Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

The Apostle Paul’s Prayer for Experiential Christianity – Part 6

Ephesians 3:14-19 – For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
4. The purpose of the strengthening

a. To realize the presence of the abiding Christ

– The graft and the stock: Romans 6:5
– The head and body: Ephesians 4:15-16
– The husband and wife: Ephesians 5:30-32, John 14:21

Five things in Paul’s life as a man in which Christ dwelt by faith in his heart

– A delight to see the increase of Christ being preached: Philippians 1:18
– A resolve to bring no blemish to Christ’s name: Philippians 1:20
– One’s identity lost in Christ: Philippians 1:21
– An intense longing to be with Christ: Philippians 1:21-24
– A gripping sense of personal responsibility for other believers: Philippians 1:24-26