Continuing an exposition of Ephesians 3, the sermon reads Paul's prayer of 3:14-19 and settles on verses 16 and 17a: that God, according to the riches of his glory, may strengthen the Ephesians with power through his Spirit in their inner being, so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith. The preacher opens with a personal note about returning from ministry in Indonesia to Melbourne's cold, clean air, and recounts a seminar on Calvin's Institutes in which prayer is described as "the chief exercise of faith" — the discipline by which believers train and grow in their spiritual life. Paul's prayer here is offered as a model of that discipline: he kneels before the Father (v.14) because access to God as Father is an immense privilege, granted only to his children through Christ's death, which tore down the dividing wall between the holy place and the Most Holy Place.

The sermon then unpacks what it means to be "strengthened." The natural instinct is to think of physical strength — being able to lift a heavy suitcase, or to withstand an attacking enemy — but Paul is praying for strength in the inner being, not the outer man. Drawing on 2 Corinthians 4:16 ("though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day"), the sermon distinguishes the outer man (exo anthropos), which inevitably declines with age and eventually dies under the weight of the fall, from the inner man, which is renewed daily in those who know and walk with God. This distinction is applied pointedly to the present cultural moment: not only the elderly but especially Generation Z wrestle with mental health, compounded by the lingering effects of COVID isolation. The popular pursuit of "healing" — illustrated through the Marvel film Thunderbolts and its portrayal of superheroes battling inner darkness — is presented as a search the world cannot ultimately satisfy, offering only shallow, partial answers to the deep struggles of the inner being, however comfortable or prosperous a person's outward circumstances (like life in Melbourne) may be.

The sermon insists that the strengthening Paul prays for comes only "through his Spirit" and "according to his power" (echoing Ephesians 1:18-19 and 3:20) — a power that works within believers far beyond what they can ask or imagine, and which Ephesians 6:10 calls them to stand in: "be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might." Calvin is quoted again: "when I stand on my own two feet, I tremble; but when I kneel before God, there is my strength." This strength is not self-generated but received by those who come, in weakness, to kneel before him — a strength meant to make believers salt and light, radiating hope into a dark world, since Christ himself is the true light in whom they now share.

Turning to verse 17a — "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" — the sermon clarifies this is not about initial salvation but about believers in whom Christ already lives; the old self has been crucified with Christ, and "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me," a life now lived by faith. Being strengthened means Christ becomes increasingly manifest and real in the believer's life. This is illustrated through Paul's own experience in 2 Corinthians 12:9, where the Lord refuses to remove Paul's thorn in the flesh but instead grants sufficient grace, since "my power is made perfect in weakness" — a comfort for anyone who feels weak rather than strong, since Christians are precisely those who recognize their own weakness and helplessness apart from Christ. This is contrasted sharply with false confidence: the Pharisee who trusts his own righteousness and is not justified, the world's positive-thinking movements, and New Age teaching that locates divinity within the self ("I am God"). True Christian confidence is humble — strong only because grounded in the Lord, never in one's own ability, wealth, or achievement (echoing Jeremiah's call to boast only in knowing the Lord).

The sermon then turns to Galatians 4:19, where Paul says he is again in the pains of childbirth "until Christ is formed in you," framing the Christian life as progressive sanctification following a definitive union: believers are already in Christ and Christ already in them — a status nothing can undo, as Romans 8:38-39 affirms — yet Christ must become increasingly real in thought, speech, character, and desire. This growth happens especially through service and ministry, illustrated by testimonies of ordinary members stepping into daunting tasks (like preaching twenty-five times in a week at a VBS outreach despite having never preached before) and discovering that God supplies strength precisely where human ability runs out. Believers are sent into the world "as sheep among wolves" — a picture of ongoing dependence, not self-sufficiency — and are called to keep returning to prayer, service, and love of others, allowing the cycle of prayer, struggle, and dependence to form Christ more fully in them until they finally see him face to face and share fully in his glory.

Bible Verses Used

• Ephesians 3:14-19: The full prayer of Paul read as context, with verses 16-17a as the sermon's specific focus for the day.

• Ephesians 3:16-17a: The core text — strengthening by the Spirit in the inner being so that Christ may dwell in the heart through faith — expounded at length as the heart of the sermon.

• 2 Corinthians 4:16: Cited to distinguish the wasting "outer man" from the daily-renewed "inner man," grounding the sermon's inner/outer framework.

• Ephesians 1:18-19: Referenced as an earlier, parallel prayer of Paul for enlightened hearts to know the immeasurable greatness of God's power toward believers.

• Ephesians 3:20: Quoted to show God's power at work within believers exceeds anything they can ask or imagine.

• Ephesians 6:10: Quoted ("be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might") as the imperative counterpart to Paul's prayer, paired with Calvin's remark on kneeling as the source of strength.

• 2 Corinthians 12:9: Used to show that God's power is made perfect in weakness, reframing the believer's felt weakness as the very place grace operates.

• Jeremiah (boasting only in knowing the Lord): Cited to contrast worldly boasting in strength, wealth, or ability with proper Christian boasting in knowing God.

• Galatians 4:19: Central to the sermon's second half — "until Christ is formed in you" — used to frame sanctification as an ongoing, painful, Paul-labored process following definitive union with Christ.

• Ephesians 2:10: Cited ("we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus") to affirm believers' new-creation status in Christ.

• Romans 8:38-39: Quoted to affirm nothing can separate believers from the love of God in Christ, securing the definitive side of union even amid ongoing struggle.