City Life Starter

I. The Word: Ephesians 3:14-19
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

 

II. Reflection Questions

 1. Are you praying to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis?

 

2. Can you remember the last time you have unmistakably experienced the love of Christ?

 

The apostle Paul, in today’s text, caps off his breakdown of God’s global salvation plan, revealed through the Gospel. He intercedes (prays on the behalf of) the believers, in the hedonistic city of Ephesus, to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to be grounded in the selfless, all-inclusive love of Christ. If anyone in the history of Christianity who can speak on this topic first-hand, is the apostle Paul. He relayed this fundamental message to every Gentile he ministered to, “knowing the love of God is necessary, if you are to be counter-cultural, in a perverse and hedonistic society” (paraphrased).

 

Lexicon: Know (ref. v.19) = Ginosko (Greek) – “To know experientially (by trial and practice); intimate knowledge.”

 

Honestly, these verses challenge my faith to its core; because prayer is simply talking to God, and that is something that I do not consistently do throughout the day. I can recall a time (before knowing Christ how I do now), where I was the mediator of a family dispute, and emotions were running so high, that I attempted to get more emotional and boisterous than the most emotional person involved in the ordeal. That ended up not being very effective, as the argument ended with everyone involved, not speaking to each other for about a month. It was not until I encountered the Lord later in life, and realized my need for spiritual strength, was I able to pray more in-line with the Holy Spirit, on a regular basis. Placing a heavier emphasis on, intimacy with the Holy Spirit, through prayer, worship, and Bible-reading when no one is looking, has, over time, caused me to grow in the knowledge of who Jesus really is.

As I have grown in my faith, I have learned that knowing Jesus more, is not only for my personal benefit, but also for the benefit of my family, co-workers, teammates, etc. If we are to be counter-cultural today, we have to engage our culture with love. Not with a humanistic, partial, and/or selfish kind of love, but with “the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (ref. Eph. 3:19). The more we know Christ personally, the better we can show Him publically. In order for any of us to know someone on a deep level, we must routinely talk to them. This same truth, most certainly applies to knowing our Lord and Savior.

 

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, thank you for opening my eyes to see the beauty, majesty, and worthiness of Jesus. Give me the strength to pursue the knowledge of Christ, above anything that this world can offer. I pray that you would give me a fresh encounter of His love at this very moment, so that I may love God and others better. In Jesus’ name, Amen.