{"id":3583,"date":"2023-09-15T17:12:49","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T17:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/?p=3583"},"modified":"2024-01-09T17:50:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T17:50:05","slug":"dgccs-vision-in-the-love-of-the-father-and-the-power-of-the-holy-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/2023\/09\/15\/dgccs-vision-in-the-love-of-the-father-and-the-power-of-the-holy-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"DGCC’s Vision Part III: In the Love of the Father and the Power of the Holy Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preface<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why We Exist: Gospel Purpose<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Our mission statement at DGCC says the following:<\/p>\n

We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is why we exist. This is our gospel purpose<\/em>. This has been DGCC\u2019s identity from the time it was planted 20 years ago. And, by God\u2019s grace, this will be DGCC\u2019s gospel purpose for the next 20 years and beyond. The question is, what<\/em> exactly do we aim to do to live out this gospel purpose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What We Do: Gospel Pursuit<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

For the past several months the Vision Team here at DGCC has met regularly to pray and discern DGCC\u2019s vision for the foreseeable future. Essentially, the Vision Team aimed to articulate what we do<\/em>, our gospel pursuit<\/em>. And, by God\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness in the love of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Scripture birthed this statement. Specifically, Ephesians 3:14\u201321 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\u201321 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]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In our initial post, we considered the core of this vision: We glorify God<\/strong><\/a>. In the second installment of this series, we considered the means by which we glorify God: by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness.<\/a><\/strong> 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<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s Petitions in Ephesians 3:14\u201321<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the first two articles regarding our visions, I observed the following:<\/p>\n

So, Paul\u2019s ultimate aim in this prayer for the Ephesians is God\u2019s glory (Ephesians 3:21<\/a>). This is why the core of our vision at DGCC is this:\u00a0We glorify God. And here in Paul\u2019s 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\u00a0treasure Christ, and (2) reach full spiritual maturity as Christians, or\u00a0be Christlike.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thus, the purpose<\/em> of Paul\u2019s 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\u2019s petitions themselves. What are those petitions? We\u2019ve noted them in our previous articles. Let\u2019s revisit them.<\/p>\n

Paul makes two petitions in his prayer to God the Father on behalf of the Ephesians in\u00a0Ephesians 3:14\u201321<\/a>: (1) Holy Spirit power and (2) a greater revelation of God\u2019s love. First, Paul prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with power through the Holy Spirit<\/em>. Second, he prays that God the Father would strengthen the Ephesian Christians with Holy Spirit power to grasp and know God the Father\u2019s love for them in Christ<\/em>.[2]<\/a> Paul petitions God on behalf of the Ephesians for the power of the Holy Spirit and a greater revelation of God\u2019s love for them in Christ. More power and more knowledge of God’s love.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Holy Spirit Power<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul first prays for the Holy Spirit\u2019s power to strengthen the Ephesians \u2014 \u201cthat\u2026he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being\u201d (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 \u2014 \u201cso that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith\u201d (Ephesians 3:17). But consider the reality of this request. As Christians we should<\/em> treasure Christ in our hearts. Christ should<\/em> take up permanent \u201cresidence\u201d and make our hearts his home, and we should<\/em> conform more to him and his ways as he has greater and greater influence on our hearts.[3]<\/a> 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. <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Revelation of the God\u2019s Love<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s love for them in Christ \u2014 \u201cthat 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\u201d (Ephesians 3:17\u201319). Again, we have already unpacked the purpose of this greater revelation of God\u2019s love. The purpose of this petition is that the Ephesians would grow in spiritual maturity, that they would become more and more Christlike \u2014 \u201cthat you may be filled with all the fullness of God\u201d (Ephesians 3:19; 4:13). But again, consider the reality of this request. Christians should<\/em> grow in spiritual maturity. Christians should<\/em> become more and more Christlike. Christians should<\/em> 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\u2019s love for us.<\/p>\n

Carson notes the following regarding the nature of this knowledge of God\u2019s love: \u201cThis cannot be merely an intellectual exercise. Paul is not asking that his readers might become more able to articulate the greatness of God\u2019s love in Christ Jesus\u2026He is asking God that they might have the power to grasp the dimensions of that love in their experience.\u201d[4]<\/a> The measure of this love is, well, immeasurable<\/em>. Therefore, Carson rightly observes that Paul \u201cresorts to metaphor and then to paradox\u201d in order to try and describe it.[5]<\/a> God\u2019s love for us in Christ is multi-dimensional<\/em> \u2014 \u201cthe breadth and length and height and depth\u201d (Ephesians 3:18). God\u2019s love for us in Christ cannot be bound by knowledge \u2014 \u201cthe love of Christ that surpasses knowledge\u201d (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\u2019s love for us to become more Christlike<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Conclusion: In the Love of the Father and the Power of the Holy Spirit<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, Paul\u2019s ultimate aim in this prayer for the Ephesians is God\u2019s glory (Ephesians 3:21<\/a>). This is why the core of our vision at DGCC is this:\u00a0We glorify God<\/em>. And in Paul\u2019s prayer, we see the purpose of his petitions for the Ephesians \u2014 (1) that they would treasure Christ<\/em> and (2) that they would\u00a0be Christlike<\/em>.<\/em> And according to\u00a0Ephesians 3:14\u201321<\/a>, 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\u2019s 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, \u201cPaul assumes that we cannot be as spiritually mature as we ought to be unless we receive power<\/em> from God to enable us to grasp<\/em> the limitless dimension of the love of Christ.\u201d[6]<\/a> We need the power of the Holy Spirit and we the knowledge of God\u2019s love for us in Christ in order to treasure Christ and pursue Christlikeness.<\/p>\n

Therefore, we at DGCC make this our aim: We glorify God by joyfully treasuring Christ and prayerfully pursuing Christlikeness.<\/em> 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> 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<\/em>, Second. (Baker Academic, 2015), 159\u201381.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Carson,\u00a0Praying with Paul<\/em>, 161.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Carson, Praying with Paul<\/em>, 163\u201364.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Carson, Praying with Paul<\/em>, 168.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Carson, Praying with Paul<\/em>, 169.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Carson, Praying with Paul<\/em>, 173. Emphasis mine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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