Ephesians 3:20-21
Living to God’s Glory
Doxology
What we see Paul giving here is a doxology. Doxology comes from the Greek words “doxa” which means glory and “logos” which means “word.” So a doxology is a word about glory, or, to ascribe glory to, or, to speak of the glory of someone; it means to use your mouth as an expression of your hearts admiration of the glory of God.
Doxologies are the right response from man to the revealed truth of God. The way I‘m supposed to respond as a creature to the awesomeness of the Creator God is captured in the attitude and ascription of a doxology.
God has saved us to worship Him in truth. Each of us should evaluate our worship. Does we worship Him because we know the truth about Him? Is my worship of Him my response to the truth of who He is? I would propose that the issue of whether or not we are worshipping God is directly dependent on whether or not that which we are doing is compelled from our sense of God’s identity. We cannot worship God if we do not know Him. Who are we singing to? Who are we praying to? Who are we believing in? Is it the God of the Bible? Is it the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Are we singing praise to God because of who He truly is? Are we praying to God according to who He truly is? Are we speaking and behaving towards God and each other according to the truth of who God is? Is what we imagine God to be really what He is as He has revealed in His Word?
Let me point out the importance of the location of this doxology. It comes after some great teaching by Paul. Doxologies are found throughout Scripture, and they always come after some great lesson about God. What that tells us is that a doxology is a worthy response from us to the teaching we learn about God. We declare the greatness of God. (Romans 11:36; Eph 3:21; 1 Timothy 1:17; 2 Timothy 4:18; Hebrews 13:20-21)
Living Doxology
But Paul did not end the letter to the Ephesians at chapter 3. And where this doxology is located is important in another way. While it comes after great Christian teaching, it comes before great Christian living. This doxology serves as a perfect transition into the next section of the letter dealing with the practical life as the Church. Great teaching always leads to great living. In light of the knowledge we gain of Christ in the first half of the letter, the doxology is the worthy response of our lips, and, the rest of the letter is the worthy response of our lives. If our hearts are tuned to 3:20-21, then our lives will be tuned to the rest of the book.
We are concluding a most important section of this letter. It has dealt with doctrine - Doctrine that deals with Christ Jesus. Paul has spent 3 chapters telling us the reality of who Christ is. ***HIGHLIGHT SEVERAL TEACHINGS HERE
Our lives should be steered towards God and His glory. First Corinthians 10 says “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” That really is done by someone who has made it their purpose in life to be pointed at God’s glory. Paul’s language in this letter shows that this is what believers should do. In 4:23-24 he says, “…………..”. Then again in 5:1 he says “Be imitators of God…” In 5:10 and 17 he says they should be pleasing the Lord and know what the Lord’s will is. This isn’t accidental stuff. You don’t glorify God with your life by carelessly neglecting Him and His Word. Someone who is too pre-occupied with this world to ever give a worthy speculation of God will never be accused of glorifying God in his life. It is through continually paying careful attention to God’s Word and being thoughtful about what would please God that we can have a life that glorifies God.
Let me pull out several points to consider for living to the glory of God.
Living to God’s Glory in the Present.
I want you to read the first word in verse 20 and stop. Paul says “Now”. Now, when Paul says now, he is bringing his thoughts to a final climactic conclusion. Many times in Paul’s letters we find his style not all that different from fireworks. They launch upward and fly high into the sky and you wait for that final and climactic life of the firework to explode in great noise and bursting of light. Paul launched like a firework in chapter 1 verse 3 and his upward trajectory has continued higher and higher with each verse. We find ourselves holding our breath in anticipation as we are taken through one doctrine after another, waiting for the pinnacle of Paul’s thoughts and the outcome of all this high and mighty teaching. And as we come to the end of chapter 3 we see that Paul does not let us down; he is not like a dud firework. Like a firework shooting upward towards an explosion into a brilliant display of color and activity, Paul, here, like a grand firework explodes into this brilliant doxology. It is the perfect outcome to all he has said thus far.
Now getting to my point here regarding Paul’s word, “Now”. Notice that this doxology does not begin the letter. It comes after a review of fantastic things that God has done and is doing. So when Paul says “Now”, he is not just bringing his thoughts on this body of divine knowledge to a conclusion, but, in a way he is calling his readers to respond too. Should we be so dull, so unfeeling in our spirits that after exposure to these marvelous treasures of knowledge and wisdom we would not find ourselves stirred with Paul to respond like him? What better way could anyone respond to these things Paul has told us?
In eternity we will be giving glory to God. And as a testimony of the coming glory in eternity we live right now to the glory of God. The world lives as though God does not exist, and as if He is not the Judge, and as if He will not come in power and glory. Therefore they do not live for His glory. Will we live as those that do know His glory and as those who are confident that His glory is coming? Right now let us live in this life to God’s glory, wasting no time, wasting no occasion, but bringing all of our life into focus on God’s glory.
So by way of application let me suggest that we, if we have not already, determine that our response to God’s revelation of His Son Jesus Christ is the right response, and that our response is now. Let us not delay. Let the urgency and the immediacy of the thing press each of us forward to be living to the glory of God. You may have come in today and are not doing this. The good news is that you can leave here today having made up your mind to do it. Live to God’s glory whenever it is now.
Living to God’s Glory in His Power (v20b)
Secondly, Living to God’s glory is by His power. Notice again verse 20 with me (Read). We cannot live for God in our own power. The life lived for God must be lived from God. Paul said in Romans 11 “All things are from Him and through Him and to Him.” And if we are set on living for His glory then it must be that we live from His power. Paul has just said that God’s power comes from His glorious riches (v16). His power comes through His Spirit (v16). His power raised Jesus up from the dead and exalted Him up to total supremacy (1:19-21). Now, in Ephesians 3:20, there are 2.5 things that need to be noticed regarding God’s power.
First is that His power is Exceeding. Paul says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…” His power is far beyond anything we can ask or imagine. The idea in this phrase is that “God is able to do super-abundantly above all we ask or think, and then some on top of that.” (Wuest, p91). Simply put, God’s power is sufficient. Second Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power [same Greek word] has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us…” God’s power is sufficient because it is far exceeds our needs.
Second is that His Power is Exercised in us. He says in verse 20, “according to His power that is at work in us”. First he spoke of the sufficiency of God’s power, now he says it is supplied to us. His power is available to us as the Church so that we as the Church can live to His glory. Do you know what this means? This means there is no legitimate excuse from any true believer to remain worldly, carnal and infantile in the faith. I heard someone say this past week that static Christianity is unbiblical (Dave Opal, Deacon Meeting, 3/7/13). How true that is! Paul said in Philippians 3 “I press on…I forget what is behind and strain towards what is ahead.” He said in Colossians 1:29, “To this end I labor, struggling with all of Christ’s energy, which so powerfully works in me.” He said in Philippians 1, “God began a good work in you and will carry it on to completion ….it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” The point is that God’s power is powerful to bring change. God is able to alter our lives by His power working in us.
But what exactly does that mean? God’s power is sufficient for us, and, and God’s power is supplied to us, but what does that mean for me? It means that because of God’s power we are able to live apart from sin and towards God. Again, 2 Peter 1:3-4 says, ““His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
God’s power is the spiritual energy source that enables us to overcome evil desires that corrupt us and participate with the divine nature. That is talking about the holiness and righteousness and sinless nature of God, and, our new ability in Christ to live holy and righteous lives apart from the corruption of sin. Paul kicked the Ephesian letter off by saying this in chapter 1:4 when he said, “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” And the very next thing he is going to say after this doxology in chapter 3 is chapter 4 verse 1, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Only when we are submitting ourselves to glorify God with our lives, having surrendered our own sin and weakness, strengthened instead by His all-sufficient power, can we be living worthy of our calling in Christ.
Now we have seen God’s power is Exceeding, and that it is Exercised in us. Point number 2.5 is that God’s power Educates. God’s power enables us to understand. His power produces a working knowledge of spiritual truth. Notice that relationship between God’s power and our knowledge of Him. We just read it in 2 Peter 1:3, he said, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us”. But Paul just spoke of it too right before he burst into this doxology. He says for instance in 3:18, “[I pray that you] may have power together with all the saints to grasp….” Power to understand. That is what Paul is talking about. Through His Spirit, God’s power enables us to understand truth, 1 Cor. 2:12, “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
**Before we step foot into chapter 4 of Ephesians have we truly grasped the first 3 chapters? Before we step foot into walking in these commands, have the eyes of our hearts been opened to see the knowledge of who Jesus Christ is?
The reality of living the Christian life is not meant to be divorced from knowing the reality of Christ. As a matter of fact, it cannot be. In our lives, as we resemble Jesus Christ, we show not only the reality of His character, but, we show the reality of our understanding of His character. To put it simply, we live like Christ because we know Christ. Our motivation to live like Him flows out from our understanding of Him. The image of His character is the pattern to which we are conforming. We cannot live out the things Paul is going to say next if we don’t first understand Christ the way Paul has been describing Him.
And the way we understand Christ is through the Word. And as we study the Word prayerfully, it is through
Living to God’s Glory as His People (v21a)
Last, Living to God’s Glory as His People. Notice verse 21, “to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus…” God’s glory is in the Church and in Jesus Christ. That is exclusive. There is not another society on the planet where God is glorified. God is only glorified through Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed in John 12:28, “Father glorify your name! Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” And the only group of people who actually glorify God on earth is the group of people inseparably joined to Jesus Christ, the Church. The Church is His Body and His Bride.
***This is not a call for the world to glorify God. The world cannot and will not glorify God. This is a call for God to be glorified in the Church. This is a call for the Church to make herself clearly distinguishable from the world. It is a call to stop loving and envying and imitating the world and instead to mark ourselves out. We are holy in Christ. We are separated from the world and to Christ. Paul illustrates this point in the coming chapters. Look at the following verses with me and notice the call Paul makes on the church to be distinguished in holiness of living: 4:17 …. 4:22-24 ….. 5:3 …..5:7-8
We must realize that we will be distinguished for all eternity. Ephesians 2:6-7 say, “And God raised us up with Christ and seates us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us [the Church!] in Christ Jesus.” As a testimony of our future distinction we are to be distinguished now. For us to live like the world is for us to declare that there is no difference between us and it. Our hope and our end is the same as yours. God has not promised us anything. God has not worked in us. We are not separated from our sins. We are not heirs of glory. We are not joined to Christ. We are not seated with Him in the heavenly realms. We are not adopted children of God. That is what we declare when we live any other way than to the glory of God.
Conclusion
All glory is to Him because He is worthy. Read Revelation 5:13. God is glorious. And He is worthy to receive all glory. He is so glorious, we are unworthy if we do not give Him glory. Let us be a church that lives to the glory of God. May we live now for His glory. May we glorify Him by His power given to us. And may we glorify Him by distinguishing ourselves in holiness.
Do you know if after you die you will go to be in the glorious presence of the Lord Jesus Christ? The only way to do that is to receive Him as your Savior. Romans 10:11 says “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” Trust in Him today to forgive you all your sins and to wipe your shame away. And today you can have the sure hope of glory in Christ.
Living to God’s Glory
Doxology
What we see Paul giving here is a doxology. Doxology comes from the Greek words “doxa” which means glory and “logos” which means “word.” So a doxology is a word about glory, or, to ascribe glory to, or, to speak of the glory of someone; it means to use your mouth as an expression of your hearts admiration of the glory of God.
Doxologies are the right response from man to the revealed truth of God. The way I‘m supposed to respond as a creature to the awesomeness of the Creator God is captured in the attitude and ascription of a doxology.
God has saved us to worship Him in truth. Each of us should evaluate our worship. Does we worship Him because we know the truth about Him? Is my worship of Him my response to the truth of who He is? I would propose that the issue of whether or not we are worshipping God is directly dependent on whether or not that which we are doing is compelled from our sense of God’s identity. We cannot worship God if we do not know Him. Who are we singing to? Who are we praying to? Who are we believing in? Is it the God of the Bible? Is it the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Are we singing praise to God because of who He truly is? Are we praying to God according to who He truly is? Are we speaking and behaving towards God and each other according to the truth of who God is? Is what we imagine God to be really what He is as He has revealed in His Word?
Let me point out the importance of the location of this doxology. It comes after some great teaching by Paul. Doxologies are found throughout Scripture, and they always come after some great lesson about God. What that tells us is that a doxology is a worthy response from us to the teaching we learn about God. We declare the greatness of God. (Romans 11:36; Eph 3:21; 1 Timothy 1:17; 2 Timothy 4:18; Hebrews 13:20-21)
Living Doxology
But Paul did not end the letter to the Ephesians at chapter 3. And where this doxology is located is important in another way. While it comes after great Christian teaching, it comes before great Christian living. This doxology serves as a perfect transition into the next section of the letter dealing with the practical life as the Church. Great teaching always leads to great living. In light of the knowledge we gain of Christ in the first half of the letter, the doxology is the worthy response of our lips, and, the rest of the letter is the worthy response of our lives. If our hearts are tuned to 3:20-21, then our lives will be tuned to the rest of the book.
We are concluding a most important section of this letter. It has dealt with doctrine - Doctrine that deals with Christ Jesus. Paul has spent 3 chapters telling us the reality of who Christ is. ***HIGHLIGHT SEVERAL TEACHINGS HERE
Our lives should be steered towards God and His glory. First Corinthians 10 says “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” That really is done by someone who has made it their purpose in life to be pointed at God’s glory. Paul’s language in this letter shows that this is what believers should do. In 4:23-24 he says, “…………..”. Then again in 5:1 he says “Be imitators of God…” In 5:10 and 17 he says they should be pleasing the Lord and know what the Lord’s will is. This isn’t accidental stuff. You don’t glorify God with your life by carelessly neglecting Him and His Word. Someone who is too pre-occupied with this world to ever give a worthy speculation of God will never be accused of glorifying God in his life. It is through continually paying careful attention to God’s Word and being thoughtful about what would please God that we can have a life that glorifies God.
Let me pull out several points to consider for living to the glory of God.
Living to God’s Glory in the Present.
I want you to read the first word in verse 20 and stop. Paul says “Now”. Now, when Paul says now, he is bringing his thoughts to a final climactic conclusion. Many times in Paul’s letters we find his style not all that different from fireworks. They launch upward and fly high into the sky and you wait for that final and climactic life of the firework to explode in great noise and bursting of light. Paul launched like a firework in chapter 1 verse 3 and his upward trajectory has continued higher and higher with each verse. We find ourselves holding our breath in anticipation as we are taken through one doctrine after another, waiting for the pinnacle of Paul’s thoughts and the outcome of all this high and mighty teaching. And as we come to the end of chapter 3 we see that Paul does not let us down; he is not like a dud firework. Like a firework shooting upward towards an explosion into a brilliant display of color and activity, Paul, here, like a grand firework explodes into this brilliant doxology. It is the perfect outcome to all he has said thus far.
Now getting to my point here regarding Paul’s word, “Now”. Notice that this doxology does not begin the letter. It comes after a review of fantastic things that God has done and is doing. So when Paul says “Now”, he is not just bringing his thoughts on this body of divine knowledge to a conclusion, but, in a way he is calling his readers to respond too. Should we be so dull, so unfeeling in our spirits that after exposure to these marvelous treasures of knowledge and wisdom we would not find ourselves stirred with Paul to respond like him? What better way could anyone respond to these things Paul has told us?
In eternity we will be giving glory to God. And as a testimony of the coming glory in eternity we live right now to the glory of God. The world lives as though God does not exist, and as if He is not the Judge, and as if He will not come in power and glory. Therefore they do not live for His glory. Will we live as those that do know His glory and as those who are confident that His glory is coming? Right now let us live in this life to God’s glory, wasting no time, wasting no occasion, but bringing all of our life into focus on God’s glory.
So by way of application let me suggest that we, if we have not already, determine that our response to God’s revelation of His Son Jesus Christ is the right response, and that our response is now. Let us not delay. Let the urgency and the immediacy of the thing press each of us forward to be living to the glory of God. You may have come in today and are not doing this. The good news is that you can leave here today having made up your mind to do it. Live to God’s glory whenever it is now.
Living to God’s Glory in His Power (v20b)
Secondly, Living to God’s glory is by His power. Notice again verse 20 with me (Read). We cannot live for God in our own power. The life lived for God must be lived from God. Paul said in Romans 11 “All things are from Him and through Him and to Him.” And if we are set on living for His glory then it must be that we live from His power. Paul has just said that God’s power comes from His glorious riches (v16). His power comes through His Spirit (v16). His power raised Jesus up from the dead and exalted Him up to total supremacy (1:19-21). Now, in Ephesians 3:20, there are 2.5 things that need to be noticed regarding God’s power.
First is that His power is Exceeding. Paul says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…” His power is far beyond anything we can ask or imagine. The idea in this phrase is that “God is able to do super-abundantly above all we ask or think, and then some on top of that.” (Wuest, p91). Simply put, God’s power is sufficient. Second Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power [same Greek word] has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us…” God’s power is sufficient because it is far exceeds our needs.
Second is that His Power is Exercised in us. He says in verse 20, “according to His power that is at work in us”. First he spoke of the sufficiency of God’s power, now he says it is supplied to us. His power is available to us as the Church so that we as the Church can live to His glory. Do you know what this means? This means there is no legitimate excuse from any true believer to remain worldly, carnal and infantile in the faith. I heard someone say this past week that static Christianity is unbiblical (Dave Opal, Deacon Meeting, 3/7/13). How true that is! Paul said in Philippians 3 “I press on…I forget what is behind and strain towards what is ahead.” He said in Colossians 1:29, “To this end I labor, struggling with all of Christ’s energy, which so powerfully works in me.” He said in Philippians 1, “God began a good work in you and will carry it on to completion ….it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” The point is that God’s power is powerful to bring change. God is able to alter our lives by His power working in us.
But what exactly does that mean? God’s power is sufficient for us, and, and God’s power is supplied to us, but what does that mean for me? It means that because of God’s power we are able to live apart from sin and towards God. Again, 2 Peter 1:3-4 says, ““His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
God’s power is the spiritual energy source that enables us to overcome evil desires that corrupt us and participate with the divine nature. That is talking about the holiness and righteousness and sinless nature of God, and, our new ability in Christ to live holy and righteous lives apart from the corruption of sin. Paul kicked the Ephesian letter off by saying this in chapter 1:4 when he said, “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” And the very next thing he is going to say after this doxology in chapter 3 is chapter 4 verse 1, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Only when we are submitting ourselves to glorify God with our lives, having surrendered our own sin and weakness, strengthened instead by His all-sufficient power, can we be living worthy of our calling in Christ.
Now we have seen God’s power is Exceeding, and that it is Exercised in us. Point number 2.5 is that God’s power Educates. God’s power enables us to understand. His power produces a working knowledge of spiritual truth. Notice that relationship between God’s power and our knowledge of Him. We just read it in 2 Peter 1:3, he said, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us”. But Paul just spoke of it too right before he burst into this doxology. He says for instance in 3:18, “[I pray that you] may have power together with all the saints to grasp….” Power to understand. That is what Paul is talking about. Through His Spirit, God’s power enables us to understand truth, 1 Cor. 2:12, “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
**Before we step foot into chapter 4 of Ephesians have we truly grasped the first 3 chapters? Before we step foot into walking in these commands, have the eyes of our hearts been opened to see the knowledge of who Jesus Christ is?
The reality of living the Christian life is not meant to be divorced from knowing the reality of Christ. As a matter of fact, it cannot be. In our lives, as we resemble Jesus Christ, we show not only the reality of His character, but, we show the reality of our understanding of His character. To put it simply, we live like Christ because we know Christ. Our motivation to live like Him flows out from our understanding of Him. The image of His character is the pattern to which we are conforming. We cannot live out the things Paul is going to say next if we don’t first understand Christ the way Paul has been describing Him.
And the way we understand Christ is through the Word. And as we study the Word prayerfully, it is through
Living to God’s Glory as His People (v21a)
Last, Living to God’s Glory as His People. Notice verse 21, “to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus…” God’s glory is in the Church and in Jesus Christ. That is exclusive. There is not another society on the planet where God is glorified. God is only glorified through Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed in John 12:28, “Father glorify your name! Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” And the only group of people who actually glorify God on earth is the group of people inseparably joined to Jesus Christ, the Church. The Church is His Body and His Bride.
***This is not a call for the world to glorify God. The world cannot and will not glorify God. This is a call for God to be glorified in the Church. This is a call for the Church to make herself clearly distinguishable from the world. It is a call to stop loving and envying and imitating the world and instead to mark ourselves out. We are holy in Christ. We are separated from the world and to Christ. Paul illustrates this point in the coming chapters. Look at the following verses with me and notice the call Paul makes on the church to be distinguished in holiness of living: 4:17 …. 4:22-24 ….. 5:3 …..5:7-8
We must realize that we will be distinguished for all eternity. Ephesians 2:6-7 say, “And God raised us up with Christ and seates us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us [the Church!] in Christ Jesus.” As a testimony of our future distinction we are to be distinguished now. For us to live like the world is for us to declare that there is no difference between us and it. Our hope and our end is the same as yours. God has not promised us anything. God has not worked in us. We are not separated from our sins. We are not heirs of glory. We are not joined to Christ. We are not seated with Him in the heavenly realms. We are not adopted children of God. That is what we declare when we live any other way than to the glory of God.
Conclusion
All glory is to Him because He is worthy. Read Revelation 5:13. God is glorious. And He is worthy to receive all glory. He is so glorious, we are unworthy if we do not give Him glory. Let us be a church that lives to the glory of God. May we live now for His glory. May we glorify Him by His power given to us. And may we glorify Him by distinguishing ourselves in holiness.
Do you know if after you die you will go to be in the glorious presence of the Lord Jesus Christ? The only way to do that is to receive Him as your Savior. Romans 10:11 says “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” Trust in Him today to forgive you all your sins and to wipe your shame away. And today you can have the sure hope of glory in Christ.
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