Continually Connected
Ephesians 1:15-23
Since, for the past two Sundays and Wednesdays, especially, Pastor Dave has driven home doctrinal differences, we won’t be going over those points for today’s message.
In our last message in Ephesians, we realized that not only are we loved, forgiven, chosen, predestined, and adopted into God’s own family. Not only does God rule and reign with all authority as the King of kings, but he is also our invested, loving, and caring Father who desires for you to know him.
Today, we are going to dive into Ephesians Chapter 1, starting in verse 15. We are looking at the continued truths that are found when our lives are absolutely continually connected to Christ.
I want to tell you a story first that has something to do with this section of scripture. During VBS this year (which is phenomenal how God moves during those times each year and especially this year), one of our largest challenges was keeping the children’s ministry room cool enough that it wouldn’t get too hot as the day went on. It was over 105 degrees outside most of that week. It would need to be cool enough until at least 1 p.m. It was such a challenge, I would have to either come the night before and turn on the air conditioners with the fans blowing in there, and fans running during VBS, or I had to get here super early and do the same thing.
For some reason, the air conditioner wasn’t working in there. Pastor Dave and I definitely thought a few of the a/c units (as all but two or three are ancient, older than I am – 25 years old) had something wrong with them. Come to find out (fast forward), JJ and I get tasked with the duty of getting a ladder, going up into the attic, and investigating the unit. And so, we started going up the ladder, and I thought, “Man. It’s really hot outside, but it’s not that hot in the attic.” Long story short, we were in the attic with flashlights, inhaling every type of dust that is up there and covered in sweat and dust, come to find out that part of the ducting had collapsed. And so, what was happening was it was blowing at least somewhere between 62 and 65 degrees, and we made a temporary fix with a trash bag wrapped around it and duct taped it.
Two weeks later, JJ comes back with all his tools and his HVAC stuff and goes up, fixes that, and then realizes there is another area that wasn’t connected, and he fixed that as well. Now, if you walk into the children’s ministry room, it is colder in there than it may be in here – at least for the first service. So, there was nothing wrong with the air conditioning unit. There was something wrong with the children’s ministry room, and it had to do with the connection to get that cold air to where it was supposed to be.
So, holding onto that story, I want you to follow along with me as we read, starting in verse 15.
Ephesians 1:15-16 (NLT)
15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,
16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,
Paul knew this church. He had even left Timothy there to minister to these people as well to make sure that the way they were teaching God’s Word was correct. There were some spiritual attacks and people saying one thing about the road to salvation and saying you had to do all these things. In reality, you just absolutely must surrender your life and say, “Lord, I’m at the end of myself, and I want you.”
So, Paul is writing to this church. It’s a continuation of the beautiful inheritance to the faithful people of Ephesus. He tells them, “I have heard of your strong faith in the Lord…” In other words, I have heard of the connection that you have with the Lord. As a by-product of the connection of the strong faith you have with the Lord, therefore I see and hear that you are loving God’s people everywhere.
For me, as I was studying this section of scripture, Paul will say three times in these short verses, “I pray…” I pray for you this. I pray for you that. I pray for this. We understand that because of the connection these people had with Ephesus that they were loving on God’s people everywhere.
And so, this week, as I was praying, my biggest heart was, “As a church, as Calvary Chapel Nuevo, I pray that we are known as a church that has a strong faith in you and is led to love God’s people everywhere.” Continuing with obviously teaching God’s doctrine verse-by-verse, precept upon precept, as we hit hard topics, as different things roll through the scripture, we teach them as they come. All of God’s Word can bring life into your life and can resurrect the dead bodies that we have.
Paul is under Roman arrest, Roman imprisonment, yet he has this heart of thankfulness. He has this heart of rejoicing. Typically, when you and I go through difficult seasons, through persecutions, going through the valleys of life, we say something like, “Woe is me! Where are you?” But what I love about Paul’s heart and his connection to the Lord and his walk to bring God glory is even in the moment of he himself being personally persecuted, he is being thankful and interceding and praying over this church in Ephesus.
Normally, I spend a lot more time studying (I know that sounds weird), matched with prayer. And this time around, it was weird. I was praying a lot more than I was trying to find the meanings, and this and that, and listen to or read commentaries, or listening to my favorite speakers. And I feel like it’s so awesome because, in this section of scripture, you’re going to see how Paul is so absolutely connected to who Christ is that his outward projection towards the Church at Ephesus is absolutely overflowing (in a sense) with this cold air, with this reality that he knows God, that he’s connected to God through his relationship with Jesus.
And it’s the same in our lives. Is each of our lives truly connected to the Source of Life – which is God – with Jesus being the crossway, the way to who the Father is? If you guys remember, in the last message, we talked about having this beautiful inheritance that is only ours when we are united with Christ, when we are connected with Christ.
Ephesians 1:16b-17 (NLT)
16 . . . I pray for you constantly,
17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
In taking apart this section of scripture, this isn’t saying have knowledge, as in “have information.” It’s not about you knowing all these facts about Jesus. Or you know Greek words or Hebrew words, or you’re just really smart when it comes to scripture. This knowledge of God means to know God.
The Greek word is EPIGNOSIS. It means “a real deep knowledge, knowing relationally” who Jesus is. In our lives, we can fall into the trap of just going through the motions. We can fall into the trap of thinking because we prayed once, long ago, that our salvation is kept in Christ. Here’s the reality in your connection with Christ and knowing the Father: that prayer that you said, however many years ago, or if you’re yet to say a prayer asking God to be your Lord and Savior, it’s your launching pad of a life constantly submitted. Like the last song said, “ALL that I am.” My soul, my life, my possessions are yours.
You see, it’s because of this connection that Paul has. It’s because of this connection that this church in Ephesus has that they are able to inherit the beautiful inheritance that they have from the Father. The reason they are able to have spiritual wisdom and insight and love God’s people is because their lives are properly connected to the source – very similar to that story.
When the conduit was connected, when the tubing was connected, the children’s ministry room was able to inherit, was able to celebrate, was able to rejoice within the cold air, and keep them within a certain temperature. But if it’s disconnected, it’s hot and uncomfortable in there. There is a disconnect. You’re not inheriting what is yours in Christ already.
One commentator said It’s like being a Christian and never opening the pocketbook of being a Christian and having all this wealth but living in poverty.
Does that make sense? This section of scripture is all about how vital, how important, and how built up our faith and our walk is with the Lord as we are connected or not connected to him.
I tell the youth constantly that they can actually know Jesus. That he’s not some God out there in space, in the distance, floating around, ruling and reigning. He’s the God, he’s the King, he’s the Lord that desires for you to know him because he already knows you. Scripture says he knows your thoughts before you know them, that He knit you together, that he designed you. And again, it brings us into an overflow of what we learned in the first thirteen verses of being “twice owned” by the Lord. Of being twice his. Of inheriting this riches.
Guys, don’t fall into the trap that the American culture of Christianity makes us fall into: that just because we go to church on Sunday morning or Wednesday nights or just because we tithe, that means we have the proper connection to Christ. You see all of that, going to church, tithing, serving – it’s all a by-product of saying, “I am in the state of epignosis, a real constant deep need to know God even more.”
So, there are two things that we have to wrestle with this morning. One, for the first time in my life, do I actually know Christ? Am I actually connected to him? And the second, for the Believer in the room, is I am constantly in the pursuit of wanting to know him? Am I constantly in the pursuit of saying, “God, I want the spiritual insight and wisdom and to grow in my knowledge and relationship and my fellowship, and my overwhelming reality that I can know you, Jesus?” It’s so pivotal in our walk with God that we realize that we can actually spend alone time with him. And we can actually be captivated by him. That we can say, “God, I want to know you continually.”
And oftentimes, when we don’t feel like God is close to us, I’ll ask a few questions. Is there sin in your life blocking you? Are you in his Word reading and meditating on it? How’s your prayer life? Are you getting away to a space where you can say, “Hey, God. I want to talk with you and hear from you.” Are we keeping the conduit open even when we don’t feel like he is with us? Are we continuing to serve? Are we continuing to worship? Am I saying, “God, I’m not seeking a feeling because then it’s for me. I’m seeking the continual connection of knowing you, Christ, despite how I feel.”
Because truth outdoes how we feel. And the truth that we’ll find in this section of scripture is absolutely jaw-dropping, absolutely awesome in WHO Christ IS, and the authority that he has!
I’m going to read Philippians 3, verse 10. We’re going to dwell on this verse. We’re going to come back to it over and over again.
Philippians 3:10 (NLT)
10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,
I want to KNOW Christ. . . Again, it’s that epignosis – the constant, continual knowing of Christ. Not just what you knew in the past, but “Lord, I want to know you. I want to be in a relationship with you. I want to spend time with you. I don’t want to function, God, if I don’t first lay my head, and lay my mind, and lay my heart at your feet, Christ.”
I am not setting a standard or expectation that is over you. What I am saying and trying to point out to all of us here in this room is that God is real. That Christ is real, and you can actually have a real, tangible knowledge relationship with him as you are connected to the Source that created you.
Ephesians 1:18 (NLT)
18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
What is so important for us to understand goes back to Philippians 3, verse 10. It goes back to Ephesians 1, verse 17. To know Christ. To grow in your knowledge of Christ. When you know Christ, your life and hearts are flooded with this light. They’re flooded with His presence. They’re flooded with the renewing of your mind as you continually, continually, continually, continually keep knowing Christ in your life.
You see, all the inheritance, all these riches, all the beauty of Ephesians chapter 1 is only ours when our lives are connected to God through our relationship with Christ. I will repeat that over and over in this message. What is important for us to understand is that we can’t desire the gift without being connected to the one who gives us the gifts. We can’t desire to walk, to lead, and to live lives in victory if we’re not connected to the one who gives us the ability with his Spirit to walk in a way that we are more than conquerors for his name’s sake.
One of the most beautiful things I count myself “lucky” for is the privilege when you’re teaching or sharing God’s Word, and you see this verse come alive in someone’s life as you’re sharing the gospel as you’re teaching the Word, for me this morning – even first service – you can see that as you’re speaking, whether I’m teaching the worst message of my life, butchering every word, and I’m stuttering, and I’m tripping over my accent like I do oftentimes, or I’m teaching the best message I could ever teach, the beautiful part is that anytime you open God’s Word, it can absolutely rock someone’s life and allow them to see the need for the absolute connection to Christ. And when you see someone’s life be flooded with the light…; be flooded with the presence of Christ… be flooded with the Holy Spirit As the light comes in, the darkness retreats because each and every one of us has wrestled with things in our life creeping with darkness and as we let Christ and the connection we have with him, and as allegiance to our Father, our hearts and our minds and our souls are flooded with his light.
This leads to us understanding the confident hope. Not the wishful hope. Not the play-pretend hope. Not the mystical hope. But the confident hope because the confidence is rooted and centered on the Cross, and who Jesus IS, and the way that he absolutely triumphed over sin and death.
As believers, when we’re connected to the Source of our lives, when we are connected to our Creator, when we have that knowledge and that relationship with Christ, we can live with the confident hope that one day I’m going to stand in front of my Creator. And instead of it being a season of fear, I’m going to absolutely rejoice because I know that my eternity is set in saying, “Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord God Almighty, who rules and reigns. Who has no equal. Who has no opposite. Who has no opposer.”
That confident hope is only yours and only mine when we know Christ, when we’re connected with Christ to the Father, we’re covered by his blood, and we’re bathed in the inheritance and richness that come from knowing Christ. Everything else is second. Everything else is not as important as saying, “God, I actually want to know you. I want to live with the confident hope that when I die, I’m going to be in your presence. And then, be excited that whatever sized crown or whatever jewels I get on my head, I’m going to throw it at your feet because even then, I’m going to be in awe of how beautiful and majestic and glorious you are, Christ.”
On the other hand, there’s not walking with the confident hope. Here’s the reason I bring up the fear and scariness that comes with the Christian American culture. We think because our parents or our grandparents were Christians (which is a beautiful thing) or because we come to church or because we think this or that, we are automatically in that confident hope. But you see, that confident hope comes only from knowing Christ, only having a relationship with him.
When I first gave my life to God, I remember this section of scripture that many of you probably know from Matthew 7. It speaks about how these people will come to the Lord and say, “God, Lord, Lord. We did all these things in your name. Lord, I taught your Word from behind the table. Lord, I taught your Word. I prayed for people. I cast out demons.” And guess what? If I don’t know God, he’s going to say to me, “Away from me, you evildoer who never knew me.”
So, the reality is we can go through the motions of Christianity missing the whole point of knowing Christ. And trust me, you know if you know Christ, and you know if you don’t know Christ. And it is a scary thing to have air in your lungs and realize that you don’t have that confident home that only comes from being connected to who Christ is.
And it continues at the end of verse 18 his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
I was camping last weekend in Bishop, and it’s beautiful there. At night the sky just illuminates with the stars and the galaxies, planets, and whatever is up there. And it’s so beautiful. I was fishing, and I just saw absolute majestic clouds glowing and flowing behind the top of the mountains – it’s so surreal. And you catch a fish, and you say, isn’t all this beautiful what God created? Out of all the planets, out of all the galaxies, out of all the wonders, views you and I when we’re connected to Christ as his rich inheritance.
In the last section of scripture, we talked about how we had this inheritance in Christ, and when we’re united with Christ, we have it because of who our Father is in Heaven. And this section of scripture talks about how God views us as his rich inheritance. Every time I read sections of scripture like that, I can’t help but think I fail sometimes. I failed in the past. I have things I regret. I have such a sinful nature; it’s kind of like where Paul says, I want to do your will, but I don’t. And I inevitably do what I don’t want to do. And it’s like, God, I’m constantly feeling like I’m failing in my walk with you, God. Through all those regrets, as we continue to run to Christ and say, “Lord. The only way to have victory in this life is to stay connected to you.” Yet God, through all those mistakes, through all those regrets, and all the wrestling, sees us as his rich and glorious inheritance.
Ephesians 1:19-20 (NLT)
19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power
20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
. . .the incredible greatness of God’s power
The incredible greatness of God’s power in Greek is DUANMIS. “power, ability” “power in action”
And it continues to say This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead
This word in Greek is KRATOS. It means “fore strength” “might that signifies dominion”
We can read that as it signifies the dominion that Christ has over sin and death. You see, you and I only know that power, we are only able to love on God’s people, we only have a strong faith in Jesus, we only are able insight and spiritual wisdom to have the confident hope in Christ when our life is connected to the Source. When our life is connected to God through our relationship with Christ, it is overfilling continually as we continually say, “God. I want to know you. I want to keep knowing you. I want to be consumed by you.”
Romans 1:16 (NLT)
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
To be connected to Christ, to be connected to our Father, to have a relationship, to continually be in this desire of knowing him, means to have that desire not only in this room where it’s easy but have that desire at work, at home, in every area of our lives without the compromise of saying, “Well – that’s church, and this is me going out with my buddies.” Or “That’s church, and this is just me doing my own thing.”
You see, God wants your complete heart. Like the song says: “All my heart, all my soul, all that I have, at your feet, Christ. I give it to you.” That’s the way that Christ wants us to know him completely in a way where it is DOULOS, where it is a servant who says, “Lord, let your will be done and not mine. Let your will replace mine and not mine. Lord, allow me to get to the end of myself so that I can say, Lord, I’m tired. I can’t do this on my own. As strong, or confident, or prideful as I am, I can’t do this without you. I can’t live with the confident hope of my salvation without you. I can’t love on God’s people without you. I can’t even love my wife. I can’t even love my husband. I can’t even properly love my children. I can’t love the way you called me to love without being connected to you, Christ.”
It’s so pivotal. It’s so important, like Philippians 3:10, I want to know Christ.
And so, as we continue to unwind this section of scripture, ask yourself – do you, personally, in your own life, aside from your children, aside from your parents, aside from your husband, aside from your wife – do I want to know Christ and inherit all these beautiful riches that comes only from knowing him?
Ephesians 1:19b-22 (NLT)
19. . . This is the same mighty power
20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.
22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
That’s the Christ that we serve! Unmatched. Unequaled. Absolutely reigning and ruling as he wishes. Seated at the right hand of the Father, in a place, in a position as he so freely gives us his grace and his Spirit to equip our lives, to genuinely life our life in a way where we say, “Lord. I’m tired of playing these games. I’m tired of playing pretend. I’m tired of not being real. Lord, I want to know you. I want to know you continually. I want to continually be connected to you, God.”
What I’m saying is, put all religion down. Put all the hurt down. Put all struggles down and just say, “God! I come to you as I am. I desire to be connected to you. I desire for you to absolutely fill my life with your Holy Spirit and flood me with your life so that I can have that confident hope in you, Christ.” That’s all it takes. It’s surrender. It’s getting to the end of myself, of yourself, of ourselves and saying, “God. I can absolutely do nothing without you.”
In our lives, it absolutely takes for us to realize, “I can’t without you, Christ.” I tell the youth all the time, especially at their age, “No one likes fake people. No one does.” No one likes someone who is happy and cheery and energetic to you in person, and the minute you walk away, that person is against you. And I tell them all the time, if we don’t like fake people in our lives, why do we choose to be fake towards God in our own walk with him? He’s absolutely the most real. He was the most real as he died on the Cross in love for us, as he chose to die on the Cross. Christ says, “Look. I don’t care how dirty you are. I don’t care how much you messed up. Just know me. Just be connected to me, and I’ll lead you to my Father. I’ll lead you to the Source. You’ll be able to inherit and bathe within the richness and aroma of my presence.”
That’s all this message is, this morning – know Christ. Be captivated by Christ. He alone has authority. He alone rules. Don’t try to clean yourself up before you come to him. That’s his job. That’s what he does. He’s faithful enough to draw you to himself and faithful enough to not let you continually drown in the sin that you came with. Just know him.
Let me read the following passage to even more clarify the God that we serve.
Colossians 1:15-18 (NLT)
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
You tell me, do you want to live for self, or do you want to live for the Christ that we just read about? I know I have the privilege of saying, “God. I was created by you, and I was created for you. Use me to be connected to your son, to bring you glory in every area of my life.” Here, at work, at school, whatever social lives you have. In all those say, “God, I am not ashamed of the way you are transforming my life. I am not ashamed of the way you are transforming my children’s lives, or different people around me, their lives, or of the way you are personally transforming my life.”
When we walk in absolute confidence that we serve the most high God and that we’re connected to him – it’s amazing.
In my life, I have to know him. I don’t want to share Christ with anybody without being connected to Christ.
Pastor Dave’s life verse is Philippians 3:10 – I want to know you Christ. In our lives, that is absolutely what is the foundation of our inheritance in Christ.
And then we see this in verse 23.
Ephesians 1:23 (NLT)
23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
You and I get to be a part of his Body. You and I get to be a part of his Church. You and I get to have different functions and say, “God, all that I am, is for all that you are.” That means you and I have different abilities because here’s the thing. It goes back to God creating you. It goes back to you being connected to God. As you’re connected to Christ, you realize why God created you and that he has given you different gifts than he has given someone else. God created gifts for each one of us for the purpose of being connected to him for the glory of God.
What’s your role? What is your connection? What does you knowing Christ lead you to do? How do you function? Being a part of the Church means I pray for someone, it means I intercede for someone, it means I see my brother down, so I’m going to pick him up.
So much of our Christian walk is about “how am I feeling? I’m not feeling this, or that. I need this, I need that.” NO! We are called to have that selfless heart as we’re connected to Christ and say, God, Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to be a part of your Body and edify your Church and edify your Body for the sole purpose of bringing you glory, Jesus.
We’re not here by luck. We’re not here by coincidence. We’re here because, divinely, God has allowed us to be in this room or online to listen to his beautiful Word. The question I have for each of every one of us is, where is your connection to Christ? Do know him, or do you pretend to know him? Do you know him, or do you just go through the motions of knowing about him?
Wrestle with that. Maybe you know God, but you want to continually know God.
Or maybe God is tugging at your heart for you to know Christ for the first time in your life and to enter into the inheritance of knowing the confident hope that is found in Christ, that one day you’ll stand in front of your maker in complete overwhelming joy knowing that you get to spend eternity with him.
Either way. Just cry out to God right now.
In our last message in Ephesians, we realized that not only are we loved, forgiven, chosen, predestined, and adopted into God’s own family. Not only does God rule and reign with all authority as the King of kings, but he is also our invested, loving, and caring Father who desires for you to know him.
Today, we are going to dive into Ephesians Chapter 1, starting in verse 15. We are looking at the continued truths that are found when our lives are absolutely continually connected to Christ.
I want to tell you a story first that has something to do with this section of scripture. During VBS this year (which is phenomenal how God moves during those times each year and especially this year), one of our largest challenges was keeping the children’s ministry room cool enough that it wouldn’t get too hot as the day went on. It was over 105 degrees outside most of that week. It would need to be cool enough until at least 1 p.m. It was such a challenge, I would have to either come the night before and turn on the air conditioners with the fans blowing in there, and fans running during VBS, or I had to get here super early and do the same thing.
For some reason, the air conditioner wasn’t working in there. Pastor Dave and I definitely thought a few of the a/c units (as all but two or three are ancient, older than I am – 25 years old) had something wrong with them. Come to find out (fast forward), JJ and I get tasked with the duty of getting a ladder, going up into the attic, and investigating the unit. And so, we started going up the ladder, and I thought, “Man. It’s really hot outside, but it’s not that hot in the attic.” Long story short, we were in the attic with flashlights, inhaling every type of dust that is up there and covered in sweat and dust, come to find out that part of the ducting had collapsed. And so, what was happening was it was blowing at least somewhere between 62 and 65 degrees, and we made a temporary fix with a trash bag wrapped around it and duct taped it.
Two weeks later, JJ comes back with all his tools and his HVAC stuff and goes up, fixes that, and then realizes there is another area that wasn’t connected, and he fixed that as well. Now, if you walk into the children’s ministry room, it is colder in there than it may be in here – at least for the first service. So, there was nothing wrong with the air conditioning unit. There was something wrong with the children’s ministry room, and it had to do with the connection to get that cold air to where it was supposed to be.
So, holding onto that story, I want you to follow along with me as we read, starting in verse 15.
Ephesians 1:15-16 (NLT)
15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,
16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,
Paul knew this church. He had even left Timothy there to minister to these people as well to make sure that the way they were teaching God’s Word was correct. There were some spiritual attacks and people saying one thing about the road to salvation and saying you had to do all these things. In reality, you just absolutely must surrender your life and say, “Lord, I’m at the end of myself, and I want you.”
So, Paul is writing to this church. It’s a continuation of the beautiful inheritance to the faithful people of Ephesus. He tells them, “I have heard of your strong faith in the Lord…” In other words, I have heard of the connection that you have with the Lord. As a by-product of the connection of the strong faith you have with the Lord, therefore I see and hear that you are loving God’s people everywhere.
For me, as I was studying this section of scripture, Paul will say three times in these short verses, “I pray…” I pray for you this. I pray for you that. I pray for this. We understand that because of the connection these people had with Ephesus that they were loving on God’s people everywhere.
And so, this week, as I was praying, my biggest heart was, “As a church, as Calvary Chapel Nuevo, I pray that we are known as a church that has a strong faith in you and is led to love God’s people everywhere.” Continuing with obviously teaching God’s doctrine verse-by-verse, precept upon precept, as we hit hard topics, as different things roll through the scripture, we teach them as they come. All of God’s Word can bring life into your life and can resurrect the dead bodies that we have.
Paul is under Roman arrest, Roman imprisonment, yet he has this heart of thankfulness. He has this heart of rejoicing. Typically, when you and I go through difficult seasons, through persecutions, going through the valleys of life, we say something like, “Woe is me! Where are you?” But what I love about Paul’s heart and his connection to the Lord and his walk to bring God glory is even in the moment of he himself being personally persecuted, he is being thankful and interceding and praying over this church in Ephesus.
Normally, I spend a lot more time studying (I know that sounds weird), matched with prayer. And this time around, it was weird. I was praying a lot more than I was trying to find the meanings, and this and that, and listen to or read commentaries, or listening to my favorite speakers. And I feel like it’s so awesome because, in this section of scripture, you’re going to see how Paul is so absolutely connected to who Christ is that his outward projection towards the Church at Ephesus is absolutely overflowing (in a sense) with this cold air, with this reality that he knows God, that he’s connected to God through his relationship with Jesus.
And it’s the same in our lives. Is each of our lives truly connected to the Source of Life – which is God – with Jesus being the crossway, the way to who the Father is? If you guys remember, in the last message, we talked about having this beautiful inheritance that is only ours when we are united with Christ, when we are connected with Christ.
Ephesians 1:16b-17 (NLT)
16 . . . I pray for you constantly,
17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
In taking apart this section of scripture, this isn’t saying have knowledge, as in “have information.” It’s not about you knowing all these facts about Jesus. Or you know Greek words or Hebrew words, or you’re just really smart when it comes to scripture. This knowledge of God means to know God.
The Greek word is EPIGNOSIS. It means “a real deep knowledge, knowing relationally” who Jesus is. In our lives, we can fall into the trap of just going through the motions. We can fall into the trap of thinking because we prayed once, long ago, that our salvation is kept in Christ. Here’s the reality in your connection with Christ and knowing the Father: that prayer that you said, however many years ago, or if you’re yet to say a prayer asking God to be your Lord and Savior, it’s your launching pad of a life constantly submitted. Like the last song said, “ALL that I am.” My soul, my life, my possessions are yours.
You see, it’s because of this connection that Paul has. It’s because of this connection that this church in Ephesus has that they are able to inherit the beautiful inheritance that they have from the Father. The reason they are able to have spiritual wisdom and insight and love God’s people is because their lives are properly connected to the source – very similar to that story.
When the conduit was connected, when the tubing was connected, the children’s ministry room was able to inherit, was able to celebrate, was able to rejoice within the cold air, and keep them within a certain temperature. But if it’s disconnected, it’s hot and uncomfortable in there. There is a disconnect. You’re not inheriting what is yours in Christ already.
One commentator said It’s like being a Christian and never opening the pocketbook of being a Christian and having all this wealth but living in poverty.
Does that make sense? This section of scripture is all about how vital, how important, and how built up our faith and our walk is with the Lord as we are connected or not connected to him.
I tell the youth constantly that they can actually know Jesus. That he’s not some God out there in space, in the distance, floating around, ruling and reigning. He’s the God, he’s the King, he’s the Lord that desires for you to know him because he already knows you. Scripture says he knows your thoughts before you know them, that He knit you together, that he designed you. And again, it brings us into an overflow of what we learned in the first thirteen verses of being “twice owned” by the Lord. Of being twice his. Of inheriting this riches.
Guys, don’t fall into the trap that the American culture of Christianity makes us fall into: that just because we go to church on Sunday morning or Wednesday nights or just because we tithe, that means we have the proper connection to Christ. You see all of that, going to church, tithing, serving – it’s all a by-product of saying, “I am in the state of epignosis, a real constant deep need to know God even more.”
So, there are two things that we have to wrestle with this morning. One, for the first time in my life, do I actually know Christ? Am I actually connected to him? And the second, for the Believer in the room, is I am constantly in the pursuit of wanting to know him? Am I constantly in the pursuit of saying, “God, I want the spiritual insight and wisdom and to grow in my knowledge and relationship and my fellowship, and my overwhelming reality that I can know you, Jesus?” It’s so pivotal in our walk with God that we realize that we can actually spend alone time with him. And we can actually be captivated by him. That we can say, “God, I want to know you continually.”
And oftentimes, when we don’t feel like God is close to us, I’ll ask a few questions. Is there sin in your life blocking you? Are you in his Word reading and meditating on it? How’s your prayer life? Are you getting away to a space where you can say, “Hey, God. I want to talk with you and hear from you.” Are we keeping the conduit open even when we don’t feel like he is with us? Are we continuing to serve? Are we continuing to worship? Am I saying, “God, I’m not seeking a feeling because then it’s for me. I’m seeking the continual connection of knowing you, Christ, despite how I feel.”
Because truth outdoes how we feel. And the truth that we’ll find in this section of scripture is absolutely jaw-dropping, absolutely awesome in WHO Christ IS, and the authority that he has!
I’m going to read Philippians 3, verse 10. We’re going to dwell on this verse. We’re going to come back to it over and over again.
Philippians 3:10 (NLT)
10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,
I want to KNOW Christ. . . Again, it’s that epignosis – the constant, continual knowing of Christ. Not just what you knew in the past, but “Lord, I want to know you. I want to be in a relationship with you. I want to spend time with you. I don’t want to function, God, if I don’t first lay my head, and lay my mind, and lay my heart at your feet, Christ.”
I am not setting a standard or expectation that is over you. What I am saying and trying to point out to all of us here in this room is that God is real. That Christ is real, and you can actually have a real, tangible knowledge relationship with him as you are connected to the Source that created you.
Ephesians 1:18 (NLT)
18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
What is so important for us to understand goes back to Philippians 3, verse 10. It goes back to Ephesians 1, verse 17. To know Christ. To grow in your knowledge of Christ. When you know Christ, your life and hearts are flooded with this light. They’re flooded with His presence. They’re flooded with the renewing of your mind as you continually, continually, continually, continually keep knowing Christ in your life.
You see, all the inheritance, all these riches, all the beauty of Ephesians chapter 1 is only ours when our lives are connected to God through our relationship with Christ. I will repeat that over and over in this message. What is important for us to understand is that we can’t desire the gift without being connected to the one who gives us the gifts. We can’t desire to walk, to lead, and to live lives in victory if we’re not connected to the one who gives us the ability with his Spirit to walk in a way that we are more than conquerors for his name’s sake.
One of the most beautiful things I count myself “lucky” for is the privilege when you’re teaching or sharing God’s Word, and you see this verse come alive in someone’s life as you’re sharing the gospel as you’re teaching the Word, for me this morning – even first service – you can see that as you’re speaking, whether I’m teaching the worst message of my life, butchering every word, and I’m stuttering, and I’m tripping over my accent like I do oftentimes, or I’m teaching the best message I could ever teach, the beautiful part is that anytime you open God’s Word, it can absolutely rock someone’s life and allow them to see the need for the absolute connection to Christ. And when you see someone’s life be flooded with the light…; be flooded with the presence of Christ… be flooded with the Holy Spirit As the light comes in, the darkness retreats because each and every one of us has wrestled with things in our life creeping with darkness and as we let Christ and the connection we have with him, and as allegiance to our Father, our hearts and our minds and our souls are flooded with his light.
This leads to us understanding the confident hope. Not the wishful hope. Not the play-pretend hope. Not the mystical hope. But the confident hope because the confidence is rooted and centered on the Cross, and who Jesus IS, and the way that he absolutely triumphed over sin and death.
As believers, when we’re connected to the Source of our lives, when we are connected to our Creator, when we have that knowledge and that relationship with Christ, we can live with the confident hope that one day I’m going to stand in front of my Creator. And instead of it being a season of fear, I’m going to absolutely rejoice because I know that my eternity is set in saying, “Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord God Almighty, who rules and reigns. Who has no equal. Who has no opposite. Who has no opposer.”
That confident hope is only yours and only mine when we know Christ, when we’re connected with Christ to the Father, we’re covered by his blood, and we’re bathed in the inheritance and richness that come from knowing Christ. Everything else is second. Everything else is not as important as saying, “God, I actually want to know you. I want to live with the confident hope that when I die, I’m going to be in your presence. And then, be excited that whatever sized crown or whatever jewels I get on my head, I’m going to throw it at your feet because even then, I’m going to be in awe of how beautiful and majestic and glorious you are, Christ.”
On the other hand, there’s not walking with the confident hope. Here’s the reason I bring up the fear and scariness that comes with the Christian American culture. We think because our parents or our grandparents were Christians (which is a beautiful thing) or because we come to church or because we think this or that, we are automatically in that confident hope. But you see, that confident hope comes only from knowing Christ, only having a relationship with him.
When I first gave my life to God, I remember this section of scripture that many of you probably know from Matthew 7. It speaks about how these people will come to the Lord and say, “God, Lord, Lord. We did all these things in your name. Lord, I taught your Word from behind the table. Lord, I taught your Word. I prayed for people. I cast out demons.” And guess what? If I don’t know God, he’s going to say to me, “Away from me, you evildoer who never knew me.”
So, the reality is we can go through the motions of Christianity missing the whole point of knowing Christ. And trust me, you know if you know Christ, and you know if you don’t know Christ. And it is a scary thing to have air in your lungs and realize that you don’t have that confident home that only comes from being connected to who Christ is.
And it continues at the end of verse 18 his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
I was camping last weekend in Bishop, and it’s beautiful there. At night the sky just illuminates with the stars and the galaxies, planets, and whatever is up there. And it’s so beautiful. I was fishing, and I just saw absolute majestic clouds glowing and flowing behind the top of the mountains – it’s so surreal. And you catch a fish, and you say, isn’t all this beautiful what God created? Out of all the planets, out of all the galaxies, out of all the wonders, views you and I when we’re connected to Christ as his rich inheritance.
In the last section of scripture, we talked about how we had this inheritance in Christ, and when we’re united with Christ, we have it because of who our Father is in Heaven. And this section of scripture talks about how God views us as his rich inheritance. Every time I read sections of scripture like that, I can’t help but think I fail sometimes. I failed in the past. I have things I regret. I have such a sinful nature; it’s kind of like where Paul says, I want to do your will, but I don’t. And I inevitably do what I don’t want to do. And it’s like, God, I’m constantly feeling like I’m failing in my walk with you, God. Through all those regrets, as we continue to run to Christ and say, “Lord. The only way to have victory in this life is to stay connected to you.” Yet God, through all those mistakes, through all those regrets, and all the wrestling, sees us as his rich and glorious inheritance.
Ephesians 1:19-20 (NLT)
19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power
20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
. . .the incredible greatness of God’s power
The incredible greatness of God’s power in Greek is DUANMIS. “power, ability” “power in action”
And it continues to say This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead
This word in Greek is KRATOS. It means “fore strength” “might that signifies dominion”
We can read that as it signifies the dominion that Christ has over sin and death. You see, you and I only know that power, we are only able to love on God’s people, we only have a strong faith in Jesus, we only are able insight and spiritual wisdom to have the confident hope in Christ when our life is connected to the Source. When our life is connected to God through our relationship with Christ, it is overfilling continually as we continually say, “God. I want to know you. I want to keep knowing you. I want to be consumed by you.”
Romans 1:16 (NLT)
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
To be connected to Christ, to be connected to our Father, to have a relationship, to continually be in this desire of knowing him, means to have that desire not only in this room where it’s easy but have that desire at work, at home, in every area of our lives without the compromise of saying, “Well – that’s church, and this is me going out with my buddies.” Or “That’s church, and this is just me doing my own thing.”
You see, God wants your complete heart. Like the song says: “All my heart, all my soul, all that I have, at your feet, Christ. I give it to you.” That’s the way that Christ wants us to know him completely in a way where it is DOULOS, where it is a servant who says, “Lord, let your will be done and not mine. Let your will replace mine and not mine. Lord, allow me to get to the end of myself so that I can say, Lord, I’m tired. I can’t do this on my own. As strong, or confident, or prideful as I am, I can’t do this without you. I can’t live with the confident hope of my salvation without you. I can’t love on God’s people without you. I can’t even love my wife. I can’t even love my husband. I can’t even properly love my children. I can’t love the way you called me to love without being connected to you, Christ.”
It’s so pivotal. It’s so important, like Philippians 3:10, I want to know Christ.
And so, as we continue to unwind this section of scripture, ask yourself – do you, personally, in your own life, aside from your children, aside from your parents, aside from your husband, aside from your wife – do I want to know Christ and inherit all these beautiful riches that comes only from knowing him?
Ephesians 1:19b-22 (NLT)
19. . . This is the same mighty power
20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.
22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
That’s the Christ that we serve! Unmatched. Unequaled. Absolutely reigning and ruling as he wishes. Seated at the right hand of the Father, in a place, in a position as he so freely gives us his grace and his Spirit to equip our lives, to genuinely life our life in a way where we say, “Lord. I’m tired of playing these games. I’m tired of playing pretend. I’m tired of not being real. Lord, I want to know you. I want to know you continually. I want to continually be connected to you, God.”
What I’m saying is, put all religion down. Put all the hurt down. Put all struggles down and just say, “God! I come to you as I am. I desire to be connected to you. I desire for you to absolutely fill my life with your Holy Spirit and flood me with your life so that I can have that confident hope in you, Christ.” That’s all it takes. It’s surrender. It’s getting to the end of myself, of yourself, of ourselves and saying, “God. I can absolutely do nothing without you.”
In our lives, it absolutely takes for us to realize, “I can’t without you, Christ.” I tell the youth all the time, especially at their age, “No one likes fake people. No one does.” No one likes someone who is happy and cheery and energetic to you in person, and the minute you walk away, that person is against you. And I tell them all the time, if we don’t like fake people in our lives, why do we choose to be fake towards God in our own walk with him? He’s absolutely the most real. He was the most real as he died on the Cross in love for us, as he chose to die on the Cross. Christ says, “Look. I don’t care how dirty you are. I don’t care how much you messed up. Just know me. Just be connected to me, and I’ll lead you to my Father. I’ll lead you to the Source. You’ll be able to inherit and bathe within the richness and aroma of my presence.”
That’s all this message is, this morning – know Christ. Be captivated by Christ. He alone has authority. He alone rules. Don’t try to clean yourself up before you come to him. That’s his job. That’s what he does. He’s faithful enough to draw you to himself and faithful enough to not let you continually drown in the sin that you came with. Just know him.
Let me read the following passage to even more clarify the God that we serve.
Colossians 1:15-18 (NLT)
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
You tell me, do you want to live for self, or do you want to live for the Christ that we just read about? I know I have the privilege of saying, “God. I was created by you, and I was created for you. Use me to be connected to your son, to bring you glory in every area of my life.” Here, at work, at school, whatever social lives you have. In all those say, “God, I am not ashamed of the way you are transforming my life. I am not ashamed of the way you are transforming my children’s lives, or different people around me, their lives, or of the way you are personally transforming my life.”
When we walk in absolute confidence that we serve the most high God and that we’re connected to him – it’s amazing.
In my life, I have to know him. I don’t want to share Christ with anybody without being connected to Christ.
Pastor Dave’s life verse is Philippians 3:10 – I want to know you Christ. In our lives, that is absolutely what is the foundation of our inheritance in Christ.
And then we see this in verse 23.
Ephesians 1:23 (NLT)
23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
You and I get to be a part of his Body. You and I get to be a part of his Church. You and I get to have different functions and say, “God, all that I am, is for all that you are.” That means you and I have different abilities because here’s the thing. It goes back to God creating you. It goes back to you being connected to God. As you’re connected to Christ, you realize why God created you and that he has given you different gifts than he has given someone else. God created gifts for each one of us for the purpose of being connected to him for the glory of God.
What’s your role? What is your connection? What does you knowing Christ lead you to do? How do you function? Being a part of the Church means I pray for someone, it means I intercede for someone, it means I see my brother down, so I’m going to pick him up.
So much of our Christian walk is about “how am I feeling? I’m not feeling this, or that. I need this, I need that.” NO! We are called to have that selfless heart as we’re connected to Christ and say, God, Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to be a part of your Body and edify your Church and edify your Body for the sole purpose of bringing you glory, Jesus.
We’re not here by luck. We’re not here by coincidence. We’re here because, divinely, God has allowed us to be in this room or online to listen to his beautiful Word. The question I have for each of every one of us is, where is your connection to Christ? Do know him, or do you pretend to know him? Do you know him, or do you just go through the motions of knowing about him?
Wrestle with that. Maybe you know God, but you want to continually know God.
Or maybe God is tugging at your heart for you to know Christ for the first time in your life and to enter into the inheritance of knowing the confident hope that is found in Christ, that one day you’ll stand in front of your maker in complete overwhelming joy knowing that you get to spend eternity with him.
Either way. Just cry out to God right now.