Ephesians 1:15-17 | From Information to Transformation

Intro. “If you were to type ‘Who is God?’ into Google, you’d get millions of results: bible passages, sermons, opinions, arguments, and debates. But would any of that truly change you? Job asked the question long before search engines existed: ‘Can a man by searching find out God?’ (Job 11:7, KJV). Paul, in Ephesians 1, gives us a clear answer: true knowledge of God is not something we find—it’s something revealed. And when God reveals Himself to us, it doesn’t just inform—it transforms.”

There is a difference between knowledge about God and knowledge of God.

Knowing about God informs us, but truly knowing God transforms us.

This is how the Apostle Paul puts it:

Ephesians 1:15–17 “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,”

Pray

Knowing about God informs us, but truly knowing God transforms us.

You don’t need to a PhD in Theology

You don’t need a high IQ

You don’t need friends in high places

You don’t need to be rich or successful

You don’t need to come from a solid Christian family

You don’t need to travel to a specific “holy place.”

The good news is that God has already provided everything in Christ for us to know him more deeply.

Paul prays that the Father would give believers the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation so that we would know God better.

He is not talking about information knowledge; he is talking about relational knowledge.

Example: Genesis 4:1: Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived…

The Hebrew verb “to know” (Heb. yada), “occurs about 1,040 times (995 in Hebrew and 47 in Aramaic) in the Bible. Essentially yada˓ means: (1) to know by observing and reflecting (thinking), and (2) to know by experiencing. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words

In the Bible, “to know” can either mean information or experience. Paul prays that believers would come to experience God in a personal, relational sense.

The Christmas story, the birth of Christ is an invitation to a personal relationship with God.

Matthew 1:21–23 “21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”

Ephesians 1:10 “10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

I discovered three important realities when it comes to knowing God.

(1) Truly knowing God is for all who are in Christ.

Paul is writing to the whole church.

(point out the “you”, they are in plural)

Ephesians 1:15–17 “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,”

Paul prays for the whole church.

Knowing God is not just for pastors, missionaries, or church leaders

Knowing God is available to anyone who is in Christ.

Do you want to know God deeper?

Do you want to experience Jesus Emmanuel, God with us this Christmas in a deeper way.

Knowing about God informs us, but truly knowing God transforms us.

(2) Truly knowing God requires the Spirit of Wisdom

The ESV capitalizes the word sprit. It takes the work of the Holy Spirit for people to truly know God.

1 Corinthians 2:11–14 “11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

Man by nature does not know God.

There can be no wisdom and no revelation outside of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Paul is not asking the Father to give the Ephesians the HS because they already have the HS. All believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion.

What Paul is asking, is for the HS to grant them a fuller measure of wisdom and revelation with the ultimate goal to know God fuller.

Colossians 1:9 “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,”

Knowing about God informs us, but truly knowing God transforms us. The Spirit of Wisdom in mentioned once in the OT in reference to the coming Messiah: Isaiah 11:2 “2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”

What is Spirit of Wisdom?

Paul uses the word wisdom (Gk. sophia) 28x times.

Wisdom is the skill to understand and live according to God’s plan. It is rooted in the power of the cross and imparted by the Holy Spirit to equip believers to think, live, and love like Jesus.

Wisdom in action:

Ephesians 5:15–18 “15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,”

Men’s wisdom: Doing life my way

Holy Spirit Wisdom: Doing life God’s way

The wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

1 Corinthians 1:18–21 “18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

The wisdom of God operates differently from the wisdom of the world.

Jesus the king did not come in power. He was not born in a palace to a wealthy family. Instead, Jesus the king came in weakness, born in a manger to a poor couple. He was born in the unknown little town of Bethlehem. His birth was announced to poor shepherds.

The wisdom of God operates differently from the wisdom of the world.

Jesus spoke to his disciples about God’s plan for him to die on a cross. His disciples did not understand this. Peter rebuked Jesus, “You will not die on the cross! That’s not how this works.”

The cross nullifies every human system and method.

The Spirit of Wisdom is for those who want more of God.

(3) Truly knowing God requires the Spirit of Revelation

The word revelation, (Gk. apocalypsis) means, to reveal, to disclose, to make fully known. (Louw-Nida)

Let’s be very clear: There is NO new revelation to add to Scripture or that equals the authority of Scripture. The Bible is a closed cannon.

Definition: The Spirit of revelation is the work of the Holy Spirit that deepens our understanding of the Scriptures to help us know Him personally.

2 Corinthians 3:14–18 “ For to this day, when [the Jews] read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Knowing about God informs us, but truly knowing God transforms us.

The Holy Spirit has already inspired and guided holy men to put this knowledge in written form, but before we can ‘see’ it and receive it something further is necessary; the Spirit must operate also upon us. He must open our eyes to see what there is before us.” (Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Illustration: This truth is illustrated perfectly in a story about William Pitt the Younger, and his friend William Wilberforce. William Wilberforce, the pioneer in the movement for the abolition of slavery, was a fine Christian man who had been converted at the age of twenty-six by reading a book by Philip Doddridge called The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. He was an active Christian. He was also a member of Parliament and a friend of William Pitt the Younger whom he had known since their university days. Pitt, like so many statesmen, was a formal Christian and went on special occasions to church but really had no understanding of spiritual things. They were great friends and Wilberforce was troubled and anxious about the soul of William Pitt. He prayed for him, and he was specially anxious for him to go with him to hear a London preacher named Richard Cecil, a spiritually-minded man who preached spiritual messages. Wilberforce used to listen to him regularly and he revelled in the doctrine preached. He often asked Pitt to accompany him but Pitt always had some excuse or other. But at last Pitt promised to go, and one day they went together to listen to Richard Cecil. Wilberforce felt that he had never heard Richard Cecil expound God’s truth in a more wonderful Spirit-filled manner. His heart was ravished by the truth, it was heaven to him. He could not help wondering as to what was happening to his friend. Eventually the service ended and they went out together. Almost before they had left the building William Pitt turned to Wilberforce and said, ‘You know, Wilberforce, I did my very best to concentrate with the whole of my power upon what that man was saying, but I have not the slightest idea as to what he has been talking about’. Martyn Lloyd-Jones,

Martyn Lloyd Jones rightly conclude:

That is a true story, and how true of so many still! From the standpoint of sheer ability William Pitt was a greater man than William Wilberforce. He had a very great mind and intellect; but the truth of God as expounded by Richard Cecil meant absolutely nothing to him, for his eyes had not been opened by the Spirit. The truth meant everything to Wilberforce; it meant nothing to Pitt. Pitt had not received ‘the Spirit of revelation’.

How to Know God

It begins with a child-like faith.

Matthew 18:3 “ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Embrace a spirit of helplessness and dependency

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you

Spend intentional time in God’s Word and Prayer (relationships are by nature… relational)

Be a commited participant of a local church

Step in obedience, whether big or small.

Knowing about God informs us, but truly knowing God transforms us.