A Prayer For Spirit Enlightenment (Ephesians 1:15-23) Series

Let's start today by reading part of last week's passage. I'll read from my translation, but feel free to follow along however you'd like. Let's turn to Ephesians 1:7, and we'll read through verse 10:

(7) In him (=Jesus) we have the freedom/release through his blood-- the forgiveness of trespasses/sins--

in accordance with the riches of his grace,

(8) which He made abound to us with all wisdom and the ability to understand,

(9) making known to us the mystery of his will,

in accordance with his good will/desire which He planned in him,

(10) for the stewardship of the fullness of the times, to bring together all things in Christ--

the things in the heavens,

and the things in the earth-- in him.

What we see in these verses, is that God has this huge, sweeping, cosmic plan that He's bringing to fruition through Jesus.

And this plan, in essence, is about bringing all things together in heaven and earth. There will no more divisions, because of what God has done, and is doing, and will do, through Jesus.

Jesus brings together God and people, overcoming our own sin and rebellion.

Jesus brings together all people, removing all the ways we divide each other by race, or gender, or wealth, or power, or ethnicity.

And Jesus brings together heaven and earth, as well. We tend to think of heaven and earth as being two disconnected, divided things. And what we'll see in Ephesians, is that this really isn't the case.

I grew up in a church tradition where we talked a lot about how sin separates people from God, and how Jesus bridges that gap. Jesus died in our place, so that our sins could be forgiven, and so that we could be freed from the power of Sin. But at least in my Christian circles, the focus usually started and ended there. That's what we think Jesus did. Period. And what Paul is saying, is that what God did for people through Jesus is far bigger than that. Jesus tears down the barrier that separates us from God, that separates Jew from Gentile, in particular, and that separates heaven from earth. Jesus brings everything together.

So God is making this one single, holy family, and He invites all people to join this family through Jesus. And if you've said "yes" to God's invitation, and understand what you've been invited to, you can't help but respond by praising God. God has been incredibly good to us. God loved us when we did nothing to deserve it. And for God to forgive our sins, and make us part of his family---? It's great. It's truly good news.

This brings us to today's passage. Paul understands what God is doing in the world. God has this vision, this goal, to make one single family for himself. Paul sees God's plan, and he sees it starting to come to fruition. God's family is growing across the world, and Paul praises God for this.

In today's passage, in verse 15, Paul turns from this cosmic, bird's eye perspective, to praising God specifically for what God is doing in the Ephesian church. Each little church is a part of this great cosmic plan, and Paul is thankful for this little Ephesian church, and he's thankful to God, for what God is doing for them.

Verse 15:

For this reason I also, hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the holy ones, do not stop giving thanks for you,

remembrance making in my prayers,

Every church develops a reputation over time. It becomes known for something. I'm not sure how it is in [ ], but in [ ], you could ask random Christians on the street about the different churches, and you'd get pretty detailed descriptions from people about those churches, even if they've never set foot in that building. That reputation might be good, or it might be bad. Usually, it ends up being a little bit of both. People always say, "That church has a great... something, but..." It's like we think we always need to careful to say something negative about every church, and every pastor.

Once in a while, a church's local reputation becomes known more regionally. We hear stories about some church in Fargo, or the Twin Cities. Some church stands out, for one reason or another.

This church in Ephesus has become one that stands out. It has a reputation for two things. First, they have faith in the Lord Jesus. Second, they love all the holy ones. Traditionally, English Bibles will translate this, "for all the saints." I don't want to rabbit trail too hard on this, but the word "holy" means something like consecrated, or committed, or dedicated. Some of you probably have fine china, that's dedicated for specific holidays. You have Christmas and Easter dishes. And you also have ordinary everyday dishes. The idea of being holy, is that are you like fine china to God. It's a way of saying that you are dedicated, committed, consecrated, to God.