Praying for one another the New Covenant way

Praying for one another the New Covenant way

Prayer: Old and New Covenant The Old Testament believer couldn t know with certainty what to expect from God when they prayed. Old Covenant: men prayed and strove to know God s will, i.e. His willingness. New Covenant: Jesus last will and testament clearly explains our complete provision. 2 Cor 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.

Prayer: Old and New Covenant Old Covenant faith: trust in a fair and just God looking to the future in hope of what God would do in response to faith New Covenant faith: never looks to the future always looks to the past: the finished work of Jesus Not trying to get God to respond to us because of our amount of faith, but responding to God by trusting what He did in Jesus.

Prayer: Old and New Covenant Matt 18:18 Whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven. (The Amplified Bible) New Covenant prayer: not about trying to make something happen, but looking back and being immovable about what Jesus finished work has accomplished and declared to be either lawful or unlawful.

Praying for one another Paul s prayer for the Ephesians (I) Eph 1:15 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. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Praying for one another Paul s prayer for the Ephesians (I) 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Paul s desire Paul writing by inspiration: Paul s desire for the Ephesians is also God s desire Not just for Ephesians but also for us

Paul s desire Paul desired for us to know: Him better the hope to which He has called us the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people His incomparably great power for us who believe As you know, so you live!

Paul s prayer: Spirit of wisdom and revelation 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom and revelation revelation: the knowledge of the truth concerning Jesus and His finished work. wisdom: how those truths apply to our lives Jesus is only known through revelation.

Paul s prayer: Know Him better Epignosis: epi + gnosis: precise and correct knowledge To epignosis Jesus: not just His life, the miracles He performed, nor just the parables He spoke nor just His teachings. But also to fully grasp what He has done for us through His finished work on the cross. To know Christ is to know His hope, inheritance, and power for us.

Paul s prayer: Eyes of heart enlightened 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. eyes of your heart (kardias) may be enlightened - not just the mind, but also the heart may be opened to this great truth.

Paul s prayer: Hope 18 know the hope to which He has called you Hope: elpis: a joyful and confident expectation of good happening. Hope is one component of the great triad of Christian virtues, along with faith and love. Because Jesus died and arose for our salvation, we can have a confident expectation of a good joyous future. Hope does not disappoint because God s love poured out on us in our hearts by Holy Spirit.

Paul s prayer: Inheritance 18 the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people the inheritance God has in us Or the inheritance we have in him? God s regard for us as his treasured possession Or the glorious riches we have in/fromgod? Since God s inheritance in us and our inheritance in Him are really two sides of the same coin, either interpretation implies the other!

Paul s prayer: Inheritance We are joint heirs with Christ of all that the Father has bequeathed to His Son. Promise is not only for the future, but it is also for the present. Not only spiritual blessings but also of material blessings. It is His inheritance, through us.

Paul s prayer: Inheritance 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. 19 And what is the exceeding greatness (megathos) of His power (dunamis) to us-ward who believe, according to the working (energeia) of His mighty (ischys) power (kratos), (KJV) 4 words used to enlarge on theme of God's power: Dunamis: dynamo = inherent power Energeia: energy = operative power Kratos: dominion = ultimate power Ischys: strength = endowed power

Paul s prayer: Power Thus, in knowing Jesus, we have: mega dynamic energizing dominion giving SUPER POWER endowed upon us because of our faith in and knowledge of Christ. Paul s prayer was that we may know what we have. Not what we may someday have, but what we will have today.

Paul s prayer: Power That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Paul s prayer: Power How we know such power is guaranteed to us? By the public demonstration of it in the saving work of Christ. Three successive public events: God raised Christ from the dead God exalted Christ with all authority far above all God seated Christ as head over all for the church Because Christ has been raised, exalted, and seated to reign for me, God s immeasurable power for me is guaranteed!

Paul Prayers for Ephesians Prayer (I) : To know Him the results of His finished work for us hope, inheritance and power Prayer (II) : To know the reason of His finished work for us His great love and its transforming power

Praying for one another Paul s prayer for the Ephesians (II) Eph 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every 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. Paul prayed that out of God s glorious richest they: Be strengthened with power in their inner being by the Spirit Experience the indwelling of Christ through faith

Praying for one another Paul s prayer for the Ephesians (II) And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Rooted agricultural draw life and nutrients through roots Established engineering grounded, founded upon not in doctrine, in service, or in works righteousness but love

Paul s prayer (II): Know the love of Christ may have power, together with all the Lord s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, Power to grasp Grow to comprehend together with each other no lone ranger Only way to grow in love for one another is to get to grips more in understanding the love of God toward us in Christ Jesus.

Paul s prayer (II): Know the love of Christ 4 dimensions of Christ love: Breadth Length Depth Height The breadth of God's love is the world The length is forever The depth is the cross The height that He takes us to, from the depth of our sin, shame and hell, is heaven itself!

Paul s prayer (II): Know the love of Christ 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. The love of Christ (in 4 dimensions) transcends us, exceeds our abilities of knowledge, beyond our senses Paul prays that God gives us understanding... beyond head knowledge, a personal revelation to understand what is beyond our senses.

Paul s prayer (II): Know the love of Christ Truth: we are deeply loved by God the foundation of our new lives in Jesus If that foundation is not laid, or if we move the "house" of our faith off this foundation, our faith will eventually crumble. Any activity that is not based on the truth that God is incredibly in love with us will not bear the kind of fruit that God desires.

Paul s prayer (II): Know the love of Christ 19 that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. The fullness with which God fills Himself, all that He is and has within His being agape "may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!" We love God only as much as we are aware that God loves us

Paul s prayer (II): Know the love of Christ 20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or imagine Able Able to do Able to do what we ask Able to do what we imagine Able to do what we ask or imagine Able to do all that we ask or imagine Able to do above all that we ask or imagine Able to do abundantly above all that we ask or imagine

Praying for one another Thank the Lord for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him better: the hope to which He has called us the riches of His glorious inheritance in us, His holy people His incomparably great power for us who believe

Praying for one another Be strengthened with power in our inner being by the Spirit Experience the indwelling of Christ in us through faith Be always rooted and grounded in love Grasp with other brothers the full extent and dimension of Jesus love Know experientially the love of God Be filled with the fullness of God love