Ephesians 1:15-23 NIV "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, {16} I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. {17} I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. {18} I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, {19} and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, {20} which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, {21} far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. {22} And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, {23} which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."
Paul's prayer for Christian believers.
In verse 15, Paul begins a beautiful prayer. He begins by saying, in essence, "now that I have told you who you are in Jesus, I will tell you my desire and prayer for you." Paul states that the faith and love of the people in Ephesus has first of all, prompted him to give thanks to God for them (verse 16).
When was the last time you lifted up your heart and voice in thanksgiving to God for the actions, prompted by faith and love, of a fellow believer? If it was more than 24 hours, it has been too long. The Holy Spirit has shown me something regarding intercessory prayer. In my pride and ignorance I would frequently go to God in prayer with the purpose of interceding for someone regarding whatever I thought their problem was. God showed me that I was not interceding for them but, rather, I was trying to tell God what to do for them, and this according to my wisdom. The Holy Spirit dealt with me on this and I clearly heard him say if I want to be an intercessor I need to let Him lead me through the intercession. Basically, I have learned to go into my prayers for others with no preconceived idea of what they need. As I have done this my prayer life has blossomed through the power of the Spirit and I have grown in my love and relationship with my Lord. Also, my level of compassion, concern, and empathy for the people I lift up in prayer has increased. It is very much like I am feeling the love God has for the person rather than the smaller amount of love Tim is able to have for the person.
In verse 17, we will begin to see how Paul intercedes for the people in Ephesus. "I keep asking...that God give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him better." Paul is asking for God's knowledge to be made known in the lives of the believers in Ephesus through increasing their knowledge and revealing God's purpose to them supernaturally. This is the desire of God for all of us. Sometimes we are content with our imperfect understanding but we can have God's knowledge. The catch is we must wait for God's timing.
The word Paul uses for wisdom in this verse is sophia which is human wisdom in spiritual things (insight into the true nature of things). This is the joining of God's wisdom with our human understanding. This is the power of God working through you and in you. A couple of other verses in the New Testament that have the word sophia for wisdom:
Luke 21:14-15 NIV [Jesus speaking] "But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. {15} For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict."
James 1:5 NIV "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."
A different example of sophia is found in Exodus 28:3 NIV "Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest."
God's wisdom in us is an awesome thing no matter what form that wisdom takes. Paul also prays for revelation which is the communication of the knowledge of God to the soul. We often think of this as something that happens to the really holy people but the truth is God reveals his knowledge to us all. Paul's purpose for asking for wisdom and knowledge is that they may know God more. What a wonderful thing. That is the desire of my heart-to know God more. Through the wisdom of God in our lives we come to know the nature of God and marvel in His mercy. Knowing God more is the essence of living a spiritual life. Living a spiritual life has two sides: 1) Loving and living in the gracious Savior of the world and 2) fighting the good fight against the evil, spiritual forces. This wisdom from God not only draws us closer to God it also equips us for battle with our foe.
The word Paul uses for "know" denotes a full knowledge in which Paul wants us to know to the point that we are powerfully influenced by the knowledge (i.e., knowledge that changes our life). Being in the presence of God changes us. You have probably heard the saying knowledge is power. That is very true. In this case it is God's knowledge and also God's power.
Verses 18 and 19 continue Paul's prayer for his fellow believers. He says, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, {19} and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength..." Let's look at what he says closer:
"Eyes of your heart enlightened to know." I love this phrase. It is important that our heart, which represents our faith, sees and understands the knowledge of God in our life. Without faith the knowledge is without power to work in our lives. This is an important key in the success of our growth in God and our battle against the spiritual forces of evil. The writer of Hebrews (11:6) tells us "...without faith it is impossible to please God..." That is why the eyes of our heart must be enlightened.
Paul continues, "...eyes of your heart my be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you..." Not only do we need the knowledge of God to know Him more but we need to know the "hope to which he has called us." He has called us first and foremost to salvation through the blood of Jesus which cleanses us from all unrighteousness. He also calls us to his purpose for our lives-remember, Paul mentions predestination several times earlier in the chapter. He calls us to fight against the powers of Hell, well, actually, he calls us to be victorious over the powers of Hell. (Remember, Jesus has already won the victory.) I don't know what the hope of his calling is for you, but, I do know that God can and will reveal this to you as you seek Him above all things.The second thing he mentions in verses 18 and 19 that need our faith to be strengthened is "that you may know...the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints." Notice that he does not say "riches of his glorious inheritance for the saints." That would make more sense on the surface, but I have learned God has a purpose for the way things are phrased in His Word. If the word "for" had been there it would have implied something that was coming in the future. Instead, the word used is "in" which implies something that is already there. In fact, our inheritance has been in us since we became a "new creation" in Jesus. We have the inheritance already and it is a rich inheritance. The third thing Paul mentions is "is incomparably great power for us who believe." He goes on to say, "that power is like the working of his mighty strength..." Since I have the inheritance I have the power that goes along with it. I do not have to wait for the inheritance or the power-they are mine in Jesus.
Going on, Paul compares the power of God working in our lives through the Holy Spirit with the power "which [God] exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come" (verses 20 and 21).
Here we see another reference to the heavenly realms. There is no doubt in my mind that this little letter to the church in Ephesus is full of wisdom and knowledge related to spiritual warfare. I am not just talking about the obvious verses in chapter 6 that refers to the Armor of God. I believe the whole letter is about warfare in the heavenlies. Our inheritance in a spiritual inheritance even though it also involves physical and emotional blessings it is, first of all, spiritual.
In these two verses Paul reminds us that Jesus is "above all rule and authority, power and dominion." This is not just in some areas but in all areas-in everything.
In the last two verses of this chapter Paul reminds us where we get our authority in the spiritual realms. "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way" (verses 22 and 23). God put Jesus over everything-he is Lord of all.
In summary, this second half of chapter 1 helps us know even better who we are in Jesus. We have an inheritance that includes salvation and forgiveness and power and authority to defeat the evil forces of Hell.
Click here to read the post regarding the first half of Ephesians chapter 1.
May our Lord bless you richly as you live to honor him.
Tim
