You have lifted up a prayer straight from the inspired Word, and it is a petition after the very heart of heaven. Mark well that every clause hinges upon the work of God the Holy Spirit. Strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, this is the foundation. Christ dwelling in the heart by faith, this is the Spirit’s grand design. To comprehend the dimensions of a love that surpasses knowledge and to be filled unto all the fullness of God, these are no achievements of the flesh, but the sovereign operations of the Comforter who takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us.
How many miss this! They would exalt their own doings, willings, feelings, and prayings into the place of Christ’s blood and righteousness. That is not of the Holy Spirit, for He glorifies Christ. He never leads a soul to say, “I am not fit to come to Christ,” as though fitness were found in us. That is the whisper of the destroyer, not the Spirit’s gentle voice. The Spirit lays you low to reveal the greatness of Christ’s salvation, bringing you to utter dependence, for without Him you can do nothing. Therefore, honor, reverence, worship God the Holy Spirit, in whom lies your only hope of seeing Jesus.
And what does He show? A fullness in Christ, all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, an inexhaustible treasury of grace, wisdom, power, and love. In Him there is a fullness of comfort in affliction, guidance in prosperity, and every divine attribute. It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, and it dwells there now. Do not think you serve a little Christ or a stingy Lord. His is the God of the hills and the valleys, and He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you ask or think. This fullness is in Christ for you who trust Him, not locked away, but vested in His people. You have only to ask and receive.
But it needs the Holy Spirit to direct your heart into the love of God. Many know of that love as a blind man knows of an Alpine landscape, poor knowledge indeed! Others have tasted, talked, and sung of it. Yet to be rooted and grounded there, to grasp its width, length, depth, and height, is a transfiguring work of the Spirit, setting Christ before you in the light of God’s own glory. See the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! In every incident of His life, from Bethlehem’s manger to Calvary’s cross and the open tomb, God shines forth. He is the power of God and the wisdom of God; He has borne the consequences of sin for all who believe, making a full atonement, satisfying divine justice, and bringing peace.
Cry mightily to God, then, that the Holy Spirit would so illuminate the words of Christ that they shine like fixed stars in your soul. Expect that He will expel every unbelieving thought that limits the Holy One of Israel. Does a voice whisper that you will not live up to your profession? Cast it out, Christ is your life. Your sufficiency is of God. The Spirit’s office is to glorify Jesus by receiving of His fullness and announcing it to your heart. So bow your knees with boldness, not fearing to ask for all the apostle prayed, for the Father delights to grant these riches according to His glory. To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.