Praying to the Glorious Father

This text reveals some important truths about prayer, emphasizing prayer for knowledge and understanding. We need the Spirit's help to grasp the greatness of God, the supremacy of Christ, and the rich benefits of the gospel.

Verses 3-14 are a hard act to follow, but Paul does so with this magnificent prayer! Verses 3-14 are about praise, and verses 15-23 are about prayer, which is still mingled with praise. The first section is about the spiritual blessings of salvation, and the prayer is about grasping them. Praise and prayer belong together, and they are fundamental to the interior life of the Christian. As we pray with Paul, we can observe three parts to this text: thanksgiving (vv. 15-16), intercession (vv. 17-19), and praise (vv. 20-23).

Thank God for Evidences of Grace in His People

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Thank God for Evidences of Grace in His People

Ephesians 1:15-16

In light of the opening section about God's work in the believers in Ephesus, Paul expresses his gratitude to God for them. He begins with a note of encouragement, reflecting on what he has heard about the Ephesian believers. Due to the amount of time that he had been away from Ephesus, and due to the probable circular nature of the letter, he does not seem to know all the Ephesian believers who will be reading it. Yet he is still praying for them. Here we see a combination of thankful prayer to God and public commendation to the people of God. Paul prays to God, giving thanks. He lets the people know he is thankful for them.

Paul is thankful for two important characteristics of God's people: faith in the Lord Jesus and love for the saints. Paul mentions faith and love in other places also, showing us the importance of these qualities (see Col 1:4; 1 Thess 1:3; 2 Thess 1:3; Phlm 3). These are essential qualities of Christians. What is a Christian? Here is a good summary: a Christian has faith in the Lord Jesus and has love toward the saints. These are basic Christian graces, with hope making up the triad, as mentioned in verses 12 and 18.

God's people love one another. Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). John mentions this as a proof as well several times in his epistles; for example, "This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers" (1 John 3:16).

Paul also says he is constantly praying with thanksgiving (cf. 1 Thess 1:2; 2 Tim 1:3; Rom 1:9). When Paul refers to his "prayers," he could be referring to the Jewish pattern of three prayer times per day (morning, noon, and evening). During these occasions and any other times, Paul is giving thanks to God for the Ephesians.

If Paul has this in mind, then here is another good principle for prayer: a good prayer life is both ongoing and planned. In terms of ongoing prayer, we should "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17 ESV). We can pray while we work and go about our days. We also need times to get away, like Jesus, who got up before the noise of the day began and prayed. I think it is good to have some place and time where you spend unhurried and unhindered moments in prayer.

35In verses 15-16 we see a thankful, praying apostle. I love how in 1 Corinthians, though Corinth is a troubled church, Paul can say, "I always thank my God for you because of God's grace given to you in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor 1:4). Paul even thanks God for the Corinthians! How? He looked for traces of grace and found reasons for gratitude.

Let me remind you of the need to recognize grace in others. It is easy to be critical of others. It takes a mature believer to recognize grace in others. Do you wear the glasses of grace or the glasses of self-righteousness or self-centeredness? Let us thank God in our prayers for evidences of grace in God's people—namely, faith and love—and let us also encourage the saints when we see traces of grace in their lives.

Ask God for Divine Illumination

Ask God for Divine Illumination

Ephesians 1:17-20

Now we get into Paul's petitions. He uses three phrases that get at the idea of illumination: "spirit of wisdom" and of "revelation" (v. 17), and "having the eyes of your heart enlightened" (v. 18). He says that your heart has eyes! Paul is asking God to give them spiritual eyes to see who God is and what God has done for them.

Illumination is the simple idea that God opens our eyes to know Him and His truth. Inspiration is what we refer to as the nature of Scripture. Illumination is how we understand Scripture. It is absolutely necessary that we seek the Spirit's help in understanding His truth. God's mind is revealed in Scripture, but we need "Holy Spirit glasses" to understand it accurately and deeply. Spurgeon said that apart from the Spirit it is easier to teach a tiger vegetarianism than an unregenerate person the gospel (An All-Around Ministry, 322). There is that great example of Jesus opening the eyes of the disciples. Luke writes,

Just as Jesus opened the eyes of the disciples to know His Word, so God opens the eyes of unbelievers' hearts at conversion, like Lydia, for example (Acts 16:14). Here in Ephesians, Paul asks God to give Christians eyes to see who they are. The psalmist prays something like36 this throughout Psalm 119: "Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wonderful things from Your instruction" (v. 18). "Help me understand Your instruction" (v. 34). "Show favor to Your servant, and teach me Your statutes" (v. 135).

The reason we often fail to seek the Spirit's illumination is that we have an inflated view of ourselves. We are tempted to feel self-sufficient, as if we do not need God's help. The first step to becoming a student of the Bible is having a heart of humility—a heart that says, "Please, give me understanding."

Along with this, we often have a low view of God, but Paul did not! Notice whom Paul is asking: "the glorious Father." The God of glory who appeared to Moses at Sinai is capable of opening eyes to see Him! Paul often tied "glory" and "power" together (compare 1 Cor 6:14 with Rom 6:4). By calling God the glorious Father, he is saying that God is the source of glory and power. Because of this, Paul can confidently ask God to give the Ephesians power. God is omnipotent. He is perfectly capable of giving us all the resources we need.

We are not praying to some little, weak God. We are praying to the only God, the "glorious Father." He is intimate, near, gracious to His people, like a good father; He is also glorious in His majesty, transcendence, and power. In 2 Corinthians Paul also puts glory and illumination ("the light of knowledge") together saying,

Again, Paul is confident when he prays because he knows to whom he is praying: the glorious Father. He who spoke the universe into existence can turn the lights on in hearts to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus.

To Know God Better (1:17b)

The first reason Paul gives for our needing God to open the eyes of our hearts is so we might know God better ("revelation in the knowledge of Him"). This may seem elementary, but is anything more important? D. A. Carson says, "What is the greatest need in the church today? ... The one thing we need in Western Christendom is a deeper knowledge of God. We need to know God better" (Call, 15).

37In Colossians 1:9-10 Paul prays for God to give them wisdom so they may continue "growing in the knowledge of God." The beginning, middle, and end of the Christian life is about knowing God. Beginning: Jesus says, "This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent—Jesus Christ" (John 17:3). Jesus told some who were doing ministry in His name, "I never knew you! Depart from Me" (Matt 7:22-23). Middle: Paul writes, "My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection" (Phil 3:10). End: John writes, "We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). The Christian's life is moving toward the visio dei, when we will see Christ. The Christian life is about knowing God and making Him known to others.

Spurgeon says it well: "I go back to my home, many a time, mourning that I cannot preach my Master even as I myself know Him, and what I know of Him is very little compared with the matchlessness of His grace. Would that I knew more of Him, and that I could tell it out better!" ("The Great Change"). J. I. Packer, in his classic book, Knowing God, says that those who know God have four characteristics: great energy for God, great thoughts of God, great boldness for God, and great contentment in God (Knowing God, 27-31). Let us pray that God will open our eyes that we may know Him better.

To Know the Blessings of the Gospel Better (1:18-20a)

Paul expands on the idea of knowing God better by praying that we may grasp certain truths about salvation. In a sense this is the same request or the other side of that request (Carson, Call, 175). Paul prays that they would know God, the God who has saved them and given them every spiritual blessing in Christ.

So what does Paul want his readers to understand? He mentions three particular blessings, distinguished by the word what in English:

• "what is the hope of His calling" (v. 18a);
• "what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints" (v. 18b); and
• "what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe" (v. 19).

The third blessing just keeps going! I have made verses 20-23 a separate point, but they are really a continuation of the blessing. Let's look at these three.

38Hope (1:18a). Paul asks God to open their eyes to know the hope to which He called them. In eternity past He called us. Then we believed in the present. And our hope also has a future dimension. We look forward to God summing up all things in Christ. Our salvation is marked by massive hope.

Paul prays that they may now grasp the hope of this calling. In Romans Paul describes our hope as involving sharing in the glory of God (Rom 5:2). He also speaks in other places of the hope of "salvation" (1 Thess 5:8), "righteousness" (Gal 5:5), resurrection of an incorruptible body (1 Cor 15:19,52-55), and "eternal life" (Titus 1:2; 3:7). This hope is rich, and it is varied in the New Testament. To put it simply, God has called us to a distinct way of life with a glorious future hope. When we hold out the gospel to people, we are essentially holding out hope to people (cf. Col 1:5). There is much suffering in this life; there are many dangers, toils, and snares, but glory is coming.

Inheritance (1:18b). Grammatically this could mean the inheritance God receives (i.e., we are His inheritance) or the inheritance that we receive (cf. Col 1:12). Since the text speaks of "God's inheritance," it seems best to go with the former (just as we noted in Eph 1:11). Paul wants us to appreciate the value that God places on us who are in Christ. Bruce says, "That God should set such a high value on the community of sinners rescued from perdition and still bearing too many traces of their former state, might well seem incredible were it not made clear that he sees them in Christ, as from the beginning, he chose them in Christ" (Ephesians, 270). In light of this, we should live for God's praise, and we should declare God's praise to the nations (cf. 1 Pet 2:9-10).

Power (1:19-20a). This third request is the climactic request in the prayer. That is made evident by how Paul expands on power in the following verses (vv. 20-23) and by the incredible labels Paul applies to God's power: "immeasurable greatness," "power" (dynamis), "working" (energeia), and "vast strength." Paul says God's almighty power is available to His saints! Only by God's power will we be able to engage in the spiritual battle described in Ephesians 6. Only by God's power will we arrive safely into His heavenly kingdom, and His power is given to "us who believe" (v. 19).

Think about where some of these Ephesians were coming from. Some were formerly caught up in magic, the Artemis cult, astrology, and emperor worship. Their lives were dark and perverted (Eph 4:17-19) until Christ saved them. The people of this culture lived in fear of hostile 39spiritual forces (O'Brien, Ephesians, 138). Paul is assuring them that God's power is supreme over all their enemies!

We need not fear when we have superior power. The power of the risen Christ is ours to do battle against worry, temptation, doubt, and demonic warfare. Why do we often fail to rely on this mighty power? Added to the exalted view of self and diminished view of God is the failure to understand the spiritual battle in which we are engaged.

The evil one and his host hate us. They hate our faith. They hate the church, our marriages, and our mission. That is why we must lean into Christ and pray for His resurrection power to strengthen us and empower us to live for God's glory.

To illustrate God's mighty power, Paul goes to the resurrection. In the Old Testament they measured power by creation (Isa 40) or by the exodus, but now there is another greater picture of power, the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Now, Christian, this power is ours. Paul says, "The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you" (Rom 8:11). This power is ours to witness, to overcome sin, to pursue holiness, to fight against the schemes of the Devil, and to have great faith for mission.

Praise God for His Exaltation of Christ

Praise God for His Exaltation of Christ

Ephesians 1:20-23

As mentioned, these verses are a continuation of verse 19. Paul is speaking of God's great work of exalting Jesus above all. I want you to see four aspects of Christ's exaltation.

Christ's Resurrection (1:20a)

God, with His infinite wisdom and power, has done what no man can do. He raised Jesus from the dead! Death is no little bug to squash; it is a bitter enemy we will all face. Yet because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we do not have to fear death. Jesus has crushed it! In his famous chapter on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul closes by saying,

Because of the resurrection, life has meaning. Our labor is not in vain. The resurrection of Jesus testifies to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. 40The resurrection gives believers enormous hope and sufficient power for living a life of service to God.

Paul is paving the way for Ephesians 2:4-7 where he says of believers, "Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens." The resurrection is a truth we need to meditate on every day.

Christ's Enthronement (1:20b)

Jesus is not only alive forevermore, but He is also reigning forevermore. Paul notes here the enthronement of Jesus.

In the early preaching in the book of Acts, the resurrection and Christ's enthronement were emphasized. They were the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies.

When He was brought before the Sanhedrin, Jesus claimed that these verses were about Him (O'Brien, Ephesians, 140; see Matt 26:64; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:41-44). To be at the "right hand" was a position of privilege, honor, favor, victory, and power. This position belongs to Jesus Christ alone.

What does that mean for us? It means everything. Everything is under the reign of the seated King! The author of Hebrews says He is upholding the universe by the word of His power, and He upholds it all sitting down (Heb 1:3). If He is doing this, then we can trust Him with our problems—both great and small. Our hope is not in a political election but in the seated King.

Christ's Supremacy (1:21-22a)

Christ, as the risen, seated King, is now superior to every competitor. His throne is above the principalities and powers. He is above creation. He is above Satan and his system. He is above everyone and every ruler. Paul mentions His supremacy over all earthly powers. He mentions Christ's supremacy over every title or name (cf. Phil 2:6-11). And then he mentions Christ's supremacy over all His enemies with the phrase "under His feet." Paul is saying here that not only is every power inferior to Christ, they are also subject to Him (O'Brien, Ephesians, 145).

Christ's Headship (1:22b-23)

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Finally, Paul mentions Christ's headship over the church. Here we see the amazing connection between Christ and His church. Only the church, not all creation, is said to be His body. Consequently, the church should be important to us! Jesus identifies Himself with it! He is head over it. Later in Ephesians Paul will expound on this relationship.

A lot of believers know this intellectually, but it seems that many think a pastor is the head of the church. I know of one case in which one-third of a congregation left a church when a pastor left it. The church is not about a man; it is about Christ. He is the Head.

Paul also says that the church is Christ's "fullness" (v. 23). I take this difficult phrase in the passive sense rather than active. We do not fill Christ. He fills us. Paul is saying that Jesus, as Head over the church, is "filling [the church] in a special way with his Spirit, grace, and gifts: it is his fullness" (O'Brien, Ephesians, 152).

As Lord over all things, He fills all things, but this filling of the church is different. Only the church is His body, and He rules it and fills it in a special way. What this means is that we as a church are entirely dependent on Christ. What makes us something significant—indeed glorious—is our relationship to Jesus. He fills the church with His presence.

What encouragement this must have given to the house churches in the region of Ephesus. What encouragement it should give to us!

Reflect and Discuss

Reflect and Discuss

1. Will you pause and pray like Paul—with thanksgiving, intercession, and praise?
2. Are you thankful to God for fellow believers? Have you told a fellow believer this lately?
3. What in this passage taught you the most about prayer? What is missing in your prayer life?
4. What kinds of requests are brought up at your prayer meetings? How are Paul's petitions for the believers in Ephesus different?
5. How is illumination different from inspiration? Why do we need divine illumination?
6. What practical difference would it make if we understood our hope, inheritance, and power better?
7. What do you find most difficult to believe in this passage? Why?
8. 42What does this passage say about the exaltation of Jesus? How might living with this awareness affect our lives?
9. How is Paul's view of the church different from the view taken by most Christians today? What would happen if we took a high view of the church?
10. Will you commit to praying through this prayer this week?