An Awakening Prayer
Notes
Transcript
Ephesians 1:15-23
Ephesians 1:15-23
Paul has just discussed what it means to be in Christ, summing it up in stating that we are:
Predestined and Chosen
Redeemed
Adopted
Sealed
Promised an Inheritance
In discussing how we are identified as Children of God, Paul describes what each person of the trinity has done in saving us.
After giving us this huge portion of praising God, Paul then moves into a prayer for the people of Ephesus.
This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.
Paul says because of what God has done in saving us, and because of the work that God has done in the life of these churches, Paul is consistently thanking God.
Paul then goes further and launches into a prayer for the church
The Spirit giving a deeper knowledge of God
V. 17
He is praying that God would give them a deeper understanding of His character through the work of the Holy Spirit.
It is the Spirit that is actually working in us so that we know God and look more like Jesus.
Paul then prays that the “eyes of our hearts may be enlightened.”
V.18-19
R.C. Sproul describes this as our “bias changing.”
We all naturally tend toward sin, and even becoming Christian we still choose sin and mess up, so Paul is praying that the Spirit would open our eyes to 3 specifics things
The hope of his calling, meaning the hope we have in belonging to Jesus
The wealth of His glorious inheritance of the saints, meaning the how blessed the people of God are
The depth of Power that God possess and is employing in the salvation of His people. The same power that raised Jesus is what is working in all of us to save us and make us more like Jesus.
To help us understand this power God has laid out for us everything He has done in the life of Jesus.
V. 20-23
He raised Christ
Established Him as Lord
Put everything under His control, and He is actively building His church.
In this prayer Paul has asked God that He would work in the people of this church and help them truly understand on a deeper level how amazing God is and the hope that we have in belonging to Jesus, and it is the same prayer that we should be praying for ourselves and those around us.