I WILL PREPARE HIM AN HABITATION
Eph. 3:14-19 “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, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Paul had come to know the richness of salvation in Jesus Christ. He knew where he was coming from, what he had done in his previous life and knew how the Lord met him and showed him a more excellent way. He had been given a call to take the gospel to the Gentiles. He suffered many things because Jesus told him he would. As he had persecuted the saints, Jesus told him “I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake”. Acts 9:16
Yet Paul was happy, he did not mind the trouble and the persecution. He realized the wealth that he had received when he came to know Jesus Christ for himself. He was eager to share that wealth with others. This is how Paul said it in Acts 3:8 “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”
He wrote many letters to the saints from time to time just to encourage them to continue to do right or to deter them from doing what was wrong. Here in this chapter Paul prays for the Ephesians that they would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to understand the power and might of God.
It is our prayer for Jamaica that we will come to know Jesus Christ in all His fullness. Such knowledge affords us the peace of God which passeth all understanding. In the midst of tribulation, peril, distress, hunger, and disease, this understanding causes us to be calm and continue trusting and praying and giving thanks because of the realization of the supremacy of God. Phil. 4:7 ” And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Knowing Christ Jesus in His fullness is a great achievement. It can only happen with the help of the Master, himself. His invitation to us is found in St. Matt. “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lonely in heart and ye shall find rest unto your soul.”
He wants us to know Him fully. He wants us to learn of Him. Herein lies the key. We must have a desire for God. We must want to know Him fully in order to experience the riches and the peace which life in Him affords.
The invitation is still open today. There is no peace in the stock market. There is no peace in friends, family, the government, or wealth. It is in learning of Jesus Christ and seeking His fullness that we gain such peace and we begin to prepare Him an habitation. We decide that we cannot be apart from Him and so we give Him an abiding place in our heart. He therefore walks with us and talks with us and others around us see Him shining through us.
Will you prepare Him an habitation?