In the third chapter of the book of Ephesians Paul lays out his passion for this new group of believers. It comes in the form of a prayer:
Ephesians 3:14-17 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,…
Paul wrote this admonition personally to the Ephesians. Later Paul would send Timothy to this same church with the following admonition:
1 Timothy 1:3-5 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
It seems to me to be so easy to get side-tracked to other, and even possibly good, objectives and to miss the real point. The first and primary objective of the Christian life is the personal acquisition of holiness. Nothing will substitute for this first and primary aim of gospel work. This is not only a noble work but also a great honor. Notice how Paul characterizes this objective later in Ephesians 3:
Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
It just seems to me that the best gift I can give to my church family, to my wife and to my kids is to be “filled with all the fullness of God”.
