STILL A PEOPLE: WHO ARE YOU?
SCRIPTURE: EPHESIANS 3:14-21
SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2026
Abraham Auguste
V. 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
For this reason – A recap of Ephesians 3:1-13
The Mystery is that the gospel has been placed in the care of Paul and the church (Gentiles)
Ephesians 3:4-6
When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Paul and the gentiles were not exactly ideal messengers of the gospel.
Galatians 1:23-24
They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.
V. 14-15 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
Paul’s current situation pales in comparison to the reality that he has access to the Father, and can approach the Father boldly,
Ephesians 3:12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
Our sonship allows us to boldly cry Abba
Galatians 4:6-7 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
V. 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
God is rich in mercy, God is rich in grace, God is rich in love, God is rich in power
God’s power is so abundant that He has the power to take us who were spiritually dead and bring us back to life.
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ
God, being rich in love, grace, mercy, and power; leveraged his best asset to pay for our debt, so that we would receive Him.
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
V 17. so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
The power of the Spirit, rooting us and grounding us in love, is what Paul prays will enable us to do what he will ask us to do in the remaining chapters of Ephesians
Underspiritualizing our salvation makes God’s commands seem selective based on our preferences, abilities, and personality.
On my own strength I am
Talking corruptible
Angry and sinning
Not submitting to you
V. 18-19 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, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
How obsessed am I in knowing who God is and do I see the value in the assignment of learning more about God’s Character?
“What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination and lays hold of our allegiance, and this the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God
Knowing God’s character
Exodus 34:6-7 “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Loving God through loving one another
1 John 4:7-12
We may think as believers that we are immune to this but how often in our hearts do we look at the imperatives in Word of God and think to ourselves or through our actions, say to God “who are you?”
Closing Considerations
1. Pray to know the love of God for the purpose of giving God glory.
2. Pray that the strength of the Spirit empowers you to love one another and receive the sermons to come
3. Choose a passage that speaks to the character of God and pray through those passages.
For this reason – A recap of Ephesians 3:1-13
The Mystery is that the gospel has been placed in the care of Paul and the church (Gentiles)
Ephesians 3:4-6
When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Paul and the gentiles were not exactly ideal messengers of the gospel.
Galatians 1:23-24
They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.
V. 14-15 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
Paul’s current situation pales in comparison to the reality that he has access to the Father, and can approach the Father boldly,
Ephesians 3:12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
Our sonship allows us to boldly cry Abba
Galatians 4:6-7 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
V. 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
God is rich in mercy, God is rich in grace, God is rich in love, God is rich in power
God’s power is so abundant that He has the power to take us who were spiritually dead and bring us back to life.
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ
God, being rich in love, grace, mercy, and power; leveraged his best asset to pay for our debt, so that we would receive Him.
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
V 17. so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
The power of the Spirit, rooting us and grounding us in love, is what Paul prays will enable us to do what he will ask us to do in the remaining chapters of Ephesians
Underspiritualizing our salvation makes God’s commands seem selective based on our preferences, abilities, and personality.
On my own strength I am
Talking corruptible
Angry and sinning
Not submitting to you
V. 18-19 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, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
How obsessed am I in knowing who God is and do I see the value in the assignment of learning more about God’s Character?
“What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination and lays hold of our allegiance, and this the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God
Knowing God’s character
Exodus 34:6-7 “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Loving God through loving one another
1 John 4:7-12
We may think as believers that we are immune to this but how often in our hearts do we look at the imperatives in Word of God and think to ourselves or through our actions, say to God “who are you?”
Closing Considerations
1. Pray to know the love of God for the purpose of giving God glory.
2. Pray that the strength of the Spirit empowers you to love one another and receive the sermons to come
3. Choose a passage that speaks to the character of God and pray through those passages.