15–16a Thanksgiving

Henry Hamm (2026) – Sermon Title: Eph 1:15–16a

Ephesians 1:15–16a

Intro

Example story of

PROPOSITION:

TEXT: Ephesians 1:15–16a “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, (16a) I do not cease to give thanks for you…”

OUTLINE: If you are not marked by faithfulness, lovingkindness, and thankfulness, you are probably not a saint (ordinary Christian).

v.15 faith

v.15 love

v.16a thanks

1.

“For this reason”, do a review of what has been said. v3–14 one long sentence. v15-23 another long sentence, Writing to the Christine, Triune work of salvation (each role, salvation redesigned and accomplished and therefore eternally secure), the will of God, all for the glory of God, it’s all about God…. “For this reason, going on, becasuse i have hesrd of your faith…”

“For this reason” is a prepositional phrase that connects what he is about to say with what he has just said… the connector word of all that has just been said. The Triune work of salvation completed, not by out deeds, but by God’s predetermined plan it was accomplished in Christ Jesus, and the Spirit applies that work to anyone who repents and believes. (But anyone who repents and believes is a result of God’s Spirit working in them to move them to repentance, so that, all the glory indeed goes to God). (If He moves anyone’s heart to repentance then they will be saved).

“Your” saints who are in Ephesus

So, in light of this great salvation, “For this reason,” he’s moving on now, “because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus…”

Are you thankful for your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Are you thankful for your brother sister sitting in the row next to you? If you say, you are, have you specifically prayed for this individual? To lift up their soul to God for their spiritual well-being?

There’s a statement by Dr. Howard Hendricks () that says something like, “Before you talk to people about God, you need to talk to God about people.” Meaning that, if you are not first praying to God for their spiritual well-being (could be salvation, or recovery of an illness, etc.), then do not talk to them about all the good that you wish for them! If you actually love this person, they will be mentioned in your prayers to God, as Paul mentions his prayers for all his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

The question may be quite personal, [but what about you?] but as you reflect on your own life (don’t be thinking of someone else, think only of yourself), what do people hear and see about your life? Do they hear of your faithful in Christ? Do they hear that you are suffering well for the cause of Christ? When they look at your life, do they see Christ? Are you marked and set apart as a child of God? Or, do people hear one thing from your lips but see a different think in your life? Do they get confused about your life because they hear on thing but see an altogether different character?

2.

3.

Conclusion

Here’s the function and grammatical analysis of the passage:

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you…”

Function

This is a thanksgiving introduction. In the flow of the letter, it serves to:

the prayer/thanksgiving to the reason just mentionedConnect 

why the writer is giving thanksExplain 

the following prayer sectionIntroduce 

The phrase “For this reason” points back to the preceding context, while “because I have heard…” gives the specific cause for the thanksgiving.

Grammatical analysis

1. “For this reason”

Prepositional phraseType: 

Discourse connector / causal transitionFunction: 

“Because of what has just been said”Meaning: 

2. “because I have heard…”

Subordinate causal clauseType: 

Gives the reason for the thanksgivingFunction: 

Main verb: have heard

Present perfectTense/aspect: 

Subject: I

3. “of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints”

Prepositional complement of “heard”Type: 

Specifies what has been heardFunction: 

Objects of the preposition “of”:

your faith in the Lord Jesus

your love toward all the saints

4. “I do not cease to give thanks for you”

Main clauseType: 

Subject: I

Verb phrase: do not cease

Infinitive complement: to give thanks

Prepositional phrase: for you

Syntactic structure

A simplified structure would be:

,,[For this reason] [because I have heard X and Y] [I do not cease to give thanks for you]

Notes on style

This is a highly formal, Pauline-style sentence with layered clauses. The structure is carefully built:

Reason stated

Cause explained

Thanksgiving expressed

If you want, I can also give you:

a word-by-word parsing

a diagram of the sentence structure

or anbehin explanation of the Greek grammar