DGCC’s Vision Part III: In the Love of the Father and the Power of the Holy Spirit

Preface

Why We Exist: Gospel Purpose

Our mission statement at DGCC says the following:

We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.

This is why we exist. This is our gospel purpose. This has been DGCC’s identity from the time it was planted 20 years ago. And, by God’s grace, this will be DGCC’s gospel purpose for the next 20 years and beyond. The question is, what exactly do we aim to do to live out this gospel purpose.

 

What We Do: Gospel Pursuit

For the past several months the Vision Team here at DGCC has met regularly to pray and discern DGCC’s vision for the foreseeable future. Essentially, the Vision Team aimed to articulate what we do, our gospel pursuit. And, by God’s grace, in our most recent members meeting, the Vision Team shared with our fellow members the vision we believe God has led us to. This statement below captures that vision.

We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture birthed this statement. Specifically, Ephesians 3:14–21 became the foundational text that informed and shaped this vision statement. Over the next several blog posts, I will unpack this vision statement. And I aim to do that by unpacking Ephesians 3:14–21 in order to (1) reveal the wonderful truths within this glorious prayer of Paul and to (2) hold those truths up as a glorious vision for the saints of DGCC.[1]

In our initial post, we considered the core of this vision: We glorify God. In the second installment of this series, we considered the means by which we glorify God: by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness. Now, here in the third post of this series, we will consider the final portion of our vision statement: in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Paul’s Petitions in Ephesians 3:14–21

In the first two articles regarding our visions, I observed the following:

So, Paul’s ultimate aim in this prayer for the Ephesians is God’s glory (Ephesians 3:21). This is why the core of our vision at DGCC is this: We glorify God. And here in Paul’s prayer, we see what Paul prayed for so that the Ephesians would do just that. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would (1) have Christ dwell in their hearts through faith, or treasure Christ, and (2) reach full spiritual maturity as Christians, or be Christlike.

Thus, the purpose of Paul’s petitions is for the Ephesians to treasure Christ and grow in Christlikeness all for the glory of God. But what makes this treasuring and this conformity to Christ possible? For that, we consider Paul’s petitions themselves. What are those petitions? We’ve noted them in our previous articles. Let’s revisit them.

Paul makes two petitions in his prayer to God the Father on behalf of the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:14–21: (1) Holy Spirit power and (2) a greater revelation of God’s love. First, Paul prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with power through the Holy Spirit. Second, he prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with Holy Spirit power to grasp and know God the Father’s love for them in Christ.[2] Paul petitions God on behalf of the Ephesians for the power of the Holy Spirit and a greater revelation of God’s love for them in Christ. More power and more knowledge of God’s love.

 

Holy Spirit Power

Paul first prays for the Holy Spirit’s power to strengthen the Ephesians — “that…he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16). We have already unpacked the purpose of this power in the previous post. The purpose of this request is that the Ephesians would treasure Christ even more — “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17). But consider the reality of this request. As Christians we should treasure Christ in our hearts. Christ should take up permanent “residence” and make our hearts his home, and we should conform more to him and his ways as he has greater and greater influence on our hearts.[3] However, given Paul’s prayer, we are incapable of doing this without God acting on our behalf. We cannot rightly treasure Christ without power from the Holy Spirit. Or, to say it positively, we need power from the Holy Spirit to treasure Christ.

 

Revelation of the God’s Love

Paul makes a second petition that grows out of his petition for power through the Holy Spirit. Paul asks that the Ephesians would have a greater knowledge of God’s love for them in Christ — “that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:17–19). Again, we have already unpacked the purpose of this greater revelation of God’s love. The purpose of this petition is that the Ephesians would grow in spiritual maturity, that they would become more and more Christlike — “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19; 4:13). But again, consider the reality of this request. Christians should grow in spiritual maturity. Christians should become more and more Christlike. Christians should pursue holiness and Christlikeness. However, given Paul’s prayer, we are incapable of doing this without God acting on on our behalf. We cannot rightly become Christlike or pursue Christlikeness without a greater revelation and knowledge of God’s love for us.

Carson notes the following regarding the nature of this knowledge of God’s love: “This cannot be merely an intellectual exercise. Paul is not asking that his readers might become more able to articulate the greatness of God’s love in Christ Jesus…He is asking God that they might have the power to grasp the dimensions of that love in their experience.”[4] The measure of this love is, well, immeasurable. Therefore, Carson rightly observes that Paul “resorts to metaphor and then to paradox” in order to try and describe it.[5] God’s love for us in Christ is multi-dimensional — “the breadth and length and height and depth” (Ephesians 3:18). God’s love for us in Christ cannot be bound by knowledge — “the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). We could never, on our own, grasp this love. We need God to reveal it to us. Only in the knowledge of God’s love for us can grow in spiritual maturity. We need a greater revelation of God’s love for us to become more Christlike.

 

Conclusion: In the Love of the Father and the Power of the Holy Spirit

So, Paul’s ultimate aim in this prayer for the Ephesians is God’s glory (Ephesians 3:21). This is why the core of our vision at DGCC is this: We glorify God. And in Paul’s prayer, we see the purpose of his petitions for the Ephesians — (1) that they would treasure Christ and (2) that they would be Christlike. And according to Ephesians 3:14–21, the two things that make this possible, the two petitions Paul laid before God were (1) power from the Holy Spirit and (2) a greater revelation of God’s love. When these two petitions are considered together, we clearly see that we are completely dependent upon God to treasure Christ and pursue Christlikeness. As Carson notes, “Paul assumes that we cannot be as spiritually mature as we ought to be unless we receive power from God to enable us to grasp the limitless dimension of the love of Christ.”[6] We need the power of the Holy Spirit and we the knowledge of God’s love for us in Christ in order to treasure Christ and pursue Christlikeness.

Therefore, we at DGCC make this our aim: We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness. And we recognize the only way we are able to do this is in complete dependence upon God, that is, in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

[1] Exegesis of this passage was aided by and leans heavily on Carson, who unpacks this passage in D. A. Carson, Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Second. (Baker Academic, 2015), 159–81.

[2] Carson, Praying with Paul, 161.

[3] Carson, Praying with Paul, 163–64.

[4] Carson, Praying with Paul, 168.

[5] Carson, Praying with Paul, 169.

[6] Carson, Praying with Paul, 173. Emphasis mine.

DGCC’s Vision Part II: Joyfully Treasuring Christ and Prayerfully Pursuing Christlikeness

Preface

Why We Exist: Gospel Purpose

Our mission statement at DGCC says the following:

We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.

This is why we exist. This is our gospel purpose. This has been DGCC’s identity from the time it was planted 20 years ago. And, by God’s grace, this will be DGCC’s gospel purpose for the next 20 years and beyond. The question is, what exactly do we aim to do to live out this gospel purpose.

 

What We Do: Gospel Pursuit

For the past several months the Vision Team here at DGCC has met regularly to pray and discern DGCC’s vision for the foreseeable future. Essentially, the Vision Team aimed to articulate what we do, our gospel pursuit. And, by God’s grace, in our most recent members meeting, the Vision Team shared with our fellow members the vision we believe God has led us to. This statement below captures that vision.

We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture birthed this statement. Specifically, Ephesians 3:14–21 became the foundational text that informed and shaped this vision statement. Over the next several blog posts, I will unpack this vision statement. And I aim to do that by unpacking Ephesians 3:14–21 in order to (1) reveal the wonderful truths within this glorious prayer of Paul and to (2) hold those truths up as a glorious vision for the saints of DGCC.[1]

In our initial post, we considered the core of this vision: We glorify God. Here in the second installment of this series, we consider the following portion of our vision statement: by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness.

 

Purpose of Paul’s Petitions in Ephesians 3:14–21

Paul’s prayer to God on behalf of the Ephesians ultimately aims at glorifying God. But what exactly does Paul request of God on behalf of the Ephesians? Paul makes two petitions in his prayer to God the Father on behalf of the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:14–21. First, Paul prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with Holy Spirit power. Second, he prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with Holy Spirit power to grasp and know God the Father’s love for them in Christ.[2] But these petitions are not ends in themselves. Paul makes these each of these petitions for specific purposes: the treasuring of Christ and Christlikeness. We can apply those purposes to all Christians, including us.

 

First Purpose: Treasuring Christ

First, Paul prays for the Holy Spirit’s power to strengthen the Ephesians in order that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:14–17).[3] Thus, we as Christians need Holy Spirit power in order that Christ would dwell more richly in our hearts, that he would have the throne of our hearts, and that he might begin to shape and mold our hearts, fashioning them to reflect his desires. Carson likens this to remodeling a recently purchased, dilapidated house in order to make it a permanent, livable, lovely home, that is intentionally shaped and curated to the renovator’s specifications, desires, and purposes.[4] Thus, we as Christians need the power of the Holy Spirit to open up even more of our hearts to our king so that he would have full access to “take up residence in our hearts as we exercise faith in him.”[5] This exercise of faith in Christ so that he dwells in our hearts is the treasuring of Christ above all things and submitting ourselves to him (Philippians 3:7–8). Because Jesus is our greatest treasure, this isn’t done begrudgingly, but joyfully (Philippians 3:1). In short, we as Christians need the Holy Spirit’s power in order that we might joyfully treasure Christ more.

 

Second Purpose: Christlikeness

Second, Paul prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with Holy Spirit power to know God’s love for them in order that they might be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18–19).[6] Being “filled with all the fullness of God” refers to Christian maturity (Ephesians 4:11–14).[7] Elsewhere, Paul uses the phrase “fullness of Christ” to make the same point (Ephesians 4:13). Thus, we as Christians need the Holy Spirit’s power to strengthen us to know spiritually, emotionally, experientially, and intellectually God’s love for us in Christ in order to grow in our maturity as Christians—in order to become more Christlike.[8] Indeed, the entire Christian life aims at Christlikeness—conformity to the Son—which God has predestined (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:9; 1 John 3:2–3). Therefore, we as Christians live out our identity in Christ by actively pursuing Christlikeness. Notably, though, we are completely dependent on the Holy Spirit to give us this greater revelation of God the Father’s love for us in Christ. Therefore, our pursuit of Christlikeness is a prayerful pursuit. In short, we as Christians need the Holy Spirit’s power and a deeper knowledge of God’s love for us in Christ in order that we might grow in Christlikeness.

 

Conclusion: Joyfully Treasuring Christ and Prayerfully Pursuing Christlikeness

So, Paul’s ultimate aim in this prayer for the Ephesians is God’s glory (Ephesians 3:21). This is why the core of our vision at DGCC is this: We glorify God. And here in Paul’s prayer, we see what Paul prayed for so that the Ephesians would do just that. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would (1) have Christ dwell in their hearts through faith, or treasure Christ, and (2) reach full spiritual maturity as Christians, or be Christlike.

According to Ephesians 3:14–21, then, Christians glorify God by treasuring Christ and pursuing Christlikeness. This treasuring of Christ is a joyful treasuring of Christ rising from deep gratitude for God’s kindness toward us in Christ (Ephesians 5:20). And this pursuit of Christlikeness is a prayerful pursuit that recognizes our utter dependence on God to fill us with all his fullness (Ephesians 3:14–21).

Therefore, we at DGCC make this our aim: We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness.

 

[1] Exegesis of this passage was aided by and leans heavily on Carson, who unpacks this passage in D. A. Carson, Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Second. (Baker Academic, 2015), 159–81.

[2] Carson, Praying with Paul, 161.

[3] See Carson on this point in Carson, Praying with Paul, 163–67.

[4] Carson, Praying with Paul, 163–64.

[5] Carson, Praying with Paul, 164.

[6] See Carson on this point in Carson, Praying with Paul, 167–76. Especially 172.

[7] Carson, Praying with Paul, 172.

[8] Carson, Praying with Paul, 173.

Jesus Is the Christ: A Halfway Healing and a Halfway Confession

In Mark 8:22–26, we see Jesus heal a blind man at Bethsaida. Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t completely heal him all at once. Instead, Jesus heals him in stages. Recall the story:

And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

Jesus lays his hands on the man the first time and only halfway heals. Only after this first stage of healing does Jesus then fully heal the man. What gives? Why does this miracle play out in this way? Is this just a harder case? Or, is it a problem with Jesus’ power—was Jesus just not quite feeling it that day? Well, I think we can eliminate those options. In fact, it might be helpful to first point out what is not happening here based on what Mark has revealed about Jesus.

 

Not a Harder Case

This is not just a harder case. Mark has shown Jesus to have absolute authority and power over demons, disease, nature, and even sin and death (Mark 1:25–26, 34, 40–42; 2:5, 8–12; 3:1–6; 4:35–41; 5:1–20, 21–43; 6:30–52; etc.). In fact, every miracle up to this point that Jesus has performed has been instantaneous. No matter how you rank the difficulty level of these cases here—of course, sin and death are the obvious choices of “most difficult” though, but you knew that—none have stood up to Jesus’ authority. Therefore, we can eliminate the notion that this is just a harder case.

 

Not a Problem with Power

This does not indicate a problem with Jesus’ power. Mark has made clear at the outset that Jesus is the Son of God.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1)

The same logic we applied above to the first question (Is this a harder case?) applies here as well. Jesus has indicated by his actions that he operates with divine authority. Demons, disease, nature, and death all bend to his will. Jesus himself reveals by his self-proclaimed title the Son of Man that he is the one who receives all authority and dominion straight from God, the Ancient of Days himself (Mark 2:10; 28; cf. Daniel 7:13–14). This two-stage healing, then, does not point to a problem with Jesus’ power.

 

A Problem with Faith

So it is not a more difficult case and Jesus is not having a problem with power here. In fact, Jesus has shown nothing but absolute authority and control up to this point. So based on this, what is going on? Well, the logical conclusion is that Jesus, who has all power and all divine authority, must be in control here as well. That is, he must be doing this on purpose. Why? Because there is a problem present here. The problem is faith.

This faith problem is not Jesus’, and it is not the blind man’s. The faith problem is the disciples’ faith problem. Unlike most of us, Jesus is an extraordinary multi-tasker. Here, Jesus is not just compassionately addressing the issue of this man’s blindness, he is also compassionately addressing the issue of his disciples’ lack of faith in him. In fact, just a few verses before Jesus rebukes the disciples for unbelief and asks

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?… (Mark 8:18)

The point is driven home even further by the fact that right before saying this, Jesus healed a deaf and mute man (Mark 7:31–37). That point is this: the disciples are spiritually like this blind man. They see Jesus, but not clearly, not fully. They don’t fully grasp who he is and what he has come to do. They don’t fully believe in him for who he is…yet. Peter illustrates this spiritual reality in the very next scene.

 

A Confession and A Rebuke

Immediately on the heels of this miracle, Jesus poses the question of the ages to his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29). Peter, ever eager, gives an answer that proves to be the confession of the ages: “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29). Peter at the very least believes that Jesus is the promised son of David who would restore the kingdom of Israel, rout their enemies, and reign on the throne as king in justice and righteousness (2 Samuel 7:12–13; Isaiah 9:6–7). He might even have a sense of this king’s special nature in that in some way he would be considered God’s son (2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13). And he might have a sense that his reign, his kingdom would endure forever in some way shape or form (2 Samuel 7:13; Chronicles 17:12, 14). Perhaps he believes his throne would endure forever through an unbreakable line of kings that followed. Regardless of the full extent of Peter’s knowledge here, Peter knows the promise of the coming Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed, a son of David who would restore God’s kingdom and be king. And Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ. But in what follows, it becomes clear that Peter gives a halfway confession. That is, Peter does not fully know the way the Christ will restore the kingdom. He only sees partially in that he does not understand the messianic mission. There is more to this confession than Peter knows.

After Peter’s confession, Jesus begins to teach them the path he, the Son of Man, the Christ, must take to the throne. And power in any earthly sense does not mark this path. Pain marks this path.

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31)

This does not fit into Peter’s category for the Christ. So he immediately takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. This earns him nothing but an even fiercer rebuke from Jesus.

He [Jesus] rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Peter only halfway sees who Jesus is as the Christ and what Jesus will do as the Christ. Peter does not fully see that the Messiah has come to destroy sin and Satan, not earthly enemies (1 John 3:8). And Peter does not fully see the way that the Christ will do it—through suffering. The Christ is the suffering servant of Isaiah 53.

 

The Christ Suffers in order to Save

Jesus makes clear that you cannot confess him as the Christ who saves without confessing him as the Christ who suffers in order to save. Jesus the Christ “was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him” (Isaiah 53:10). Because, as the perfectly righteous one, he will “make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11). Jesus the Christ, “bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).

Peter’s ignorance and partial spiritual eyesight is on full display here. But the Christ would not leave him in his partial blindness and halfway confession. Indeed, it is the very path Peter disagrees with, that ends up saving him and restoring his sight. Because the Christ suffered, was rejected, was killed, and rose, Peter’s “sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” Jesus heals Peter’s half sight so he that he no longer holds to a half confession. There is no confessing Christ without confessing the suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection of the Christ. Don’t take my word for it, take Peter’s.

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it…Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Jesus is the Christ. And he is the Christ who suffers in order to save his people. Like Peter and the rest of the disciples, we were spiritual blind, but the Christ has come in order to restore our sight. And while our battle with this sinful flesh will often blur our vision again, the promise of the Christ is that through his suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection, he will save us. He will restore our sight fully, and we will behold the son of David, the Son of God, reign forever over God’s kingdom that never ends. And our lips will utter this confession in all it fullness: Jesus is the Christ.