Engaging the Spirit s Power

Transcription

1 Engaging the Spirit s Power They say home is where the heart is, but honestly, his heart was captivated by something else. His home, however, was more than enough for what he needed. He never considered himself a man of luxury or having posh tastes, and this place, well it fit right into the simple aesthetic he preferred. There was just enough room for a small writing desk, a bed, and an area to cook. He only had one lamp to light up the room, but that was ok, the room just needed one lamp. A home though is a placed that you should be able to come and go as you wish, and for the most part, he could. But, there was this reminder of the true nature of his existence and his residence for that matter. The crudely fashioned chain attached to his ankle was a constant reminder that he wasn t a free man. It wasn t made poorly due to lack of effort or resources. No, it was made this way to cause discomfort. The Romans were good at many things, but at the top of the list, was making its captives uncomfortable. The weight of the chain and the spot its shackle had rubbed raw around his ankle were constant reminders for him. Both, of how much better his current arrangement was than the last time he was in prison, and who ultimately held his freedom. The last time, they had thrown him into what was basically a hole in the ground and shackled him around a post so that every joint, muscle, and fiber in his body ached in torturous pain. This time, he is free to sit at his desk and write. And, he does. The Apostle Paul writes four letters while being imprisoned. They are called the prison epistles and are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Some of these letters are intended for specific churches, and in the case of Ephesians, it is most likely a general letter that is going to be passed around in many churches within a particular area. Paul writes these letters to encourage and to offer sound teaching to believers. In Ephesians, there is one big idea that

2 runs the whole way through, and it is the idea that links 1:1 to 6:24 and everything in between. It is: Strength for the Christian life comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Paul is very clear, that if the believers in the 1st century in a place like Ephesus or more specifically the Greek (Gentile) churches in Asia, wanted to live their lives defined by Jesus and his teachings, they would need the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Honestly, it is the same for us today in 21st-century western churches. The structure of the letter is unique, and it s worth a quick examination. When Paul would write a letter, his pattern was to always open with a personal greeting, close with a personal farewell, and reference personal relationships throughout the letter. Ephesians is a little different; it sounds like Paul, smells like Paul, and looks like Paul, so by all textual evidence, we know that Paul wrote it. But, it lacks a personal greeting and farewell, has almost no personal references in it, and the oldest copies of the letter we have either have Ephesus, Laodicea, or no city in the opening greeting. So, what does this mean? Well, we know that Paul sent several copies of his letter to the believers in Ephesus, at least a couple copies of the same letter to the believers in Laodicea, and a bunch of copies to other churches in Asia. Ok, so why does this matter to me? Great question, I m glad you asked! From all of that, we can safely say that Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians not just to the church in Ephesus, but also to the broader Church(es) throughout the Greek world of Asia. Naturally, Paul knew that those churches were facing philosophical and cultural pressures, and he writes to help them not only understand and believe the truth but then to live that truth out in their daily lives. If we want to get technical, the letter to the

3 Ephesians is a crown jewel of Pauline theology and a catholic (universal) letter to the Church in Asia. Whew, my church history prof would be proud! Ephesus was a diverse and flourishing port city. It would also become known for its library, and as a center for learning. The church in the Greek world faced a growing philosophy of Gnosticism. Ephesus would become the epicenter of this. Do you remember the big idea that binds all of Ephesians? That strength for the Christian life only comes through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit? Well, it s in the fact that this letter was sent to several churches facing a major cultural shift in people s thinking, that we see the first reality for the church: The Church needs the Spirit. No, that s not a typo. Yes, the Church, big C, it what Paul is referring to here. We see this in 3:21, Paul uses the Greek word, ekklesia to describe the church. He uses this word consistently throughout Ephesians, and with it, refers to the Church at large, not just a specific church. It can be used that way, in fact, he does that in Colossians and Galatians. But here in Ephesians, Paul is talking to the larger body of believers in the Greek world. ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) Church / Body / Community As we mentioned earlier, Gnosticism was the significant threat to the Greek churches. It was a system of thought that prized learning. Not a bad thing at all. It placed learning as the highest value. As in, the pursuit of knowledge was the point. It even extended to the idea if you were pursuing knowledge, and that knowledge was pure, your soul was pure, and so it didn t matter what you did with your physical body, because your soul is all that mattered. Paul emphatically writes into this philosophical turmoil and says, actually what you do and what you think matters

4 very much! The church was also embattled in a class war. Who was better, Jewish believers or Gentile believers? It is something that both Paul and Peter argued against. Both were saying that there is only one allegiance in the Christian faith and that is to Christ. Not to your nationality, family, region, or favorite sports team. For the Church, we are unified in Christ, full stop, period, no questions asked. And, if the people of the Church are ever going to be able to walk in the unity under the name of Jesus, we are going to need the power of the Holy Spirit to do so. God is to be glorified in the church because the church, comprising Jews and Gentiles, is His masterpiece of grace. The church today, just as in the first century, will not find unity in politics, philosophy, tolerance, or some abstract idea of love. The church today will only be unified when its members allow the Spirit of God to refine them from the inside out and find Jesus to be more central than any other issue. The believer needs the Spirit. Paul s letter in its structure and theology talks to the larger Church. But, Paul also makes a very clear connection to the individual believer. We find Paul beginning an Apostolic prayer in chapter 1, and know we see him finishing it in chapter 3. His prayer is a big and audacious prayer for the believers individually. He knows that they are corporately facing issues, but the problem of Gnosticism is very much a personal one too. And that is why Paul offers up this astoundingly large and ambitious prayer. It s so big that his audience might have a hard time taking it seriously. So he gives us a couple of clues to know just how serious he is. I kneel before the Father In our American churches, kneeling is not an uncommon prayer practice. But, in the 1st century, it implied one thing, resolute and desperate fervor. Men almost always prayed standing in

5 Paul s world, and that is how Jewish men pray to this day. So for Paul to note that he kneeled in prayer, the reader would have known, he s serious. Paul lowered himself into a posture of dependence and submission because he knows that the only way believers in the Greek world will remain faith is through the power of the Holy Spirit. Simply stated, Paul is in prison praying with all the fervency he has for believers because he knows that our physical, emotional, and intellectual strength is not enough to keep us connected to Jesus. We need the engaging power of the Spirit. κραταιόω (krataioō) To be strengthened / made capable. The word Paul chooses to describe what the Spirit does in the life and heart, and the life of the believer is, krataioō. This is a word that implies something or someone being strengthened or made capable. The temptation at that time was for more knowledge and for the pursuit of knowledge to mimic real and authentic belief and love for the Lord. Paul knows that unless the Spirit dwells in the believer, they will not be strong enough or capable enough to learn their way into God s family or to remain faithful. Consider Paul s situation; he is imprisoned for his faith. He chiefly among anyone knows of the pressures, temptations, and trials that this life has to offer. He is not instructing believer to live perfect lives, no he reminds them that the Spirit will make them capable to live faithful lives. Consider his words in 2 Cor. 4:16, So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 1 Paul is convinced that without the power of the Spirit we would lose heart and our inner self could never be renewed. He s going to go on in 2 Corinthians to tells us that we are new 1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (2 Co 4:16). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

6 creations and the old self-has passed. A believer cannot be renewed without the power of the Holy Spirit, full stop, period, no questions asked. Consider the theologian Francis Foulkes thoughts, It is the deep seat of the personality, where the Spirit seeks to have his dwelling and so transform the whole life of a human being. It is here in this moment; we are confronted in the 21st-century church as believers who like our Bible studies and prize our Christian educations, which are not bad things but are not the end of Christianity. Jesus did not say, go therefore and make disciples by getting them plugged into Bible study. Paul was aware of a danger, especially in the churches of the Greek world, of a faith that depended merely on intellectual knowledge. It is a danger that we too face today. Bible study is not a bad thing, Christian education is not a terrible thing, but the temptation to have an intellectual faith and not an authentic one is always lurking in our classrooms and groups. Jesus speaks of obedience in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), true obedience demands authentic love. The first three chapters in Paul s letter are theological instruction; the second three are practical instruction. Ie. This is the truth about God, his love for you, and the power of the Holy Spirit, now here is how it changes your life and is lived out day to day. Authentic and right belief always correspond in behavioral alignment. And so, we re confronted with a very uncomfortable truth: God does not want some of you. God wants ALL of you. He doesn t just want parts and pieces; he wants to change and renew every aspect of you. He wants to transform the whole life of your being.

7 But, remember how we said Paul s prayer is massive and his readers may have a hard time taking it seriously? Well, he reminds us of just how big God is, and if our God is as big as he claims, then Paul s prayer doesn t seem so audacious after all. Consider verses, Paul asks the believer to know something that is so vast it s unknowable, pretty odd right? Well, what Paul is doing here is reminding us and them that just when we think we ve learned all that we can learn about God s love, it is so vast, so big, so expansive that there is more to know and to understand. Again, Paul doesn t just let us get away with an intellectual knowing here; he goes on to use a verb tense in v.19 that implies a continual filling of Jesus into our hearts. Paul is asking that Jesus would take up residence in our hearts. Has Paul asked for too much either for or from the believer? He reminds us of a crucial truth in v. 20, in which F.F. Bruce sums up beautifully, Because his resources are inexhaustible, he cannot be impoverished by sharing them with his children. And so, we are left asking one question: What part of Jesus character needs to be strengthened in me this week? From: ENGAGE Engaging the Spirit s Power Teaching Pastor: Kyle Bartholic