Incomparably Great Power (Ephesians)

Appleton Gospel Church

Incomparably Great Power: Do you want to grow in your faith, no matter what your circumstances are? You need to understand what you've been given in Christ. Paul prays the Ephesians would know the hope of their calling, the riches of their inheritance, and the incomparably great power they have been given in Christ. Recorded on May 5, 2024, on Ephesians 1:15-23 by Pastor David Parks. Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you. Sermon Transcript So, last week, we started a new sermon series called The Gospel in Life from the book of Ephesians in the Bible. And we started with the truth that the Christian life is, first and foremost, a life of worship. Today, we’ll consider the first of two prayers of Paul in his letter. In this first prayer, we see not only the fruit of what God is doing in their church but also how Paul prays for them to continue to grow in their faith. Do you want to know how to grow in your faith? Do you ever read the Bible and wonder, why doesn’t my life look more like this?? Do you want more hope and more spiritual power, no matter what your circumstances are? This message is for you. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Ephesians 1:15. Ephesians 1:15–16 (NIV), “15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” So, the Apostle Paul is writing a letter here to his friends, who are mostly Gentile believers in the city of Ephesus. Paul had planted this church about ten years earlier and is now writing back to them when he was under house arrest in Rome. Last week, we saw that after the initial greeting, he started the body of the letter with a doxology or an invitation to worship. And we saw that the reason he was inviting the Ephesians to worship the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ because of the gospel — which is the good news of who God is, what he’s done in the past, what he’s doing today, and what he’s promised for our future in Christ. We saw that this gospel reveals the truly cosmic nature of God’s plan, the only rational response being to live lives of worship to the praise of his glory. Here, in v. 15, Paul moves from doxology to prayer. “For this reason,” meaning, in light of the grand scope of the gospel, from eternity to eternity, Paul has not stopped giving thanks to God for the Ephesians, “remembering you in my prayers.” But why? Why is Paul so thankful? He says that he heard some good things about them. He heard about their “faith in the Lord Jesus.” Paul spent almost three years in Ephesus. He probably knew many of the people who were in the church there, except for those who came to faith after he left. And as a good shepherd, Paul would’ve cared deeply for them. Like a good mom or dad would want the best for their kids, so Paul would’ve wanted the best for them. At some point, someone brought him a report of their faith, and he was overjoyed. They do believe, Paul! They believe in the gospel, they trust in Jesus, and they follow his way — even in the mostly pagan city of Ephesus. How do you know? Because of their love for all God’s people. Now, the phrase “God’s people” here literally means “holy ones,” which is where, in church history, we got the term “the saints.” But saints in the Bible aren’t exceptional, superhero-like Christians. Saints are just regular old Christians who have faith in the Lord Jesus and who love one another. If you’re a Christian today, you, too, are a saint.