Text: Ephesians 1:15-23
By: Eyanrin, Sunday (Evang.)
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15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:15-23 NKJV
This Morning, we shall be looking at Apostle Paul’s ‘’PRAYER’’ to the Ephesian Brethren verse by verse. Ephesians. 1:15 – 23.
Ephesians 1:15–16 (ESV) – 15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Paul has heard of their faith. They have great faith, a faith that is spoken about. They also have a great love for all the saints. These are two essential things Christians must have. We may have the impression that these Christians don’t need anything. We might assume that these are Christians who have everything. Paul thanks God for them, but he also prays for them.
Ephesians 1:17—19 – 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.
In these verses, we see that Paul prays for God to give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. Some translations make spirit uppercase, referring to the Holy Spirit. That would seem to imply that Paul wants the Ephesians to have some additional spiritual gifts. That could be the case, but the context points us to the lowercase version of this word.
What would that mean, and why would Paul pray for them to have that? This is similar to praying for someone to have a wise and discerning spirit. He wants their attitude or disposition to be full of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. Paul is asking God to transform their demeanor so that they can grow in their understanding, as also declared in Colossians 1:9 – 10.
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
WHAT DO THEY NEED TO KNOW?
In verse 18, he starts to describe three things God has done for the Ephesians to grasp. Now, as we look at these three things, we will tend to focus on ourselves. We want to think about what God has done for us, but Paul wants them to see and know God.
- a) They need to know about the hope of God’s calling,
- b) The riches of God’s inheritance, and
- c) The immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward them.
These three great blessings will help them.
- GOD’S CALLING TO HOPE IN CHRIST
The first thing Paul wants the Ephesians to know is the hope of God’s calling. God’s calling for the Ephesians and the hope of that call have been discussed at length in verses 3-14. These verses tell us repeatedly that God chose a group of people to be holy and blameless before him. He called them to make them his own. He would forgive them, adopt them as his children, and pay all their sin debt in
Jesus’ blood. Why?
So that they can be to the praise of his glory. That is their calling. The Ephesians are a part of that group. That is the hope of their calling. Paul wants them to know that and know God more intimately through that knowledge, according to 2 Peter.1:3 – 11.
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self- control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
- GOD’S RICH AND GLORIOUS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS
The second aspect of God that Paul wants them to know is the riches of God’s inheritance in the saints. This is connected to the first aspect. When we looked at verse
11 that we are God’s inheritance. We are his possession. God wanted them to see themselves as treasured by God when they come to the praise of God’s glory.
- GOD’S IMMEASURABLE POWER TOWARD US
The third aspect of God they need to know is the “immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” There is too much to say about this idea. we have to be brief here for the sake of time, but we are supposed to dwell on these three things. We are supposed to spend additional time considering the reality of all this. Consider the immeasurable greatness of God’s power.
Ephesians 1:19—23 – 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Paul wants us to consider God’s power TOWARD US. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave is used to raise us from spiritual death.
The same power that seats Jesus at his right hand and puts all things under his feet will fight for us and seek to keep us as his treasured possession. God is working “all things for the good of those who love God and are called according to God’s purpose.” (Rom 8:28).
How Does Ephesians Apply To Us Today?
The study of Ephesians 1:15-23, carries a timeless message: embrace our identity in Christ and to live in unity with one another, Pray for one another as brethren and those around us. By applying these teachings in our daily lives, we will grow closer to God . It also encourage us to further explore Ephesians and allow its profound truths to inspire our faith journey to eternity.
CONCLUSION
To conclude this message, It is absolutely necessary for us to notice, again, what is said in verses 22 and 23. God has given Christ as the head of the body. We are his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. We have been given a greater understanding of God so that we can be like him. Let’s be sure to fulfill God’s call for our lives and live for him in Jesus Name.
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