"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in the prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" (vv. 15-17).
Paul makes four requests in this prayer. His first request is that God would give the believers at Ephesus "THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM."
This knowledge of God is more that just an INTELLECTUAL knowledge of God; it is a PERSONAL knowledge of Him. It is more than knowing FACTS; it is knowing a PERSON.
How do we grow in the knowledge of God?
Spend time with Him.
Listen to Him.
Talk to Him.
It is significant that this was Paul’s first request for the Ephesians. If this was Paul’s supreme desire for these Christians, shouldn’t we see this as our greatest priority?
In verses 18-19 Paul makes three more requests.
"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe. . . ."
In this prayer Paul requests that his readers may know . . .
1. "THE HOPE OF [GOD’S] CALLING";
2. "THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF [GOD’S] INHERITANCE";
3. "THE EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF [GOD’S] POWER."
If we were to take out our prayer lists and compare them with the prayer list of Paul, how would they compare? Probably our prayer lists would be quite different.
From this prayer we learn two of Paul’s prayer principles:
1. Paul put the needs of others before his own needs.
Paul was constantly praying for others:
In his letter to the Romans, he wrote, "I make mention of YOU always in my prayers" (1:9).
In his first letter to the Corinthians, he wrote, "I always thank God for YOU" (1:4, NIV).
In his letter to the Philippians, he wrote, "In all my prayers for all of YOU, I always pray with joy" (1:4, NIV).
In his letter to the Colossians, he wrote, "We . . . do not cease to pray for YOU" (1:9).
In his first letter to the Thessalonians, he wrote, "We give thanks to God always for YOU all, making mention of YOU in our prayers" (1:2).
In his second letter to the Thessalonians, he wrote, "We pray always for YOU" (1:11).
In his second letter to Timothy, he wrote, "Without ceasing I have remembrance of THEE in my prayers night and day" (1:3).
In his letter to Philemon, he wrote, "I thank my God, making mention of THEE always in my prayers" (v. 4).
There was an old maid who prayed like this: "Lord, I don’t come to you asking anything for myself. I just ask that you would give to my mother a son-in-law."
2. Paul put spiritual needs before physical needs.
Our prayer lists are usually filled with matters such as Aunt Edith’s sore big toe and Cousin Henry’s sick cow.
There’s nothing wrong with praying for physical needs, but first on our prayer list should be spiritual needs.
Since this prayer is included in God’s inspired Word, we must conclude that this prayer is according to the will of God. Therefore it is God’s will that we know these things. God wants us to know these things.
I. GOD WANTS US TO KNOW THAT HE HAS CALLED US.
II. GOD WANTS US TO KNOW THAT HE HAS CALLED US TO AN INHERITANCE.
III. GOD WANTS US TO KNOW THAT HE HAS CALLED US TO AN INHERITANCE BY HIS POWER.
The first part of verse 18 is the key: "THE EYES OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING BEING ENLIGHTENED."
Without illumination from God, we cannot understand the things of God:
"The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
After Peter declared, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the God," Jesus said to him, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 16:16-17).
David prayed, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (Psalm 119:18). This should be our prayer before we begin reading God’s Word.
Unless we realize our dependence upon the Holy Spirit, the Word will not speak to us.
Look at verse 18 again: "The eyes of YOUR understanding being enlightened; that YE may know." Don’t take someone else’s word for it, see the truth of God’s Word for yourself.
Biblical illiteracy is a great problem among Christians today.
After one of Joseph Parker’s services, an old lady waited for him in the vestry to thank him for the help she received from his sermons. "You do throw such a wonderful light on the Bible, doctor," she said. "Do you know that until this morning, I had always thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were man and wife?" (sermonillustrations.com).
I would challenge you to read through the book of Ephesians once every week.
Bible scholar James M. Gray told a story that underscores the importance of reading the Scripture for personal growth. He said that when he was a young Bible teacher he became deeply impressed by the peace and spiritual poise of a friend with whom he often talked. Since Gray wanted that same stability, he asked his companion the secret of his confident bearing and positive outlook. "It all started through reading Ephesians," said the man. Gray was surprised by this simple response. He had read Ephesians many times but had never experienced the same strength he saw in his friend. Noticing Gray’s puzzled look, the man explained, "On one occasion, when I was on a short vacation, I took a pocket edition of Ephesians with me. Lying down one afternoon, I read all six chapters. My interest was so aroused that I read the entire epistle again. In fact, I did not finally lay it down until I had gone through it 15 times." He then said, "When I arose to go into the house, I was in possession of Ephesians; or better yet, it was in possession of me. I had the feeling that I had been lifted up to sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus—a feeling that was new to me" (sermonillustrations.com).
G. Campbell Morgan, the respected Bible teacher, said that he never spoke on a book of the Bible unless he first read that book fifty times!
I. GOD WANTS US TO KNOW THAT HE HAS CALLED US.
"Ye may know what is THE HOPE OF HIS CALLING" (v. 15b).
In Scripture "HOPE" always involves the FUTURE. Biblical hope is more than a mere wish that it MAY be realized; it is a confident expectation that it WILL be realized.
This hope involves GOD’S CALLING.
There is a TWO TYPES of calls that God makes to the lost: a GENERAL call and an EFFECTIVE call.
GOD’S GENERAL CALL
This call is offered to all, but not all accept it.
Jesus said, "Many be called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).
GOD’S EFFECTIVE CALL
Wayne Grudem offers a definition of God’s effective calling in his Systematic Theology: "Effective calling is an act of God the Father, speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel, in which he summons people to himself in such a way that they respond in saving faith" (693).
Grudem also points out, "It is important that we not give the impression that people will be saved by the power of this call apart from their own willing response to the gospel. Although it is true that effective calling awakens and brings forth a response from us, we must always insist that this response still has to be a voluntary, willing response in which the individual person puts his or her trust in Christ" (ibid.).
Unless God works in people’s hearts to make the proclamation of the gospel effective, there will be no genuine saving response:
Jesus proclaimed, "No man can come to me, EXCEPT THE FATHER WHICH HATH SENT ME DRAW HIM" (John 6:44).
"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: WHOSE HEART THE LORD OPENED, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul" (Acts 16:14).
All those who have been called by God in this way are true Christians:
"For ye see YOUR CALLING, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called" (1 Corinthians 1:26).
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreoever whom he did predestinate, THEM HE ALSO CALLED: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Romans 8:28-30). "The called" is another name for Christians.
God has called us into . . .
FELLOWSHIP WITH HIS SON: "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:9).
LIBERTY: "Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty" (Galatians 5:13).
HIS KINGDOM AND GLORY: God "hath he called you into his kingdom and glory" (1 Thessalonians 2:12).
LIGHT: God "hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
God’s calling is . . .
A HIGH CALLING (Philippians 3:14)
A HOLY CALLING (2 Timothy 1:9)
A HEAVENLY CALLING (Hebrews 3:1)
God wants us to be sure of our calling (sure that we are true Christians) so that we will be filled with hope for the future. You can’t be filled with hope unless you know you have been called.
Billy Graham tells the story of a time when Albert Einstein was going on a train to an out-of-town engagement. The conductor stopped by to punch his ticket. The great scientist, preoccupied with his work, with great embarrassment rummaged through his coat pockets and briefcase to no avail. He could not find his ticket. The conductor said, "We all know who you are, Dr. Einstein. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it. Everything is okay." The conductor walked on down the aisle punching other tickets. Before he moved to the next car, he looked back and saw Dr. Einstein down on his hands and knees looking under his seat trying to find his ticket. He came back and gently said, "Dr. Einstein, please don’t worry about it. I know who you are." Einstein looked up and said, "I too know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going!" (Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion, 244).
Regarding salvation and assurance, there are three groups of people:
1. Those who are secure but not sure. They are saved but lack assurance.
2. Those who are "sure" but not secure. They profess to be saved but really are not.
3. Those who are secure and sure.
Bill Hybels writes,
Sometime when you’re in an airport, observe the difference between passengers who hold confirmed tickets and those who are on standby. The ones with confirmed tickets read newspapers, chat with their friends or sleep. The ones on standby hang around the ticket counter, pace and smoke, smoke and pace. The difference is caused by the confidence factor. If you knew that in fifteen minutes you would have to stand in judgment before the Holy God and learn your eternal destiny, what would your reaction be? Would you smoke and pace? Would you say to yourself, "I don’t know what God’s going to say—will it be ‘Welcome home, child,’ or will it be ‘Depart from me; I never knew you’? (Too Busy Not to Pray, 113).
How can you be sure that you are saved? God has given to us an entire book of the Bible that tells us how we can be sure: First John. It is God’s will for God’s people to have assurance.
Ask yourself two questions:
AM I TRUSTING IN THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS? "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that YE MAY KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE" (1 John 5:13).
An elderly man said to H. A. Ironside, "I will not go on unless I know I’m saved, or else know that it’s hopeless to seek to be sure of it. I want a definite witness, something I can’t be mistaken about!" Ironside replied, "Suppose you had a vision of an angel who told you your sins were forgiven. Would that be enough to rest on?" "Yes, I think it would. An angel should be right." Ironside continued, "But suppose on your deathbed Satan came and said, ‘I was that angel, transformed to deceive you.’ What would you say?" The man was speechless. Ironside told him that God has given us something more dependable that the voice of an angel. He has given His Son, who died for our sins, and He has testified in His own Word that if we trust in Him all our sins are gone. Ironside read 1 John 5:13, "You may know that you have eternal life." Then he said, "Is that not enough to rest on? It is a letter from heaven expressly to you." God’s Spirit used that to bring assurance to the man’s heart (sermonillustrations.com).
AM I LIVING LIKE A CHRISTIAN IS SUPPOSED TO LIVE? "GIVE DILIGENCE TO MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE" (2 Peter 1:10).
II. GOD WANTS US TO KNOW THAT HE HAS CALLED US TO AN INHERITANCE.
"Ye may know . . . what [are] the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" (v. 18c).
There are two views concerning the inheritance in this request:
The inheritance is GOD’S.
"For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance" (Deuteronomy 32:9).
"Ye are . . . a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). "A peculiar people" really means "a people for God’s own possession."
The inheritance is OURS.
"As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. BUT GOD HATH REVEALED THEM UNTO US BY HIS SPIRIT. . . ." (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
Our inheritance is a GLORIOUS inheritance. It includes . . .
A Glorious PERSON
"The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance. . . . in the presence is fulness of joy. . . ." (Psalm 16:5, 11). God Himself is the inheritance of the saints.
A Glorious PLACE
Jesus promised to reserve a spot for us there: "In my Father’s house are many mansions . . . I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).
The Apostle John gives us more detail in the book of Revelation about this place: "I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:3-4).
Heaven is infinitely more wonderful that you or I can ever image it to be.
Glorious POSSESSIONS
We are "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. . . ." (Romans 8:17).
A Glorious BODY
Christ "shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body" (Philippians 3:21).
A. W. Pink wrote,
Certainly Paul would not have prayed for this blessing unless it was of great value and importance. We are bidden to set our affection on things above, and the more real and glorious they appear to us the easier it will be to comply with such a precept. And obviously the more our hearts are set on heavenly objects the less power will the perishing things of time and sense have to enthrall or even influence us (Gleanings from Paul).
III. GOD WANTS US TO KNOW THAT HE HAS CALLED US TO AN INHERITANCE BY HIS POWER.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, "The Apostle, here, is not so much praying that the Ephesians may be given power, as that they may know the power of God that is already working in them" (God’s Ultimate Purpose, 391).
No one can make himself a Christian; God alone makes Christians.
Second Corinthians 5:15 tells us that a Christian is a "new creation." There is only one person who can create—God. It takes the power of God to make a Christian.
Paul points this out in Ephesians 2:1: "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins."
The God who raised Jesus from the dead has raised us to new life.
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
