THE ENLIGHTENED HEART
Eph. 1:15-21
In our passage today Paul prays that their hearts would be enlightened. To enlighten means to explain or make clear. It can also mean to tell or inform. Our hearts can be enlightened by being told something new as well as having something we know to be explained or made clearer.
The Greek word Paul uses here, photizo, means to shine, to illuminate, to bring to light. Paul wants their hearts to illuminate and shine with the things he goes on to describe. That should be our prayer too-that our hearts and the hearts of others would receive the light of clarity and understanding regarding Jesus, his words and his ways.
1) Knowing God better (15-17).
Eph 1:15-17, "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."
Paul starts out by saying, "for this reason". In the preceding verses, he states that they were included in Christ when they heard and responded to the gospel, receiving the deposit that guarantees their glorious inheritance-the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul encourages them by telling them he hasn't stopped giving thanks for them and praying for them.
Paul mentions that he keeps asking that God would give them wisdom and revelation so they would know him better. They knew God and they responded to his call for salvation but that's not the end of it. There's more to learn; more to gain. We need God's wisdom and revelation to come to Christ in the first place and then we need to continue to receive wisdom and revelation in order to build our relationship with him.
Peter said in 2nd Pet. 3:8 that we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are to grow in our understanding of who Jesus is as well as growing in our love for him. Earlier Peter said in 1:2, "Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." How do we grow in grace? How do we gain an abundance of grace and peace by knowing God and Jesus?
Paul said that we would know him better. The better we know God the more we understand his grace and the better we experience his peace. We come to see the magnitude of receiving undeserved favor; we develop a greater appreciation for not being treated as our actions deserve. We cherish the ability to be at peace in trying situations. We have sincere gratitude for being able to not be consumed with guilt, fear, worry, doubt, anxiety, etc. We have the peace of God.
To know God better is to know and understand his love on an increasing level. There is knowing about God and there is knowing God. There is knowing information about God and then there is knowing God by having a relationship with him. We see the importance of this by Paul saying he keeps asking for it. This is a repetitive prayer for Paul.
We need to be diligent in that as well. We need to regularly ask that God gives us wisdom to understand him more. We need to pray that he would reveal himself to us in ways that cause us to be more in awe of him. We need God to reveal his word to us, his love to us, his passion to us and his will to us.
Matthew Henry's commentary reads: "Now what is it that Paul prays for in behalf of the Ephesians? Not that they might be freed from persecution; nor that they might possess the riches, honors, or pleasures of the world; but the great thing he prays for is the illumination of their understandings, and that their knowledge might increase and abound: he means it of a practical and experimental knowledge. The graces and comforts of the Spirit are communicated to the soul by the enlightening of the understanding."
When we pray to know God better we are giving ourselves the opportunity to better ourselves and gain what holds everlasting value.
2) The enlightened heart (18-21).
Eph. 1:18-21, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."
"Eyes of your heart". Obviously our hearts don't have literal eyes so what does Paul mean? The Greek word here, ophthalmos, can mean the literal organ, but it also means, the faculty of mental perception and understanding. It makes sense because we use the phrase I see both literally and perceptively. See what I mean? [collective groan.] Paul prays that their hearts would be enlightened so that they would know three things. Let's see what they are.
• To know the hope to which we are called (18a).
Paul prays that they would clearly discern the glorious and important objects of their hope, to the enjoyment of which God has invited them. Hope is a precious thing. What do you have if you don't have hope?
William Burkitt's commentary reads, "As a sinner's misery lies not in what he feels, but what he fears; so a Christian's happiness consists not in what he has in hand, but what he has in hope."
Paul wants them to not just know that they have hope, but to understand that hope on a deeper level; he wants them to become convinced of what they hope for-secure in the one they hope in-Jesus. He said in chapter two that at one time they were separate from Christ and without hope. But when they had their sins washed away through the sacrifice of Christ they were given salvation and eternal life.
Heb. 11:1 says that faith is being sure of what we hope for. The enlightened heart is solid in this hope. The hope of salvation; the hope of eternal life. That's how we strive; that's how we persevere. We know our work is not in vain; we know that all our sacrifices and tenacious efforts are going to be richly rewarded someday. But until that glorious day we respond to our hope by living a life of righteousness.
Titus 2:11-14, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
We understand the enormity of God's grace so we respond by living a godly life. And we believed Jesus when he said he's coming back to take us to our heavenly home so while we're waiting for that we eagerly do his work. This is how we will live when we know the hope to which we have been called. We show our belief for tomorrow by living for Jesus now. Our future hope is a present reality.
• To know the glorious riches of our inheritance (18b).
Paul wanted them to know and understand the glorious abundance of spiritual things they were blessed with. When we think of an inheritance we think of something that's waiting for us. But when it comes to the Christian's inheritance; it's both future tense and present tense.
The future tense is the inheritance of heaven and the rewards therein. And we don't really know what that will specifically be. We know there is a heaven, we know it's a perfect place where there is no pain or sorrow-only joy and love. We know our imaginations can only scratch the surface of its beauty and wonder.
Sometimes we focus only on our future inheritance. But that's only part of it. We Christians need to understand there is a present inheritance for us as we wait for our future inheritance in heaven. We have inherited kingdom treasures in the here and now. Phil 4:19, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
Think of what glory we've been given now because of Christ. We have inherited the Holy Spirit which means we have inherited our Counselor since Jesus referred to him by this name in John 14, 15 and 16.
We know the importance of having someone who will listen to us and respond to our concerns with sound and helpful advice. We understand how important it is to have someone who really cares about our well being and who will tell us what we need to hear-as painful as that is sometimes.
That's the blessing of having the Holy Spirit. And he's available 24/7. No matter what it is or when it is we can always call on him. And he will never steer us wrong. We can always trust what he says to us.
We have inherited a Comforter as God is called in 2nd Cor. 1:3. The Holy Spirit not only counsels, he comforts. It's one thing to be able to give great counsel-but with the Holy Spirit you also get someone who can ease your pain. He acknowledges our hurts and helps us through our pain. He might not be a physical presence to wrap your arms around but he will be able to calm you down and bring you peace.
We have inherited the things that no amount of money can buy. We've been given the things that are more valuable than anything this world has to offer. We have inherited true love, peace, joy, contentment, security, protection and provision. If our hearts are enlightened we will be able to understand all that we have in Jesus.
• To know the incomparably great power for us who believe (19-21).
Paul wants the Ephesian church to understand the great and awesome power of God. That power is seen in God's creation. We look at the world around us and we see raging seas and majestic mountains. We see the forces of nature and erupting volcanoes. And then we think outside of our planet and try to comprehend the vastness of the universe. So when we understand that God is behind all of creation we get a sense of his power.
What about the power behind the gospel itself. Paul said in Rom. 1:16 that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Before the power of God was put inside of us when we became saved the power of God reached us and enlightened us to believe the truth. That power is available to all but some choose not to believe or embrace it.
But the power behind the gospel message is incredible. The message of good news that Jesus alone is the one who saves people from eternal damnation. As one might guess, the gospel has caused quite a stir from the very beginning when Jesus and the apostles after him preached it all the way to today.
But the gospel is the message that causes people's souls to come to life. The gospel is the only message that carries the power of life and death depending on whether you accept it or not. No other message carries that weight. Paul understood that power and he understood the necessity for those who have become recipients of that power to know what they are enabled to do because of it.
Eph. 3:16-21, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
Paul prayed that they would know the power to be able to grasp how deeply God loved them. How much does it inspire you to know that someone truly loves you? I've talked to people who thought no one loved or cared for them. That belief brings depression and hopelessness. They might have people who do love and care about them but they aren't convinced of that.
The enlightened heart is convinced of God's love for them. And the power that realization brings is really limitless. This is the power that convinces us that God can do anything; more than our imaginations would allow. This is the power that convinces us that we can do anything God wills us to do. This is the power of God that enables us to face every difficulty. This is the power that is made perfect in our weakness.
2nd Cor. 12:7-10, "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
It seems foolish to hear Paul say this until you make sense of it. Who in their right mind is going to boast about their weaknesses? Who in their right mind is going to delight in hardships? We wouldn't apart from being able to see God's power at work. Through hardships the power of Christ works in us humility, character, perseverance, wisdom, etc.
It's when adversity strikes that our faith is challenged and when we rise to the challenge we become stronger in the faith and draw closer to Christ through it all. And we can delight in the relationship building that takes place between us and Jesus and us and others who come alongside of us and help us and comfort us in our struggles. Our difficulties are not fun, but this is when we see the power of Christ come alive the best.
(20-21)- Christ is the supreme ruler and power-no matter what power is at work against us it is no match for Christ's power; whether he works it out for us or we work it out through his power that is within us. Paul said Jesus is far above all other power.
He's not just slightly above; he's high above as in, 'nothing comes close' as in, 'no comparison', as in, 'by a landslide'. No other god, no other belief, no other authority; no other anything is any match for the one who is seated on his throne in the heavenly realms-Jesus who is the Christ.
Phil. 2:9-11, "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
There will come a day when everyone will bow to Jesus and acknowledge that he is who he said he is. Every atheist, every Satan worshipper, every leader of every other religion or cult will come to this reality. They might not do it while they're alive on this earth, but they will do it come judgment day.
We mustn't let the existence of evil in the world convince us that Jesus is not the supreme power. What he can do and what he allows are two different things. Why he allows it is another discussion but make no mistake-Jesus is in control.
But there will come a day when all the evil will be bound and contained and those who know Jesus as Savior and Lord will be brought to that euphoric place where nothing but goodness, holiness and love exists. The power of God that raised Jesus from the dead is our hope in being raised from the dead to take part in that glorious inheritance. That will be our eternal advantage; our perpetual state of being.
But until then we live in the preeminent, all surpassing power of God; the power that has accomplished incredible things. The power that is at work within us to change us to become more like Christ. The power that is at work through us to do the supernatural. The power to speak wisdom into someone's life that would change the way they think and behave.
2nd Pet. 1:3, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."
The enlightened heart knows, serves and loves God because the enlightened heart understands the mercy, grace, love, patience and generosity of God. The enlightened heart recognizes that there is nothing to worry about, nothing to fear because we serve a God who has no equal and is able to give us everything we need because everything belongs to him.
The enlightened heart knows the hope to which we have been called, the glorious riches of our inheritance and the incomparably great power for us who believe.
