Exceedingly Abundantly Transformed (Eph 3:14-21)

Exceedingly abundantly transformed

Based on Ephesians 3:14-21

Khen Lim

castanet.xiosnetworks@gmail.com

Image source: Inspired Walk

Introduction

I had a mentor whose impact on my Christian life cannot be underestimated. He was a great Bible study instructor and it was he who instilled in me the joy of reading and understanding Scripture. He was also a very good and understanding friend. His family and mine were and still are very close together. 

He was the pastor who got my wife and I married. He was also the same pastor who not only baptised my parents but shortly thereafter, presided over my mother’s funeral. We used to run a church together until it had to permanently close its doors three years ago.

The old Bible College of Victoria (Image source: Anglican Church League)

He once told us a true story that is still remarkable today. It was about the time he was called to complete his Masters in Theology at the Bible College of Victoria in Melbourne. That was more than thirty years ago. He prayed and prayed and realised that without a doubt, this was God’s calling. And so he and his wife went to Australia and stayed there for the duration of the programme.

Coming not from a well-to-do family, money was tight but when God called, he packed up his bags and left. He didn’t think a lot about whether or not they could actually afford the whole course. With mere weeks remaining before he completed his study programme and return home, both of them ran out of money. They didn’t even have enough to eat let alone the funds to pay for their return airfare home. By then, his wife had also given birth to a baby girl in Melbourne, which of course added to the concerns.

Being the person he was, neither he nor his wife let on to anyone else at home or at the college about their financial crisis. In other words, his in-laws in Malaysia hadn’t the foggiest idea that they ran out of money well before they could get home. Neither the principal nor his lecturers were aware as well. No one knew. It’s hard to understand why he would do something like this. After all, he could have sent word home to get help but he didn’t. And his wife didn’t either.

Instead, he relied entirely on God. His rationale was simple – if this was God’s calling, it would be in His interest to make sure that they were looked after even if that meant somehow finding them the means to get home safely. It probably wasn’t a very easy thing to do that is, to ultimately trust God but he understood well what Jesus said:

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light.” (Mt 11:28-30, NLT)

He trusted Christ so wholeheartedly. No matter how the odds were stacked up, he didn’t choose to go to man. He didn’t sort of try out a few things, found they didn’t work and then went to God as a last resort. To him, there weren’t any choices – it was God or nothing at all. And so, he and his wife went to prayer. It must have been an incredible prayer.  It must have been an amazing testimony to the power of prayer because what happened next was, in every sense of the word, unbelievable.

Image source: TripAdvisor

One late night while in their own dormitory room, he heard a faint knock at the door. He and his wife were slowly sorting things out and putting away what they had planned to take home with them. It wasn’t that they had any idea of how they would fly back home but while they waited on the Lord, they decided to make themselves useful. 

But that faint knock sort of stopped them in their tracks. Looking at each other, they wondered who that could be. At this late hour, it wasn’t usual to have any visitors. Most people would either have gone to sleep or they were doing their studying.

He walked to and opened the door but he couldn’t see anyone. He peered into the hallway to the left and right. There was hardly a soul in the cold corridor. He felt funny about this. Why would anyone come knocking on the door and then bolt into thin air? Was this a joke? If it were, it wasn’t all that funny anyway. That was when he looked down on to the floor and noticed a white sealed envelope addressed to him at the front but there was neither the sender’s name nor any such details. 

Although he connected the envelope to the knock on the door, there wasn’t much else to work on. Whoever it was already long gone and all he had was just that envelope in his hand. If that wasn’t odd enough, he felt the contents from the outside and noticed that it was fairly ‘soft.’ A piece of letter wouldn’t have been ‘soft’ to touch. This was weird, he felt.

But you can imagine his shock when he peeled open the envelope to find money inside. Calling his wife to take a look, both were completely taken aback. For that moment, they forgot their prayer a few nights ago. For now, they took the cash out from the envelope and began to count the total. A second shockwave tremored through them – after counting, they came to the total. 

Realising it wasn’t a small amount of money, they were very bothered that they didn’t know who it all came from. And so they felt this must all have been a mistake. Perhaps the money was for someone else and the person slipped it under the wrong door. After all, why would anyone give them any money to begin with? It wasn’t as if he or his wife had asked anyone for it also.

It was then that an outrageous thought raced through his mind and for that second, he asked his wife to do a bit of mental arithmetic. First he asked her to count the remaining days till the last day in college for them. For those (days), he needed to know how much he still had to pay the college. After that he asked her to add the cost of the airfares to return home. Whatever else that they needed to pay were added just for good measure.

And lo and behold… the amount of cash in the envelope was precisely how much they needed to settle all their debts in college and pay for their way home! That can’t be true, he thought. Impossible, the wife felt. Together, they began to wonder if anyone was messing about with their heads. Nobody knew they had this financial problem. He queried his wife and asked if she did say anything to anyone. She said no. Just to be sure, she asked him back the same question. No was his answer. So how could all this be??

That was when they both realised that it all must have been from God. In other words, their prayers were answered right to the very dollar, it seemed. As incredible as it might have sounded, that was the only possible answer to the strangeness of it all. The knock on the door was real but neither of them say who it was. They told no one and no one other than they themselves knew the exact amount they needed to get everything sorted out and go home. Only God. Only God.

I have told this story to many of my Christian friends and many found it hard to believe. I did the same with my church members one Sunday after service and they too were shocked into silence. To be honest, I didn’t bother recounting the story for unbelievers – we all know what they’d say. In the end, everyone I told remembered the immense power of prayer. Some might not have experienced it themselves but there was never any disagreement about how weaponised we Christians are when it comes to prayers. Everyone accepted that only God could do something as awesome as this.

Wouldn’t it be incredible if we ourselves learn to pray like that? I certainly would. One of the obvious ways to learn to pray this powerfully is to diligently study the prayers that the Bible features. Through the many centuries since the Bible came into being, we have learned a lot about the contents of a truly biblical prayer and the intensity by which we ought to pray.

Yet, this intenseness could be quite a new thing for many Christians especially those who find it easy to be distracted when they pray. If we’re all honest about this, we’d admit to some horsing around during prayer time. Rather than treating prayers with uncompromising holiness (because, after all, we are all supposed to be petitioning before the Lord), we find ourselves watching someone else, having fleeting thoughts about something else or even checking our phone.

And yet we forget how focused the biblical patriarchs were in their prayers. From Moses to Daniel and from David to Paul, these were men of God who prayed with fiery intensity, dug deep from within their soul. They gave their very all in every prayer to God. They cried out. They beseeched Him. They pleaded the case on behalf of their people by placing their emotions on the line. They were completely and unerringly focused on the Lord to the extent that in prayer, they were separated from the goings-on around them. They’d become unperturbable rocks.

We care about what we pray

Image source: The United Methodist Church

True prayers are matters expressed from deep within our soul. There are things we really care about that we want to commit to God. They relate to issues of great concern and often, they are about people whom we truly worry for and about. These issues are so important that we’re prepared to spend time dedicated in prayer.

Prayer is so prevalent that people who don’t do it would say it when they respond to people who are in need of it. In moments of crisis, that’s what we often hear in the thousands of tweets and messages. For those who are less willing to be so expressive might say, “You’re in my thoughts” or “I’ll be thinking of you” but invariably, they mean the same thing. They might not want to say it out loud but the general gist is the same.

Prayer is the window of our soul for what we pray for, it is because we care. The converse is also true – what we don’t pray about, invariably it is because we don’t care must about too. I’m not talking about those split-second instances where something seriously happens but we have neither the time nor the opportunity to pray. If we’re in a car and headed for a potentially dangerous situation, we have a moment’s notice to avert disaster but there’s no time to concentrate on avoiding an accident and pray at the same time.

Instead I’m talking about instances where we have a conscious choice to pray or not pray about. That’s not only a sobering but also a convicting thought to consider and try as we might, that piece of truth is unavoidable. We can try to convince everyone how important something is to us but when we ultimately don’t bring it before God in prayer, it ultimately means we don’t care enough about it. Others might not know this because we can hide well but invariably, we know it ourselves. God knows it too. For that, we cannot escape from the truth. What we pray about is what we care about.

Yet there are things that prevent us from praying. I can think of a few:

-        There is the fear that we may not actually pray enough

-        We have the concern of clumsily wording our prayers well

-        We’re afraid that we might mess up by saying the wrong thing

-        We believe we don’t have enough faith to make our prayers stick

-        We lack the importance for God to take notice of our prayers

I believe that the reason why God included enough biblical records of powerful prayers in Scripture for the purpose that we may be inspired by them. In the Old Testament, we witness how Moses pleads with God to have mercy on His own people. Further down, we listen to how Nehemiah and Daniel interceded with the Lord. Don’t forget David’s many beautiful prayers as well. In the New Testament, the Gospels record Jesus in His intimate conversations with the Father. The Apostle Paul has many in his letters also.

These prayers are in the Bible so we may use them as models, guides and examples. In other words, we shouldn’t slavishly follow them ad verbatim but instead use them as a guide to frame our own thoughts and offer us a perspective into how we should pray. This is where Ephesians 3:14-21 come into sharp focus. As far as prayers in the Bible are concerned, Paul’s prayer here is without question, one of the greatest. Many Bible scholars have much to say about it that elevates its status.

Ephesians 3:14-21 is the second prayer in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus with the first one is in Chapter 1 being that the eyes of the heart may be peeled open in order that we may come to know the Lord better. If that is about enlightenment, then Ephesians 3:14-21 is about enablement. If the first one equips us knowledgeably, then the second one empowers us. 

Focusing on the inner strength

3:14    When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 
3:15    the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.

3:16    I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources, He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit 

3:17    Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

3:18    And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is.

3:19    May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

3:20    Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

3:21     Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

(Eph 3:14-21, NLT)

Looking at the prayer, it’s not difficult to understand that once you’re immersed in it, you can actually get lost. The arrangement is very complex. It seems to contain many layers of phrases, one piled atop the other and so on. It is rich in detail and some parts carry greater significance than it seems on the surface. And all these lead to the tail-ending but powerful doxology in the last two verses. Yet if we get too awed by it, we might end up overlooking even more important things.

Let’s have a look at verse 16:

“I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources, He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.” (Eph 3:16, NLT)

Paul teaches followers of Christ (Image source: lds.org)

Here is the main request where Paul asks that God “empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.” In this prayer, Paul seeks for all his brothers and sisters in the Ephesus church inner spiritual strength. In Greek, the literal translation is actually, the ‘‘inner man.’ 

And in that, Paul’s sole request in this prayer is the one specific thing he prayed where he asks God to fortify the Ephesians by way of the Holy Spirit in our innermost self so that the church may fulfil God’s will for them.

My reason for bringing this up this early in the piece is to remind all of us that this is the basic request in a prayer that lasts for eight verses. In that one verse, we have clarity of purpose in what Paul was praying for but even so, we should also take note of different parts that together, build to a climax. But how can we be sure that there is only one request in this prayer?

Check out one verse earlier where Paul has this to say:

 “So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honoured.” (Eph 3:13, NLT)

Paul asks the Ephesians not to be discouraged. ‘Don’t lose heart’ basically means not to give up hope. In this passage, he asks them to stay hopeful even though he is suffering for them, which are to their glory. Even though this passage is not part of the prayer per se, it is very relevant because it portrays a scenario of so great a discouragement that it saps our enthusiasm and plays on our vulnerabilities.

In the harsh reality of life, we deal with profound weaknesses, frustrating failures and disappointments, cruel interruptions, emotional breakups, catastrophes and calamities, unresolved conflicts, unbridled sadness, never-ending travails and even unfinished businesses. For all of us, these come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. 

Many of us have lost our jobs before, queuing up for the dole and struggling to make sense of our unemployment. Without a job, we all feel useless and incapable. For some of us, we go from one job to another, always hopeful that it’s going to be better than the last one but each time, it was actually worse until we just feel like caving in.

It doesn’t have to be jobs even. We could lose our loved ones and feel the hole they left behind is too large to fill. There’s also marriages that fall apart; if it’s not our own, it’s our close friends and that’s enough to knock the breath out of us. 

If they’re distraught, we often feel the same ourselves. Divorces are tough especially when children are enough. Court settlements are horrendous because often, they force you to start your life all over again. In the meantime, the trauma that afflicts children is far more than meets the eye.

We might not get all of them at once but just one is one too many. More often than not, that’s enough to knock us off our perch. It’s sometimes even enough to throw the towel in and call it quits. And if two or three or more simultaneously come at us, it’s hard to get off the canvas. In fact, it might be better just to stay knocked out than to face the fight.

Life can deal such a brutal blow that such a prayer is often what we need. It’s the kind of prayer that addresses the one thing we so desperately want and that is, spiritual strength. Like building up our physical strength when we work out, spiritual strength is similar but it applies on the inside. Building spiritual strength charges up our spirit and connects us to God from within ourselves. It gives us the power we need to live a life of purpose and fulfilment.

In contrast to human strength, God is our source and supplier of all spiritual strength through which believers can do all that God wills of us. Without that divine connection, prayer can sometimes be impossible especially when weakness assails us. When we are swept asunder, prayer is what we need but without God, that is going to be very difficult to do. 

Under those kinds of circumstances, Paul’s prayer is timely and strategically the best. It is the prayer to pin our hopes on before things get even worse. If we’re on knife’s edge or if problems force us to a cliff hanger, this is the prayer that we should take to heart before the forces overcome us.

It’s when we’re weak that God’s strength is perfected in us. It is this strength that is the perfect foil to us ‘losing heart’ (3:13). With God’s strength, we have enough power to overcome whatever setbacks that otherwise would have threaten us. Verse 16 reminds us that amidst His never-ending power sources, we can be ‘strengthened with power’ from the inside to deal with anything that life throws at us.

“I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources, He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.” (Eph 3:16, NLT)

The word ‘empower’ in this passage comes from the original word ‘power,’ which in Greek is δύναμις (pr. doonamis) and according to Strong’s can be taken to mean physical power, force, might, ability, efficacy or energy. It is the ‘power to achieve by applying the Lord’s inherent abilities.’ In short, it is ‘power through God’s ability’ (Strong’s 1411). It is also the Greek derivation that we get the modern English words ‘dynamic’ or even ‘dynamite.’

When we are made strong through God’s empowerment, it is our inner man that the Holy Spirit fortifies and by doing so, we have the power to rise above our frustrations, disappointments and all the negativity that threatens to weaken us. 

We will have that inordinate strength to cut through all the doubts, fears and unbelief and to help sustain us through the hardest and darkest times. Rather than succumb to hopelessness and then quit, God’s power manifested in our weakness primes us for far brighter prospects.

However, remember what the passage in 3:16 specifically says. It says God will “empower you with inner strength.” The focus is on our “inner strength.” This is not Herculean physical power. This is the strength within our mental resolve. 

This is the part of our being where we are constantly bombarded by decisions, conflicts, issues and emotional angst. And this also happens to be where we need prayer the most, the part that benefits most from God’s wisdom, power, calmness and peace.

A prayer with a different focus

Image source: Desiring God

If anything, the prayer Ephesians 3:14-21 teaches me that there are other types of prayers that are so different. For me, this one stands out because most of my prayers are just nowhere near what this one is about. My prayers fall into different categories but in the main, it’s all about problems, difficulties, crises and issues.

There are prayers that centre on illnesses, diseases and all forms of medical issues that bring pain and discomfort. We pray these prayers to petition God to take away whatever that stops people from being normal again. Prayers for those with major diseases like cancer, stroke, heart attack etc. are of course very challenging and potentially emotional.

There are also prayers that are based on problematic circumstances or situations that create issues for us. It could be being unemployed for too long a time and being a burden to other people. It could be marital issues that could sink a marriage because the spouses are not communicating peaceably. 

It could be problems in school or college where our children are having difficulties not just with their studies but might have run-ins with their teachers and lecturers. It can be very varied but essentially, these are issues we don’t like and we tell it to God so that He may change it for us.

We do have other prayers where we hope for people to strike good relationships, for people to pass their exams or job interviews or even for our favourite football teams to win this weekend. We make prayers on special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries for God to uphold their health and to wish His blessings on them. Above all, we also pray for our nations that they may be righteous before God.

Of the three broad categories, it’s often the first two that we pray most about. It’s about the pain or some serious problem that afflicts us that we need God to urgently address for us. After all, God did say to go to Him with our burdens so that He may bring comfort and lighten them for us (Mt 11:28-30). 

Furthermore, there is fundamentally nothing wrong with seeking Him to lessen or remove our discomfort. It’s always better to resort to Him because we know we can depend on the Lord far more than any man we know.

But the problem is that when we choose to consistently pray in these ways, we face the risk of never praying for anything else beyond. We can be so blinded by our immediacies that we can’t see anything outside the perimeter of our emotionally-plagued issues. They can be so overwhelming that we fail to understand there’s so much more to life than to revolve ourselves around our pains and problems.

Paul in prison (Image source: Quora)

For example, Paul doesn’t even talk about his pains and problems. In fact it would be timely at this point to remind ourselves that when he wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he did so in the cold and harshness of a Roman jail where it is alleged he was chained to two Roman guards for most of the time. 

Even so, he hardly ever complained. He never spent any of his communique ranting about his pain and discomfort. He spoke no words on wanting to escape or plotting any secret plans so that he could be hustled out and go into exile. His request was not that someone could come and get him out. Instead, Paul’s request was humbling to the core:

“And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for Him as I should.” (Eph 6:19-20, NLT, my emphasis)

These two verses are from the final passages of his letter. He mentions nothing about the physical difficulties he would have been in. Rather he turns his readers’ attention to the things he still endeavours to do for God before he then closes off the letter, with concern for them.

You’re only human

Here’s the big difference with the way Paul prays. While we pray for our physical hurts to be removed, Paul prays for the inner strengthening by the Holy Spirit. He does so because he knows that our greatest need isn’t physical strength but spiritual power on the inside. The will to get things done is not a matter of brawn but a measure of our will. It is a weakness that only the Holy Spirit can address and empower. It’s not something that going to the gym will ever help. In fact nothing in this world will ever advance the cause of our spiritual endeavours without the hand of God.

So given our spiritual complexion, we’re only going to be as good as our flaws allow us to be. No matter what, we’re, after all, human. In other words, we can only try to do our best. The rest is essentially for God to take care of. To put it mildly therefore, we’re not as good as we think we are. We’re neither as strong nor wise. We’re nowhere as intelligent or resourceful as some might assume. We’re nowhere as resilient or creative either. All we are is limited by our spiritual power, in which case, God has us covered if only we commit ourselves in prayer to Him to strengthen us from the inside.

Paul’s prayer is evidently not about alleviating his great problems. It’s about asking God to embolden him so that he may “boldly explain God’s mysterious plan” (6:19-20). In other words, he’s asking the Lord to broaden his shoulders to take on the load that he has been entrusted to carry for Him. It is a very powerful prayer not to free ourselves from our burdens but to ask for the necessary inner power to carry out our duties that God has asked of us to do for Him.

For this, there are three identifiable areas in which great spiritual strength is desperately needed in our lives:

-        The ability to conduct ourselves joyously on a daily basis no matter the trials we endure (Rom 12:12, Jms 1:2, Php 4:4, Rom 15:13, Ps 16:9, Prov 17:22)

-        The power to overcome temptations with courage no matter how irresistible the bait may be (Lk 22:40, Mt 6:13, Lk 4:13, 1 Cor 10:13, Jms 4:1-4)

-        The tenacity to stay righteous while weathering persecution (Mt 5:10-12, Ps 119:87, Mt 10:22, 1 Cor 4:12, 2 Thess 1:4, Jms 5:8, Heb 12:1)

Margaret D Nadauld (Image source: LDS)

Margaret D. Nadauld, author of ‘A Mother’s Influence’ once wrote: “Your Heavenly Father will help you find the right path as you seek His guidance. Remember though, after you pray, you must get off your knees and start doing something positive; head in the right direction! He will send people along the way who will assist you but you must be doing your part as well.”

Nadauld, Margaret D. (Apr 2004) A Mother’s Influence – Raising Children to Change the World (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Co). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Mothers-Influence-Margaret-D-Nadauld/dp/1590382390 

Just as Nadauld wrote, Paul’s gist of the message in Ephesians 3:14-21 is equally compelling. What he’s basically saying is “Lord, this is the path You have shown me. This is where You want to lead me along. Grant me the inner strength so that I may complete that walk for You.” And with that inner strength, we may have the compulsion and resolve to do what is needed to be done – “something positive” as Nadault puts it – to fulfil that part of our lives that is in tune with God.

It is a truly magnificent prayer. Powerful. Characterful. Purposeful. Stoic. Compelling. And every other verse that immediately surrounds that passage is an outflow from Paul’s most basic request. And as we call on the Holy Spirit to empower our innermost character, there are hence three possible outcomes that we may encounter.

-        Experiencing an indwelling Christ in our hearts by faith

-        An increased understanding of Christ’s love

-        An open opportunity to experience the fullness of God

An indwelling Christ in our hearts by faith

Let’s revisit 3:17 in Paul’s letter:

“Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” (Eph 3:17, NLT, my emphasis)

To “make His home” is, in other translations, for Christ “to dwell.” The word ‘dwell’ in the original Greek text is κατοικέω (pr. kat-toi-kay-oh), which means to settle in, to inhabit or to be permanently established in. According to Strong’s (2730), it’s akin to being a permanent resident or figuratively speaking, “to be exactly at home.”

In Paul’s prayer, this is the part that he prays that Christ will settle in to our hearts. We can imagine what that means when we picture a man finding himself comfortable within his own domicile because it is his own. He is made to settle into what is his home.

This is where we can discern the difference between a house and a home, which famous music composer Burt Bacharach perhaps puts it best in his aptly titled song called ‘A House Is Not A Home’:

“… And a house is not a home

When there’s no one there to hold you tight

And no one there you can kiss goodnight.”

In the second verse, Bacharach wrote, “…And a house is not a home when the two of us are far apart and one of us has a broken heart.”

Paul prays that Christ will be at home in our hearts but it is here that it’s important to make that distinction the way Bacharach makes it in his lyrics. The point Paul drives at is that Christ may be ‘in’ our hearts but He may not be ‘at home’ there. For someone to say he’s at home, it means it’s not just brick and mortar but it’s a building in which he lives permanently with a strong sense of attachment and belonging.

It might be a very nicely-appointed home but if our heart doesn’t belong there, it’s not our home because we don’t feel at home. A home is where we cherish memories of living there and often, it is because there are others in our family who have been there with us. 

In a home where we belong, we are also familiar with every square inch of it. It’s a place where we know where everything is and how everything works including things that don’t work so well. It’s also a place where others might not think so, but we have a way of putting away and labelling things.

For Christ to find a home in our hearts, Paul says to place our trust in Him. He goes on to say, “Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” In a more traditional Bible translation such as ESV, NASB, KJV NIV etc., that passage offers Paul’s use of two succinct images; that of a tree (‘rooted’) and the other of a building (‘grounded’).

Both denote a starting point and the support of a Christian’s life. It implies that Christian life will blossom when in an atmosphere of God’s love such as with the warmth of sunshine that is needed to inspire the life of a plant to grow and flourish. As Anglican dean and co-writer of the ‘Pulpit Commentary,’ Henry Donald Spence Jones (1836-1917) says, “The experience of God’s love is a great quickening and propelling power.”

Spence, Henry Donald Maurice and Exell, Joseph S. (editors) (Oct 1985) The Pulpit Commentary (23 Volume Set) (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publisher). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Pulpit-Commentary-23-Set/dp/0917006321

This imagery of Christ dwelling in our hearts isn’t just about Him finding some room in only that part of us. In his book called, ‘My Heart – Christ’s Home,’ the late author Robert Boyd Munger describes what it would look like to have Jesus come into the home of our hearts. There, he moves from one room to another and then considers what He wants to find in us. 

For example, in the lounge, we ready ourselves to meet Christ every day. And then in the dining room, we look at what appetising desires that should and shouldn’t be controlling our lives. Munger even takes us into the closets where we explore how Christ can help us to clean out the clutter that creates logjams that prevent us from having a meaningful relationship with Him. 

It’s not a stretch of imagination to say that Munger’s explorative approach here helps readers to learn how to cede control of our lives to Christ.

Munger, Robert Boyd (Feb 1986) My Heart-Christ’s Home – A Story for Young & Old (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Expanded Edition). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Christs-Home-Robert-Boyd-Munger/dp/087784075X

All of that sounds pretty straightforward but not all of us are so accommodating of Christ in our homes. It’s not difficult to imagine some of us saying to Him, “Listen Jesus, it’s okay that you stay around here but our bedroom is out of bounds and so is our study. You can hang around in the living room but it’s only until we have to go to the movies.” To put it simply, we’re basically laying down terms for how we want Jesus in our lives.

But Paul’s passage doesn’t suggest that he’s placed any condition for Christ to “make His home.” In fact, I’d imagine that what Paul is saying is that we allow Him to, in Munger’s concept, to go everywhere within our home, to explore, to open any door, to peep inside, to have complete access to every nook and corner of our lives including those places where we might have long-unseen skeletons. 

So long as we place conditions, it’s no longer a home for Christ to dwell in. It might as well be a motel room. And if that’s the case, He can never feel at home in our hearts. Conversely, we too can never be completely happy as Christians.

The analogy of the home that Munger uses places the onus on us to decide how much we cede ourselves to the Lord. In other words, the question isn’t “How much of Christ do I have?” but rather “How much have I surrendered myself to Christ?” 

The first one isn’t just arrogant, patronising and facetious but it’s also presumptuous but the second one is a penetrating question that queries where our heart truly lies. It forces us to review our Christian lives, asking if we are truly desirous of following and obeying Christ.

Until Christ dwells in us and calls our hearts ‘home,’ we will always have an estranged relationship with Him. He might live in us but He remains a stranger in our lives. That’s not His fault; it’s us who didn’t extend our hand to welcome Him into our hearth.

Increased understanding of Christ’s love

Image source: Revival Centres Church Sunshine Coast

In the second half of Paul’s prayer, it says:

“Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Eph 3:17-19, NLT, my emphasis)

In the empowering of our inner person by the Holy Spirit, the second outcome is our growing perception of and increasing sensitivity towards Christ’s love. The word ‘to understand’ is καταλαμβάνω (pr. ka-ta-lam-ba-noe), which means to seize tight (or lay) hold of, to seize or catch, to capture, to perceive, to grasp or to comprehend. Strong’s Concordance (#2638) puts it as to make it one’s own with decisive initiative or to grasp something in a firm manner.

In the context of verse 18, Paul prays that we have the ability to personally and experience Christ’s love in a manner that one is expected of all Christians to in the fullest possible extent. He goes on to elaborate how love itself has so many dimensions, which in God’s case, is unlimited no matter how we might want to measure it. It is so limitless that God’s love surpasses all worldly knowledge. It is beyond our comprehension to properly understand.

In a similar way, how we love our spouses is also hard to perceive at any one point. We think we love our wives dearly but at some point in the future, we’d astonish ourselves in realising that this love can actually grow even deeper than any of us thought possible. In fact, there is not one point in time that when we look back, we keep surprising ourselves how time allows us to realise the unfathomable truth about love.

My wife always like to reminisce over the day we first met and how she savours that love but as we look at the times since then, we both agree that the brand of love we have has kept transforming itself, reshaping and redefining with each new turning point we experience together in our marriage. That was certainly true when the twins were born more than two years ago. Now as a family, that love has now become far deeper and more meaningful than even on the first day we met.

And although we’ve been married for almost seven years, my wife always adds a further three years to it because to her, our love began not on the day of our wedding but rather when we first met. I pray that God will give us a whole lot more years to come for us to experience the further – and deeper – transformation of our love together.

With that experience, it’s then not too difficult to see how the spiritual side works as far as Paul’s prayer is concerned. When he says, “how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is,” he is in effect describing the ceaseless extent of God’s love that is beyond our normal comprehension much like how at least some of us might feel about the love we have for our spouses.

However in another sense, these dimensional descriptions could allude to the sign of the cross as the early church fathers had taken them to mean. To them, the length (“how long”) and breadth (“how wide”) defines the crossbeam upon which both of Jesus’ stretched arms were nailed. And then the height (“how high”) and depth (“how deep”) refers to the vertical column where His body frame was aligned to and His legs were nailed at its base.

It may seem a bit of a stretch to fit into such a narrative but Christ’s love is best laid out for the world to see at the cross. This was where He died to quench our sins. This was where He opened the way for us to be redeemed to the Father. This, as we all know, was the only way for us to ever be forgiven. All of these – the length, breadth, height and depth – are the expressions of Christ’s love that we may only now begin to understand in its fullness. 

Dr. W.A. Criswell (Image source: pastorhistorian.com)

The late American pastor and two-term elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr Wally Amos Criswell (1909-2002) likened Paul’s four dimensions of love to the way he saw John 3:16 in one of his morning messages he shared at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. Called ‘Love, God’s Love in Four Dimensions,’ this is what he wrote concerning Ephesians 3:17-19:

“But the thing that Paul is speaking of here is not philosophical or academic or forensic; he is speaking of a thing experientially. He says, “That we may be able to comprehend with all saints” (Eph 3:18); that is, what they know, what they have felt, what they have seen, that we might know with them, experientially, the breadth, and the length, and the depth, and the height, to know the love of God. He says its passeth knowledge (3:19): it is not something that a man philosophically could ever arrive at.

“It is not a thing that a man might study academically and know all about. You couldn’t put it in a test tube and measure it or weight [sic] it, or say it has certain chemical properties, and has thus and so chemical reactions. It’s not measurable academically; it doesn’t have density or mass or weight scientifically. But, Paul says, it is experientially a thing that goes beyond knowledge, and as such, it is immeasurable. And he speaks of the four dimensions of this experiential love of God in Christ Jesus: the breath, and the length, and the depth, and the height (3:18).

“Now, I want to apply that to the golden text (Jn 3:16). The breadth of the love of God: “For God so loved the world.” And the length of the love of God: “That He gave His only begotten Son.” And the depth of the love of God: “that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish” And the height of the love of God: “that we might have everlasting, celestial, heavenly, eternal life.” Those are the four dimensions: its breadth, the whole world; its length, that God would go to the length to give His only Son; its depth, reaching down to those who are perishing; and its height, reaching up to the celestial towers of God in heaven, that we might have everlasting life.”

Source: Dr Criswell, W.A. (Jan 1957) Love in Four Dimensions (Dallas, TX: W.A. Criswell Sermon Library). Accessible at https://www.wacriswell.com/sermons/1957/love-in-four-dimensions

In brief, this is Dr Criswell’s parallels:

Breadth - “For God so loved the world…” meaning “He included you”

Length - “…that He gave… His Son…” meaning “He sent Jesus to die for you”

Depth - “…should not perish…” meaning “He reached down for you”

Height - “…have everlasting life…” meaning “He lifts you up to heaven”

Christ’s love is broader than the widest expanse of the universe. It is longer than all the time in the world. It is higher than the highest hope. It is deeper than the deepest darkest oceans. The sooner we understand this, the faster we can allow the Holy Spirit to empower our innermost character and the sooner we can come to comprehend the immensity of Christ’s love for us.

Savouring the fullness of God

Towards the end of the prayer, Paul says:

“Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Eph 3:17-19, NLT, my emphasis)

“Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God,” Paul says. And that is the very purpose of being a Christian. As John the Baptist said, “He must become greater and greater and I must become less and less” (Jn 3:30, NLT).

Many of us Christians endeavour the very ideal of wanting more of God and less of us. It is Christianity’s most romantic notion but as it turns out, many of us really struggle to deliver on this. That’s because there is a conflict of interest here. 

While we desire God’s presence, we’re having great difficulties surrendering. We want the power of God in our lives but we also want the ‘self’ to remain in control. We don’t really want to give that one up. In the Gospel According to Matthew, there is a story we can surely relate to:

“Someone came to Jesus with this question: ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ ‘Why ask Me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good. But to answer your question – if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.’ ‘Which ones?’ the man asked. And Jesus replied: ‘‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honour your father and mother. Love your neighbour as yourself.’’ ‘I’ve obeyed all these commandments,’ the young man replied. ‘What else must I do?’ Jesus told him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.’ But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” (Mt 19:16-22, NLT)

Here is a story of a man who wants everything God has to offer but he also wants it on his own terms. Soon, in his discourse with Jesus, he realised he couldn’t have it both ways. When Jesus asked him to “go and sell all your possessions and given the money to the poor” in order to “have treasure in heaven… he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” 

In other words, realising he had to give one up for the other, he preferred to hang on to his materialism. For him, it was too difficult to give up no matter the riches that laid stored in heaven for him. 

So many of us are like that. We want God but we also want to hang on to ourselves. We like ourselves too much to allow God to take over our lives and yet paradoxically, we want Him at the same time. For those of us who are familiar with what Scripture has to say, we know it doesn’t work that way. God’s promise of free will for us still holds sway here. He is not going to force us to surrender. 

Instead He leaves it up to us to make that our decision. Surrender is an act of our own free will. God intends it in the way that we make it our purpose to give the reins of our lives to Him willingly and joyously. This is the dying to self where we offer God unconditional control over every facet of our lives.

In the last two decades prior to becoming a pastoral leader, I was aware of God’s calling. I still wasn’t willing to give up the things I wanted to pursue in my life. I was single at that time and I had ambitions. I had the skills and talent and I was also on the right side of youth to want to achieve much in my life. In those years, I held different jobs that promised much but in the most ironic manner, they somehow went pear-shaped.

In the late Nineties, I had a potentially good computing business running that somehow went aground in the most stupefying way with some of my staff members going on a mutiny aided behind my back by some distant relatives of mine who thought it a good idea to manipulate minions to take over my company. 

These distant relatives were running a wiring business and desired our networking expertise but instead of working out a fair deal, they decided to stage a coup. It didn’t work out – once I heard of it, I terminated every employee, paid them out and closed the business. It wasn’t what I really wanted to do but at that time, that was the only thing I knew best to do to snuff out a fire and prevent someone from immorally gaining from me.

Then I was offered an in-house IT management position with one of my major clients who ran a successful law firm. It was going quite well until a group of seven Malay girls decided to send me to the labour tribunal on the charge of sexual harassment. In a Muslim-dominant country, this was a very serious charge that could get me in unimaginable strife. 

As it turned out, my employers told me having been sacked, they had sought revenge against them but because that wasn’t possible, they decided to take aim at me. Invariably, after lots of praying, the case was thrown out by the labour tribunal. Even so, I was left somewhat traumatised by it.

Leaving the IT industry behind, my fiancée (now my wife) and I decided to dust off my camera equipment and rediscover my passion for still imagery. This time, I decided to specialise in Indian wedding photography. By introducing a photojournalistic style to Indian weddings, our business offered something that was particularly unique, refreshing and rare in the market at that time, bringing in enough jobs to get us busy. 

But as our running expenses kept racking up, slow payment collection eventually forced everything to come to a grinding halt. Eventually, customers playing hardball put an end to the business. Even our working partner’s brother refused to pay us for work done photographing his wedding. Disillusionment set in again.

Following that, the bad run continued unabated. A stint at an English language academy didn’t turn out well despite a promising start. With a boss more interested in micromanagement with little apparent skill at leadership, it all fell flat after a few months. Then came an even briefer time at an international school where nepotism soon reared as ugly a head as self-importance, arrogance and backroom politics. 

Considering that this was a family-run business priding themselves on their Christian faith, it was hard to stomach. Doing something simpler was, I thought, the panacea and so I decided to teach English to kids at a private training centre. However from the way it was run, I knew I wouldn’t last there as well. And in the end, I surrendered.

I couldn’t go on like this. As I persisted with finding my own way by doing my own things, the failures were mounting in a way that I found very hard to understand. I simply had no answer for why things had turned out the way they did. No matter how promising the job opportunity appeared at the beginning, the ending was always disastrous. Nothing went right. Everything was wrong and from one job to the next so much so that my confidence was taking a battering.

Image source: Spectator Health

Depression began to set in and the effects on my self-esteem were debilitating. I became self-defeatist, unwilling to go and try for fear of more humiliation. Inevitably, all of these became too much for my wife to handle and arguments crept into our marriage. In the meantime, we discovered that my mother had cancer. As for my father, he was already inundated with ailments of one kind or another. My wife was also pregnant at the same time.

And at my age, all this was getting harder to deal with. My failures were extraordinarily difficult to accept because it meant that my wage-earning capacity was dwindling a little too prematurely. With twins coming in six months or so, it felt as if my head was on the chopping block. 

As for my mother, this was her second bout of cancer but this time, at her advanced age, it would be far harder to overcome. We also have a cousin – my mother’s late sister’s daughter – who was mentally challenged whom we were handed the responsibility to care for. Despite being a year older than me, she was far more than a handful to handle.

Given all of this, it’s not difficult to just give up everything. I’d thought of running away and never wanted anyone to see or contact me again. I felt so ashamed and humbled by my own failures. I never thought I could ever end up like this. From my days of success in Australia, my life’s second chapter in Malaysia was completely upside-down. I was struggling to accept all of this but came to realise the hard way that I could no longer avoid God’s calling.

In the end, I discontinued my search for a sustainable job and opted to start looking into studying theology. The idea of attending a seminary germinated years earlier but I didn’t want to know about it. Although it was appealing in some ways, commencing such a course would seriously compromise any job prospects I might have had. 

And between the two, I felt that being in the job market was more important because the age of retirement for me wasn’t too far away. If I didn’t make the most out of my employability then, I’d miss it forever. Putting any theology studies in the backburner was logical for me.

It didn’t work out that way. I wanted to fight my surrender because it went against my natural inclinations. After all, like many others, I desperately wanted to be a master of my own fate and captain of my own ship. In short, I wanted to call the shots and surrendering to God wasn’t an option. 

And yet, deep down, I was made to realise that in order to experience God’s remarkable presence, I needed to go the other way. I had to turn around and give up the life I had and follow Him instead. As unpalatable as I thought the opposite way was, God showed that it was the only way I could go to show that I trusted Him. And that was why surrender is a lifelong walk and one that continually, daily, dies to self and yields more and more to Him.

Have you ever contemplated saying or are you now wanting to say, “I want more of you, God”? If you are, the answer is simple. Just give up the resistance. Give God more of you. Offer yourself to Christ. Allow Him to find a home in your heart to prove that you trust Him. Once you let Him lead, you will experience Christ’s love in incredible ways. This is when we will expose ourselves to “the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Eph 3:19, NLT). This is when we can go into deep intimacy with Him.

For Christians, this fullness of life isn’t just our goal. It is a quality of life filled with love and joy. It is void of all the rage that consumes our worldliness. It is the antithesis of the kind of life where we seek to but often struggle to contain. Where we are preoccupied by angst, frustration, stress, tension and deep disappointments, the fullness of life that God offers presents a very radical picture of total transformation in which He is ever present and dominant in our lives. 

When we finally surrender ourselves, that’s when we ultimately come to terms with the vessel that we are for Him to pour Himself into us. God desires to do that, to fill us until we’re full and empowered from within our inner self.

Apostle Paul (Image source: Agape Bible Study)

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul says:

“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ who is the head over every ruler and authority.” (Col 2:8-10, NLT, my emphasis)

Comparing verse 9 from the above with verse 19 from Paul’s prayer in his letter to the Ephesians, here’s how the two look next to one another:

“For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” (Col 2:9, NLT)

“Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Eph 3:19, NLT)

In Colossians 2:9, Paul says that in Christ, the fullness of God dwells in bodily form. In other words, when in faith we approach Christ, He in return comes to live in us. 

In Ephesians 3:19, Paul talks about us being made complete with the same fullness of God who dwells in bodily form within our inner self. He is referring to God in Christ that is now reflected in us. The two are very similar with one bearing reference to Christ and the other to us. It talks about the same fullness of God in the same breadth, height, depth and length.

And that takes us to a complete makeover of the spiritual landscape. As there is more of Christ, there will be less of us until the transformation is complete. As we surrender more and more of ourselves to Christ, He becomes increasingly more significant in our lives until which point we are all made complete in the fullness of life and power that comes from Him.

It’s like having a bucket of water that is contaminated with drops of black ink. The water isn’t clear anymore as there is a cloudy cast of greyness because of the ink. That’s what it’s like with our lives – we are contaminated by sin and sin blots out much that is good about Christ. 

But if we keep pouring pure and clean fresh water into the bucket, that murky cloudiness will gradually soon clear. By persistence, eventually the damaging effects of the ink will soon fade into oblivion. There will come a point in time when the water in the bucket nothing else but pure and clean and refreshingly cool.

Gone is the cloudiness. Gone is that grey pall that casts an indelible sense of impurity. As our sins are washed over by Christ’s blood, we are no longer unclean. Though it’s not likely to be an overnight process, the inner transformation is a work of a lifetime. To replace that cloudy grey sinfulness in our lives, we need the purity of God’s holiness. 

In place of our anger, frustrations, intolerance, disappointments and stress as well as greed, corruption, hate, envy, dishonesty and unfaithfulness, we now have peace, calmness, healing, comfort, serenity, hope, wisdom, power and strength that are all the products of being immersed in Christ. We can now enjoy the fullness of God epitomised by His beauty, His grace, His mercy, His holiness and His lovingkindness.

God’s infinite ability

Paul in prison (Image source: stfxb.org)

Towards the end of the prayer, Paul says:

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” (Eph 3:19-21, NLT, my emphasis)

How able is God? According to Paul, there are steps we must take beforehand. Verse 16 tells us that Paul will pray that God will “empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.” That’s when He will bring His power to bear on our inner self, to transform us. 

When we build our trust in Him, Paul tells us in the next verse that we will then be ready to accept Christ who will dwell within us, making a home in our hearts. In verse 18, Paul says that, as Christians, we will be able to grasp what all this means. We will come to terms with the degree of God’s love.

These three verses build us up to a point where we are in the position to realise the fullness of God’s life and power. This outpouring of God’s love and power will positively impact the process of our inner transformation. It is this that affirms God’s ability to accomplish so much more in us than we can dare to imagine possible. It is His infinite power that brings imminence to our desire to change.

So no matter how we look at it in reality, we have no reason to doubt God’s abilities. Once we are empowered inside by the Holy Spirit, all things become evidently very possible. Verses 20 and 21 brings us to the great doxology that ends Paul’s prayer, which the NKJV translation does it great justice:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Eph 3:20-21, NKJV, my emphasis)

Unless God intervenes, none of us can do the work He does. And none of what Paul prays for will become a reality for us. Whatever Bible translation you fancy, all versions point very clearly to the fact that God will answer such a prayer. Paul didn’t say that he hopes or he wishes or that God will try His utmost best. 

While that’s what we normally say when we’re tasked to do something for our friends and family, for God, His ability is as much a guarantee as the fact that He will, without a doubt, answer it. In the prayer, Paul attests to the fact that He is able to do whatever it takes to answer it and He will do it beyond our mortal expectations:

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Eph 3:20, NLT, my emphasis)

Subang International Airport before the recent renovation (Image source: Pinterest)

In the year 2001 about four months after I purchased the then-new Proton Waja, I drove it to the Subang International Airport to pick up a friend in the morning. I was particularly looking forward to taking the new car out for a long drive to enjoy its driving quality. 

I was hardly 20 kilometres out of the city perimeter before something surprising happened. Under slight drizzling conditions, part of the front windshield’s rubber seal decided to come off, slapping against my driver’s side window!

Astonished, I stopped the car by the side of the highway and checked it out. The problem with the windshield seal is that once it comes off, there’s little chance to get it securely back in because of its complex multiple-groove design. 

But of course that didn’t stop me from using my fist to bang it back in. Sure enough, hardly 1 kilometre down the highway, the seal came off again. And again. And again. Each time, the only thing I could do was to use my hand to push it back in and predictably, it never worked.

To worsen matters, I also had to contend with the power window buttons on the driver’s door that were malfunctioning together with the central door locking mechanism. No matter what I did to keep the doors unlocked, the mechanism will spring back to lock while the panel of power window buttons was getting hotter and hotter to touch. It’s as if something was short-circuiting inside. It became so unbearably hot that I had to avoid touching it while I was driving.

I then decided to roll into the first major gas station to come into view along the highway. Once there, I thought to check the trunk for tools. It wasn’t like I would find any special tool for that purpose. I ended up using a screwdriver, wrapped a small tower over the head and using it to try securing the windshield seal in place. As if that was going to work, I mused to myself. But frankly, there was nothing I could have done more other than to abandon the trip and get home.

Of course, it wasn’t just the seal that was constantly threatening to come off completely. I also had to deal with the burning hot power window buttons and a malfunctioning central door lock mechanism. But I had a journey to complete. 

Without any solution in sight, I set off from the gas station to continue on my trip. It was then that I decided to do something I’d never ever done before in my life. I decided to spend the rest of my drive, literally talking to God. Aloud.

And so I spoke to God on whatever issue that came to mind. I spoke to Him as my Father, my friend and as someone who will listen to anything I had to say. It was as if God was physically seated next to me at the front and I was having a great yak with him. Before I knew it, I had arrived at Sungei Buloh, which is on the northern outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. 

Time really flew when I had a Great Listener with me. I enjoyed the conversation and was so immersed in it that it wasn’t just the time that went so quickly but in that whole time, the windshield seal didn’t come loose at all! Not just that, the power window buttons were no longer untouchably hot! And the central door lock mechanism was now working properly!

How could all this have happened!? None of these sounded logical. But as impossible as they seemed, that was what happened. Despite all the unscheduled stoppages, I actually arrived at Subang International Airport (now better known as Subang Skypark) ahead of time though, very oddly, I did not resort to speeding. Yes, go figure. 

And when I parked my car, I rechecked everything. The windshield seal looked as if it’d never come off before. My door panel window buttons were cool to touch. And when I used my remote controller, I could lock and unlock the doors. As stunned as you can imagine I was, at least I could go pick up my friend in peace even if I found it all rather incredulous.

The day after returning home from the airport, I took the car to an authorised service centre for them to have a look at it. I told the chief mechanic there of my problems but after he personally checked, he said there was nothing amiss with the car although he was amazed that upon removing the windshield seal, he discovered there was not a dollop of glue inside to hold it in place! 

As for the power window buttons, I had expected some traces of soot or even burnt marks – such as the intense heat I experienced – but he said it was as clean as ever.

It made no sense at all. But then, that’s what miracles are – they all don’t make sense to human beings. This one was no exception. I did nothing to make everything right but without a doubt, God intervened and He did so without me realising it. 

And all of this points us back to Paul’s prayer where he said that God will answer. There were no ifs or buts or maybes; God will answer. He guarantees it and in this true story, He proved it without a shadow of doubt.

The late John Stott (Image source: The Good Book Company)

English Anglican priest and celebrated author, the late John Stott (1921-2011)

“God’s ability to answer prayer is forcefully stated by the apostle in a composite expression of seven stages.

(1) He is able to do or to work for He is neither idle, inactive nor dead.

(2) He is able to do what we ask, for He hears and answers prayers.

(3) He is able to do what we ask or imagine, for He reads our thoughts and sometimes we dream of things for which we dare not and therefore do not ask.

(4) He is able to do all that we ask or think, for He knows it all and can perform it all.

(5) He is able to do more than all that we ask or think, for His expectations are higher than ours.

(6) He is able to do “far more” (RSV) for He does not give His grace by calculated degree.

(7) He is able to do immeasurably more than all that we ask or think, for He is a God of superabundance.”

Stott goes on to say:

“The infinite ability of God to work beyond our prayers, thoughts and dreams is by the “power that is at work within us,” within us individually (Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith) and within us as a people (who are the dwelling place of God by His Spirit). It is the power of the resurrection, the power that raised Christ from the dead, enthroned Him in the heavenlies and then raised and enthroned us there with Him (1:19-21; 2:6) That is the power at work within Christians and the church.”

(Stott, ‘The God Who Can Answer Prayer,’ Ephesians 3:20-21, p.69)

Stott, John R.W. (Jul 2017) Reading Ephesians with John Stott: 11 Weeks for Individuals or Groups (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Ephesians-John-Stott-Individuals/dp/0830831959

Let’s have a look at Stott’s seven stages and in each, identify certain eye-opening key words:

(1)  He is able to do or to work for He is neither idle, inactive nor dead.

Keywords: “Able to do”

God can do anything because He isn’t dormant, neither is He incapacitated or dead. He is the living God ever capable. Since He is the Creator of the Universe and all living matter, that should not be surprising.

(2) He is able to do what we ask, for He hears and answers prayers.

Keywords: “We”

God does not leave any one of us out. He listens to each and every one of our prayers. He is equivocal, just and fair. All of us are His children and as His children, His love for us is as similar as it is overly abundant in that He will hear and answer all of us.

(3) He is able to do what we ask or imagine, for He reads our thoughts and sometimes we dream of things for which we dare not and therefore do not ask.

Keywords: “Or imagine”

God not only knows what we think but He is so ahead of us that He knows it before the idea even germinates in our mind. He is able to visualise what it is that we’d like to ask Him and even those that we dare not (ask).

(4)  He is able to do all that we ask or think, for He knows it all and can perform it all.

Keywords: “All”

God does not leave out anything that we ask and consider them unacceptable. He can do all we ask or think. He makes no exception and He does not set terms and conditions. All means all because to Him, He knows everything and can do anything.

(5)  He is able to do more than all that we ask or think, for His expectations are higher than ours.

Keywords: “More than”

What God can do far exceeds everything we ask for or think because His plans are bigger and grander than any that we can dream up. In other words, because His thoughts are far broader and deeper and because His vision of life is not limited to what we know, He gives beyond what we know.

(6) He is able to do “far more” (RSV) for He does not give His grace by calculated degree.

Keywords: “Far more”

What God can do is far beyond our human limits because His grace know no bounds. Furthermore, His grace is abundantly and equally available to all and in that way, there is no holding Him back. “Far more” in this sense means God has a greater degree in how and what He can do for us.

(7) He is able to do immeasurably more than all that we ask or think, for He is a God of superabundance.”

Keywords: “Immeasurably”

God doesn’t just do more than what we ask but in all that He is able to do, no one can put a number to it. We can neither describe nor measure how much it is that He can do for what He does is “exceedingly abundantly” beyond our imagination because He is the God of boundless superlatives.

In Bible translations like the NKJV, the phrase used in verse 20 is “exceedingly abundantly.” It sounds like odd English grammar but it is correctly used. The point of using a double back-to-back adverbial pair is not a misprint. The NKJV translators chose this to match as closely as possible to Paul’s Greek usage of a word that rarely saw the time of day then.

That word is ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ (pr. hooper-eck-pair-ree-sow), which can be split into three parts. The first part is ὑπὲρ (pr. hooper), which translates as a preposition meaning ‘above’ or ‘more than’ (Strong’s #5228). 

The second part is εκ (pr. ek), which means ‘out of’ or ‘from out’ or ‘out from’ (Strong’s #1537). The third part is περισσοῦ (pr. pair-ree-sow), meaning ‘abundantly’ or ‘exceedingly’ or ‘greatly’ (Strong’s #4053). When consolidated as a Greek adverb, it means ‘beyond measure’ or simply ‘exceedingly.’ Thayer’s Greek Lexicon refers to it as ‘superabundantly’ (Strong’s #6087). 

Interestingly, it’s a word that Paul used only three times; once in here in Ephesians and twice in his letter to the Thessalonians (3:10, 5:13).

The significance of this word that Paul uses cannot be overstated. He specifically chose it for a very good reason. He’s trying to tell us that it’s one thing to do what someone asks you to do but it’s quite another when it comes to God who will go infinitely beyond what is asked of Him to do. God’s ability is indescribable if not for the phrase ‘exceedingly abundantly.’ 

It means God’s effort is something we cannot possibly measure because we don’t know how to measure it. There is nothing we know of that can be used to define the infinite nature of God’s love because His lack of limitations is impossible for us to understand. Remember what Paul says when it comes to our inability here:

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.” (Eph 3:19, NLT, my emphasis)

If we have no ability to fully comprehend or even imagine what God can do, how can we even know what we don’t know when He knows what we’re about to think before we can think it!

God can do anything anytime

Paul preaches to the Ephesians (Image source: Ephesus Tour)

Paul’s inclusion of the doxology to end the second Ephesians prayer is notable in more ways than one. It is a statement of God’s supremacy in every magnitude at which point, we should be very clear of a few things. 

Firstly, nothing in this prayer denotes that it conditions how God behaves. What God can do is entirely independent of how well worded or poetically purposeful Paul’s prayer is. 

Secondly, nothing of our wishes or dreams dictate God’s ability to deliver. We can wish all we want but we know that none of it can be realisable by our own actions. God is able to do things precedes even our wishes because He knows what we’re about to think before the thought materialises. 

Thirdly, whatever shapes us in terms of what our issues, predicaments, problems or challenges are, God remains God. He is not limited by who we are and neither is what He does or will do moulded by them.

Given these three points, let’s look back at verse 20:

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Eph 3:20, NLT)

From that perspective, we can say unreservedly that God can do anything anytime, anyhow and anywhere. His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence guarantees that no one and nothing gets in His way. Whatever we do, wherever we are, in whatever shape we are and no matter who we may be, God is immutable. His grace exceeds all.

En route to Cameron Highlands (Image source: Malaysia Post)

About fifteen years ago at a time well before I was married, a female friend and I went up to Cameron Highlands for the day. We both took time off work and thought to drive up on our own and spend much of the day visiting the various orchards and vegetable farms. 

After having the usual wonderful scones and tea at a well-known teahouse, we decided to head home. However, we decided it would be a good idea that she took the drive instead of me. Seeing that she’d never once driven outside of Ipoh, this would be an opportunity for her to gain some experience.

The drive down to Ipoh from Cameron Highlands using the ‘newer’ second route was a little more straightforward but no less dangerous. The road may be wider than the older route but it remained narrow in many places. Going downhill may appear more leisurely a drive but vehicle speed can creep up quite alarmingly. 

In other words, it’s always wise to keep an eye on the speedometer as you negotiate the corners and then try to plough through the straights when the traffic clears. Furthermore, some of the sweeping corners and quick switchbacks have potential blind spots that demand not just care and caution but also respect.

I had thoughts of sitting back and relaxing while my friend took the wheel but somehow I didn’t feel sleepy or tired. At some point in the drive, we were at a spot where she cleared the twisty bends and entered a fairly long straight road. Given the downhill nature, she was picking up speed. 

I told her to use the brakes to slow down the car but for whatever reason, she wasn’t listening. I repeated my advice but again, she didn’t heed. By the time I raised my voice, we were fast approaching the end of the straight giving way to a sudden but serious right turn. By that time, she had gathered too much speed to turn safely.

At that split second, I knew we were in deep trouble. Instincts took over and from the front occupant’s seat, I reached over to wrestle the steering wheel and lunged it to the right. I’m not sure if she lifted her right foot off the gas pedal but at that point, it didn’t matter anymore. With the trouble we were in, it’s not difficult to imagine that life could end right there and then.

As I forcibly turned the wheel to the right, I basically took over driving the car from where I sat. As a result, the car spun. At that time, a quick thought entered my mind, reminding me that just before we entered the long straight, she had passed a vehicle. So if my calculations were correct, that vehicle could be coming through about now. To say we were in very serious trouble now was obviously understating it!

With the car now spinning, I desperately tried to correct it by turning the wheel in the opposite direction. But of course no matter what I did, I wasn’t going to be able to temper things down. We were in the middle of a crisis and the only outcome I could think of was not a good one. In the meantime, my friend was hysterical, screaming her lungs out and clearly not helping one bit at all while I was doing my best to save our lives.

Inevitably the car did a vicious spin, doing a 360-degree turn before it came to a screeching halt. My friend was hyperventilating while crying in a fit of nervous anxiety. Trying to calm her down was not quite possible and so I left her as such while I went out of the car to check the situation we were in. 

The infamous accident spot outside of Cameron Highlands (Image source: The Star)

It was then that I realised we were, in very literal terms, barely inches from the Armco on the left. In other words, just a few more inches of misjudgement and we would have careened off the road and into the ravine. If that were the case, it was certain death for the both of us. Realising this, I was tempted to join my friend in hysteria.

How was it that we didn’t die? What exactly was it that I did so scientifically or expertly to have prevented the situation from getting worse than that? Did I really do what I did there and then? It all sounded impossible. I was never trained to forcefully take over a car in that manner. Neither had I the necessary experience to know how precisely to judge the mechanical reaction of a car under such conditions.

By this point in time, the car my friend passed by before the long straight had now zoomed past us. By simple calculation, that was technically not possible. He should have passed us around the time we spun. How was it even possible that he took so long to come through? That itself was strange enough. 

Following a quick survey of the situation, it was then that I realised that God had singularly saved us. It wasn’t my deft handling of the steering wheel – it couldn’t be – or anything to do with lady luck (luck has no place in the life of any Christian).

The third realisation was spine-chilling – it was only after we got back that I came to terms with the spot at which our car stopped spinning. A friend confirmed that it was the infamous corner where there had been several deaths in the years past. 

He reminded me that a years earlier, a tour bus had driven off the cliff due to failing brakes, leaving many dead in that same ravine. Before that, another bus had met the same fate also. Apparently, a few cars lost control at that corner as well.

Nobody could have intervened. Beyond my friend and I, there was no one else in our car. The car we passed earlier on couldn’t possibly have taken this long to come past and that point alone indicated that God was in charge of ‘rearranging’ things for us. 

As for the spin and landing so close to the cliff edge, that was God’s trademark stamped to remind us of His masterful stroke. Only He could stage something this harrowing and yet made sure we came out alive to glorify Him.

And so when I revisit Paul’s second Ephesians prayer, I get that feeling that God can certainly do anything any time. He did it to save my life coming down from Cameron Highlands and in doing so, He would have an agenda for me to do His will. That was many years ago and since then, that agenda had clearly unfolded for me. 

Looking back, it’s now crystal clear that all of this was His handiwork. I view it with profound gratitude that God saved me and in the process, transformed my life and shaped me along a path that eventually led to where I am today. And in all of this, He is perfectly able “to accomplish infinitely more than” anything I can ever dream of:

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Eph 3:20, NLT, my emphasis)

If I were to look at 3:20 within the context of our church today, I could imagine God saying to Paul, “I can do more in this church than whatever you have asked or thought!” And that has nothing to do with the musical instruments or the slide projector or any of the fittings and accoutrements. I doubt very much God would be impressed with any of these. 

Hearing the Lord say this, Paul could proceed to pray for power to step up to a new venture of faith for Him. And as he looked heavenwards again, God would still say to him, “I can do much more than that!” And so he would once more stretch a bit further and into something even more improbable and again, God’s response never changed. “I can do more than that,” God would repeatedly say.

No matter how we think of our struggles and challenges, God has something more up His sleeves to lift us up to a new level. As a church – be it as a care group or a congregation or an individual – it is in that spirit that we should examine where we’re at. 

No matter what we feel we have accomplished for ourselves, there is much more than can still be done and that’s where we can pin our hopes on. Where we can be optimistic about our future is that God is not done yet with all of us. He can do so much more, more than we can imagine, more than our minds could figure out and more than what we can probably cope with given our limited understanding.

Can God do something for you today?

Image source: One Woman At A Time

It is one thing to read an article such as this or even hear a similar message preached from the pulpit but it’s quite another matter to truly believe it in your heart. What I’m driving at is that at the end of the day, would you be wondering whether or not God will help you. Or if you even wonder if God is or isn’t able to help you.

The point of this is that ultimately some of you could persist in harbouring this fear no matter what part of Scripture you read over and over again or how much you commit yourself to pray about. That innermost fear produces deep-seated doubt that when combined, can dampen enthusiasm and wipe out any spark of hope. 

In reality, it’s not hard to imagine how people who suffer the quiet ignominy of depression can view all this with a sigh of resignation and walk through life under the shadow of hopelessness.

I felt that way before and it wasn’t easy to pluck myself out of it and walk into the light. Looking back at that very difficult period of my life, I can truthfully say that I believe in what I read in the Bible. Although I never gave up hope on God, I did find it extremely hard to prise myself away from the menacing grip of negativity and depression. 

But I probably had a better start at combating it than many others because right from the beginning, I chose to go against medical advice and now become dependent on anti-depressants. I eschewed them because I decided my faith in Christ was going to work out better than the drugs that would inherently led me into dependency.

So, the question is, “Is God able to help you?” The answer is yes, He can. If you’re a Christian and you’re struggling with issues that look larger than life, then you must reread Paul’s second prayer in his letter to the Ephesians. Read it again. Read it and dig deep. Read it and meditate on it. Read it with a sense of purpose and clarity. Read it with a passion to understand God’s unlimited love for you. Read it and you will know that not only God is able but He will do something very positive in your life that is beyond your comprehension.

Very often we focus far too much time on problems and not on God. It’s always been a fact of life for many of us. When my father complains about the amount of medication he has to take to address his myriad ailments, I always unfailingly remind him not to look at it as a problem but to consider seriously the immeasurable blessings God has been conferring on him. 

I asked him to look at the medication and realise that unlike so many others, we could afford to put him on them. I reasoned that in the whole scheme of things, he need to constantly look for the big picture where God has a plan for him. And that plan is proof that God is able and He can do anything anytime to make things possible that is probably too difficult for our little minds to wrap around.

Invariably, if we are so inclined to focus on our weaknesses, all we will see is discouragement, rising doubts and growing frustration. Weaknesses have a way of getting us to give up before we even try anything. 

But if we find the strength in Christ to look to His unlimited power, love and wisdom, we will see faith in action and the emergence of hope that, no matter the circumstances, everything that seems impossible is possible with God.

Joachim Neander (Image source: Wikipedia)

Today, spend that time considering God. As German Reform Church teacher Joachim Neander’s (1650-1680) lyrics say in the Lutheran hymn ‘Praise to the Lord, the Almighty’ (or. Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren) “Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, if with His love He befriend thee.” Indeed, such strength God has, who knows what He can do. As He is able, He can do all things for the glory of God.

Looking at Paul’s prayer, we can all marvel at the wealth of promises that it is tied in with. Though all sound impossible, all are also made possible simply because “God is able.” God can do something for all us today. He can do “exceedingly abundantly” beyond what any of us can ask or even think of. 

All it takes is for you to get down on your knees and pour out your heart in prayer. That is all He asks of you. That is what He constantly invites you to do. That is why He waits so lovingly and patiently to hear from you. 

And for all of that, God promises to hear you and then to answer you. You do your part, knowing perfectly well that God does not ever fail to deliver His.

Further reading resources

Criswell, Dr. W.A. (Jan 1957) Love in Four Dimensions (Dallas, TX: W.A. Criswell Sermon Library). Accessible at https://www.wacriswell.com/sermons/1957/love-in-four-dimensions

Munger, Robert Boyd (Feb 1986) My Heart-Christ’s Home – A Story for Young & Old (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Expanded Edition). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Christs-Home-Robert-Boyd-Munger/dp/087784075X

Nadauld, Margaret D. (Apr 2004) A Mother’s Influence – Raising Children to Change the World (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Co). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Mothers-Influence-Margaret-D-Nadauld/dp/1590382390 

Spence, Henry Donald Maurice and Exell, Joseph S. (editors) (Oct 1985) The Pulpit Commentary (23 Volume Set) (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publisher). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Pulpit-Commentary-23-Set/dp/0917006321

Stott, John R.W. (Jul 2017) Reading Ephesians with John Stott: 11 Weeks for Individuals or Groups (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press). Available at https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Ephesians-John-Stott-Individuals/dp/0830831959