Imagine discovering an inheritance beyond anything you ever dreamed—only to realize it has belonged to you all along. In this episode, we begin exploring Paul's prayer that every believer would gain a deeper understanding of the immeasurable spiritual riches already secured for them in Christ.

Checkout these other Family Fortress Ministries Podcasts:

TIME FOR THREE daily couples devotional: https://time-for-three.captivate.fm/listen

RELATIONSHIP REALITIES: https://relationship-realities.captivate.fm/listen

Donate: https://familyfortress.org/donate

Free Online Premarital Training: https://preparingforpartnership.org/

Welcome to the Fortifying youg Family podcast.

It can be daunting to navigate through an anti marriage and family culture.

Our teacher will expound biblical principles to help fortify our families and keep these sacred institutions strong.

And now here's this week's teaching from Sam Wood.

And it's good to be in the house of the Lord tonight.

And I pray that tonight since you've come out that you'll get a very extra special blessing tonight from the Word of God.

Turn with me if you would to Ephesians chapter one, Ephesians chapter one.

And we've been, well, I've kind of gotten an introduction a couple Sunday nights for just a few minutes to these prayers of Paul.

And we're looking at the very first one, Ephesians chapter one.

Of course there's the prayer of Paul in Ephesians chapter three and Colossians chapter one and Philippians chapter one.

And these are just wonderful prayers that we can go to and see how that Paul was praying for the church.

So we want to look at this prayer tonight in Ephesians chapter one and try to dig in a little bit more if we can.

Tonight I just want to read, start by reading verse three, then I'm going to go down.

Welcome to the Fortifying your Family podcast.

It can daunting to navigate through an anti marriage and family culture.

Our teacher will expound biblical principles to help fortify our families and keep these sacred institutions strong.

And now here's this week's teaching from Sam Wood.

Who hath blessed us, that's all of us who are Christians, all of us who know Christ with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

Verse 15.

Wherefore also after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.

We took a couple Sunday nights to look at those titles that Paul uses in addressing God at the beginning of his prayer.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.

That ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us.

Would who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the Heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

I started at verse three because really Paul's prayer starting in verse 15 is an overflow of what he has said from the beginning of the chapter down through verse.

We see in verse 3 through 14.

I've said this before, but I just want to bear and say that again tonight.

It's one of the mightiest statements of salvation that we can find in the word of God.

It's actually in the Greek, one long sentence.

It's kind of like Paul is saying these things and he gets so excited and wrapped up in what he's saying that he can't stop speaking because he's talking.

In verse three, he says about all the spiritual blessings God has blessed us with in heavenly places in Christ.

It's kind of like a going to a treasure chest.

If you had a treasure chest setting up here on the stage tonight and you open the treasure chest, it's kind of like you look in that treasure chest and you see he has chosen us unto salvation.

You say, wow, that's exciting.

Then you look at that and you say, wow, he has forgiven our sins and he has redeemed us through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Then you look down and you see that word adopted.

And wow, we are adopted into the family of God.

And then you look down another place and it says, we are accepted in the beloved.

And so we say, man, man, look at what we've got.

Look at all these spiritual blessings that we've got.

But not only that, you dig down a little bit deeper and it says, wow, we have an inheritance.

We have an inheritance with Christ Jesus.

We are joint heirs with Christ Jesus, and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit so that we'll never lose that inheritance, we'll never lose our salvation.

We'll always be accepted in the beloved, adopted in God's family, and loved by him.

Paul has just gone through all these verses and I've been reading through this about every day and rehearsing these verses of my heart.

And when I do, I'm kind of the same way, as you can tell tonight, I overflow with it because it's kind of like again, looking in a treasure chest and seeing all the things God has given to us.

And we have all these things in Christ Jesus.

Is that exciting tonight?

Church.

That's something to get excited about.

And as we look at this and we look at these Scriptures, Paul says all these blessings that we have, all these doctrinal truths that he has presented, are really beyond the possibility of our human mind to really grasp.

That is, even tonight, as I say, these things, we can think about these things, we can glory in these things.

But Paul understands that these truths are so rich, these truths are so deep that it's hard for even our human mind to grasp and really know them.

Hold your finger there in Ephesians chapter 1, and turn to First Corinthians, chapter 2, First Corinthians, chapter 2, and look with me at verse 9.

First Corinthians, chapter 2 and verse 9, he says this.

But as it is written, eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, but God hath revealed them unto us by his what, Church?

By his Spirit.

For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the Spirit of man which is in him.

Even so, the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God.

In other words, we must depend upon the Spirit of God for an understandment, an enlightenment to the depth of these doctrinal truths that Paul has shared with us in these verses, in verse three through verse 14.

And that's what Paul is praying.

That's exactly what he's praying.

He's praying that we will have a knowledge, we'll have an understanding of what he has just said, of all these deep doctrinal truths that he has just shared with us.

It's kind of like being a little child, say, on the edge of a great ocean.

Or we're standing in.

In the sand and we're piddling in the waves that are going in and out.

And this ocean is a big ocean of truth, God's truth.

And out there in the ocean, it's very vast and it's very, very deep.

But we're just playing on the edges of it, and we're seeing a little bit of it, but we're really not seeing all of it.

That is, as we grow in our Christian life, hopefully we're stepping a little bit deeper into the water until we get to the point.

We're out in the water and we're swimming, and we're really beginning to really have a knowledge, a real knowledge and understanding of these truths.

So Paul is praying that we'll have a spiritual knowledge of what we already have.

Did you get that?

What we already possess.

He's not praying for our salvation.

He's not praying for adoption.

He's not praying for acceptance, for forgiveness of sins, for inheritance.

These things are already ours.

We already possess these things.

We already have these things.

He's praying that we know them, that we know them now.

It's important to understand the word knowledge in the Bible is a much richer word than the English word for knowledge.

In fact, it says, just to give an example, we see in Genesis, it says that Adam knew Eve.

Now, if you read that to a little child and you say Adam knew Eve and then you see that they had a baby, the little child might say, you mean he knew her and they had a baby?

You know, he doesn't really understand what that means, but it's a much deeper understanding that we understand.

He really knew her.

He really knew her.

The word for knowledge here means not only knowing information.

It's not just intellectual knowledge, but it's to have an encounter with, to have an experience with.

That's what Paul is talking about, that you would not just intellectually know these things, but you would encounter these things in your life.

You would experience these things in your relationship with God.

It's kind of like if I were to walk up and I were to shake hands with Matt, I didn't know him, and I said, my name is Sam Wood.

Matt says, my name is Matt Clark.

And we know each other on the outside.

We surface know each other, but do I really know Matt?

Does he really know me?

Not until I give a revelation of myself to him or he gives a revelation of himself to me.

Does he share some of the things about himself and I share some things about myself to him.

Do we really know each other?

Do we have somewhat of a depth of knowledge about each other?

Therefore, Paul prays that we might not only intellectually know, but have a deep encounter with.

And in the particular petitions that he gives here, a deep encounter with what is the hope of your calling?

A deep encounter with what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, that we might have a deeper understanding, a deeper knowledge of what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe.

Paul says, I'm about to tell you.

You have enough wealth if you understand your inheritance, you have enough power if you realize it's already operating in you in resurrection proportions to handle anything if you are just able to see it.

Paul says, you have enough hope if you understand your calling in Christ Jesus.

I've heard some Christians say that, you know, I just pray I need more strength.

But the truth of the matter is the Bible says that we have all the strength that we need.

The Bible says that we are have all this power, all this strength in Christ Jesus.

Some people say I need to have more peace.

But Jesus said, I leave my peace with you.

I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.

We have that power.

We have that peace already.

It's just seeing it and understanding and knowing that we have it.

And that's what Paul is praying for here.

He says, and I think we need to say, I need to know.

My big problem is I really don't know what I think that I know.

I don't really know it to the depth that I really need to know it.

And all of us ought to say tonight.

And are you able to say tonight?

My problems are caused mainly by the fact I don't really know what I think I know.

You know, I remember back years ago and it.

I guess it hadn't been that long ago.

There was a lot of books, there was a lot of articles, a lot of things about something called tm.

What does CM stand for?

Transcendental Meditation.

And I came across an author by the name of Ed Clowney.

And Ed Clowney wrote a book on cm.

CM is Christian meditation.

And in that book he says this.

If you read and study Transcendental Meditation, Eastern meditation, it's completely passive.

The whole idea behind Transcendental Meditation is to empty your mind and to stop fighting.

The whole idea of Christian meditation is to fill your mind and to start fighting to fight the truth into it.

It's the opposite of Transcendental Meditation.

Transcendental Meditation, Eastern Meditation is passive.

Christian meditation is active.

Transcendental Meditation assumes the best thing for you is to empty your mind.

Christian meditation says, no, that's your problem.

You got an empty mind.

Christian meditation says, your head is empty.

You need to fill it with what?

You need to fill it with truth, with a knowledge of the truth.

We need to fill it with a knowledge of what we have in Christ Jesus.

So Paul prays in verse 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge.

Here it is in the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding.

Being enlightened, he says, being enlightened.

And he goes on to say that ye may know what is the hope of your calling?

The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints.

What is the exceeding greatness of his power to us?

Ward, who believe.

Paul knows that until.

Listen, folks, until we understand our position in Christ, until we understand our position in Christ, what we possess in Christ, we will not be able to live it the way God would have us to live it.

We will not practice the Christian life in the way God desires for us to practice it until we understand the position that we're in in the Christian life.

I remember many, many moons ago now.

Seems like many moons ago I used to play football in high school, a little bit in college, and I played linebacker.

And the coach, the main thing is the coach would say, you've got to learn your.

What position.

You've got to know the position that I've given to you.

You've got to study it.

And then we're going to go out in a lot of practice and you're going to practice your position so that you'll know your position so that when we get in the game, you can play that position the right way.

You can live it out, you can practice it and you can play it.

And in the game of life.

And folks, listen, the Christian life is making your practice equal to your.

What?

To your position.

It's making your practice in your life equal to the position that you have in Christ Jesus.

So if we don't understand the position we have in Christ Jesus, then we will not be able to practice the Christian life in the way that God desires for us to practice the Christian life.

The better I understand my position, the better I will live out or practice my position in the Christian life.

If you study your Bible and you don't understand what statements in the Bible are positional and you don't understand what statements in the Bible are practical, you'll never be able to interpret your Bible.

Right.

You say preacher.

What are you talking about, Brother Sam?

What do you mean?

Well, let me give you an example of this.

The Bible says that ye are holy.

Does the Bible say that we are holy?

Okay.

But also very close to where it says you are holy.

It says, cleanse yourselves from all filthiness.

Okay, now which is it?

You just said you are holy, okay?

And now it says, cleanse yourself from all filthiness.

But if you don't know the difference, you're going to think one minute you're holy and the next minute you're dirty or you're filthy.

The fact of the matter is you're wholly in your position, Jesus Christ before God, and you're holy.

In that position.

But you're not in your practice.

We're not there yet.

In our practice, we are in our position.

When God looks at us, he sees us clothed in the robes of righteousness.

In Jesus Christ, he sees us as holy.

But in our practice, we're not at that position of holiness yet.

So that is the way the Christian life goes.

Your position in Christ is perfect holiness, perfect righteousness, oneness with Christ.

But your practice doesn't always what match your position and Christian growth.

I think it's important to understand is the Christian life is making your practice equal to what your position.

It's making my practice in life equal to my position in Christ.

And for me to do that, I've got to know who I am in Christ.

That's exactly what Paul is praying for.

He's praying for this knowledge that we would really know who we are in our position in Christ so that we might be able to practice it in the Christian life.

I'm a child of the King.

I am one with Jesus Christ.

He lives in me and through me.

And now that demands out of me a certain type of behavior.

So the Christian life again, it's a process of becoming who you are in Christ Jesus.

I come across a lot of Christians, I'm sure you have too, that think that the more mature you become as a Christian, the less sin you commit, the more God will love you.

Let me ask you a question tonight.

Is that true?

Does it have anything to do with how much God loves you?

That dependent upon your practice in the Christian life?

It really is not, is it?

What you do or what you don't do has absolutely no effect on your position before God.

You can't do anything to make him like you better.

You can't do anything to make him like you less.

Because he loves you totally and completely.

In who?

In Christ Jesus.

He sees you in Christ Jesus.

You can't do anything to make him forgive you more or to forgive you less.

He already has forgiven you of everything.

This is so important.

We really grasp this.

It's so important.

We really understand this.

You can't do anything to earn more salvation.

A lot of people around here think that.

But you can't do anything to earn more salvation or to give up some of your salvation.

You can't do that because you already have it totally in the person of Jesus Christ.

I remind you what it says in Colossians 2:10.

This is a wonderful statement.

It says, and you are complete in him.

Is that not wonderful?

We are complete in Christ.

We have Everything we need in Christ.

That's what Paul is saying in these verses 3 through 14.

He's trying to show us positionally we've got everything we need to live out the Christian life.

We just don't know everything we need to know about it.

And he's praying that we might know more about this Christian position that God has given to us in Jesus Christ.

So when God does a work of salvation, it's a total thing.

It's a complete work that he does.

We become a new creation in Jesus Christ.

And you are perfect before God because He sees you in Christ Jesus.

And then it's a matter of growing in our Christian life to match your practice in your life to your position in Christ.

And that's what we're all hopefully striving to do, that my practice in my life, my lifestyle, my Christian life would match my position that I have Jesus Christ.

It's only when you realize who you are in Christ that you'll be constrained out of love and devotion in your heart to do something about how you live.

It's only then, really.

And folks, listen, I could stand up here, or any preacher could stand up here and exhort you to live the Christian life.

Really, I could do that until my face turns blue.

But it will not take root in your heart unless you understand first who you are in Christ Jesus.

That's why God always puts doctrine before practice.

He always, always gives us a theology before he gives us a practice in the Christian life.

And if I just exhort you to live the Christian life and you don't understand your position in Christ, all I'll do is put you under a guilt trip and motivate you to live the Christian life out of duty and not out of devotion to God.

It's only after three chapters, and I've said this before.

Theology is in the book of Ephesians that Paul in chapter four and verse one, after three chapters of doctrine, three chapters of theology.

Paul in chapter four and verse one says this.

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called.

Paul says, now after all this doctrinal understanding I've given to you after I have prayed for you in chapter one, after I have prayed for you in chapter three, that you would have a knowledge, a real knowledge, an encounter with God about these things.

He says, now make your practice equal to your position.

Walk worthy, he says, of the vocation wherewith you are called.

Now practice it.

Walk it.

This is what you were called to.

This is your position in Christ.

This is what you have in Christ.

So now live it out.

Wow.

Walk worthy.

You have listened to the first part of a two part message by Evangelist Sam Wood.

Thank you for joining the Fortifying youg Family podcast.

And if you feel encouraged by today's teaching, give us a follow so we can invite you back and share us on your socials so more marriages and families can be strengthened and fortified through the truths of God's Word.

Remember, fortifying your family starts with a strong belief in God's Word.

Sam.