Ephesians 1:15-23: "How Paul Prayed for the Church"

Last week, we studied Ephesians 1:1-14. There, we learned that God is making a single, holy family, and he is calling all people to join his family through Jesus. If we really understand what God has done for us in Christ, we can't help but praise God. God has been incredibly good to us. God has loved us when we did nothing to deserve it. And for God to forgive our sins, and make us part of his family---? It's great. It's truly good news.

I'm thrilled to be part of God's family. And I'm thrilled that you are part of God's family. And that God's family continues to grow around the world. I see what God is doing--I see God's plan coming together-- and it makes me happy. It makes me praise God.

This brings us to today's passage. Paul understands what God is doing in the world. God has this vision, this goal, to make one single family for himself. Paul sees God's plan, and he sees it starting to come to fruition. God's family is growing across the world, and Paul praises God for this.

In today's passage, in verse 15, Paul turns from this bird's eye perspective, to praising God specifically for what God is doing in the Ephesian church. Paul is thankful for them.

So, verse 15:

For this reason I also, hearing about your allegiance to the Lord Jesus and your love for all the holy ones, do not stop giving thanks for you,

remembrance making in my prayers,

There are two things in particular about the church that make Paul give thanks. The first is their allegiance to the Lord Jesus. The second is their love for all the holy ones. What I'd like to do now is help you think about these two things.

Your English Bibles are going to all translate the first thing differently than I did. They read, "hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus." But what does it mean to have faith?

There is a family of related Greek words for faith. Pistis is the noun. Our English Bibles usually translate this as "faith" or "belief." Pisteuo is the v erb. Our English Bibles usually translate that as "I believe."

There are times when the Greek does mean something like "believe." But the idea usually is much bigger than this. And since "faith" and "belief" are such a core part of who we are as God's people, and how we live, I want to take a little time to explain this.

Let's turn first to Romans 3:1-3.

3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?

God has faith. Did you know that? That word at the end there, that our English Bibles will all translate as faithfulness, is the same Greek word that is (nearly) always translated as "faith" or "belief" when it relates to us.

Does it make sense to say that God has faith? Does God believe Jesus died on the cross for his sins? Does God believe Jesus is Messiah? In Romans 3:3, when Paul says God has "faith," this can't be what he means. The idea here is that God has made promises to Israel, and God has kept those promises. God is faithful. Our English Bibles all translate "faith" here correctly as "faithfulness."

What I would argue is that this is one of the very few places where our English Bibles get it right. Many Jews were "unfaithful." This is the same Greek word, with a little prefix to make it the opposite. The problem with the Jews wasn't that they believed the wrong things. Their problem was that they were unfaithful to God. They were faithless. But God is faithful. God has faithfulness.

This is really what faith means. "Faith" is not mainly about believing certain things to be true about Jesus. Faith is about faithfulness.

God has faithfulness toward us. God has given us promises, and he is faithful to keep those promises. He is faithful. He keeps "faith" with us. And we have faithfulness toward God, and toward his son Jesus. So, in Ephesians 1, when Paul thanks God upon hearing about the Ephesians' faith, what he is saying is that he's heard about their continued faithfulness to Jesus. He's not thanking God because they continue to have great theology. He's thanking God because they continue to live faithfully toward Jesus as Lord, and as King. Faith is faithfulness. This is a much better translation.

Another verse that can help us think about the meaning of "faith" is in 1 Timothy 5:11. The first century was very much a man's world. And what I mean by that, is that it was difficult for women to survive independently, and provide for themselves. This was especially true for widows, who may or may not have children. In the early church, the church took very seriously its responsibility to look after widows. If you were a widow, you could sign up on this list, and the church would take care of your material needs. In these verses, Paul talks about which widows should, and shouldn't, be put on the list. The point he's making is that younger women shouldn't be on the list; the church shouldn't be helping them financially.

Now younger women refuse.

For whenever their strong physical desires lead them away from Christ, they wish to marry,

incurring (lit: having) condemnation,

because their former pledge they broke.

The word faith is in this verse. It's the word "pledge." In order to get on the list of widows the church cares for, widows had to make a pledge that they wouldn't remarry. Instead, they would serve God alone from this point forward. What we would say, in modern terms, is that the way to get on the list is to pledge to become a nun. Amusing, or no?

The problem is that if the widows are younger women, there's a good chance they will meet someone that sweeps them off their feet, and they'll find themselves wishing to marry. If they do this, after they have made this pledge, they will stand condemned. Not because it's wrong to remarry if your spouse dies. But because they made a pledge to God, to commit themselves completely to God and the church, and to not remarry. And the Greek word here translated as "pledge," again, is pistis-- it's faith. So what does it mean to have faith in Jesus? It means making a pledge to Jesus. It's a promise, to serve King Jesus from this day forward.

So what does "faith" mean? It means, first of all, faithfulness. Second, faith is a pledge to Jesus. Faith is a promise we make to him, to live for him.

If we try to combine these two ideas, what does it mean to have faith? I think the best way to describe "faith" is as allegiance. We understand with allegiance, that it means a commitment, and that it's based on a pledge. So when you see my translations, I'm going to try to consistently translate it as allegiance.

Now the word "pistis" doesn't always have these ideas of pledge and faithfulness everywhere in the NT. There are exceptions, where it does mean something more like belief. But when Paul talks about giving our pistis to Jesus, it absolutely means giving Jesus your allegiance. When you come to Jesus, this isn't just about believing that he's the Son of God, or the Messiah, or believing that he died on the cross for you. It's great if you have great theology. You need to know these things. But what God wants is for you to get on your knees in front of King Jesus, and submit to him as King. You make a pledge to him. You give your faithfulness to him. And this pledge, this allegiance, is a promise you make for life. Today, you continue to give Jesus your allegiance.

It's quite possible that many of you were taught that "faith" means something much different than this, and that you've never really given your allegiance to Jesus. You maybe didn't even know you were supposed to do this. You thought "faith" was basically about believing the right things about Jesus. This was me-- I distinctly remember the moment this truth hit me. I remember where I was, where I was sitting, and what I was reading. And I remember being shocked. If this is you, I'd be happy to meet with any of you and help explain this more. I just want you all to be clear, that this allegiance to King Jesus isn't optional. This isn't something you choose to do later, after you are saved. If you want to be part of God's family, you have to give King Jesus your allegiance.

So... going back to Ephesians 1:15.

For this reason I also, hearing about your allegiance to the Lord Jesus and your love for all the holy ones, do not stop giving thanks for you,

remembrance making in my prayers,

Paul has heard two things about the Ephesian church, that make him give thanks to God. First, hearing about their allegiance to the Lord Jesus. Second, hearing about their love for all the holy ones.

There is a trend among Christians to think the church isn't important. We think our allegiance to Jesus is a private, individual matter. We come together each week, sure. We worship together; we pray together; we listen to sermons together. But are we living as a family? Do we genuinely love each other, help each other? The Ephesians love each other. They get it. And so Paul thanks God for this.

All of this isn't to say that the Ephesians are a perfect, or nearly perfect church. There are things the Ephesians lack. And it's at this point that Paul transitions to how he prays for them. He thanks God for them, but he also has some specific prayer requests for them. There are things he wants God to do for them, and here Paul tells them what those are.

For this reason I also, hearing about your allegiance to the Lord Jesus and your love for all the holy ones, do not stop giving thanks for you,

remembrance making in my prayers,

in order that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ--the Father of glory --may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in/by knowledge about him ,

Paul's prayer is, essentially, that they'd understand what God has done for them through Jesus. There are things they need to know about Jesus. There's something about God's plan they don't get. And if they understood this, they'd have a spirit of wisdom and revelation.

Paul then develops this basic prayer like this:

the eyes of your heart having been enlightened so that you will know

1) what is the hope of his calling,

2) what [are] the riches of the glory of his inheritance to the holy ones,

3) and what [is] the surpassing greatness of his power for us--the ones giving allegiance --according to the working of the might of his strength,

which he has worked/accomplished in the King,

raising him from the dead,

and seating [him] at his right hand in the heavenlies,

There are three specific things Paul wants them to know. (1) The hope of God's calling, (2) The riches of the glory of his inheritance to/for the holy ones, (3) the surpassing greatness of his power for us-- the ones giving allegiance-- according to the working of the might of his strength.

The first two things on the list have to do with the future God has planned for us. We have a hope. We have an inheritance. God's calling isn't just about what he has already done for us in forgiving us, and adopting us. It's not just about the present, as we live in allegiance to Jesus. It's also about what God has promised he will do. We live in eager expectation of what God will do. We live in hope, looking forward. What is this hope? I'll come back to this later. For now, just understand that living as Christians means looking forward, in hope.

The third thing Paul wants the Ephesians to know is this, in verse 19: "to know the surpassing greatness of his power for us-- the ones giving allegiance."

I want to start this verse by explaining, of all things, the dash marks. - - the ones giving allegiance. What Paul is doing here is called overspecification. That's the super nerdy way to talk about this. When you see dashes in my translations, that's almost always why they are there. When Paul uses overspecification, it's because he wants his readers to think about something in a particular way. The idea here, in this verse, is that Paul wants the Ephesians to think about themselves in a particular way. We might think of ourselves as residents of ND, as farmers, as middle-class. There's lots of ways we can think about ourselves. But for Paul's purposes, the important thing at this point, is that you think of yourselves as people who are giving allegiance to Jesus. This is who you are. You're lots of other things, but at this point, right now, think of yourselves as ones giving allegiance. And what Paul is saying about God's power, he is saying for people who are giving their allegiance to Jesus.

We talk a lot about how God is all-powerful, but we maybe struggle to think about why this actually matters. The idea with God being all-powerful is that God can do whatever God wants to do. Here, Paul says God used his power for the church-- for us.

It's one thing to know that God is all-powerful. It's a very different thing to realize that God is using that power for us. God is using that power for you.

Paul then makes this more specific in verse 20. God used his power for us through Jesus, raising Jesus from the dead, and seating him at his right hand in the heavenlies, above every ruler, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name being named, not only in this age, but also in the coming one.

When you think of the cross, you probably tend to think of it in terms of Jesus dying for us-- for our sins. He died in our place. But what God did in raising Jesus from the dead is bigger than this. We need to let Paul stretch our understanding of the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection. What exactly did Jesus accomplish on the cross?

There are many rulers, authorities, powers, and dominions, both on earth, and in the heavens. God has a kingdom, but there are other kingdoms. Satan has a kingdom, and he along with other wicked spirits, is fighting God.

When Jesus died in obedience to God on the cross, this marked the decisive blow against Satan. The cross, and resurrection, mark God's victory. How?

What is it that gives Satan power over people? Why does he get to claim people as his own?

The thing that gives Satan power over people is sin.

Colossians 2:13-15

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities[b] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.[c]

The thing that gives Satan power over people is sin. Satan's weapon against us is sin. If we were to put this in Ephesians 6 terms, the sword of Satan is sin. And Jesus, by dying for our sins, disarmed all of the spiritual forces opposing God. Jesus took their sword.

When Jesus died for our sins, he disarmed the rulers and authorities, and he triumphed over them. They have no claim over us any longer, because our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus.

Verse 22:

And all things/beings he subjected under his feet,

and him he gave as head over all things to/for the church,

which is his body--the fullness of the One filling/fulfilling all things in all ways.

Because Jesus was faithful, in dying on the cross for our sins, God exalted Jesus above everyone and everything. Jesus has been given authority over everything. And why did God do that?

God did all this for the church. I'll read verse 22 again:

And all things/beings he subjected under his feet,

and him he gave as head over all things to/for the church.

God did all this for us.

So as we go through life, we know that Jesus is in charge. We don't fear Satan and his kingdom-- let alone any earthly kingdom. We know that Jesus triumphed over them at the cross. We know that Jesus has been given authority over them all. This doesn't mean we don't need to be careful to live rightly. Satan is looking for weak spots, for vulnerabilities, in us as individuals, and us as a church. But we don't fear him. We don't fear anyone or anything.

And we know that when King Jesus returns, he will make everything right. All authorities that challenge Jesus will meet their final defeat. And we will be part of God's kingdom, in the new earth, forever. This is our hope. All these powers have already been placed at Jesus' feet. They are already subject to Jesus. And the day is coming when they will be completely crushed (Rom. 16:20--super cool verse, but I won't unpack it).

Paul's prayer for the Ephesians is that God will show them all of this. But Paul knows he has a responsibility here too-- and so he teaches them.

Understand that you are part of something much bigger than yourself, and this little church. You have a glorious hope, as part of God's family, because you are giving allegiance to Jesus. You've made a good decision. You picked the right King to pledge your lives to.

As we close in prayer, my prayer for you today echoes Paul's.

Father, I thank you for this church. I pray that you would make this church know what you've done for them in Jesus. Help them understand that you've exalted Jesus to your right hand, over all your enemies, and how that should give them hope and confidence in you, as they go through life. We praise you for your love and faithfulness.

Translation:

For this reason I also, hearing about your allegiance to the Lord Jesus and your love for all the holy ones, do not stop giving thanks for you,

remembrance making in my prayers,

in order that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ--the Father of glory --may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in/by knowledge of him ,

the eyes of your heart having been enlightened so that you will know

what is the hope of his calling,

what [are] the riches of the glory of his inheritance to the holy ones,

and what [is] the surpassing greatness of his power for us--the ones giving allegiance --according to the working of the might of his strength,

which he has worked/accomplished in the King,

raising him from the dead,

and seating [him] at his right hand in the heavenlies,

above every ruler and authority and power and dominion and every name being named,

not only in this age,

but also in the coming one.

And all things/beings he subjected under his feet,

and him he gave as head over all things to/for the church,

which is his body--the fullness of the One filling/fulfilling all things in all ways.