Purpose, Prayer, & Power. Ephesians 1:15-23

Ephesians 1:15–23 (ESV)

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

James Mongtomery Boice makes the point that God’s sovereignty might cause some to wonder if there is a reason to pray?

He writes, “what is the point of doing anything? Why witness? Why study the Bible? Why do good works? If what is going to happen is going to happen anyway, none of these things count. We might as well do as we please and let God do what he wants.”

In Ephesians 1 Paul makes it clear that God is sovereign over the past, present, and future. But, Paul follows his introduction to the sovereign rule of God with an emphasis on the urgency and primacy of prayer in the life of a Christian. In our passage today we will see this truth unfold:

God saves us with a purpose that requires prayer for its fulfillment.

While some may think that God’s sovereignty is a reason to neglect prayer, Paul is moved to pray that God would continue the work He began in the Ephesians until they are walking closely with the Lord and mature in their faith.

When you consider Paul’s prayer, you see quickly that he is confident in his prayer.

Paul’s confidence in prayer is rooted in the knowledge that God is at work in the Ephesians and in the world.

Remember that Paul has just made the case that God is the author of salvation and that it is a work in the hearts of men that finds is root in His love, grace, and plans. In fact, we can learn a lot about why we pray from this passage.

Paul believes that God is working things out according to His plan, and yet Paul is motivated to pray for them. Even they have been saved by the grace of God through their faith in Jesus Christ Paul says that he does not cease to give thanks for them and to remember them when he prays.

There are many people who pray only for God to do something that he hasn’t done yet, but Paul is praying here with thanksgiving for what God has already done.

Paul prays for them because of what God has done in them through Jesus Christ.

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

Paul has heard of their faith… which means that everything he wrote in Ephesians 1:3-14 is theirs.

They are in Christ

They have an inheritance

They are the beneficiaries of all of God’s spiritual blessings because of God’s grace and their faith in Jesus.

They have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and are promised to be with God when Jesus returns to bring all things together in heaven and on earth.

Paul thanks continually thanks God for their salvation…

Do you regularly pray and thank God for the salvation of others? Your spouse? Your children? Your church members, your friends, other churches, etc?

We must guard against growing cold to the grace of God, and one way we can do that is to pray regularly with thanksgiving for our salvation and the salvation of others.

Many people struggle to know what to pray for… Paul has just shown us one thing to pray about, and that’s thanksgiving. But he also shows us to other things to pray for.

And remember, Paul’s motivation for praying is that he has heard of their faith.

Paul prays that they would know God personally and be faithful to God in their personal lives.

Ephesians 1:16-23

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Knowing God personally involves knowledge and power.

Paul prays in Ephesians 1:17-18, that God might “give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints”

Without the revelation of God and the work of the Spirit we cannot know God personally.

Knowing God also involves power, and Paul points to the immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward those who believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:19-20 says,” 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places”

God reveals himself by the power of the holy Spirit through the revelation of His word, and God demonstrates his power to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul prays that they would grow and fulfill the new life they have in Christ. Our sermon series is New Life 101, because Ephesians provides the foundation for our life and instructions on how to live it.

God saves everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus, but He also calls each believer to a life meaning and purpose.

Ephesians 1:18-23 says, “18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

As John Stott writes, God “called us to Christ and holiness, to freedom and peace, to suffering and glory. More simply, it was a call to an altogether new life in which we know, love, obey and serve Christ, enjoy fellowship with him and with each other, and look beyond our present suffering to the glory which will one day be revealed. This is the hope to which he has called you. Paul prays that our eyes may be opened to know it.”

Practically I think we can take away 3 things Christians do after they are saved to fulfill their calling and purpose. (for your new life in Christ.)

3 Things Christians do after they are saved:

Grow in your faith by growing in your knowledge of God.

God called you to himself and has a plan for you. And this is the plan that he had in mind when he saved you… Paul tells them he is praying that they will know what is the hope, that means he is praying that they will grow in their knowledge of God’s plan and purposes for their lives.

I’ve already mentioned Stott in our sermon, and he described this beautifully:

"Faith goes beyond reason, but rests on it. Knowledge is the ladder by which faith climbs higher, the springboard from which it leaps further… knowledge and faith need each other. Faith cannot grow without a firm basis of knowledge; knowledge is sterile if it does not bring forth faith.”

?

Focus on your future riches and inheritance in Christ.

Paul prays that they would know the riches of his glorious inheritance…it’s as if we wants us to “glory” in the future promises of God rather than the world and it’s riches.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19–21 (ESV), 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Paul is praying what we all need to to focus on. That our focus would be on our future in Christ rather than focusing solely on this life. You will spend your time, also known as your life on what you focus on.

Paul says in Colossians 2:3, “In [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). He writes in Romans 11:33, “Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and the knowledge of God” (Romans 11:33)

Here in Ephesians he again writes of the riches, wisdom, and knowledge that are found in Christ.

Paul is praying for them, and also instructing us that we would live with our focus on the future inheritance we have in Christ. Our goal should be to heed the instruction and wisdom of Jesus and lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven… and in doing so aim our hearts where we will be for eternity… which is where Christ is.

Ephesians 1:20-23… Jesus is seated with God the Father, “at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

This leads to me the third thing Christians do after they are saved.

Depend daily on the power of God

The power of God has been demonstrated in the resurrection of Jesus, by his place at the right hand of the Father, and by his position of authority and rule over the church and all things.

And this passages says in verse 23 that Jesus, the resurrected and reigning king over all things including the church is also in the church. Paul writes about the power of God as something more than just what we believe in.

The power of God is something that we experience. We experience it first when we are saved, and then Paul says that the power of God is a part of our new life in Christ.

This means that a host of things that are beyond your power to control, are not beyond God’s power. Your tongue, your temper, greed, lust, jealousy, and pride are various examples of things that people cannot control under their own strength. And yet, in Christ the power of God that has overcome death has also overcome evil. As a result, believers can depend on the power of God and the help of the Holy Spirit to resist temptation, the devil, and the pressure of the world and obey God

God saves us with a purpose that requires prayer for its fulfillment.

Are you saved?

Are you praying?

Are you growing, focusing, and depending?

“The main purpose of prayer is not to make life easier, nor to gain magical powers, but to know God.”

― Philip Yancey, Prayer

“Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why God doesn’t act the way we want God to, and why I don’t act the way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.”

― Philip Yancey, Prayer

“We truly live only one day at a time. It doesn’t really help to worry about the future, which we can’t control, or the past, which we can’t change.”

We cannot simply pray and then wait for God to do the rest.”

― Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

“We do not pray to tell God what he does not know, nor to remind him of things he has forgotten. He already cares for the things we pray about... He has simply been waiting for us to care about them with him.”

― Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?