Ephesians 1:15-23, part 1

Hi Ladies,

How many of you got red ink in English class due to run-on sentences? If so, you’re not alone. The apostle Paul would have been right with you. 😄 

Did you know that after the brief greeting in Ephesians 1, the rest of the chapter is just two sentences in the original Greek?! Hence the complexity and richness of his long-sentence prayer from vv. 15-23. We’re going to take the next few weeks to meditate on and pray through it. I want you to read the whole prayer below:

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 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, 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, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 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. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

We’re going to focus on the bold section this week. A few things to note before we get to Paul’s requests for this church body:

1) “For this reason” - when you see a connecting phrase like this (or others like “therefore,” “because,” “in light of,” etc.), ask yourself, What is it there for? Paul has just finished another rich (one-sentence!) expression of all that is ours in Christ (read vv. 3-14 to remind yourself). So, Paul’s prayer for them is motivated by incredible realities that they - and we - are prone to forget.

But notice what word comes next: “…because.” Is “for this reason” pointing backward or forward? Or both? Paul often seems to do both!
Let’s look at the forward reasons he now gives:

2) Paul had ministered in Ephesus for about 3 years, likely beginning about 10 years before writing this letter to them (Acts 19). So, as a faithful planter and pray-er, Paul had worked hard and then entrusted the results to the Lord. But he had recently heard that they were bearing fruit! And that knowledge motivated both this prayer as well as constant, gratitude-filled prayers for them. He highlights two connecting fruits: “faith in the Lord Jesus” and “love toward all the saints.” How do faith and love connect?

Can you picture a vibrant faith without love? Or can you imagine trying to love our brothers and sisters without understanding how or why? Vertical faith and horizontal love are inseparable. Read 1 Jn 3:23 if you’re not sure. And, pray that this would be true of us as well.

Now the main request: “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, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened.” Notice the triune involvement! This was demonstrated in his last long sentence as well. Paul had a robust understanding of our triune God. Do you? If not, what can you do to move toward that?

Why does he call God “the Father of glory”? I’ll let you determine that on your own. But I’ll give you a hint: “Context is king.” (A phrase I often heard in Bible college!)

Another question… (If you haven’t already gathered, always be asking questions of the Text!): If we already have the Spirit (v. 13), why pray that God would give us “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him?”
Greek doesn’t capitalize proper nouns like English does, so it’s not always clear which is which. Should it be (the Holy) Spirit or (our) spirit? Respected theologians have differing opinions, but in this case, the meaning doesn’t really change. Yes, at salvation we received as much of God’s Spirit as we get as believers… (pause and ponder that for a minute if you need to, and watch this LAB if you’d like to explore more)…

…but do we have complete wisdom and understanding in our knowledge of God? (The easiest question yet!!) That’s why we’re commanded over and over to get wisdom, to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, to keep saturating our minds with the truth, and to continuously cry with Paul, “that I may know Him!” (Phil. 3:10)

And this is only possible by God’s Spirit enabling our spirit, enlightening the eyes of our hearts, to know Him more fully as He has revealed Himself, and then to live in light of that knowledge. There is a physical seeing and a spiritual; a physical hearing and a spiritual. Sadly, many “see” but do not see, and “hear” but do not hear (Mt. 13:13). Wisdom is being able to apply knowledge to life. And we need supernatural help for both knowing and applying. So we should pray for one another consistently, that God would grant us by His Spirit in us to grow in our understanding of the incredible realities of our God and then to live in light of them…

“So that we may know…” and Paul highlights three things. But that’s for next week!

Thanks for hanging with me. This email offers some study tips in addition to a prayer focus that I pray will be helpful in your pursuit of abiding in Him. ❤️🙏

Anna