Yesterday we began a new series. We are looking at our riches that we have in Christ, or our position in Christ. We are looking at who we are because we are believers in the Lord Jesus. The New Testament floods us with information along that line. We could outline, to some degree, perhaps a whole New Testament, especially the epistles, around this issue of who we are in Christ and what He has done for us and our riches in Him. I’m not sure how long we will look at this together, but I think this is going to be a very rich study.
Yesterday we looked at some of the riches that are identified for us in Ephesians 1- 3:
1. Riches of His grace. (Eph. 1:7)
2. Riches of His mercy. (Eph. 2:7)
3. Riches of unfathomable proportions. (Eph. 3:8)
4. Riches of His glory. (Eph. 3:16)
We are looking at the fifth of the riches that Paul identifies. I want to spend a little extra time on this one. He is just getting ready to go into Ephesians 4 into what we might call the applicational section of this epistle. In Ephesians 1-3 he told us who we are. He tells us about our riches and doesn’t tell us to do anything, he simply says this is who we are in Christ. Then in Ephesians 4 he begins to apply all that he has taught us in relationship to how we should live for the Lord.
In Ephesians 3:14 he begins this very valuable prayer. This is one of the most wonderful prayers you will find anywhere in Scripture. It says, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,” so we see here he is praying. He is praying for the Ephesians, and by extension he is praying for us as well . . .
