Paul, Pt. 15: “The Best is Yet to Come”

THE BEST IS YET TO COME (EPHESIANS 3:14-19)
There once was a sculptor working hard with his hammer and chisel on a large block of marble. A little boy who was watching him saw nothing more than large and small pieces of stones falling away left and right. He had no idea what was happening. But when the boy returned to the studio a few weeks later, he saw to his great surprise a large, powerful lion sitting in the place where the marble had stood. With great excitement the boy ran to the Sculptor and said, “Sir, tell me, how did you know there was a lion in the marble?” (Henry Nouwen, Clowning in Rome, p.87)

Do you know God’s power at work within us can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine? (Eph 3:20) Proportionally, Ephesians tells us more about God is willing to “give/grant” to believers than any of Paul’s epistles in the Bible. The word occurs a whopping 12 times in six chapters of the book (Eph 1:17, 1:22, 3:2, 3:7, 3:8, 3:16, 4:7, 4:8, 4:11, 4:27, 4:29, 6:19) for an average of two occurrences per chapter in Ephesians. For perspective, 1 Corinthians uses the word more – 15 times but in over 16 chapters. Ephesians, more than any epistle in the Bible, portrays God as a generous giver (the word “grant” is present in KJV, NASB and RSV but dropped by NIV). The third chapter of Ephesians echoes and resumes the prayer and words of the first chapter. Previously, in Ephesians 1:16, Paul prayed that God would give the Ephesians the spirit of wisdom and revelation – the knowledge part, but here he completes the prayer by asking God for three things – the practical part , structured linguistically around the repetition of “that” (hina) in verses 16, 18 and 19. As powerful as this passage is, I could hardly find a Chinese sermon on it on all major websites.

You Have More Power Than You Think
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (Eph 3:14-17)

A man of the state of Chu had a spear and a shield for sale. He was loud in praises of his shield. “My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through.” He also sang praises of his spear. “My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything.”

“What would happen,” he was asked, “if your spear is used to pierce your shield?”
It is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable.

So, what is strength? Tylenol’s web page list three basic Tylenol products: Regular Strength TYLENOL, Extra Strength TYLENOL and TYLENOL 8 Hour. The first one says “effective headache relief that won’t irritate your stomach,” the next boasts “Gelcaps with specially designed holes to release powerful medicine fast” and the last “Fast relief of muscle pain and specifically designed to last all day.” Actually there are three more – Women’s Tylenol ® Menstrual Relief, Tylenol ® Arthritis Pain and Cold-Multi Symptom Rapid Release Gels, but the more products they release, the less they can convince consumers that they have found the answer and cornered the market on what is “extra strength.”

Human strength is often overstated. Some may appear stronger with the power and advantage of resources, relationships and reasoning at their disposal. The truth is we are no stronger than our muscle fiber and physical conditioning. However, true strength and maximum strength is not found in one’s physique, personality or position in life, but in God’s power and provision. God’s gift of strength is vertical and not horizontal – “through His Spirit,” internal and not external – “in your inner being,” permanent and not passing – “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

Believers have more strength than they know and more power than they think. God is the provider, the Spirit is the partner in the process and the purpose is for Christ to dwell in one’s heart through faith. Another way to put it: The Father is the initiator, the Spirit is the intermediary, the Son is the inhabitant and we are the instruments or vessels. God provides according His glorious riches. Strengthen (krataioo) is an insightful choice. That is the word to describe John the Baptist (Luke 1:80) and Jesus (Luke 2:40) when they both grew and “became strong.” By that time Jesus was only 12 years old (Luke 2:42), so he was not bodily strong, powerful. “Grow” is the physical, but “become strong” is mental – to have strength of courage, character and conviction. Jesus was not well-built by this time, but he was well-rounded.

This strengthening (krataioo) is admirable and advantageous, but it is not measured with man’s power. Our power is bestowed in proportion or according to (kata) the riches of God’s glory. The NIV translation of “His glorious riches” (v 16) is very clumsy. The KJV, NASB and Chinese Union Version’s translation is “the riches of his glory.” What is the difference? The former stresses His riches, but the latter His glory, which is far superior. His glory is the greater of the two, superior to and inclusive of riches. It is also to prevent believers from inserting or forcing a physical or materialistic reading into God’s riches. In having His glory, you are better off than rich, even though the word “rich” is nothing to be ashamed of. “Riches” is a good translation to avoid people think of “wealth.” The funny thing is this exact phrase is translated as “the riches of his glorious inheritance” shortly before in Ephesians 1:18 and “the riches of his glory” in Romans 9:23, but reverts to “glorious riches” in Colossians 1:27.

The powerful strengthening is accomplished by the Spirit. The Spirit is the agent of change. He is the teacher (John 14:26), the truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13) and the transformer.

Lastly, how and where are we strong? In the inner man, “eso” in Greek, as in “esoteric” or “belonging to an inner group.” As you grow older, you’ll understand that inner strength is greater than outer strength because the exterior is bound to crumble and the inner is the last to go, just as any gym member can tell you exercise is more mental than physical, an internal and not an external battle, a matter of the heart and head before it forms into a habit.

Basically, true strength is from upward breaching inward and reaching downward.

You Are More Precious Than You Think
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ (Eph 3:17-18)
Here is a touching letter from Jesus to seekers found on Youtube (“A Letter from JESUS”):

Dearly Beloved Friend:

How are you? I just had to send you this letter to tell you how much I love you and care for you. I saw you yesterday as you were walking with your friends. I waited all day, hoping you would walk and talk with me also. As evening drew near, I gave you a sunset to close your day, and a cool breeze to rest you. Then I waited, but you never came. And yes, it hurt me, but I still love you because I am your friend. I saw you fall asleep last night, and I longed to touch your brow, so I spilled moonlight upon your pillow and your face. Again I waited, wanting to rush down so we could talk. I have so many gifts for you. You awakened late this morning and rushed off for the day. My tears were in the rain.

Today you looked so sad, so alone. It makes my heart ache because I understand. My friends let me down and hurt me many times, but I love you. I try to tell you in the quiet green grass. I whisper it in the leaves and trees, and breathe it in the color of the flowers. I shout it to you in the mountain streams, and give the birds love songs to sing. I clothe you with warm sun shine and perfume the air. My love for you is deeper than the oceans and bigger than the biggest want or need you could ever have.

We will spend eternity in heaven. I know how hard it is on earth. I really know, because I was there, and I want to help you. My Father wants to help you, too. He's that way, you know. Just call me, ask me, talk to me. It is your decision... I have chosen you, and because of this I will wait...Because I love you. And I know I’ll be you someday when I get back…

Your Friend,
Jesus
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nf5xD68EqHw

When Christ dwells in our hearts – an architectural and a structural term, we are rooted and established in love – an agricultural and a biological term, then we are able to grasp how “wide and long and high and deep” is the love of Christ.

Roots are mysterious and powerful things. The Bible uses “root” as a verb twice only, both by Paul. The other time is in Colossians 2:7, where it reads: “rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith.” Both equations begin with the verb “root” in the use of compound verbs – “rooted and established” and “rooted and built up in him.” Being rooted is not only essential, it is priority, crucial and vital. Without roots, flowers die, trees fall and plants are uprooted. The higher you reach, the deeper your roots.

The word “established” is the verb form of “foundation,” so the translation is “founded.” The roots are the depth and the foundation is the material or ground. You can build deep down a quicksand’s foundation but it will still sink. This is the verb for the wise man who “laid the foundation” of his house on rock (Luke 6:48) and God’s act of “laying the foundations of the earth.” (Heb 1:10)

“Have power” (ex-ischuo) is a rare word in the Bible. It means to have full strength (to carry) out (something) literally. “Ex-” means “out” and the verb “ischuo” is “be of strength.” What does one need strength for? To grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. A person who is not rooted and grounded in love has a hard time understanding God’s love.

The most commonly used dimensions are the parameters describing the size of an object: length, width, and height. The four dimensions of God’s love, however, includes depth – the antonym to height. Paul is using a literary device called merism - totality as expressed by contrasting parts. There are no conditions, no confines, no changes to God’s love. The four dimensions of God’s love does not mean “as is” but “its all.”

One of my professors at seminary, Harold Hoehner, says “these measurements most likely describe not the thoroughness of comprehension but the immensity of the thing to be comprehended.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

Here are some quotes on God’s love:
“God's love is like a circle, a circle, big and round, and when you see a circle, no ending can be found.”
“God's love is like the ocean, you can see its beginning, but not its end.”
“God's love is like Himself, from everlasting to everlasting--immutable.”
“God's love is like a stream, a river that just keeps flowing.” Christianity is not about creed, character and conduct. It is about the love of God, bound in the context of the His incarnation, His death and resurrection.

Martyn-Lloyd Jones says Paul “almost contradicts himself by using a figure of speech which is called oxymoron. He prays that we may “know” the love of Christ “which passeth knowledge”. He says that “though this love of Christ is itself beyond all computation, and can never be truly measured, nevertheless it is our business to learn as much as we can about it, and to receive as much of it as we can possibly contain.”

You Can Progress More Than You Think
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:19)

“I have come to speak to you about your work,” said the Angel-Who-Attends-To-Things. “It appears to be unsatisfactory.”

“Indeed!” said the man, “I hardly see how that can be. Perhaps you will explain.”

“I will”, said the Angel. “To begin with the work is slovenly.”

“I was born heedless,” said the man. 'It is a family failing which I have always regretted.”

“It is ill put together, too, “ said the Angel. “The parts do not fit.”

“I never had any eye for proportion,” said the man. “I admit it is unfortunate.”

“The whole thing is a botch,” said the Angel. “You have put neither brains nor heart into it, and the result is ridiculous failure. What do you propose to do about it?”

“I credited you with more comprehension,” said the man. “My faults, such as they are, were born with me. I am sorry that you do not approve of me, but is the way I was made. Do you see?”

“I see!”, said the Angel. He put out a strong white hand, and taking the man by the collar, tumbled him neck and crop into the ditch (near where they were standing).

“What is the meaning of this?” cried the man as he scrambled out breathless and dripping. “I never saw such behavior. Do you not see what you have done? You have ruined my clothes, and nearly drowned me besides.”

“Oh yes!” said the Angel. “This is the way I was made.” (Source: “For You and Me” by Laura Richards from “The Moral Compass”)

“Filled” and “fullness” (v 19) actually share the same root word. The verb “fill” is mostly translated as “fulfill” in the Bible, more than twice as common as “fill” – 51 times to 19 times in KJV. It is to fulfill one’s potential, grow into maturity and be more Christlike. The material, physical and external things of the world frustrate a person and not fill a person, only God can do that.

Harold W. Hoehner comments that the KJV and RSV translations, “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God,” wrongly imply that the whole fullness of God can be contained in a believer's life. But this ignores the Greek preposition
“eis” (to) which denotes a goal; this is translated accurately in the NIV: “to the measure.”

Lastly, we are not filled with God but filled with all the fullness of God. The former is a mystic union with God, but the latter “fullness” is merely likeness to Him. The former refers to His divine nature in Himself, but the latter His communicable attributes to man. It is not oneness or union with God, merging into Him to become one cosmic conscience or breath – New Age style. The Bible teaches us that Christ is the image of the invisible God (2 Cor 4:4, Col 1:15). We are merely to be conformed to the likeness of his Son (Rom 8:29) and to be “renewed in knowledge” in the image of the Creator (Col 3:10) – not to be the exact replica, representation or reproduction.

Also, fullness does not mean moral perfection but moral purity, not errorless but excellence, not no blunders but not backsliding, not no moral limitations but no moral letdown, not no frailty but no failure. It means to be conformed to the likeness of his Son (Rom 8:29), not to be conjoined to His likeness; not to be “as” Him, but to be “like” Son; not to be God, but to be like Him. The fullness of God (Eph 3:19), Christ and the fullness (Eph 4:13) and the Deity (Col 2:9) are mentioned three times in the Bible, but Ephesians 4:13-14 tells us its practical purposes: “…attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming,” which is to stabilize us emotionally, theologically and relationally.

Conclusion: Are your riches grounded in knowing God’s love? Have you accepted God’s unconditional, unfailing, unchanging love? What are you filled with and full of? Is the Spirit actively working in you to transform you to be more like Christ? Are you growing in love for Jesus or falling in love with riches?