When I speak of the means of grace, I have in my mind’s eye five principal things,—the reading of the Bible, private prayer, public worship, the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and the rest of the Lord’s day. They are means which God has graciously appointed, in order to convey grace to man’s heart by the Holy Ghost, or to keep up the spiritual life after it has begun. JC Ryle, Practical Religion, 14.

And enjoy him.
We all know the phrase. Our chief end is to glorify and enjoy God. This is the Presbyterian way.
Do we enjoy him? Do you enjoy him?
Do we enjoy the means given to us that allows us to know him, glorify, and enjoy him? These are important questions. This past week I was convicted by JC Ryle (as I often am) as he challenged his hearers on whether they are enjoying the means that God has given to them. I thought I would share a portion of that with you under this question:
Do you enjoy the means of grace? Ryle says,
When I speak of the means of grace, I have in my mind’s eye five principal things,—the reading of the Bible, private prayer, public worship, the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and the rest of the Lord’s day. They are means which God has graciously appointed, in order to convey grace to man’s heart by the Holy Ghost, or to keep up the spiritual life after it has begun. As long as the world stands, the state of a man’s soul will always depend greatly on the manner and spirit in which he uses means of grace. The manner and spirit, I say deliberately and of purpose. Many… people use the means of grace regularly and formally, but know nothing of enjoying them: they attend to them as a matter of duty, but without a jot of feeling, interest, or affection. JC Ryle, Practical Religion, 14.
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Luke describes “the whole counsel of God” in Acts 20:27 as the person and work of Christ proclaimed by Paul during his gentile mission. But the Christ whom Paul preaches tells us that the whole of redemptive history (i.e., the whole of Scripture) speaks of Him. It is proper, then, to understand the whole counsel of God as all that is revealed in the Bible with Jesus Christ at the center of the biblical message. Therefore, the Westminster Confession of Faith is correct to define “the whole counsel of God” as “all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, [which] is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture” (1.6).

According to Luke’s account of Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 18:23–21:16), Paul arrived in Ephesus in the spring of AD 52. Paul’s three-year ministry in the city bore much fruit. Luke informs us that the word of the Lord was increasing and many people were coming to faith in Jesus Christ (19:20). But the increasing number of Christians in the city also created “no little disturbance” among the city’s merchants (19:23), leading to the riot described in Acts 19:21–41.

Paul soon left Ephesus for Macedonia to meet with the churches that had been founded during his second missionary journey, returning to Asia Minor by way of Miletus, a seaport near Ephesus (20:17). Knowing that he would eventually go on to Jerusalem, Paul summoned the elders from Ephesus to meet with him in Miletus to say goodbye to those men with whom he had labored in ministry for several years and from whom he had to depart.
Compelled by the Holy Spirit with some urgency to leave for Jerusalem, Paul did not yet know what exactly awaited him, only that imprisonment and affliction were likely, with his death a real possibility (20:22–24). Paul knew that he would never see these men again, so there was much to tell them before he departed. As Luke recounts the poignant scene, there was heartfelt prayer and many tears shed as the men accompanied Paul to his ship when he set sail.
A number of things stand out in Paul’s “farewell speech” to these men in Acts 20:17–38. Paul offers a defense of his ministry, telling the brothers that he is innocent of the blood of all men. He held nothing back from them, preaching to both Jew and gentile the need for repentance before God and faith in Jesus Christ (v. 20). Throughout their years of service together, Paul prepared the Ephesian elders to shepherd the flock of Christ and equipped them to deal with savage wolves who would arise in their midst, introducing false doctrines. Paul faithfully fulfilled his mission in Ephesus. He proclaimed to them “the whole counsel of God” (v. 27).
When Paul speaks of “the whole counsel” (the plan or purpose) of God, we may detect a faint echo from Psalm 1:1. In the opening words of the Psalter, the psalmist contrasts the counsel of the wicked with the way of the righteous. Throughout Paul’s time in Ephesus, he witnessed firsthand those who scoff at and oppose the purposes of God—a large, angry gathering of them assembled at one point in opposition to Paul’s preaching, threatening harm, and for hours chanting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:28).

But the Ephesian Christians are among those blessed by God and who refuse to listen to the counsel of the wicked as they rage against Paul and the gospel. The wicked will perish apart from the congregation of the righteous (Ps. 1:5), while those who have come to faith through Paul’s preaching now walk in the ways of the Lord and are known to him (v. 6). There are two “counsels” behind Paul’s farewell speech—the whole counsel of God stands in sharp contrast to the counsel of the unrighteous.
The whole counsel of God is summarized by Luke in Paul’s farewell and includes his teaching about those things that are profitable for Christians to know (Acts 20:20), testifying about the gospel of grace (v. 24) and proclaiming the kingdom of God (v. 25).

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We trust solely in the merits and authority of Christ. It also assumes that we are submitted to His will, coming with His words. We come as slaves, not masters, in prayer, seeking His will alone. This differs vastly from the recitation of a name in order to pull power out of a hat like some cosmic magic trick.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
John 14:13
In Jesus’ name, PLAY!” This was what I heard as I sat in an auditorium waiting for the Pentecostal Explosion dance team to start their routine. I had been invited to this praise and worship event by a college friend. The dance team had walked on stage and was about to begin their routine when suddenly the CD player that had their dance track stopped working. They were working to get it fixed when the dance leader shouted out the command to the CD player. A few amens were heard, but after a painful minute and a half with no success, the dance team decided to do their routine without the music. At this point in my Christian walk, I knew the verse that said that if we asked in Jesus’ name, then Jesus says, “this I will do.” So what happened that night? Had Jesus lied? Never! A better explanation is that this woman had misunderstood what it meant to ask in Jesus’ name.
To be clear, I completely believe that whatever I ask in Jesus’ name, He will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; but the name of Jesus is often invoked like a magic word at the end of our prayers. The way it is often used, we might as well finish our prayers with, “Abracadabra, amen;” I’ve said the customary phrase that ensures my prayers are heard. I even heard a song recently that said, “Just the mention of your name can raise the dead.” Really? The word “Jesus” is not an incantation that unlocks some secret magic. I don’t think this a faithful understanding of the text. So what does it mean to ask in Jesus name?
In His Name
First, we must understand what is meant by the name of Jesus.
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