Prayers for Ephesus

Ephesians 1:15-23

Introduction

As we continue through the book of Ephesians, we come to the latter half of chapter 1 where Paul continues to point our thoughts to deeper truths about who God is and what He has accomplished in Christ Jesus.

But all of this is rooted in what he is praying for on behalf of the Ephesians.

That prayer is the subject of our lesson this morning.

Praying for the Faithful

Paul commends their excellent foundations (Eph. 1:15; cf. Matt. 22:36-40).

They have the essential foundations to the Christian life.

Some might say they “have all they need.”

He prays for more for them (Eph. 1:16; cf. 1 Thess. 4:9-10 ; Phil. 1:3-6, 9-10).

But Paul wants them to build on that foundation.

He wants to them to know more than they presently do.

This isn’t a rebuke or a suggestion that their salvation is in jeopardy.

But what if they say, “we are good, no thanks”

Then perhaps that faith and love aren’t genuine.

So That You Will Know

This is a prayer for expanded knowledge (Eph. 1:17-18; Psa. 119:18).

That expanded knowledge is about increasing in wisdom and revelation.

The word revelation is about uncovering.

Progressive revelation means God is revealing more and more but not contradictory things.

The idea should be that as we start in Genesis and move forward, we are adding understanding as we go along.

It is possible that later revelation will cause us to re-evaluate premature conclusions but we should not reject earlier revelation in favor of later revelation.

It is a matter of harmonizing whatever is revealed with what has been revealed.

The word “woke” originates from a self-designation of people who are “awakened” and now see things as they really are.

But that is exactly what Paul wants here. The difference here is that the source of that awakening is not self or society, it is God’s revealed word.

We are often to satisfied with foundational truth but have not developed the thirst for more.

That you may know…hope…glory…surpassing greatness (Eph. 1:18-19).

This is about further exploration of things that are already known.

It is easy to say “I already know that.”

But do you meditate and dwell on that concept in ways that bring you into deeper understanding of it.

It is easy to reduce things down to shallow procedural calculations like looking at tax code.

We need to have discussions of procedure and getting down specifics of what can and can not be done.

But we have to root those discussions in the larger themes of hope, and glory, and the power of God.

It is all well and good to say this is what the church did and did not do in the first century but all of that becomes shallow and useless if we lose sight of the “glory of His inheritance in the saints.”

We often say, “if all we have is ‘God said so,’ then that is enough and we ought to obey.”

But then we use that as an excuse to only look at what God said to do and ignore all of the depth surrounding that command: the purpose, the motivations, the meaning and weight of the command.”

Do I really NEED that?

Well, one of the things God has called us to is to want that. So yes, I guess you do.

Exploring these things shapes the way we think, what we value, and how we live in ways that are not easily quantified.

Some will use this mindset to avoid drawing conclusions but in fact it results in more and more careful application of God’s word.

Which He Worked in Christ

Consider the power of the resurrection of Christ (Eph. 1:20-22).

The resurrection is a great proof, but of what?

Not simply that He is the Son of God (though it is that - Rom. 1:4).

But it points to the heavenly reality of what is happening. He is being enthroned in power and dominion over everything visible and invisible (Acts 13:32-33; Psa. 2:7-9).

What is happening at the cross and subsequent resurrection? Total and unconditional victory.

Consider what this means for the church (Eph. 1:22-23).

The church is the beneficiary of this victory.

This rule and authority is not limited to authority over the church but rather, dominion on behalf of the church.

In Revelation you see what God is doing is not unrelated to God’s people. It is in fact very much on behalf of His people.

We are participants in the victory. We are the body of the of head (Rom. 8:17).

It also shows that the church is central to…all of human history.

Church is often shown as a part of a very diverse and compartmentalized way of life.

But the Church is the point. It is the thing God has been working towards and works for in all of history.

Consider what this means for Ephesus.

Some people regard contemplation of grand truths like these as something that is fine so far as it goes, but what we really need is practical instruction.

But here it forms the foundation for practical instruction.

Paul is working at stamping out Jew/Gentile conflict here so he starts by elevating their minds about Christ so that those distinctions disappear.

He wants to instruct about daily conduct so he starts by showing that such conduct is participation in the great victory of Christ over sin and death.

We think the foundation is the practical instruction and then this is a nice garnish if there is time.

But the practical must flow out of this. In fact, the practical application varies from one time and place to another but the truth from which that practical application flows is what never changes.

Knowing more about who God is and what He has accomplished through Jesus Christ will do more for your marriage and your daily life than a hundred self-help books on family life and work life.

So Paul’s prayer is: I want you to know more about THIS.

Conclusion

Paul is not asking for God to give the Christians in Ephesus something new. He is praying that God would give them more of what they already have.

Do you want more? God will not be received in limited measure. He will be received in a way that is all consuming or we will not be received at all.

Will you immerse yourself in Him this morning?