READ: Ephesians 3:13-21
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
KEY THOUGHT:
For as long as I’ve been a youth worker (and that’s been a long time), I can count on one thing: the pizza buffet is always a favorite for teens. There are several varieties of pizza, dessert pizza, pasta, and… (almost forgot this one…) …salad. What happens at the buffet line is pretty incredible to watch. Plates are piled high with pizza slices of all type and in a matter of minutes, those slices are devoured and it’s back to the line for more. It’s hard to imagine that the first plate wasn’t filling enough. It seems that (for teens at least) the buffet offers an opportunity to be filled with all the fullness of such delicious and satisfying pizza! In this passage, Paul uses the phrase “filled with all the fullness” in verse 19 to describe how the love of Christ causes us to experience God in an extraordinary way. In verse 17, Paul expresses the desire that Christ would dwell in our hearts and that we would be firmly established in His love. It is as if we would have so much love of Christ in us that we had an inner “craving” for the things of God… which, by the way, is even better than pizza. Do you crave to be filled with all the fullness of God?
CONSIDER:
- Where can you find strength to stand against peer pressure and the other pressures of this world?
- List all of the “armor” Paul describes for the Christian. Why do you think that each piece is mentioned specifically in the Bible?
- Where is the battle raging in your life? How can the armor of God help you win the battle?
APPLICATION:
Fill your life with the fullness of Jesus Christ!
