[English Sermon 영어 설교]
Sunday, June 8, 2025 - Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn
Abundant and Full Life (Ephesians 3:14-21)
2025. 6. 8. 주일예배 설교- 에베소서 강해 12
본문: 에베소서 3:14-21
제목: 풍성하고 충만한 삶
설교자: 손진국 목사
I once heard a story about a peculiar rich man in England named Julian Ellis Morris. He was lost as a child and lived as a homeless beggar. One day, when he was a young man, it was revealed that he was the son of a wealthy man, and he inherited his rich father's enormous fortune. However, this peculiar man continued to live like a beggar even after becoming wealthy. When dawn broke, he would dress in beggar's clothes and beg on the streets around the station. On good days, he would even go around selling razor blades, soap, and shampoo.
However, once a month, he would dress smartly, ride in a limousine, and dine at London's finest restaurants. And once a year, he would fly his private plane to various European cities, including Paris, for a luxurious trip. Yet, the day after returning from his trip, he would again put on his tattered, smelly beggar's clothes, with unfocused eyes, and go back to the streets to beg.
I don't know if this story is real or made up. But I wonder if the image of this peculiar beggar-millionaire (an absurd expression, but still) in the story might reflect the image of Christians today.
Many Christians realize that the moment they believe in Jesus, they become children of the King of kings. And once a week, when they come to church and worship, they confirm their identity as children of God, rejoice, and are deeply moved. Also, once or twice a year, when they participate in special gatherings, they receive grace and are moved to tears and gratitude, realizing they are children of the King. However, after the service ends and the gathering concludes, when they return to their daily lives, aren't they again in the state of beggars, begging for the gold and honor of the world?
If I had to pick two key words from today's text, they would be "fullness" in verse 16 and "full" in verse 19. God desires His children to enjoy a full and abundant life.
God is our Father. I believe that you and I are sons and daughters of God. I believe our God is rich, the Creator God who made the entire universe, and the Owner of all things. I believe that such a full and abundant life is already guaranteed for us, the children of God. Today's text is a prayer that the Apostle Paul offers to God for the believers in the Ephesian church, so that they may enjoy such a full and abundant life. I want to share its content with you.
With a heart desiring believers to enjoy a full and abundant life, Paul's first prayer was...
1. Strengthen the Inner Self
[Ephesians 3:15-16] for which reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Today is an era that emphasizes the outer person, the physical body. There are countless types of ornaments and cosmetics to beautify one's appearance. Everyone laughs and cries over their own looks. However, above all, the children of God must have a strong inner self. The Apostle Paul said, "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." Therefore, we should not only care for the outer person, which is decaying anyway, but pay more attention to the inner person. If our inner self is renewed and healthy while we live on this earth, we can enjoy a full and abundant life, both spiritually and physically.
There is a Japanese author named Haruyama Shigeru, who was very interested in health. So, for 30 years, he wrote books and presented six conditions for health. He said that to be healthy, one must observe these six things: First, do not get tired. Second, get adequate sleep. Third, restrain your appetite. Fourth, do not get angry. Fifth, continuously use your brain. Sixth, exercise moderately. However, 30 years later, this person wrote a book called "Brain Revolution" and added one more essential thing to the six, which he called 'peace of mind.' And he regarded this peace of mind as accounting for 55% of health. More important than anything else, he said, is "peace of mind."
The Bible also says: [Proverbs 4:23] Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. [Proverbs 17:22] A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
What does this tell us? It tells us that the state of our soul greatly affects our physical body, and that the inner person is more important than the outer appearance. Pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, "Spiritual depression is often the result of a starving soul. There is no fullness of life unless the soul is fed with the truth of Christ." Please remember that if our souls are not rich, a full and abundant life cannot be achieved. That's why Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers, "that He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being." I sincerely pray in the name of the Lord that your souls and inner selves may be strong.
[Application] Is my concern focused on adorning the outer self, or on strengthening the inner being? What am I doing to be strengthened in my inner being?
2. Let Christ Control Your Heart
What about your heart? Are you perhaps feeling empty or disillusioned?
This is a story about a bus driver in New York City. For several years, he had been driving the same grid-like routes every day in New York City. He repeated the same work day and night. He thought about how tedious and meaningless this job was. Then, one day, he could no longer bear the emptiness in his heart. So he drove the bus all the way to Florida. He felt a brief sense of liberation, but eventually, the missing bus was discovered, and he was arrested by the police soon after. When he stood before the judge, the judge asked him, "Why on earth did you do such a thing?" He replied, "I was so empty and stifled that I couldn't live."
This is perhaps the feeling of modern people living today. There's a desire in everyone to escape the rigid reality and the hamster-wheel routine of daily life. This is true for the rich or the poor, those in high positions or low. That's why Solomon, who experienced all the glory of the world, cried out in his old age, "Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" [Ecclesiastes 1:2] Paul shows us how we can escape this empty and futile feeling.
[Ephesians 3:17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
What does this mean? For us to live a full and abundant life, we must allow Christ to completely control our hearts.
But what does it mean for Christ to "dwell in your hearts"?
It is said that Queen Victoria of England was a devout Christian. As the Queen of the British Empire, she was the ruler of the strongest nation in the world at that time. She always tried to govern righteously in the sight of the living God. So, occasionally, she would dress simply in commoner's clothes, leave the palace, and talk with common people to learn about their lives. One time, she visited the home of a widow. Coincidentally, the widow was also a woman of great faith, so they prayed together and shared their faith stories. During their conversation, the Queen, who thought the woman's faith was truly good, asked, "Among all the guests who have visited you, who is the most noble?" She asked this, naturally expecting the devout widow to answer, "The most precious guest is Jesus." However, the widow's answer was completely unexpected. "Without a doubt, Your Majesty is the greatest guest of my life." Then the Queen asked again, "Isn't the most precious guest who has visited you not me, but Jesus?" The widow smiled and replied, "Your Majesty is a precious guest who has come to my house, but Jesus is not a guest; He is the Master of my house."
Christ dwelling in the heart can mean two things. First, He resides as a guest, and second, He resides as the Master. If we were to divide Christians into two groups, it would be based on whether the Lord's indwelling is as a guest or as the Master.
Some people, even after receiving the Lord, treat Him like a guest. They try to please the Lord, but in everything, they ultimately make their own decisions and insist on their own will. "I am the master, and the Lord is just a guest." On the other hand, some people treat the Lord as their Master. Whenever something happens, they ask the Lord, who is their Master, decide according to His will, and live according to His guidance. Which side are you on?
The Lord does not want to be a guest when He comes into us. He wants to be the Master who completely dominates all areas of my life, all areas of my thoughts. Life changes depending on who controls my life and who is the Master. The quality changes. When I am the master and I control, everything is unstable, uncertain, empty, and meaningless. But when the Lord becomes my Master, there is nothing to worry about.
If He comes as the Master in my heart, what is the first thing I should do for Him? "Lord! Have Your will." It is to hand over all the key chains I used to hold and use as I pleased to the Lord. The keys to my house, the keys to my car, the keys to my bank account, my present, my future, my life, my worries, and anxieties - I entrust them all to the Lord, letting Him completely take control. Verse 17 says this is being rooted and established in love.
An abundant life, a full life, is achieved when we fully welcome Christ as our Master and take root and establish ourselves in His love. Do you desire an abundant life? Do you look forward to a full life? Allow Christ to control your heart, entrust yourself to Him to be your Master, obey Him, and deeply root yourself in His love.
[Application] Is Jesus present in me as Master or as a guest? What am I holding onto that I cannot fully surrender to the Lord?
3. Know the Love of Christ
[Ephesians 3:18-19] may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
What we need today is to understand how great Christ's love for us is. When we do, our lives will be transformed.
One of the greatest stains on Christian history, the Inquisition, is notorious for torturing and fabricating evidence, with accusers and trial procedures kept secret, under the pretext of rooting out heresy. Among the Inquisitions, the Spanish Inquisition of the 15th century is the most infamous. At that time, the Spanish Inquisition burned at least 300,000 people. It was also the Spanish Inquisition that Galileo, who said the earth was round, recanted his statement and came out alive.
As time passed, in the early 19th century, when Napoleon's army crossed the Pyrenees and invaded Spain, the doors of the prison used as the Inquisition headquarters were opened. Traces of prisoners incarcerated for their faith were revealed. One dungeon in particular was striking. At the ankles of a mummified corpse, shackles and chains were still attached, silently testifying that the person had cried out even in captivity.
On the wall of the small, gloomy cell, a faithful Christian soldier had scratched a cross. The cross was surrounded by four Spanish words: "High" above the cross, "Deep" below it, "Width" to the left, and "Length" to the right. (ALTO, PROFUNDO, ANCHURA, LARGO) Even in that unspeakable place of suffering, this prisoner had come to understand the great love of Christ and wanted to bear witness to it.
The cross is the channel through which we can understand the love of Christ.
What does the width of Christ's love mean? It can be seen as referring to the scope of love. The scope of Christ's love is boundless. Christ's love embraces all people of all ages, all races, and all kinds throughout the world, with more than enough to spare. There is no one in this world whom Christ cannot love.
Then, what does the length of Christ's love mean? Christ's love has no beginning and no end. He loved us before the creation of the world, He saves us now, and He has given us eternal life as a gift. He loves us forever. Christ's love is unchanging.
What does the depth of Christ's love mean? This can be seen as referring to the depth of Christ's love, which loved sinners even to the point of dying on the cross. Christ's love, which endured to death to save sinners, cannot but be called a love deeper than the ocean.
Finally, what does the height of Christ's love mean? This is the love that lives even now at the right hand of God, interceding for us, and fulfilling His office as our eternal High Priest. Thus, He will come again to lead us into the eternal Kingdom of God.
Why does Paul say that we need to understand the width, length, height, and depth of God's love? The more deeply we know God's love, the stronger we become.
When young people fall in love, no one can defeat that love. No one can defeat a person blinded by love. When we fall in love with God, there is no one in the world who can defeat us. No matter how heavy the burdens of our lives, we will not break before them. No matter how painful and miserable my heart is, I will not kneel before that miserable fate.
Anyone who firmly believes and experiences the fact that God loves them is firmly held by the power of that love and will never easily break. Instead, they will overcome abundantly.
[Romans 8:35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
In fact, we have not really experienced situations like trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword. Therefore, we may not fully understand those extreme situations. However, we know this: no matter what we face in life, nothing can separate us from Christ's love for us.
Dear saints, I hope you will know the overflowing love of Christ. When you do, a peace that the world cannot give will come upon you. Love will overflow. Joy will well up. Fear will disappear. Worries and anxieties will vanish. Believe that you will live a full and abundant life.
Finally, I hope Paul's proclamation becomes your desire and mine, and let's read verses 20-21 together.
[Ephesians 3:20-21] Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
I sincerely pray that God's power will be manifested in your lives and mine, that He will pour out immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, leading us into an abundant and full life, and that glory will be to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever. I bless those present here today in the name of the Lord.
[Application] What am I currently worried about, anxious about, or afraid of? Why can't I fully entrust it to the Lord?
하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.
Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.