Untitled Sermon

Ephesians 1:15–22 NKJV

15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may 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 exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,

As we continue to observe this prayer of Paul this morning we can see a beautiful blending together of doctrinal teaching and the working of the Spirit. Some feel that one is to the exclusion of the other, but as Paul demonstrates here both are necessary for our spiritual growth. We desperately need to Word of truth to be proclaimed to us, particularly in a world where lies prevail and bombard us on every side. But what use is truth if it is not known, received, believed and lived.

We read just last week in Heb 4:2

Hebrews 4:2 NKJV

2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

All the doctrine that Paul has given us in verse 3-14 profits nothing if it is not mixed with faith in those who hear it.

So there is need for both doctrinal teaching and prayer for the working of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our hearts.

We began a couple of weeks ago considering the occasion of this prayer being that Paul had heard of their faith in the Lord and their love for all the saints and how these must go together.

We saw that Paul gives thanks for them for their faith and obedience but he does not give thanks to them. Rather He thanks God because Paul knows that faith and obedience in a persons life is fully and completely the work of God.

And we began to look at some of the content of this prayer. Eph 1:17

Ephesians 1:17 NKJV

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

So the main point of this prayer is that they or we would be given the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (God). So Paul wants us to know God. And this is not just here but all through Paul’s letters he is always praying this same prayer that we might grow in the knowledge of God. This is because knowing God, has a powerful impact on our life. Ignorance of God leads to sinful lifestyles that do not glorify God. But it is a deep knowledge of God a revelation of God. Not a new revelation but that we might see and know what we have been given to know through the Word of God. This knowledge comes through the Word of God revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Paul then more specifically prays for three things that we might know through the opening of the eyes of our hearts.

What is the Hope of His Calling

What are the riches or the glory of His inheritance

and What is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe.

We are going to look at the first two today and we will look at the third next week Lord permits us.

The Hope of His Calling

What is the hope of the calling of God?

let’s start with what is this “hope”?

Hope = to anticipate, usually with pleasure, expectation or confidence.

This hope is not wishfulness.

it is assurance an earnest expectation, it is faith in the promises of God for whom is imposable for Him to lie.

So What is His calling?

Ephesians 1:4–5 NKJV

4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Romans 8:28–29 NKJV

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

1 Peter 1:14–15 NKJV

14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

But our hope is not that we might be able to be holy in our strength but as it says in the previous verse

1 Peter 1:13 NKJV

13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

So the idea seems to be that since we are called to be holy and to be made into the image of Christ then by truly knowing the hope of this calling we must live according to this calling. This is precisely where Paul is heading in Eph 4:1

Ephesians 4:1 NKJV

1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

Philippians 3:12–14 NKJV

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

But first we must have the eyes of our understanding enlightened through the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

When you truely and deeply know what is the hope of your calling you have absolute confidence that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”

Then you will press towards that mark, that high calling to be holy, to be in the image of Jesus Christ not because you think by you efforts and strength that you will make yourself holy but because of your deep confidence and assurance that God will make you holy that God is making you into the image of Christ.

The next thing that Paul prays for us to know through the eyes of our understanding being enlightened is...

The Riches of the Glory of His Inheritance

The wording could mean either the riches of God’s inheritance which would be the saints as we are God’s inheritance. However, it seems more natural to take it as being our inheritance.

Firstly because of the use of His in this prayer

Ephesians 1:18–19 NKJV

18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may 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 exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

The other two clearly are His calling of us and His power toward us so it would seem odd inn the middle to refer to His inheritance of us.

Secondly Paul has just been speaking of our inheritance

Ephesians 1:11 NKJV

11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

and

Ephesians 1:13–14 NKJV

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Here he says that the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. What is the purchased possession? It is us His people which he purchased with His own blood.

So we are His inheritance and He is ours.

Jeremiah 10:16 NKJV

16 The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The Lord of hosts is His name.

What are the riches of glory of this inheritance? Well if the Holy Spirit is the earnest or downpayment of this inheritance then what must the inheritance be. The Inheritance must be God himself otherwise the downpayment would be greater than the inheritance. The inheritance is more of God.

As Jeremiah said the Portion of Jacob is the Maker of all things. So just as the inheritance of the bride is the bride groom and the inheritance of the bride groom is the bride so God is our Portion and we are His portion.

So Paul’s prayer is that we would know what are the riches of the glory of this inheritance. That the eyes of our understanding might be enlightened to perceive the glory and the greatness of God as our inheritance. If God is our inheritance in Christ then all is ours in Christ because all is God’s

Romans 8:31–32 NKJV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

John 14:1–3 NKJV

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

We have only had time this morning to look at the first two things that Paul prays that the eyes of our understanding would be enlightened that we might know.

Where theology and the Holy Spirit meet together. The message is preached but it is the work of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our heart. My prayer for all of us this morning is that the Father of Glory might give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of our understanding being enlightened; that we may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.