Eyes of the Heart ¡V Eph. 1:15-19a
Steve Simala Grant, Aug. 5, 2001
Intro: Praying Scripture
Have you ever prayed Scripture? Taken your Bible with you to prayer, opened it, and allowed the words of God to become your words to God? For centuries, the practice of praying Scripture has been common among Christians seeking to know God, as they seek both to hear God speak to them through His Word and also as they seek to express their desires to God using the words found in Scripture.
It is really not difficult to do. Especially if you choose a passage of Scripture which is a prayer already! The idea is simply that you take the words of Scripture and make them your own in expression to God. We do this in our worship ¡V that is what the majority of song writers today are doing, taking Scripture and expressing it in their own words and in music ¡V and that is why worship can be so powerful, because it is expressing God¡¦s Word back to Him as our prayer.
I begin with that question, and with that really brief overview of a spiritual discipline, because today we are going to look at Paul¡¦s prayer in Eph. 1:15-19a. My goal for us today is two-fold: first that we would ¡§own¡¨ this prayer of Paul¡¦s and pray it for ourselves and our community, and second that we would see answers to this prayer.
Read Eph. 1:15-23
There is so much in this prayer that we could talk about this morning, but there simply is not time to mine each nugget of truth ¡V I¡¦ll leave some treasures for you to find in your own study. Instead this week I want to concentrate on vss. 17-19a, where Paul expresses the content of his prayer, and next week we¡¦ll look at vss. 19b-23. He prays first for what we might call ¡§head knowledge¡¨, and second for what we might call ¡§heart knowledge¡¨.
A. Head Knowledge - vs. 17
Paul¡¦s first prayer, and notice that it is a continual prayer, is that God would give us ¡§the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.¡¨ Notice first the capital ¡§S¡¨ on Spirit (NIV) ¡V referring to the Holy Spirit. The passage just prior to this one has taught us that as believers in Christ we have the Holy Spirit ¡V it describes Him as a ¡§deposit¡¨, and here Paul prays that the Spirit might be manifest in our minds as He brings wisdom and revelation. It is the Holy Spirit that speaks to our minds, focussing us and drawing our thoughts to God. It is the Holy Spirit that leads us in right thinking and in the right doing that follows.
He asks that the Spirit would bring us wisdom. I did a little research this week to find out what this word means, and the definition I found was ¡§the ability to use knowledge for correct behavior.¡¨ So the idea is more than simply knowing in our heads, but knowing in our heads in such a way that translates into how we behave. It is the idea of deep knowledge ¡V not just knowing a list of rules for behavior, but knowing the reasons, the concepts, and the correct motivations behind those reasons. Wisdom is understanding that manifests itself in correct behavior.
Alongside wisdom Paul prays for revelation. This is the idea of uncovering, disclosing, revealing. I see this as the point when we really come to understand. I don¡¦t know about you, but I often find myself reading something, then having to read it again, stop and think about it, maybe read it one more time, then finally ¡V ¡§aha!¡¨ I get it. The light clicks on, and it is suddenly clear. Paul¡¦s prayer here is that the Spirit would flip the light switch, and God¡¦s words would be revealed.
The next idea in Paul¡¦s prayer is the idea of knowing God. The NIV translates this idea with the phrase ¡§so that you may know him better.¡¨ Again I did a little digging, and found out that there is more to it than this. The word Paul uses means ¡§to possess more or less definite information about, possibly with a degree of thoroughness or competence.¡¨ Paul is not simply praying that we would know God better, but that we would know God fully. I think this is a key distinction. God does not desire mere familiarity with us ¡V he does not want us to be merely acquaintances. He wants us to know Him definitely ¡V fully ¡V intimately.
That is the first part of Paul¡¦s prayer, for head knowledge. Do you notice, though, that none of these words suggest simply learning more facts about God? It is not about knowing more things, but about knowing a person. It is not just about understanding, but about right action that comes from that right understanding. You and I live in an information culture. We are saturated ¡V the biggest challenge for us is not to gather information, but to sift through it to find what is true and relevant and interesting. And I think it is tempting for us to import that understanding into our spiritual lives as well. We desire more information, more facts, more interesting Biblical tidbits, more training, new perspectives on familiar passages. And sometimes we use those things to avoid intimacy with God ¡V we want to learn about Him without ever getting to really know Him. We wants facts that we can hold in our heads rather than truths that we can live by. The truth of the Gospel is infinitely simple: Jesus died for us, was raised from the dead for us, and invites us to respond in faith and obedience. The hard part is not understanding it but living it.
B. Heart Knowledge vs. 18-19a
Paul¡¦s prayer is not only for head knowledge, it is also for heart knowledge. (read vs. 18-19a). And this is all a matter of prayer. Last week Lyn shared a testimony of how God has been changing her. I was talking with her and another friend a few weeks before that, and Lyn said to this other friend, ¡§I¡¦d heard all about this, you¡¦ve been talking about it to me for months and months, and I just finally got it.¡¨ The things that had been said finally became real when God did it ¡V the head knowledge became heart knowledge. There is a great lesson here for all of us ¡V that only God can bring heart knowledge. I confess that is a difficult thing ¡V because when God has done something wonderful in our lives we very naturally want others to have the same excitement and joy, and so we explain and share and persuade. And so we should! But we must recognize that it is only God that brings heart knowledge. Only God that changes people. So keep sharing the exciting things God is doing, but if you really, really want others to catch that excitement, go to prayer for them. Just like Paul does, take it to God in prayer.
Paul¡¦s prayer is that ¡§the eyes of your heart may be enlightened¡¨. Isn¡¦t that a beautiful phrase? Paul uses ¡§heart¡¨ to mean our very core ¡V the entirety of our inner self, all of our convictions and feelings and emotions. And he prays that we would be spiritually enlightened.
He gets more specific than this general enlightenment ¡V he prays that we would know 1. the hope of the calling of God; 2. the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints; and 3. His incomparably great power for us.
1. The hope of the calling of God.
¡§Hope¡¨ in the Bible is different from the way we usually use the word. We usually use ¡§hope¡¨ as a stronger word for ¡§wish¡¨ ¡V we ¡§hope¡¨ we will win the publishers clearing house sweepstakes ¡V we ¡§hope¡¨ it will be sunny the day we plan a trip to the park ¡V we ¡§hope¡¨ we get the job we applied for. But when Paul uses the word in this phrase, he¡¦s not talking about a vague wish for the future. He is talking about something concrete ¡V something definite ¡V something that is in the future but is solid and reliable, that he is looking forward to. Here particularly it is the hope of the calling of God. And His prayer is that we might know this hope in our hearts.
Have you ever sat by the bedside of an elderly Christian man or woman who was facing death with this knowledge of the hope of the calling of God? There is a peace, an assurance, a confidence in their knowing. At times it seems as though they know something that the rest of us do not ¡V and that is probably the truth! The eyes of their hearts are open, and they know the certainty of the hope of God¡¦s calling.
I wish there was a way to explain this, a process which I could walk through to find this, but there isn¡¦t. It¡¦s a matter of prayer and of God opening the eyes of our hearts to know the hope of His calling. All we can do is ask God to enlighten us to this hope, and give Him the time and space to begin to create that in us.
2. The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.
This second part of Paul¡¦s prayer excites me. First, whose inheritance are we talking about here? Verse 11 talks about an inheritance that we have in Christ ¡V but this verse is different. Here it is ¡§His¡¨ inheritance ¡V the ¡§His¡¨ being God¡¦s. Paul¡¦s second prayer is that we might know the ¡§riches of GOD¡¦S glorious inheritance.¡¨ That is what we are talking about! But the phrase continues, explaining what this inheritance of God¡¦s is: ¡§in the saints.¡¨ That is you and I ¡V the NT uses the word ¡§saints¡¨ to apply to all God¡¦s people. God¡¦s inheritance is us. Now look at how we are described ¡V ¡§riches of his glorious inheritance.¡¨ Can you believe it? We are God¡¦s inheritance, and He looks at us as ¡§rich and glorious¡¨, and Paul¡¦s prayer is that you and I would know it. Not just know it in our heads, but know, deep in our hearts, that God views us incredibly highly. He looks upon us and sees richness and glory, and he treasures us as His inheritance.
Why does Paul pray that we might know this in our hearts? I believe it is so that we will begin to live more like it. So that we will live our lives believing that God values us highly, and then strive to live up to our calling out of gratitude to God. We don¡¦t obey out of a desire to become good enough for God to love and accept ¡V we obey out of a conviction that God sees us as His highly valued, rich, glorious children, and thus a desire to live up to God¡¦s view of us.
When you and I know who we are in Christ, when we really know in our hearts that we are loved and valued and accepted by God, we are truly free. Free from ¡§performance Christianity,¡¨ free from striving for God¡¦s love, free from the burden of living up to an impossibly high calling. We are free to live in childlike joy as God¡¦s precious children, rich and glorious in His sight. We are God¡¦s inheritance.
A noted Bible Scholar, FF Bruce, writes this: ¡§That God should set such a high value on a community of sinners, rescued from perdition and still bearing too many traces of their former selves, might well seem incredible were it not made clear that he sees them in Christ, as from the beginning he chose them in Christ.¡¨
3. His incomparably great power for us who believe.
This is the last thing Paul prays that we might know in our hearts ¡V the power of God. The rest of chapter 1 elaborates on this power of God, and we¡¦ll look at that in more detail next week.
Do you know, deep in your inner being, the power of God? Have you experienced it changing you, bringing you into life from a place of spiritual death? Have you known God¡¦s sustaining power, holding you tight through difficult times, empowering you to continue to live through despair, temptation, and challenge? This power is described by Paul as ¡§incomparably great.¡¨ It is a power greater than the President of the USA, the CEO of a major multinational corporation, even greater than the bullet of the executioner „³ it is power for new life ¡V for eternal life ¡V for the defeat of death ¡V for salvation both for eternity as well as for life today. This power is stronger than any of our temptations, stronger than any bonds that hold us tight, stronger than any illness or fear or stronghold.
And Paul says that this power is for us who believe. God¡¦s desire is that we live daily in the power of God, for the sake of our own lives as well as the sake of those around us who do not yet know Christ as Lord. Even more, Paul goes on to say that this power is the same as the power with which Christ was raised from the dead.
So why don¡¦t most of us live in the reality of the power? Maybe the eyes of our hearts have not yet been open to knowing this power. Maybe we harbor sinful actions and attitudes. Maybe we simply don¡¦t give God time. Maybe it is because we are relying on our past experience with God instead of relating to Him and loving Him and relying on Him every day. The power of God is similar to electricity. It is created by burning coal which turns huge generators, water-driven turbines, or windmills. But it can¡¦t be stored ¡V it must be created the moment a demand is made for it. I believe the power of God is the same way ¡V it can¡¦t be stored, we have to be connected to God constantly so that the power can flow continually. And that takes time, daily, to be present with God in prayer and in His Word.
The answer to our search to live more in the power of God is prayer ¡V and Paul¡¦s prayer that our hearts would be opened to knowing this power is an excellent place to start.
Conclusion:
I love how Paul puts both the head and the heart together. He doesn¡¦t call us to mere cognitive Christianity. He doesn¡¦t call us to mere experiential Christianity. His prayer is that we would both know God fully with our minds in such a way that we live obediently, and also that the eyes of our hearts would be open so that, in the very core of our being and experience, we would know hope, who we are as God¡¦s rich and glorious inheritance, and God¡¦s power for our lives.
I¡¦ve re-written the prayer, just changing the prepositions so that we could personalize this and pray it together, and I¡¦d like to close with us praying Scripture together:
¡§We keep asking that you, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, our glorious father, might give us the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, that we might know you fully. We pray also that the eyes of our hearts might be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which you have called us, that we (the saints) are your glorious inheritance, and that we might know your incomparably great power for us.¡¨
