 Experiencing The Fullness Of God

Contributed by Jonathan Mcleod on Apr 14, 2005

Scripture: Ephesians 3:19

Denomination: Baptist

Summary: The key to Christian living

Ephesians 3:14-21

John 14:15-23

THREE PROMISES OF CHRIST CONCERNING THE PRESENCE OF GOD WITHIN US:

1. CHRIST PROMISED THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD DWELL IN THE BELIEVER: "He
dwelleth with you, and SHALL BE IN YOU" (v. 17b).

2. CHRIST PROMISED THAT HE WOULD DWELL IN THE BELIEVER: "At that day ye shall
know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I IN YOU" (v. 20).

3. CHRIST PROMISED THAT THE FATHER WOULD DWELL IN THE BELIEVER: "We will
come unto him, and MAKE OUR ABODE WITH HIM" (v. 23).

PAUL DECLARES THAT WHAT JESUS PROMISED IS POSSIBLE NOW:

1. THE PRESENCE OF THE SPIRIT: "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his
glory, to be STRENGTHENED WITH MIGHT BY HIS SPIRIT IN THE INNER MAN" (Eph. 3:16).

2. THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST: "That CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS by faith; that
ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge" (Eph. 3:17-19a).

3. THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER: "That ye might BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS
OF GOD" (Eph. 3:19b).

Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, "There is no more staggering statement in the whole range of
Scripture than this. We are here face to face with the ultimate in experience. . . ." (The
Unsearchable Riches of Christ: An Exposition of Ephesians 3, p. 278).

Paul was not satisfied with the Ephesians believers as they were. We should never be satisfied
with the way we are.
When you are "filled with all the fulness of God," He takes control of your MIND, HEART, and
WILL. He controls your THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, and ACTIONS.

1.1 God controls our thoughts.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to
this world: but be ye transformed by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that ye may prove what
is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:1-2).

1.2 God controls our feelings.

THE EXAMPLE OF STEPHEN: "[Stephen] kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, LORD,
LAY NOT THIS SIN TO THEIR CHARGE. And when he had said this, he fell asleep" (Acts
7:60). In verse 55 we read that Stephen was "full of the Holy Ghost."

1.3 God controls our actions.

THE EXAMPLE OF PAUL: "And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not
knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city,
saying that bonds and affliction abide me. BUT NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME,
NEITHER COUNT I MY LIFE DEAR UNTO MYSELF, so that I might finish my course with joy,
and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify of the grace of God" (Acts
20:22-24). Paul’s will was not his own; it belonged to God.

CONNECTING THE PETITIONS OF PAUL’S PRAYER

We are IN CHRIST and Christ is IN US.

"WE ARE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY, OF HIS FLESH, AND OF HIS BONES" (Eph. 5:30).

Romans 8:29 tells us that God’s purpose in our salvation is that we become "CONFORMED TO
THE IMAGE OF HIS SON." In other words, He wants us to be like Christ. What was Christ like
when He lived on this earth?

Jesus proclaimed, "I CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, NOT TO DO MINE OWN WILL, BUT THE
WILL OF HIM THAT SENT ME" (John 6:38).

THE SPIRIT EMPOWERED CHRIST TO DO THE FATHER’S WILL.

"IT PLEASED THE FATHER THAT IN [CHRIST] SHOULD ALL FULNESS DWELL" (Col. 1:19).

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"IN [CHRIST] DWELLETH ALL THE FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY" (Col. 2:9).
We now begin to see the connection between the petitions of Paul’s prayer. Let’s read the
prayer again replacing the word "THAT" with the words "IN ORDER THAT."

When the Holy Spirit fills us, Christ also fills us. And when Christ fills us, the Father also fills us.

WHEN WE BECOME "FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD" WE BECOME

EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO ACT LIKE CHRIST WHO ALWAYS DID THE
FATHER’S WILL.

WE BECOME "FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD" WE WILL BEGIN TO THINK LIKE
CHRIST THOUGHT; WE WILL BEGIN TO LOVE AS CHRIST LOVED; WE WILL BEGIN TO
ACT LIKE CHRIST ACTED.

This is God’s purpose for Christians. That’s what Paul says in Ephesians 4:13: "Till we all come
in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of THE FULNESS OF CHRIST."

2. THE PERSON WHO IS "FILLED WITH ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD" IS A PERSON WHO
IS COMPLETELY SATISFIED BY GOD.

2.1 God satisfies our longing to know Him more truly.

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2.3 God satisfies our longing for righteousness.

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2.4 God satisfies our longing for power.

Do you want this? Do you want to know what it’s like to be "filled with all the fulness of God"?
Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes,

This is Christianity! To be content with anything less that this is sinful, and dishonouring to God.
Do not be content with the mere fact that you believe in Christ, that your sins are forgiven, and
that you are a church member. Press on, give yourself neither rest nor peace; offer this prayer
for yourself, the whole of it, and go on doing so until you know something of this blessed
satisfaction and have realized something of this fulness (The Unsearchable Riches of Christ, p.
300).

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN US" (Eph. 3:20).

Don’t think only of what God can do FOR you. Think of what He can do IN you and THROUGH
you! He is "ABLE TO DO EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR
THINK."

CONCLUSION

PAUL’S PRAYER IS A FORMULA FOR REVIVAL.

The world’s foremost authority on the subject of revivals and awakenings was Dr. J. Edwin Orr.
In the early 1970s when Dr. Orr was presenting a series of lectures on revival at Columbia Bible
College, a student approached him.

"Dr. Orr," said the student, "besides praying for revival to occur, what can I do to help bring it
about?"

Without a moment’s pause, Dr. Orr glanced at the student and replied, "You can let it begin with
you" (Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations & Quotes, p. 679).

Will you say, "Lord, send revival, and start with me."

Revive us again; fill each heart with Thy love.

May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.

GOD IS ABLE

Ephesians 3:20-21

Ephesians 3:14-19

During the depression there was a sheep farmer named Yates who was in danger of losing his
ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on
government subsidy.

Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt
greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil
company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission
to drill a well, and he signed a lease contract.

At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many
subsequent well were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a
government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125.000 barrels of oil
a day.

And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil rights. Yet,
he’d been living on government relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty. The problem? He
didn’t know the oil was there even though he owned it (Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and
Occasion, p. 261).

Many Christians live in spiritual poverty.

Do you think that what Paul is praying for is impossible for you?

"NOW UNTO HIM THAT IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE
ASK OR THINK, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN US, UNTO HIM BE
GLORY IN THE CHURCH BY CHRIST JESUS THROUGHOUT ALL AGES, WORLD
WITHOUT END. AMEN."

What a contrast between this God, the true God, and the so-called gods of the heathen! In
Isaiah’s day the people of Israel had fallen away from the worship of the true God and were
worshiping idols, and God gave Isaiah words for that situation. He described the idols. They are,
He said, nothing but pieces of lumber carved up by the worshiper. "They know nothing, they
understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds are
closed so they cannot understand" (Isa. 44:18, NIV). The Lord issues this challenge:

"Present your case," says the Lord.

"Bring forth your strong reasons," says the King of Jacob.

"Let them show the former things, what they were,

That we may consider them,

And know the latter end of them;

Or declare to us things to come.

Show the things that are to come hereafter,

That we may know that you are gods;

Yes, do good or do evil,

That we may be dismayed and see it together.

Indeed you are nothing,

And your work is nothing."

Isaiah 41:21-24, NIV

According to these verses, the proof of the true God’s existence is that He is able to do things.
The idols can do nothing, not even evil.

2. GOD IS ABLE TO DO WHAT WE ASK OR IMAGINE.

The ability of God to work is not related merely to his own concerns and interests but extends to
the concerns and interests of His people. This is a statement about prayer.

To be sure, we do often pray wrongly. James says, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask
amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). But for every verse that warns us
about wrong prayers there are others which teach us to pray frequently and with confidence.
One of the best prayer promises is found in 1 John 3:21-22: "Beloved, if our heart condemn us
not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because
we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight."

Scriptures: 1 John 3:21-22, Acts 20:22-24, Acts 7:60, Ephesians 3, Ephesians 3:14-
19, Ephesians 3:14-21, Ephesians 3:19, Ephesians 3:20-21, Ephesians 4:13, Isaiah 41:21-
24, James 4:3, Job 42:2, John 14:15-23, John 6:38, Luke 1:31-37, Romans 8:29