Body & Spirit

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-24

Structure:

Introduction
Praying in the Spirit
Praying in the body
Conclusion

Introduction:

Cyril Bassett was New Zealand’s first Victoria Cross recipient

Cyril was a sapper in the NZ Engineers during World War 1
His job was to lay communication lines so the allies could talk to each other
Because of his short stature Bassett was initially rejected for military service but he persisted and they let him in, assigning him to Signals
Bassett served in Gallipoli and was noted for his bravery in laying telephone wires under heavy fire early in the campaign
Some months later, when the NZ Infantry was attacking Chunuk Bair, Corporal Bassett found himself in the heat of the battle once more laying communication lines on the exposed hill slopes
He braved continuous gunfire during broad daylight armed only with a revolver and a bayonet.
A bullet struck his boot and two more passed through the fabric of his tunic during the fighting, but he was not wounded
For his efforts he was awarded the Victoria Cross
Afterwards Cyril Bassett had this to say…

“I reckon there must be some guardian angel looking after me, especially as one man was shot dead in front of me and another wounded just behind.”

This morning we conclude our series in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, focusing on chapter 6, verses 18-24

Last week we heard about the armour of God and the need to stand firm in the battle against evil
In the same vein of thought Paul continues from verse 18 encouraging his readers to stay alert and to pray
Prayer is essentially about establishing and maintaining lines of communication with God and other believers
In praying we are doing the spiritual equivalent of what Cyril Bassett did
From Ephesians 6, verses 18-24 (in the NIV) we read…

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

²¹Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. ²²I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. ²³Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us

Paul started his letter to the Ephesians with a prayer and now he concludes it by encouraging the Ephesians to pray.

They are to pray in the Spirit and in the body.

Praying in the Spirit:

When you read a book you need to be in the light. If you are in the dark, it is very difficult to read

When you are sailing a boat you need to make sure your sail is trimmed to catch the wind. If your sail isn’t in the wind your boat won’t go far

In verse 18 of Ephesians 6, Paul says we are to pray in the Spirit.

That’s ‘Spirit’ with a capital ‘S’, as in God’s Spirit
Praying in the Spirit parallels what Paul says earlier in Ephesians about being in Christ
What then does Paul mean by praying in the Spirit?
We pray in the Spirit sort of like we read in the light
Just as we can’t really read all that well in the dark, so too we can’t really pray without the Spirit
Praying in the Spirit is also like hoisting a sail to catch the wind
Just as we can’t really get our boat moving without putting our sail in the wind, so too our prayers don’t provide any movement without the wind (or energy) of God’s Spirit

The Spirit of God communicates God to us. Through the Spirit we receive all the gifts and empowering we need from God [1]

True prayer in the Spirit isn’t about technique – it’s about relationship
True prayer in the Spirit involves engagement with God
If you want to cook a roast dinner, then you need to put the meat and veges in the oven
Say you are having roast chicken. You might make a nice basting sauce and rub it all over the raw bird.
You might make a sage and onion stuffing just like your grandmother used to make
You might put potatoes and pumpkin all around the chook
Then you turn the oven on and let it warm up to the right temperature
But if you leave the chicken and veges on the bench – if you don’t put them in the oven – then you are going hungry that night
Praying in the Spirit is like putting our prayers and requests in God’s oven. Without the Spirit of God our prayers are inedible
Praying in the Spirit nourishes us

Praying in the Spirit then is about praying in relationship with God

Simply reciting words without our heart being in it, or without directing those words to the person we call ‘God’, isn’t that effective
Praying in the Spirit is like pouring water into a cup – it requires focus and intention
I could throw handfuls of water around the room and some of it might, by chance, end up in the cup – but mostly it will just make everyone around me wet and annoyed
Praying in the Spirit fills the cup of our personal relationship with God

Praying in the Spirit is also like singing in a choir. It is prayer led by the Spirit and in harmony with God’s will.

Like choristers, we know the words & parts and we keep our eyes on the conductor, staying alert, listening as we sing (and by sing I mean pray).

Paul says to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Praying in the Spirit is comprehensive prayer, diverse in form and woven throughout all the circumstances of our lives.

If you come from a charismatic background you might think praying in the Spirit means praying in tongues and while it can mean that it isn’t limited to that
Praying in the Spirit can include lament & tears as well as laughter & praise
Praying in the Spirit can include meaningful liturgy read from the heart as well as spontaneous conversation with Christ as our close friend
Praying in the Spirit can include sitting alone in silence as we meditate on Scripture, our hearts open in a posture of listening to God, but I can also include singing songs in worship with other believers
We can pray in our heart for the person sitting next to us on the train during the week or we can intercede out loud in church on a Sunday for the things in this world that grieve God’s heart and ours
I could go on but you get the point, praying in the Spirit is not an occasional act – it is more like breathing
The Spirit of God is the atmosphere in which we breathe (and by ‘breathe’ I mean pray).

Alongside Paul’s instruction to pray in the Spirit we also find his encouragement to pray in the body

Praying in the body:

A few weeks ago I was talking with a sports fan about the rugby. He was telling me how the top rugby teams are really good at off-loading the ball before the ball handler is tackled and goes to ground

The more often a team takes the ball down in the tackle the quicker that team runs out of steam
But if you can keep your momentum by passing the ball you tend to make more ground with less effort
The All Blacks are brilliant at the off load pass. You often see them passing the ball out the back door, without even looking
When they throw the ball back they trust their team mates to be alert and in position to catch it
They don’t work as individuals – they work as a unit, supporting each other

Throughout Ephesians Paul has talked about the church in various ways

The church is the wisdom of God, the church is the temple of God and the church is the body of Christ
Paul wants to underline the connection believers have in Christ
He wants us to think of ourselves, not as a group of individuals (alone together), but as a unit, a single body made up of different parts
We need to remain alert, supporting each other spiritually, ready to receive the off load pass.

In the second part of verse 18 Paul says: With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

While it is okay to pray for yourself our prayers shouldn’t be self-centred
‘Praying in the body’ means being mindful of other believers in the church – remaining alert to the joys and sorrows, successes and trials of others
Praying for others actually gives us a break from thinking about ourselves
Not only that but it helps us to feel more connected, less alone
If you pray for someone long enough you start to care about them

In verse 19 Paul goes on to ask the Ephesians to pray for him also

Interesting here that Paul has the humility to ask for help from others. He doesn’t try to do the work on his own. He realises he needs prayer support.
The other thing to note is that Paul doesn’t ask the Ephesians to pray for his freedom, even though he is chained to a Roman soldier night and day.
Instead Paul asks for the clarity and courage to make known the mystery of the gospel.

The word ‘mystery’ here doesn’t refer to a puzzle to be solved but rather to something that was not known before but has now been revealed by God

‘Mystery’ refers to the unfolding of God’s plan – new light shed on an old word
Before Christ came Paul read the Old Testament Scriptures in a certain way – much of the meaning was hidden from him
But since encountering Jesus, Paul now reads those same Old Testament Scriptures in a whole new light
Before he saw a stern and angry God who was out to destroy sinners; now he sees a loving God full of generous grace for all
Before he saw himself as better than others; now he realises the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

Paul wants the Spirit’s help to preach the gospel about Jesus with clarity and courage – he wants others to understand all of the gospel, the rough with the smooth

The word ‘gospel’ means good news. But when we read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) we find there is actually a fair amount of bad news as well
The gospel talks about suffering as a prerequisite to glory; it talks about forgiveness with repentance; salvation for some but judgement for others
It can be tempting as a preacher to leave out the unpopular parts of the gospel but the Spirit of Jesus is a Spirit of grace and truth
Most people are happy to hear the nice bits, the grace-full bits, but the truthful bits require some courage to say
Paul doesn’t want to edit his message. Paul wants to be open and honest in his presentation of the gospel.

Those who proclaim the word of God need clarity and courage

This morning the children in the Flock Sunday school are learning how God spoke to the boy Samuel at the temple in Shiloh
Samuel slept in the temple near the ark of the covenant – the symbol of God’s presence with his people
One night Samuel hears a voice calling his name
At first he thinks it is the priest Eli calling him but every time he goes to Eli, the old man tells him to go back to bed
Eventually Eli realises that Samuel is hearing the Lord’s voice, so he instructs Samuel to respond by saying, ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening’. Samuel does as he is told.

The next morning Samuel seems to be avoiding Eli, so Eli sits Samuel down and asks the boy to tell him what the Lord said, without leaving anything out

The message is one of judgement against Eli and his family
‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’
That’s a heavy message for a child to give a grown man
To his credit Eli accepted the message saying, ‘He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.’

The gospel message Paul preached wasn’t so harsh. Paul was able to say, ‘The good news is; your guilt is atoned for by Christ’s sacrifice, but you still need to change your ways and repent. God’s love is not a license to do what we want.

Eli may have been accepting of what Samuel said but not everyone was accepting of what Paul had to say and as a consequence he found himself under house arrest, chained to a Roman soldier day and night

Most people in the ancient near east would have been ashamed to be in chains, but not Paul. He is not an Instagram star, ‘showing the best and hiding the rest’. Paul doesn’t hide the reality.
By being open like this Paul owns his suffering. He doesn’t let it own him.

We are talking about praying in the body

Perhaps one of the reasons Paul was able to cope with being in chains is that he saw himself as part of the body of Christ, so it didn’t all depend on him
Sure, he couldn’t visit the Ephesians himself, but he could send Tychicus, his assistant
Tychicus was Paul’s hands and feet – he could deliver Paul’s letter
When Paul went down in the tackle of house arrest, he could off load the ball to Tychicus, so the momentum wasn’t lost.

Tychicus wasn’t just a letter carrier though – he was someone who knew Paul and could pass on personal news of how Paul and the others were getting on

It is so easy in the culture I come from to think of prayer as a disembodied thing – a mental exercise – just words you say in your head
But true prayer is embodied and relational
Prayer in the body isn’t just the communication of words and information
Prayer in the body involves being physically present
Prayer in the body conveys warmth and emotion
Prayer in the body communicates encouragement and comfort
Tychicus’ visit did this – his going to see the Ephesians in person was prayer in a bodily form.

When our youngest daughter was about two years old she caught rota virus and had to go to hospital. This was before I became a minister, when we were living in Tauranga

While we were in hospital the pastor of our church came to visit. He didn’t stay long, just popped in, spoke to us, said a short prayer and then went on his way again
I don’t remember the words he prayed but I do remember feeling comforted and encouraged by his presence
I had never been visited by a pastor before. Greg simply showed up embodying warmth and this made me feel cared for and connected to the rest of the church. That’s an example of prayer in the body (of Christ).

Now in talking about prayer in the body I don’t mean to convey the idea that this is somehow different from praying in the Spirit – body & Spirit go together

It must be over twelve years ago now our family went on holiday to Christchurch

On about the second day our youngest daughter had an accident and had to go to hospital
They put her is this tiny room with no windows, no view outside – it was an awful environment – we were supposed to be on holiday, having fun
To make matters worse the words I prayed to God didn’t appear to make any positive difference – our daughter just got worse
When you are in a strange city, with a sick child and God isn’t answering your prayers it makes you feel incredibly isolated and vulnerable – we were powerless really.

But in that situation God was still present, just not in the way we were expecting

Some friends we knew in Christchurch looked after our well daughter for us so she wasn’t stuck in hospital all week
When the church here in Tawa heard what was happening they arranged a gift basket for us and one of you asked his sister (who lives in Christchurch) to come and visit us in hospital. That meant a lot to us.
Then, when we had to stay longer than our accommodation was booked for, the Ronald McDonald House gave us a room for a couple of nights

My prayers in that situation didn’t bring about a miraculous healing but we were very aware of God’s providence

On reflection I am conscious of the Spirit’s intercession for us
In Romans 8 Paul writes, ‘…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express…’
I had prayed for our daughter’s healing thinking that was what was needed, but at a deeper level (a level I wasn’t conscious of) what we really needed was to know that we were not alone – loneliness, isolation, alienation, these are the real sicknesses of our society today
The Spirit of God knew what we really needed and interceded for us with groans that words cannot express and God answered the Spirit’s prayer to comfort us in the loneliness and isolation we felt with practical, embodied help through friends and strangers.
Prayer in the Spirit goes hand in hand with prayer in the body.

Conclusion:

Paul concludes his letter with a prayer of blessing for the Ephesians

Four key words we notice in his benediction. Paul wishes his readers…
Peace, love with faith, and grace.

Praying in the Spirit and praying in the body are not meant to be separated – they go together

In a few moments we will share communion.
Communion holds together body and Spirit
It is a celebration of the peace, love, faith and grace that are ours in Christ

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
What does it mean to ‘pray in the Spirit’? Can you think of a time in your life when the Spirit interceded for you with groans too deep for words?
What are some of the ways you prefer to pray? Are there some new ways of praying you could try?
What does it mean to ‘pray in the body’?
Have you ever experienced prayer in body and Spirit? Perhaps share your experience with someone you trust or write it down in a journal.
What affect does praying for other believers have on us?
Why did Paul ask for clarity & courage in preaching the gospel?
How does Paul own his suffering? How might we own our suffering?
Take some time to slowly read Paul’s benediction in verses 23-24 of Ephesians 6. Receive this blessing into your soul.

[1] Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, page 344.

Body & Spirit

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Published by Tawa Baptist