Ephesians 1:15-23 Go Deeper
Paul tells his readers that he is praying for them. It is not just any prayer but one of deeper revelation than they previously had. Paul is praying that this faithful group keep growing in Christ.
The Ephesian church has already proven that they have faith in Jesus. They are caring for one another. I’m sure they have some issues that they struggle with but they are not so significant that Paul feels compelled to address them with correction. What Paul is doing instead is winding them up to watch them go!
His prayer to me feels like a “pep rally” speech. He is so excited about Jesus and what more He has to offer that he can hardly contain himself. He starts with the first request he wants to make for them; “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (verse 17).
That is the basic building block for anything we learn from Him. If it doesn’t come through the Spirit our spirit doesn’t understand it. Jesus proved that with all His parables. Only those whom the Spirit opened their hearts and minds to understand them truly got them.
The next thing Paul adds to this is exciting foundation is to “(have) the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you” (verse 18a). He wants them to KNOW in their hearts the awesome hope that Jesus provides. Not just to hear about it or read about it somewhere, but to truly see with all your heart EVERYTHING Jesus has for them. Can I get an Amen!
And we don’t stop there! Paul prays that we move into “the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints” and experience His “immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe”(verses 18b-19a). God GAVE us an inheritance! God’s power works in us! I don’t know about you but that excites me!
Paul takes a side note here and proves out that power he is talking about. He goes into a bit of detail as to exactly what God’s power can do and how we can know its value.
God Himself raised Jesus from the dead through His own power. That Power also brought Jesus back into Heaven with Him and placed Jesus on His right hand. Then He gave Jesus authority over ALL rulers, dominions and every other name that ever was, is or will be.
God wrapped up in a package for His Son EVERYTHING He owned and gave it to Him as a gift. And He gave His Son a bride; the church. That is you and me. Jesus cares for this bride as He would His own body, for we are both.
THAT is the Father and Son Paul prays his readers will meet. The one who spoke the universe into being. The one whom death could not hold. The one who loves you as His own. That is the God who will make sure you understand His heart when you search for Him.
Father God, I want to search and know You more intimately every day. I want those mountain top experiences. But I also want those low valley intimate sustaining experiences too. I want to know You in every way possible. Help me to open myself up to Your Spirit at all times. It is mind blowing that YOU would want to spend time with me so much that YOU planned it all out from the beginning of time. If I can’t trust You I have nothing. You have proven Yourself SO faithful that I can’t help but trust You! Thank You for taking the time to prove Your love. I needed it in black and white and living color. And YOU provided it ALL!
June 28, 2018 @ 1:10 PM
“Winding them up to watch them go!” What great imagery! I can’t think of anything that’s more personally rewarding to a leader than to watch their team take ownership of “the lesson” and put it to work in their lives.
As a leader of small groups I delight in throwing out an idea and sitting back to watch what my peeps will do with it. Sometimes it’s a project (like one of our Women’s Guild annual events: Breakfast with Santa, Baby Shower for Charity, or Trunk-or-Treat,) other times it’s a question designed to foster one to internal scrutiny as a means of learning more about oneself.
On the project front, it can seem ‘disorganized’ as the ladies form themselves into committees, each committee taking on its role as though that ‘little part’ is the only one of significance – but when it all comes together, the end result proves greater than the sum of its parts. Then there are accolades, and I get much more of the ‘credit’ than I actually deserve. Whereas with the probing questions (something I employ regularly on my ‘second level’ grief recovery group for widows and widowers) each person works alone in their scrutiny–and then some choose to bring what they’ve learned about themselves for group discussion, while others choose not to. In either case, my role remains in the background, secondary to their work.
I think Paul’s focus here–as in much of his writings–is to incite that kind of self-scrutiny; the kind of inner examination that leads to a deeper faith formation; that encourages his readers to quantify their belief into the reality of their very existence. As he sees the results of them doing that, I think you captured very well how elated he must have felt watching them GO! after he had wound them up.
July 1, 2018 @ 3:39 AM
I’m so grateful to hear your experience with this message! I enjoy hearing what God brings out of our time together. I’ve been missing the feedback too. 🙂