Regarding our service to God in the church, the point of emphasis is on the kind of material we use in our service and the result of our service. We who serve in the church must see that the New Jerusalem is what God intends to work out throughout the ages. But what does God work out through the New Jerusalem? The Bible shows that God works out His own life, nature, and image through the New Jerusalem.
Therefore, whether we administrate or serve in the church, we must do it with God’s life and nature; in this way our service will produce a result that is the mingling of God with man. In other words, we must build the church with Christ, building Christ into man so that our inward life and nature may be exactly the same as Christ’s life and nature.
Ephesians 3:16-21 says, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, that Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are and to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. But to Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which operates in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all the generations forever and ever. Amen.” This word helps us know how to serve God in the church and shows Paul’s spirit, attitude, prayer, and faith. We should have this spirit, attitude, prayer, and faith when we serve God in the church. If we have truly seen the church and the materials that build the church, we will have this kind of spirit and attitude, and we will also have this kind of prayer and faith.
Why do we say that Ephesians 3:16-21 shows Paul’s spirit and attitude? For example, when a brother buys a piece of land to build a meeting hall, his spirit and attitude are manifested in the whole matter related to the building of the meeting hall. If two young saints are planning to be married soon, their spirit and attitude will be filled with marriage between now and that day. Their spirit is a spirit of marriage; their attitude is an attitude of marriage. Whoever contacts them will sense the spirit that emanates from them. What they see, what they speak, and what their heart is filled with are altogether related to the matter of marriage. This is their spirit and attitude. They have a certain matter within them so that what they see, what they speak, and what their heart cares about are related to this matter. Because their entire being is filled with this matter, it becomes their spirit and attitude.
This portion of Ephesians shows that Paul saw the mystery of Christ (vv. 3-4). Thus, his spirit and attitude—what he saw, what he was filled with, what he said, and what he cared about in his heart—were related to the vision of God being manifested in the flesh and being mingled with man in order to build the church with Christ so that the church would be filled with Christ. This matter filled Paul’s entire being; hence, what he saw, what he spoke, and what he cared about in his heart were related to this matter. The most precious point in this portion of the Scriptures is not Paul’s prayer and faith but his spirit and attitude. After attending several meetings and seeing the church and the building material of the church, we should become so captivated and enthralled that we are eager to return to our locality. We should return so that we can work Christ into others and build Christ as the material into others so that they may become a spiritual temple for the expression of the fullness of the One who fills all in all. This should be our spirit and attitude.
The prayer in Ephesians 3 shows that Paul was fully captured by Christ. This matter, this vision, this revelation, this seeing, became his spirit and attitude. Consequently, in Ephesians 3 he had such a prayer. Based on the context of Ephesians, this prayer is not necessary. Paul prayed in chapter 1 because he was concerned that the saints in Ephesus might not understand his words; therefore, he asked God to grant them a spirit of wisdom and revelation. This is understandable. However, when he came to chapter 3, he offered another prayer. He not only prayed, but he also said, “I bow my knees unto the Father” (v. 14). Paul knelt down to pray because he was so burdened; something heavy within forced him to bow his knees unto the Father. His vision, his revelation, and his seeing became his spirit, his attitude, and his inner mood. This can be compared to a couple who will be married soon; they are preoccupied and cannot wait to be married. This is also like the people who watch ball games because they are obsessed with sports. Because Paul was obsessed with Christ, in Ephesians 3 he could not help but kneel down.
If we have seen this vision, we will be obsessed with it, and we will bow our knees unto the Father. Hence, every elder, deacon, co-worker, and everyone who serves the Lord must see a vision, a revelation, to the point that he is absolutely obsessed with it and has the same spirit, attitude, and mood of Paul. Because Paul had such a spirit, attitude, and mood, he spontaneously had this kind of prayer; he also believed that God is able to do superabundantly. All those who serve God in the church must have this kind of spirit and attitude and this kind of prayer. All of our prayers must take this kind of prayer as the center, and we should have the faith for such prayer.