Open My Eyes, Lord!
Intro:
We need to have our eyes opened, like Elisha’s servant (2 Kings 6:15–17). We need to pray for “the [Holy] Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” that we might see Christ more and more. If we pray this apostolic prayer we will not be the same.
Too many Christians have never “read the bank book” to find out the vast spiritual wealth that God has put to their account through Jesus Christ. They are like the late newspaper publisher, William Randolph Hearst, who invested a fortune collecting art treasures from around the world. One day Mr. Hearst found a description of some valuable items that he felt he must own, so he sent his agent abroad to find them. After months of searching, the agent reported that he had finally found the treasures. They were in Mr. Hearst’s warehouse. Hearst had been searching frantically for treasures he already owned! Had he read the catalog of his treasures, he would have saved himself a great deal of money and trouble.
Specifically, Paul asks that we would have our vision bettered regarding three things: hope, riches, and power.
This preamble gave way to his two-pronged prayer. First (v. 17) he prayed that we would have a better knowledge of Christ — that we would “know him better.” The more we see of Jesus, the more we will be drawn to him, and then become like him. Are we making this part of our personal and corporate prayers?
Second, (vv. 18, 19) Paul prayed that we would have better spiritual vision regarding three things: 1) the great “hope to which he has called” us — that we will share in his glory; 2) that our eyes would be opened to “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” — that we are his treasured inheritance; 3) that his all-surpassing power is on us and will continue on to our glorification.
In. 1:17–23 he made four requests for them: (1) to know and experience God; (2) to know the hope of His calling; (3) to know of His glorious inheritance; and (4) to know of His great power. Paul expounded on this great power available to believers exhibited in Christ’s resurrection, ascension, rule, and headship.
eyes of your heart may be enlightened. The “heart” refers to the center of one’s mind, will, and spirit. In essence, Paul prays that they will receive spiritual insight regarding three blessings that are theirs: (1) hope. The certain expectation for a glorious future (Rom 5:2–5; Col 1:27) with a cosmos that is united under Christ (Eph 1:9–10); not a hopeful wish, but a confident expectation of what is to come since it is ultimately grounded on God’s faithfulness. See also 4:4. (2) riches of his glorious inheritance. Probably not the believer’s inheritance (v. 14), but God’s inheritance comprising Jewish and Gentile believers. We are his treasured possession (see note on v. 11). (3) incomparably great power … mighty strength. Paul uses multiple terms to emphasize the greatness of God’s power that is presently available to believers.
Paul prayed that believers would come to know God intimately (v. 17) in order that they might know three facts: (1) the past call of salvation that produced hope (v. 18), (2) the future inheritance that God has in His saints (v. 18), and (3) the present power of God that is available to believers, which (a) was manifested in the past in Christ’s resurrection and Ascension, (b) will be manifested in the future in Christ’s headship over Creation, and (c) is presently manifested in Christ’s headship over the church.
Three items are selected for particular attention. Calling (NIV, “called”) is a favorite Pauline word. Here it is regarded as a pledge of hope. This call has already taken place (2 Tim 1:9) and yet represents an ongoing calling (1 Thess 2:12; 5:24). It looks to the future, since it is attached to the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) of eternal glory.
Secondly Paul wants his readers to appreciate that they inherit all the wealth of God himself, as he has already reminded them in vv. 11, 14. The old Israel was promised an inheritance on earth; the new Israel is given an inheritance in heaven. The everlasting Canaan-rest of glory is assured all the saints, and God’s faithfulness will be vindicated in them.
19 The final item Paul wants his readers to recognize is the enormous power of God. It is presented here as “incomparably great.”
Paul prayed that his readers would have the spiritual insight to perceive the truth that is hidden in God. It can be unlocked only in the experience of life and fellowship with Him.
Jewish people commonly prayed for enlightened eyes to understand God’s Word; the Old Testament also spoke of opening one’s eyes to God’s Word (Ps 119:18) or to other spiritual realities (2 Kings 6:17).
This is what Jesus meant when He said of the people: “They seeing see not, and hearing they hear not” (Matt. 13:13). The inability to see and understand spiritual things is not the fault of the intelligence but of the heart. The eyes of the heart must be opened by the Spirit of God.
Knowing Christ is one of the New Testament’s ways of describing saving faith. Jesus himself said in his High Priestly prayer, “Now this is eternal life: that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3, italics added). Those who know Christ have eternal life; those who do not know him are without it.
What does knowing Christ involve? It involves knowing more than facts about Christ. I know a lot about President Bush. I know where he went to school. I know what sports he played. I know his chronological history. I know some of his weaknesses and strengths. But I do not know George Bush. The facts are helpful, but they are not enough. Knowing Christ involves more than a passing acquaintance.
Of course the Ephesians knew Christ, but Paul is praying that they might “know him better.” The regular Greek word for personal knowing is gnosis, but here the word is intensified with the preposition epi. Paul is asking for an epignosis — a “real, deep, full knowledge” — a “thorough knowledge”6 (cf. Romans 3:20 and 1 Corinthians 13:12). Paul wants his beloved Ephesians, who are so full of faith and love, to go deeper and deeper in their knowledge of Christ.
The great need of any church, whether it is healthy or not, is knowing Christ — an epignosis — a better, deeper, fuller knowledge of Christ. I have memorized only a few verses in the Greek, but Philippians 3:10 is one, and it begins tou gnonai auton — “that I may know Him” (NASB). That is the key to all of life. We ought to read the Scriptures with an eye to knowing him. We ought to listen to preaching with this in mind. We ought to pray this for the Church and ourselves, for it is an apostolic, Spirit-ordained prayer.
The gift, above all others, which he asks from God for his readers is a spirit of wisdom and of revelation (cf. Col. 1:9).
This, of course, is the highest knowledge possible. The atheist claims there is no God for us to know, and the agnostic states that if there is a God we cannot know Him. But Paul has met God in the person of Jesus Christ, and he knows that a man really cannot understand much of anything else without a knowledge of God.
The believer must grow in his knowledge of God. To know God personally is salvation (John 17:3). To know Him increasingly is sanctification (Phil. 3:10). To know Him perfectly is glorification (1 Cor. 13:9–12). Since we are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26–28), the better we know God, the better we know ourselves and each other. It is not enough to know God only as Saviour. We must get to know Him as Father, Friend, Guide, and the better we know Him, the more satisfying our spiritual lives will be.
This willful ignorance of God led mankind into corruption and condemnation. In Romans 1:18ff,
Having prayed (vv. 16–17) that they might know God personally, Paul now gave the reason: “that you may know” three facts, which are spelled out in verses 18b–23 (the first is in v. 18b, the second in v. 18c, and the third in vv. 19–23). The word “know” (eidenai, v. 18) is factual knowledge—much as a general needs to know the facts about his equipment and men before he goes to battle.
In Scripture, the heart is the fulcrum of man’s being, the seat of his intelligence and will. Paul asks, therefore, that our spiritual center will be given spiritual vision.
As in our physical life, so it is with our soul — virtually everything depends on our sight. King Zedekiah had his eyes gouged out by the king of Babylon. He was taken to the fabled city, but saw nothing of her tiled palaces and hanging gardens and brass gates. We don’t need more truth or better truth (impossible!). We simply need our spiritual eyes opened to the truths that surround us.
The apostle prays that by the eyes of their heart being enlightened they may know three things. The first is what is the hope to which he has called you. The apostle can speak of ‘your call’ (4:4), but in the desire to emphasize again that what they have depends on God’s initiative, he speaks of it as ‘his calling’ (AV). This calling can be spoken of as having taken place in the past—God has called men and women to himself (2 Tim. 1:9); or as continuing in the present (1 Thess. 2:12; 5:24) and so involving a life-long vocation of service and sanctification (4:1; Phil. 3:14; Heb. 3:1). But also, because it is the call of the eternal God, it brings to those without hope (2:12) the expectation of an eternal destiny. This hope, moreover, is not just ‘a vague and wistful longing for the triumph of goodness’, but it is something assured because of the present possession of the Spirit as ‘the guarantee’ (v. 14) and because of faithfulness of the God who has promised the future inheritance. The call of God, in other words, is effective not only in life now (cf. 1 Cor. 15:19) but it gives the sure promise of life with him as his people for ever, and this hope in its turn should vitally affect life for the Christian in the here and now (1 John 3:2–3).
The word called is an important word in the Christian’s vocabulary. The word church is a combination of two Greek words that mean “called out.” Paul never tired of testifying that God called him “by His grace” (Gal. 1:15); and he reminded Timothy that the believer has a “holy calling” (2 Tim. 1:9). We have been “called out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9), and have even been “called to glory” (1 Peter 5:10). God calls us by His grace and not because of any merit that we may possess.
Paul wants us to understand the hope that is ours because of this calling (Eph. 4:4). Some callings offer no hope, but the calling we have in Christ assures us of a delightful future. Keep in mind that the word hope in the Bible does not mean “hope so,” like a child hoping for a doll or a bike at Christmas. The word carries with it “assurance for the future.” The believer’s hope is, of course, the return of Jesus Christ for His church (1 Thes. 4:13–18; 1 John 3:1–3). When we were lost, we were “without hope” (Eph. 2:12); but in Jesus Christ, we have a “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3) that encourages us day by day.
F. F. Bruce says regarding this:
Paul prays here that his readers will appreciate the value which God places on them, his plan to accomplish his eternal purpose through them as the first fruits of the reconciled universe of the future, in order that their lives may be in keeping with the high calling and that they may accept in grateful humility the grace and glory thus lavished on them.
Think of it: he owns all the heavens and numberless worlds, but we are his treasures. The redeemed are worth more than the universe. We ought to be delirious with this truth! Paul prays that we will see this with our heart’s eyes.
Third, power. Here Paul outdoes himself as he stacks synonym upon synonym in an attempt to describe it. With the Greek synonyms inserted, verse 19 reads like this: “… and his incomparably great power [dunamis] for us who believe. That power [kratos] is like the working [energia] of his mighty strength [ischus].” Paul has layered these synonyms to express as best he can the highest power possible. He exhausted his language describing this power of the resurrection (see v. 20). What we must see is that the power that raised Jesus from the dead can bear directly on our lives now and at his appearing.
The greatest power shortage today is not in our generators or our gas tanks. It is in our personal lives.
1:19, 20 exceeding greatness of His power. God’s great power, that very power which raised Jesus from the dead and lifted Him by ascension back to glory to take His seat at God’s right hand, is given to every believer at the time of salvation and is always available (cf. Acts 1:8; Col. 1:29).
Paul therefore did not pray that God’s power be given to believers but that they be aware of the power they already possessed in Christ and use it (cf. 3:20).
Because of (For this reason) the believers’ acquisition of every spiritual blessing—including election, predestination, adoption, grace, redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, understanding, knowledge of the mystery of His will, the sealing of the Holy Spirit, and inheritance—Paul now prayed that his readers might know God personally and intimately. Verses 15–23 are one sentence in the Greek, as are verses 3–14.
The position to a ruler’s right was a position of great honor and authority; to be seated at God’s right hand was to be enthroned as ruler of the cosmos, even if not all his enemies had been destroyed (Ps 110:1).
Exorcists and magicians tried to manipulate powerful spirits by invoking their names (see comment on Acts 19:13); the supremacy of Jesus’ name above all other names means that he is higher than all the spirit-powers being invoked and could not be exploited.
Paul uses standard terms of his day for the demonic and angelic powers at work behind the political structures of the world, powers that were thought to direct the earthly rulers and peoples (v. 21).
Most people in Paul’s day believed that the world was run by Fate, which was usually expressed by the stars (which were viewed as heavenly beings), and most of these people did not believe one had any hope of escape from Fate. Some of the mystery cults, however, like the cult of Isis, gained popularity by claiming power to free initiates from Fate.
Finally, we are told the purpose of Christ’s dominion is for the church (v. 22), his body, which not only reflects him but ultimately “fills all in all” (v. 23).
He will go on to tell us that we can fulfill God’s calling to fill all things with Christ’s purposes because the risen Lord who is head over the church is the One who cares for the church (5:29), strengthens the church (4:15–16), and exercises authority over the church (5:22–24). And finally, Paul reminds us that we do this together because collectively we are the body of Christ, held together by him and made to be like him in every way (4:13). When we recall that all of this power is for us, it is no wonder that we should pray that our eyes might be opened to see it, marvel, and believe (1:18).
The word “power” (dynamis; cf. 3:20) means a spiritually dynamic and living force. This power of God is directed toward believers. Paul then used three additional words to describe God’s power. It is according to the working (energeian, “energetic power,” from which comes the Eng. “energy”) of the might (kratous, “power that overcomes resistance,” as in Christ’s miracles; this word is used only of God, never of believers) of God’s inherent strength (ischyos) which He provides (cf. 6:10; 1 Peter 4:11). This magnificent accumulation of words for power underscores the magnitude of God’s “great power” available to Christians.
We Christians need power for several reasons. To begin with, by nature we are too weak to appreciate and appropriate this wealth, and to use it as it should be used. “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). To turn this vast spiritual wealth over to a mere human being, living by human wisdom and strength, would be like handing an atomic bomb to a two-year-old. God’s power enables us to use God’s wealth.
The power is seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, people measured God’s power by His creation (Isa. 40:12–27) or by His miracle at the Exodus of Israel from Egypt (Jer. 16:14). But today, we measure God’s power by the miracle of Christ’s resurrection. Much more was involved than merely raising Him from the dead, for Christ also ascended to heaven and sat down in the place of authority at the right hand of God. He is not only Saviour; He is also Sovereign (Acts 2:25–36
Paul proceeds to collect all the synonyms he can lay hands on as he describes how the power (dynamis) of God functions according to the operation (energeia) of the strength (kratos) of his might (ischys). Dynamis is capability or potential; energeia is effective or operational power (3:7; 4:16); kratos is power exercised in resistance and control (6:10); ischys, used of bodily strength and muscular force, is inherent, vital power (6:10).
What has gone before may be summed up by saying that the Father has put all things under his feet, and so, doubtless intentionally, the words of Psalm 8:6 are used. This verse is used again in 1 Corinthians 15:27, and it is important to notice that the Psalm speaks of the place of humanity as God intended it to be, crowned ‘with glory and honour’ and given ‘dominion over the works’ of God’s hands (Ps. 8:5–6). In a great measure this position was lost and men and women brought into bondage by sin. Therefore we see one only, the true man Jesus Christ, fulfilling this divine purpose; but through him and in him we are restored to our true dignity. Hebrews 2:5–10 may be regarded as an inspired commentary on Psalm 8 as fulfilled in Christ, and in those who through him are brought as ‘sons to glory’.
Their faith was not like the man who was attempting to cross the frozen St. Lawrence River in Canada. Unsure whether the ice would hold, the man first tested it by laying one hand on it. Then he got down on his knees and gingerly began making his way across. When he got to the middle of the frozen river trembling with fear, he heard a noise behind him. Looking back, to his horror he saw a team of horses pulling a carriage down the road toward the river. And upon reaching the river they didn’t stop, but bolted right onto the ice and past him, while he crouched there on all fours, turning a deep crimson. If only he had known how firm the ice really was that day … The Ephesians knew Christ had saved them and could hold them up, and as a result they were charging straight ahead. For this, Paul thanked God.