The Spirit’s Work in the Inner Man
Ephesians 3:14-21
Vs 14 Paul’s prayer is to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (This is in keeping with the salutation in all of his letters—Eph 1:2 etc.) Paul here models the two most important bible study tools---two bowed knees! Approaching the Father with humility and dependency is essential for “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble”. (I Peter 5:6)
VS 15 It is from the Father that the whole family in heaven and earth is named. We are His adopted children, we bear His name because we are heirs in Christ. (Rom 8:14-17, Gal 4:4-7) It is only because of this relationship that Paul dares to proceed with his request! We have no natural, human right to such riches yet to be discussed. Paul dares to approach the Father only because of the revelation of the gracious will and work of the Blessed Triune God!
VS 16 Spiritual strength and growth is the gift of the Gracious Father. It is the outworking of His Will as revealed in Eph 1:3-11. The first place we must start is at the throne of grace humbled before our Wonderful Father. It is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.
The “reservoir” that Paul looks to is “according to the riches of His Glory”. Paul sees our real need as “inner man stuff”, and the only resource sufficient for such need is the “riches in glory” bank. Remember Philippians 4:19? The same thought and phrase. It is the riches in glory by Christ Jesus that we need. Our needs are first of all spiritual. We cannot understand our material, physical, or emotional needs properly without first having our spiritual need met.
And what is our greatest need? “To be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.” Our consuming need is in the inner man, our core has to be changed—from the inside out. Our Father never starts on the outside. He always goes to the heart of the matter! (Ezek. 36:16-29a)
And this requires the Holy Spirit, the very Power of God, working in our midst, just as the Ezekiel passage promises. As II Cor 10:4 states, our only might is through God…by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not just come to bear the “family characteristics” in us. He IS the Family Characteristic! He is One in Essence with the Father and Son. It follows therefore that where He is, there the Essential Character of the God Head dwells!
VS 17 Here is what it means to be strengthened in the inner man!
1. This is the Spirit’s foundational Goal---”that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is always declaring Christ, exalting the Beloved Son, the Only One in Whom the Father is well pleased. He is always convicting of unbelief in the Son and leading to faith in the Son. (John 16:8-15) He is all about the Glory of the Son!! The Spirit’s first work is to bring the inner man to trust fully in the absolute perfection and sufficiency of the Beloved Son. All spiritual benefit starts and ends here. As William Romaine said, “Your happy walk depends entirely on the belief of God’s being perfectly reconciled to you in His Son.” The Spirits’ work always has to do with exalting the Beloved Son, the only Man in Whom the Father is well pleased (Mt 3:13-17, 17:1-6) and calling us out to believe more dependently on Him, to work the only work that the Father requires of us—believing on Him Whom He has sent! (John 6:29)
2. The Holy Spirit ever lives to establish the Christ in our hearts. The heart is the governing principle of man. We are not talking about that which pumps blood, but that which pumps our will and desires. True belief in the Christ transcends the mind and takes up residence in the heart. Such a "surgery'" places a new will (Heb10:5-10), a new mind (Phil 2:5-10), a new governing law (operating manual-Rom 8:2-4) in our innermost being.
3. Such a miracle is "through faith". We still live in a cadaver (body of death—Rom 7:24) in which dwells no good thing (Rom 7:18). We possess this incredible treasure in "cracked pots", earthen vessels (II Cor 4:7). But in spite of all appearances, we are called upon to believe that the Spirit has come to "enflesh Christ in His people", as J.I. Packer says. We must be Joshua and Caleb in the face of our giants. Unbelief was the curse of the Children of Israel, belief is the path to the possession of the Promise of God—and the path to peace and rest! (Heb 3:7-4:11) Our Perfect Man replied to ultimate temptation with "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Mt 4:4). Through faith—it is God Who has spoken. Do we believe Him above all circumstantial evidence?
4. Paul seems to equate this dwelling of Christ in our hearts by faith with "being rooted and grounded in love." What an interesting choice of words—"rooted and grounded". He speaks as though this love is the soil out of which every thing else will grow. Without this root and soil, there can be no further comprehension, knowing, or filling "with all the fullness of God". (vs 19) We must grow out of the faith apprehension of Eph 2:4, "But God, Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us." This is the love, this Eternal relational Love of Father & Son, in which Jesus prays that we will abide, and the love that the world is to see in John 17:23. It is the foundational love that is the evidence of saving faith in Heb 6:9-12. This is the love that is the fulfilling of the old/new commandment of I John 2:3-11. John 15:13 is the foundational understanding here—"Greater love hath no man than this, that a Man lay down his life for His friends. You are my friends." To sum up, there can be no real progress in the knowledge and fullness of God apart from the foundational grounding in Christ's love. That is first. You don't get to Christ's love by trying to gain knowledge or fullness. We don't earn it, we receive it by faith! We must do a "soil test". Just what are our roots going down into? You know a tree by its fruit. The health of a tree depends upon the quality of soil in which it is planted!! A tree planted in emotion, doctrinal systems, intellectualism will not bring forth "all the fullness of God. Only the foundational soil of the Father's love for us in Christ Jesus can lead us into further comprehension of the fullness of His love!
VS 18 Paul here appears to be trying to explain in terms of human measurement, that which is immeasurable! He is urging us to the pursuit of the Love of God in Christ Jesus that is so expansive that human attempts lose sight of human measurement. This incredible love of God will not fit into any confining measurement that we can come up with. The only "measurement" that can contain it is the Glorious Person of the Beloved Son!
Vs 19 Paul gives up with the adjectives! To know the Love of Christ is what he is pressing upon us, and his conclusion is—it is beyond "measurable human knowledge". We must pursue the intimate knowledge of it and that in far more than just intellectual terms. Intimate, innermost being knowledge, that which requires emotional and behavioral response. We are cultivating a love relationship with our Beloved Lord.
And it is this comprehension (vs18) that is the means of our being filled with all the fullness of God. What an incredible statement! How can we "cadaver people"(Romans 7:24) be filled with the fullness of God? Paul explains that to us in Colossians 1:19 & 2:9-10
"For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell;…For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him…."
Here is the truth--- all the fullness of God dwells in the beloved Son and He dwells in us by His Spirit. The Spirit's work is to show forth the Beloved Son's love to us. As we comprehend that immeasurable love, we begin to experience the completeness(Col 2:10) we have in Him. The path of spiritual growth and blessing is learning Christ as Eph 4:20 says. Transformation of our behavior depends upon our comprehension of the love of the Father for us in the Love of His Beloved Son. This alone can bring the "inside/out" change that we desperately need. And it does bring about change! John says, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."(I Jn 2:3) When our Lord asked Peter if he loved Him (Jn 21:6), He wasn't looking for a hug, He was looking for obedience---"Feed my sheep." Obedience is the "blood pressure cuff" of the "Heart beat" of the Almighty in our innermost being!! "If you love Me, keep My commandments." (Jn 14:15)
Vs 20 Don't limit the Father's working! He wills to exceed our grandest expectation for His Glory. We are not to look at our sin, our failures, our tiny faith! No, we are to look to our Grand, Immeasurable God Who is already at work in us "according to the His Power (Holy Spirit) that works in us." We are to get lost in His redemptive Love that we may find His glorious purpose for us.
Vs 21 And here is that purpose—that the Father might be glorified in His people (the church) by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Christ Jesus came to show us the Father (Jn 14:6-9). He came to bring us into the Love Relationship that He has had with the Father in all eternity. (Jn 17:20-26) This is eternal life, nothing less than this intimate and experiential knowledge of the Father and His Son. He came to bring us into a totally dependent relationship with His Father (Mt 5:43-7:12). According to John 17:26, Jesus is declaring the name of the Father to us, in us, and through us in order that the love with which the Father loved the Son would be in us! The Son's purpose is to show forth the Father to us, in us, and through us, "that the world may believe that You sent Me". This is the glorious gospel evangel. We are to be the witnesses of that great love, inside/out witnesses. Enough of all the talking! "Love one another as I have loved you!
Ephesians 3:14-21
Vs 14 Paul’s prayer is to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (This is in keeping with the salutation in all of his letters—Eph 1:2 etc.) Paul here models the two most important bible study tools---two bowed knees! Approaching the Father with humility and dependency is essential for “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble”. (I Peter 5:6)
VS 15 It is from the Father that the whole family in heaven and earth is named. We are His adopted children, we bear His name because we are heirs in Christ. (Rom 8:14-17, Gal 4:4-7) It is only because of this relationship that Paul dares to proceed with his request! We have no natural, human right to such riches yet to be discussed. Paul dares to approach the Father only because of the revelation of the gracious will and work of the Blessed Triune God!
VS 16 Spiritual strength and growth is the gift of the Gracious Father. It is the outworking of His Will as revealed in Eph 1:3-11. The first place we must start is at the throne of grace humbled before our Wonderful Father. It is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.
The “reservoir” that Paul looks to is “according to the riches of His Glory”. Paul sees our real need as “inner man stuff”, and the only resource sufficient for such need is the “riches in glory” bank. Remember Philippians 4:19? The same thought and phrase. It is the riches in glory by Christ Jesus that we need. Our needs are first of all spiritual. We cannot understand our material, physical, or emotional needs properly without first having our spiritual need met.
And what is our greatest need? “To be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.” Our consuming need is in the inner man, our core has to be changed—from the inside out. Our Father never starts on the outside. He always goes to the heart of the matter! (Ezek. 36:16-29a)
And this requires the Holy Spirit, the very Power of God, working in our midst, just as the Ezekiel passage promises. As II Cor 10:4 states, our only might is through God…by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not just come to bear the “family characteristics” in us. He IS the Family Characteristic! He is One in Essence with the Father and Son. It follows therefore that where He is, there the Essential Character of the God Head dwells!
VS 17 Here is what it means to be strengthened in the inner man!
1. This is the Spirit’s foundational Goal---”that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is always declaring Christ, exalting the Beloved Son, the Only One in Whom the Father is well pleased. He is always convicting of unbelief in the Son and leading to faith in the Son. (John 16:8-15) He is all about the Glory of the Son!! The Spirit’s first work is to bring the inner man to trust fully in the absolute perfection and sufficiency of the Beloved Son. All spiritual benefit starts and ends here. As William Romaine said, “Your happy walk depends entirely on the belief of God’s being perfectly reconciled to you in His Son.” The Spirits’ work always has to do with exalting the Beloved Son, the only Man in Whom the Father is well pleased (Mt 3:13-17, 17:1-6) and calling us out to believe more dependently on Him, to work the only work that the Father requires of us—believing on Him Whom He has sent! (John 6:29)
2. The Holy Spirit ever lives to establish the Christ in our hearts. The heart is the governing principle of man. We are not talking about that which pumps blood, but that which pumps our will and desires. True belief in the Christ transcends the mind and takes up residence in the heart. Such a "surgery'" places a new will (Heb10:5-10), a new mind (Phil 2:5-10), a new governing law (operating manual-Rom 8:2-4) in our innermost being.
3. Such a miracle is "through faith". We still live in a cadaver (body of death—Rom 7:24) in which dwells no good thing (Rom 7:18). We possess this incredible treasure in "cracked pots", earthen vessels (II Cor 4:7). But in spite of all appearances, we are called upon to believe that the Spirit has come to "enflesh Christ in His people", as J.I. Packer says. We must be Joshua and Caleb in the face of our giants. Unbelief was the curse of the Children of Israel, belief is the path to the possession of the Promise of God—and the path to peace and rest! (Heb 3:7-4:11) Our Perfect Man replied to ultimate temptation with "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Mt 4:4). Through faith—it is God Who has spoken. Do we believe Him above all circumstantial evidence?
4. Paul seems to equate this dwelling of Christ in our hearts by faith with "being rooted and grounded in love." What an interesting choice of words—"rooted and grounded". He speaks as though this love is the soil out of which every thing else will grow. Without this root and soil, there can be no further comprehension, knowing, or filling "with all the fullness of God". (vs 19) We must grow out of the faith apprehension of Eph 2:4, "But God, Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us." This is the love, this Eternal relational Love of Father & Son, in which Jesus prays that we will abide, and the love that the world is to see in John 17:23. It is the foundational love that is the evidence of saving faith in Heb 6:9-12. This is the love that is the fulfilling of the old/new commandment of I John 2:3-11. John 15:13 is the foundational understanding here—"Greater love hath no man than this, that a Man lay down his life for His friends. You are my friends." To sum up, there can be no real progress in the knowledge and fullness of God apart from the foundational grounding in Christ's love. That is first. You don't get to Christ's love by trying to gain knowledge or fullness. We don't earn it, we receive it by faith! We must do a "soil test". Just what are our roots going down into? You know a tree by its fruit. The health of a tree depends upon the quality of soil in which it is planted!! A tree planted in emotion, doctrinal systems, intellectualism will not bring forth "all the fullness of God. Only the foundational soil of the Father's love for us in Christ Jesus can lead us into further comprehension of the fullness of His love!
VS 18 Paul here appears to be trying to explain in terms of human measurement, that which is immeasurable! He is urging us to the pursuit of the Love of God in Christ Jesus that is so expansive that human attempts lose sight of human measurement. This incredible love of God will not fit into any confining measurement that we can come up with. The only "measurement" that can contain it is the Glorious Person of the Beloved Son!
Vs 19 Paul gives up with the adjectives! To know the Love of Christ is what he is pressing upon us, and his conclusion is—it is beyond "measurable human knowledge". We must pursue the intimate knowledge of it and that in far more than just intellectual terms. Intimate, innermost being knowledge, that which requires emotional and behavioral response. We are cultivating a love relationship with our Beloved Lord.
And it is this comprehension (vs18) that is the means of our being filled with all the fullness of God. What an incredible statement! How can we "cadaver people"(Romans 7:24) be filled with the fullness of God? Paul explains that to us in Colossians 1:19 & 2:9-10
"For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell;…For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him…."
Here is the truth--- all the fullness of God dwells in the beloved Son and He dwells in us by His Spirit. The Spirit's work is to show forth the Beloved Son's love to us. As we comprehend that immeasurable love, we begin to experience the completeness(Col 2:10) we have in Him. The path of spiritual growth and blessing is learning Christ as Eph 4:20 says. Transformation of our behavior depends upon our comprehension of the love of the Father for us in the Love of His Beloved Son. This alone can bring the "inside/out" change that we desperately need. And it does bring about change! John says, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."(I Jn 2:3) When our Lord asked Peter if he loved Him (Jn 21:6), He wasn't looking for a hug, He was looking for obedience---"Feed my sheep." Obedience is the "blood pressure cuff" of the "Heart beat" of the Almighty in our innermost being!! "If you love Me, keep My commandments." (Jn 14:15)
Vs 20 Don't limit the Father's working! He wills to exceed our grandest expectation for His Glory. We are not to look at our sin, our failures, our tiny faith! No, we are to look to our Grand, Immeasurable God Who is already at work in us "according to the His Power (Holy Spirit) that works in us." We are to get lost in His redemptive Love that we may find His glorious purpose for us.
Vs 21 And here is that purpose—that the Father might be glorified in His people (the church) by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Christ Jesus came to show us the Father (Jn 14:6-9). He came to bring us into the Love Relationship that He has had with the Father in all eternity. (Jn 17:20-26) This is eternal life, nothing less than this intimate and experiential knowledge of the Father and His Son. He came to bring us into a totally dependent relationship with His Father (Mt 5:43-7:12). According to John 17:26, Jesus is declaring the name of the Father to us, in us, and through us in order that the love with which the Father loved the Son would be in us! The Son's purpose is to show forth the Father to us, in us, and through us, "that the world may believe that You sent Me". This is the glorious gospel evangel. We are to be the witnesses of that great love, inside/out witnesses. Enough of all the talking! "Love one another as I have loved you!