Prayer for the Saints
Eph 1:15-23

7-1-07

Paul prayed for his converts in Ephesus, particularly after he heard of their faith in the Lord and their love toward the saints.  True faith in the Lord Jesus Christ results in love of the brethren [1 Jn 5:1-2].  Paul prayed that the Lord would give the Ephesians spiritual things that we must all have in order to grow and work as Christians.

 

He prayed that God would give them:

 

o       Wisdom - the spirit of wisdom in the knowledge of Jesus – 17 – wisdom is the ability to take knowledge and experience and common sense and use them in accordance with God’s will to live the Christian life – so wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord Ps 111:10 [basically the fear of the Lord in this context involves praising the Lord and doing what he says Ps 111:1] but also see Phil 2:12-13 - men blessed with wisdom were Joseph, Daniel, Solomon, Bezaleel, etc – wisdom allowed them to think like God and to do what he wanted them to do – according to Jas 3:17-18 the Spirit gives this wisdom and it has notable characteristics that help distinguish it from mere earthly wisdom

 

o       Revelation - the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Jesus – 17 – simply put, the spirit of revelation allows you to be able to understand God’s words - 1 Cor 2:10; Lk 10:21

 

o       Understanding - enlightened eyes of understanding – 18 – understanding, like wisdom and revelation, comes from the words of God [Ps 119:130; 1 Sam 14:27] – understanding is more than mere knowledge – knowledge is the accumulation of facts – understanding is the ability to use those facts for rational thought, inference or discrimination – for instance, a teenager learns the facts of safely driving a vehicle by reading a book or watching a video, yet he does not understand how to drive until he actually gets behind the wheel and applies the facts that he has learned to the safe handling of the car he is driving

 

Paul wanted them to have this spiritual wisdom, revelation and understanding:

 

§         To know the hope of his calling – 18 – see 2 Thes 2:14 with Eph 2:12 – we were called by the gospel to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ – before we were saved we had no hope; after we were saved we had hope [Rom 8:24-25] – once you realize this you realize that everyone without Christ is hopeless and this realization makes you a better preacher of the gospel

 

§         To know the riches of the glory of his inheritance – 18 – we must understand how great the inheritance is that we have in Christ [1 Cor 2:9-10] – then we’ll be willing to suffer and sacrifice now for the glory of the inheritance that we will receive later [Rom 8:18] – that’s how Jesus endured the cross [Rom 12:2]

 

§         To know the exceeding greatness of his power – 19 – because we must have supernatural power to live the Christian life and to do God’s will [1 Cor 2:4] – this power comes from three sources:

 

·         The power of his resurrection from the dead – 20 – Phil 3:10-12 – the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that currently resides in us

 

·         The power of his exaltation over everything – 20-22 – Phil 2:9-11 – Jesus is more powerful than any being in the universe, so there is absolutely nothing that he wants you to do that you cannot do – Jn 14:12-14 – it is obvious that many of us today still don’t understand this – we need the wisdom and revelation for which Paul prayed

 

·         The power of his authority over the church – 22-23 – Jesus is the head of the church and what he says goes – he is our authority and we must follow his commands and rely upon his provisions to get them done

Paul wanted the Ephesians to have wisdom, revelation and understanding of three of the most important things you and I will ever know from the Bible: our hope, our inheritance, and our power.

 

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