Ephesians 1:15-23
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[a] 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, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
“may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
Why is it important for us to have wisdom and revelation? Because the natural mind does not receive the truths of God “naturally.” We need divine wisdom and divine revelation in order to receive the truth of God’s Word.
Information must undergo a process of revelation in order for there to be a holy transformation. What do I mean? Having tons of information: facts, events, dates, numbers, names, locations, philosophies, and theologies, etc doesn’t compel us or move us to the things of God. It is only when the Holy Spirit takes that information and reveals the truth behind it to our hearts and minds that we are able to respond to it. Thus what we need is not more information but greater amounts of revelation for us to truly begin to see transformation. Lord, give to us the spirit of revelation.
If we want the “true” knowledge of Jesus let us begin to pray for wisdom and revelation. There is no other knowledge more important to us than this-the knowledge of Christ. It will not be obtained by the reading of many books or the hearing of many sermons, but only through the revelation of the Holy Spirit—who was sent to lead and guide us into all truth. I might also add that wisdom and revelation don’t come through wishful thinking but through wrestling with God in prayer, meditation, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures.
“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know..”
What is being said here cannot be said enough. It is of extreme importance that we stop, read carefully, and listen intently. If you can hear, feel, taste, see, and touch what Paul is saying in these verses you are going to be revolutionized from the inside out. Paul is praying that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened, so that they may know. We might be Christians, but yet still be as blind as a bat concerning the truths of God. Spiritual blindness is the will of the devil. If he can’t undo what Christ did on the Cross for us then he will put all of hell’s legions to work in trying to keep you from being able to see what it was He did. And not only will satan work at keeping us blind, but our spiritual apathy and laziness will likewise blind us. For if we choose not to feed off of the Bread of life through prayer and the reading of the Word then we will soon discover that our spiritual senses begin to starve, weaken, and fatigue.
Paul is praying that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened so that they may know.
Know What?
The hope of His calling.
The riches of the glory of His inheritance for the saints (that is us).
The exceeding greatness of His power.
What Paul is praying here is for the eyes of the Ephesians to be enlightened toward three things: The hope, the riches, and the power of Christ.
I am of the opinion that if the early Church in Ephesus needed the revelation of these three things back in their time, then how much more do we need this revelation today. Brothers and sisters, we need it like never before. It will mess us up for the glory of God.
And the same power that Paul was praying for them to know, he says, is also the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
“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.”
Christ, our King of kings has been seated at the right hand of the Father (catch the Trinitarian language) in the heavenly places. The same heavenly places of which Paul speaks about in Ephesians 1:3—“who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
And in these heavenly places Christ has been seated “Far Above” allll…
All What?
“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.”
Do you see what this is saying! Christ has been seated above every single power, force, and authority there is. He has been seated over every name that is named. Just trust me when I say this “there are a lot of names out there.” And Christ is seated above them all. He is seated above death, sin, cancer, aids, racism, war, hurt—all of it. All of it must answer and bow down before the King of kings.
He is seated above the big and the small. You name it, and He is seated above it.
“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
And all things were put under His feet.
How many things? All things!
Where? Under His FEET.
“and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
So if “all things” were put under the feet of Christ and if we are the body of Christ then does that mean that all things were put under the feet of the body of Christ? I dare say yes.
“Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
Christ fills His body with his presence and power!!
We, the Body of Christ must “walk out” the will, power, and authority of Christ. On the cross Christ maid the decision/sacrificial act to conquer sin, death, sickness, depression, etc. And we the Church need to have the eyes of our understanding opened so that we might know the hope, inheritance, and power of Christ—to know all that was accomplished on the cross for us—to know all the privileges and blessings given to us on the cross. And only after having our eyes opened to this new knowledge will we be able to walk in it and walk it out.
When thinking about the body, we typically think of the head as being the place where decisions to will, act, and respond are made. Christ our Head made some pretty powerful decisions on the cross that He is desiring to work out, or walk out through His Body. But, because of our impoverished vision, most of us in the Body, have no real genuine knowledge of what Christ did on the cross and thus have contributed to a paralyzing of the Body. We all need a greater vision.
I end here but the revelation continues forever.
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[a] 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, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
“may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
Why is it important for us to have wisdom and revelation? Because the natural mind does not receive the truths of God “naturally.” We need divine wisdom and divine revelation in order to receive the truth of God’s Word.
Information must undergo a process of revelation in order for there to be a holy transformation. What do I mean? Having tons of information: facts, events, dates, numbers, names, locations, philosophies, and theologies, etc doesn’t compel us or move us to the things of God. It is only when the Holy Spirit takes that information and reveals the truth behind it to our hearts and minds that we are able to respond to it. Thus what we need is not more information but greater amounts of revelation for us to truly begin to see transformation. Lord, give to us the spirit of revelation.
If we want the “true” knowledge of Jesus let us begin to pray for wisdom and revelation. There is no other knowledge more important to us than this-the knowledge of Christ. It will not be obtained by the reading of many books or the hearing of many sermons, but only through the revelation of the Holy Spirit—who was sent to lead and guide us into all truth. I might also add that wisdom and revelation don’t come through wishful thinking but through wrestling with God in prayer, meditation, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures.
“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know..”
What is being said here cannot be said enough. It is of extreme importance that we stop, read carefully, and listen intently. If you can hear, feel, taste, see, and touch what Paul is saying in these verses you are going to be revolutionized from the inside out. Paul is praying that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened, so that they may know. We might be Christians, but yet still be as blind as a bat concerning the truths of God. Spiritual blindness is the will of the devil. If he can’t undo what Christ did on the Cross for us then he will put all of hell’s legions to work in trying to keep you from being able to see what it was He did. And not only will satan work at keeping us blind, but our spiritual apathy and laziness will likewise blind us. For if we choose not to feed off of the Bread of life through prayer and the reading of the Word then we will soon discover that our spiritual senses begin to starve, weaken, and fatigue.
Paul is praying that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened so that they may know.
Know What?
The hope of His calling.
The riches of the glory of His inheritance for the saints (that is us).
The exceeding greatness of His power.
What Paul is praying here is for the eyes of the Ephesians to be enlightened toward three things: The hope, the riches, and the power of Christ.
I am of the opinion that if the early Church in Ephesus needed the revelation of these three things back in their time, then how much more do we need this revelation today. Brothers and sisters, we need it like never before. It will mess us up for the glory of God.
And the same power that Paul was praying for them to know, he says, is also the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
“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.”
Christ, our King of kings has been seated at the right hand of the Father (catch the Trinitarian language) in the heavenly places. The same heavenly places of which Paul speaks about in Ephesians 1:3—“who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
And in these heavenly places Christ has been seated “Far Above” allll…
All What?
“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.”
Do you see what this is saying! Christ has been seated above every single power, force, and authority there is. He has been seated over every name that is named. Just trust me when I say this “there are a lot of names out there.” And Christ is seated above them all. He is seated above death, sin, cancer, aids, racism, war, hurt—all of it. All of it must answer and bow down before the King of kings.
He is seated above the big and the small. You name it, and He is seated above it.
“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
And all things were put under His feet.
How many things? All things!
Where? Under His FEET.
“and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
So if “all things” were put under the feet of Christ and if we are the body of Christ then does that mean that all things were put under the feet of the body of Christ? I dare say yes.
“Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
Christ fills His body with his presence and power!!
We, the Body of Christ must “walk out” the will, power, and authority of Christ. On the cross Christ maid the decision/sacrificial act to conquer sin, death, sickness, depression, etc. And we the Church need to have the eyes of our understanding opened so that we might know the hope, inheritance, and power of Christ—to know all that was accomplished on the cross for us—to know all the privileges and blessings given to us on the cross. And only after having our eyes opened to this new knowledge will we be able to walk in it and walk it out.
When thinking about the body, we typically think of the head as being the place where decisions to will, act, and respond are made. Christ our Head made some pretty powerful decisions on the cross that He is desiring to work out, or walk out through His Body. But, because of our impoverished vision, most of us in the Body, have no real genuine knowledge of what Christ did on the cross and thus have contributed to a paralyzing of the Body. We all need a greater vision.
I end here but the revelation continues forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment