t that interesting? Doesn’t Christ already dwell in the hearts of Christians? Yes. And don’t you already know this? Yes!

But this prayer shows that even you, God’s people, His saints, you who are chosen by God, you need to be rooted and grounded so that you have strength to comprehend the love of Christ. Let’s consider this idea of being rooted and grounded because it helps us understand why Paul can pray that we would have something we already have and know something we already know.

A lot of our learning moves from one thing to another. In school, you are taught numbers then, when you master that, you move on to addition. When you master addition, you move to subtraction then multiplication then division, etc. Sometimes, we are tempted to think we don’t need to learn something anymore because it’s simplistic. If you showed up for calculus your senior year and the lesson was learning how to count, you’d drop the class! But the Christian life is about learning, and learning again, and again, and again the love of Jesus.

How young were you when you learned the lesson, “Jesus loves me this I know”? Isn’t that teaching for baby Christians? Yes, it is. But Christian, you don’t move beyond those lessons. The teaching of Christ’s love is as elementary as learning that 2 comes after 1, and 3 after 2. But that teaching is also more advanced than differential equations.

Christian, be humbled to learn that simple lesson again. You need to be strengthened to be rooted and grounded in Christ’s love. Rooted and grounded means that you don’t move. You don’t go anywhere. You stay put. You roots go down deeper and deeper where you already are. In other words, there are incredible things to know, but it is the same. Same soil. Same location.

Here’s where those roots dig down – look at v. 18-19. Those roots dig down into the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. You already know this love, but Paul is praying that you would know more fully the love of Christ.

Now, we know that the place we learn of Christ’s love is always through the Scriptures. But for that message to take deeper root, there needs to be some breaking up of hardened soil. In other words, for your inner being to become stronger, God will come to you through His Word to break you up a bit first. You will hear the Law and learn about your needs, your weaknesses, your limitations, and your sin. And God uses that Law to break you up and expose your failure and sin. Then, the soil is prepared for your roots to go deeper as you hear God say, “You knew before that I loved you, but you didn’t know that I would love you here and in this situation.”

Just briefly consider our Old Testament lesson (1 Kgs. 17:17-24) which is a continuation of the story from last week. The widow of Zarephath learned that God loved her and cared for her during a drought that left her with only enough flour and oil for she and her son to have one more bite before they died. But in the midst of her plight, God loved her and provided so that her little bit of ingredients wouldn’t run out. In today’s text, she learns that God still loved her even when her son died.

Remember what she said. This widow figured that her son’s death was God simply reminding her that she was a sinner (1 Kgs. 17:18). She thinks that God’s love was only enough to provide for her next meal. But God had more blessings and love to pour out on her. Her son was raised. God loved her and did far more abundantly than she could ask or think. God had more love to give that widow even in midst of the death of her son. Her son was raised, and, God be praised, her roots went deeper into the love of God.

Now, that’s her story, how she was broken, strengthened, and more deeply rooted in Christ’s love. I can’t say how this will specifically happen for you. But you will face a time of suffering or weakness. You will encounter something that simply knocks you down so all you can see and feel is how weak and powerless you are. Then, God’s love will come to you in that weakness and place of inability. That love isn’t new, but His love will come into that place, and you will know again and more fully than before the love of Jesus which you already know.

Dear Beau, that brings me to you. Beau, today you are Baptized. Today, God has made you a Christian and saved you (1 Pet. 3:21). God has made you His disciple by placing His name – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – upon you (Mt. 28:). He has claimed you as His own. God has joined you to the death and resurrection of Christ (Ro. 6:3-10). God has clothed you with Christ (Gal. 3:27). But, Beau, today is just the beginning of God’s love for you in Christ. There’s more. More gifts. More blessings. More love that God will continue to pour out on you. Beau, may God give you the strength to let your roots sink deeper and stronger in the love of Christ as you grow and mature in the faith. May each day of your life be filled with lessons of Christ’s infinite love for you.

And all you saints, may this be the same for you. May God give all of you the strength to sink your roots further and deeper into the knowledge of God’s love so you may know His love which surpasses knowledge. And may you unite your voice with the entire church in a doxology, in praise to God.

Dear saints, your God is able to do far more abundantly than all you ask or think. And His power is at work within you. To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.^[1]

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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^[1] Portions of this sermon were adapted from a sermon by Rev. Dr. Jeff Gibbs on this text.