Ephesians 1:18-23 | The Impact of a Transformed Vision

In Christ: A New Identity & Purpose   •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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The impact of a transformed vision.
Vision: the act or power of seeing (M-W)
Eye doctor exam:
Pressure inside your eye
How your eyes react to the light
Field of vision
Read the letters on the screen
Imagine that tomorrow all the prescription glasses, reading glasses and contact lenses were gone from the face of the earth.
For those of us who use prescription glasses, we would be able to see some, but not very clear. Blurry vision.
Did you know that in the spiritual realm we also have eyes? Paul prays for the church at Ephesus that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened (flooded with light).
Read Ephesians 1:15-23
Last Sunday we looked at Paul’s first request in prayer: for the believers to be given the Spirit of Wisdom and the Spirit of Revelation so that they would know God better.
The second request in prayer is for the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened so that they would know three things (in a moment)
The heart is the command center of your life.
Proverbs 4:23Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Jesus also taught about the importance of the heart:
Matthew 15:18–19 “18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”
THE HEART (Charles Ryrie)
The seat of intellectual life
The seat of the emotional life
The seat of the volitional life (choices)
The seat the spiritual life
In other words, the heart is the command center of your thoughts, your emotions & desires, and your will.
This is why Salomon pleads with the son, “keep your heart with all vigilance…”
Paul adds that the heart has eyes. Your heart has an ability to see.
Vision determines direction. You can only go where your vision is set.
MAIN IDEA: To the degree that your spiritual vision increases, so will your identity and purpose in Christ.
Paul’s prayer is for the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened so that they would know three things

A transformed vision to see the hope

Having the eyes of your hearts enlighten, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.
Your best life is not now. Your best life is yet to come.
Ephesians 1:10 “ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
The already and the not yet
Justification, sanctification, glorification.
Justification: saved from the penalty of sin
Sanctification: being saved from the power of sin
Glorification: saved from the presence of sin.
No more sin in our bodies, no more sin in the world (Rom 8:18-25)
You can see why Paul prays that the eyes of the hearts would be enlighten so they would know (not just information, but deep in their hearts) the hope to which they were called.
Hope: 2nd coming of Jesus, new heavens and new earth, the resurrection of our bodies (saved from the presence of sin, physical illness, mental illness, death)
I have a friend in Australia. He’s an old man now, suffering from all kinds of bodily decrepitude as he approaches the last day himself. His mind is still sharp, but the poor chap is suffering from so many things I doubt I could even remember them all. If you ask him, “Frank, how’s it going?” he says, “I’m not suffering from anything a good resurrection can’t fix.” (D. A Carson)
Biblical hope is gives you perspective, specially when circumstances don’t change.
Romans 8:18 “18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
2 Corinthians 4:16–18 “16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Paul wants for the Ephesians to know, experience this future hope.
What does 2025 have for us in store for us? I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future.
What is coming ahead: glorification! I look forward when sin and death shall be no more.
Hope changes everything even when nothing changes.
Illustration: horrible job. One pays $50 while the other will pay $1M
To the degree that your spiritual vision increases, so will your identity and purpose in Christ.

A transformed vision to see their value to God

Having the eyes of your hearts enlighten, that you may know what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.
Saints - that’ us (Eph 1:1)
We are God’s glorious inheritance: predestined, chosen, adopted to be his own. (c.f. Ephesians 1:11, In him, we have been chosen as God’s portion/inheritance)
God’s people are described as God’s inheritance:
Deuteronomy 4:20 “But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.”
Deuteronomy 32:9 “But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.”
1 Kings 8:53 “For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage.”
In Christ we have great value: Do you know how much you are worth?
Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”
Paul prays that our vision would be transformed so that we would see how much we are worth to God. When God sees you and when God sees me he declares, “my glorious riches.”
The two terms used here (“wealth” and “honor, glory”) are used in the Greek OT frequently to depict the wealth and honor of a king as, for instance, Hezekiah: “Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold” (2 Chr 32:27). The point here is that Paul wants his readers to know how deeply God values and cherishes them. They are God’s incredibly valuable and glorious inheritance. As an earthly king values treasuries full of silver and gold, God values his people as his wealth and honor. (Clinton Arnold)
God’s people are God’s most valuable possession. He sent his son to rescue us - the cross
When it comes to embracing our identity in Christ, we start by asking not “Who am I” but “Whose Am I”? I am God’s special possession.
God planned this before we were born. Before the foundation of the world. You are not an accident!
God’s people are God’s most valuable possession
A transformed vision to see their value to God
To the degree that your spiritual vision increases, so will your identity and purpose in Christ.

A transformed vision to see God’s power available to them.

Having the eyes of your hearts enlighten, that you may know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.
There is a power available to them.
Paul uses many different Greek words describe this power (dunamis)
Immeasurable (huperballo, extraordinary, extreme, supreme, far more, much greater, to a far greater degree)
Greatness (megethos)
Working (energeia)
Great (kratos, force, strenght, might)
Might (ischus)
Taken together, Paul is trying to show and describe the greatness of God’s power.
Paul prays that they would experience the power available to them.
Understand that these believers grew up in a culture where people sought power to promote their own agenda. The power on the other hand, is there for them to experience a heart transformation in order to love God, love people, and fight the forces of evil.
What kind of power are we talking about?
Ephesians 1:20–21 “[the power] 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.”
These believers in Ephesus lived in an environment where many, many religions and cults claimed to have spiritual power and authority, including Artemis. Jesus is above them all. Not just slightly about them, but far above anyone and anything, including Artemis.
So far, Paul elaborated about this power available to believers:
The power that raised Christ from the dead
Jesus now possesses all power and authority over every spirit in the spiritual realm. There is no demon nor angel that comes close to being an equal.
Paul adds that these spirit powers are under the authority of Jesus.
Ephesus saw and experienced the greatness of his power in regards to signs and wonders, miracles, healing and deliverance, and the power to transform lives.
Paul ends his prayer by stating:
Ephesians 1:22–23 “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.”
God has given this power to the church. Christ is the head of the body. The church is his body. Jesus provides all the resources his body needs to experience growth and transformation.
No wonder Paul prays that the eyes of their hearts would be enlighten. To the degree that your spiritual vision increases, so will your identity and purpose in Christ.
Conclusion: What gets in the way of having the eyes of the heart enlighten? Complacency:
Revelation 3:14–19 “14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”
Also, Mark 10:51 “51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.””
How to grow in vision: Ask in prayer.
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