So That You Will Know
Notes
Transcript
Last week:
We saw the wonderful Spiritual blessings we have in Christ:
We have redemption and forgiveness of our sins, He has made known the mystery of His will, we have obtained an inheritance, and then we were sealed in Him by the Holy Spirit
Illustration:
In 2 Kings 6, we see an interesting story. The King of Aram was coming against Israel, and plotting against her. But everything he did, Israel knew ahead of time. The King of Aram thought there was a mole amongst his men, but one of his men finally told him that the prophet Elisha was able to tell the King of Israel all the plans he had against him. So that King of Aram found out where Elisha was, and came to seize him at Dothan. The great army of the Armeanites came and surrounded the city of Dothan, circling around it. The man who was with Elisha looked out the house, and saw the great enemy army coming against them. He was scared, and he was asking Elisha, “What’s next?” Elisha answered… “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Elisha then prays a simple prayer… “Lord, open his eyes so that he can see.” What the man saw next would be enough to change the whole perspective this man had. He saw that the mountain was full of chariots of fire all for Elisha. What seemed to be certain death and defeat, turned into the absolute confidence that they were going to be ok. Not only would the Lord protect Elisha, but this man was able to see the goodness and salvation of God.
You see, this is the same thing Paul is praying for the Ephesians. The enemy seems to be too strong, over powering, and it seems they will prevail. But Paul knows there is more to the story than what the Ephesians see. There is more to the story than what we see, and that is Paul’s prayer today, that the Lord would open up our eyes to the wonderful things of the Lord.
Giving Thanks (V.15-17)
V.15
O: For this reason, I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints
I: Paul recognizes the Ephesians faith in Jesus and their love for the Church
A: This is a sign of health in a church, that we would love the saints
Not just the “lovable” ones, but all of them.
35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Paul had a great reason to rejoice, to be happy with the church here in Ephesus
V.16
O: Do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers,
I: Paul is thankful for the Ephesians, and is always praying for them.
A: Paul is thankful for those who have a strong faith.
He doesn’t just stop with knowing their faith, he prays for them.
We need to pray for one another, no matter how we feel they are doing in their faith.
V.17
O: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
I: That the God of glory would give you the things to you that help you know Him better.
A: We know from before that in James 1:17
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…”
The Father of Glory, who gives every good and perfect gift.
This is our God, and with that in mind, Paul prays that God would give these two things:
A spirit of wisdom:
The Ephesians, who had witchcraft, idol worship, and rampant sexual immorality, would need wisdom
Sound familiar?? We need wisdom
Wisdom how to deal with our culture, wisdom on how to deal with government, wisdom how to deal with our jobs and coworkers.
Jesus says in Matthew 10:16
16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
This is what Paul is praying for the Ephesians, to know how to handle all of this in their culture, and for us, that we could do the same.
Of revelation:
The word, apakolypsis, to unveil, to reveal, to make known.
That we would have revelation, but not of just something, in the knowledge of Him.
Anything revealed without Christ is not what Paul is wanting.
He wants the Ephesians to know Christ, as he knows Christ. As He states in Philippians 3:10-14
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Jesus says in John 17:3
3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
That our revelation would be in Him, the knowledge of who He is.
Not in spiritual gifts, not in works, not in religion, but in Christ, in Him. To know Him.
Prayer For Ephesians (V.18-23)
V.18
O: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
I: Paul is praying that their hearts could understand these things with clarity
A: The heart= the center of, the middle of the body
enlightened= to shed light upon
Paul wants the Ephesians hearts to be illuminated, the core of who they are, by these truths
O: so that you will know the hope of his calling
I: That you will know fully the benefits of believing in Jesus
A: I want to know the hope of my calling
I think of Proverbs 13:12
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
When we lose hope, when hope is lost, it makes us sick.
But here, Paul is praying we we know the hope of our calling
Let me share something very personal
I was at this conference, and we were having an afterglow, which is a wonderful time of worship and allowing the Lord to use the gifts to encourage the body.
The time was sweet, and very refreshing, until we got to the last song. This is where I was struggling. The lyrics to the chorus go like this. “ I will make room for you, to do what you want to, to do what you want to.” Now, let me be honest, that is hard. But it isn’t just letting the Lord do whatever He wants to, its making room. That means I will lay it all down, put it at His feet, get it out of the way, so He can move. And I was struggling with that. I wasn’t able to sing those words. Then, just as the song was coming to an end, I had this conversation with the Lord. I told Him I couldn’t sing that, because I was too afraid and unwilling to find out what that means. And ever so gently, the Lord brought His rebuke… “Micah, am I not good?” And that broke me, and it still does. Of course He is good, of course He is. Is He safe? Not at all, but He is good.
And this prayer Paul has is for me just as much as the Ephesians and everyone else, that we would know the HOPE of His calling.
O: and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
I: You would know how much you have as a child of God
A: You are rich because of what He has done, because of what we have in Him.
I think of what Jesus says to the church in Smyrna in Revelation 2:9
9 ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), …”
The wealth we have is not of this world, the wealth we have is far beyond this world.
Think of what Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-20
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
What we have cannot be destroyed nor ruined. It is glorious, it is for the Saints.
V.19
O: and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
I: That we would fully know His power that is working in us and through us.
A: I want to know and experience the great power of God in my life.
Remember, this is what Elisha was praying for that man, that he would see that great power
That God would show us the surpassing greatness of His power.
O: These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
I: This is His strength, it is His working
A: We don’t have to work for this, it is already ours… In Him
V.20-21
O: which He brought about 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 every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
I: This was all done in Christ, through the resurrection, and He is now at the seat of authority, above all things and every name, not only now, but for all eternity.
A: The power of the resurrection, which we get to see the results of that for us in the next chapter.
But Jesus is rivaled by no one. There is no one, not even Satan, who comes close to His rule and authority.
And no name that is named. No one. Not Donald Trump or Joe Biden, Not Chuck Smith or Charles Spurgeon, definetly not Micah… He is above every name that is named
V.22
O: And He put all things in subjection 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.
I: Jesus was given all authority, even the church
A: Christ is the head of the church
Again, we will address this more when we get to ch. 5, but we need to know the proper place of Christ, who is the Head
This isn’t the pastor, this is Christ.
His body, the fullness of Him
This is that old statement… “You make me complete.”
God has chosen that the completeness of Christ would be His church, His bride.
This is going to be an important theme moving forward, that the church has a major role in the plan of God.
He has chosen us to be the fulness of Him.
This is why you need to be a part of the church… because it is only in that context that we are called the fullness of Christ. Not because we are perfect, not because we have it all right, but because God has chosen us to be the fullness of Christ… only in Him.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
So as we wrap up, I want to read this prayer as a prayer for us:
15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,
16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
20 which He brought about 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 every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And He put all things in subjection 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.
