February 5, 2023
Morning Service

The last two weeks, Paul has led us on a time of taking spiritual inventory in our lives.  It is very advantageous for us to review where it is we stand in our faith and what things we are blessed with from our Heavenly Father.  Paul reminds us that God chose us, despite all our many faults.  Jesus was sent to pay the price for our salvation in full making it a free gift for us to accept.  We are also blessed with the knowledge of how this world ends and the inheritance we have been promised granting us a hope that our future is something to look forward to not dread.  Last week, we were told that God Himself, through the Holy Spirit, now dwells in us empowering us to be faithful in our journey towards seeing Him.  The Holy Spirit’s presence in our life is the “guarantee our inheritance;” sealing us as belonging to God as His adopted children.  As we finish chapter one, Paul moves off of task from the spiritual inventory for a short period first praising the church for their faithfulness and then praying a revelation come to them through this exercise of spiritual inventory.

Eph. 1:15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

            Therefore, always makes us look back at what was previously said and then builds upon it.  Paul is here is exhorting the church that their inventory is going well and they have grasped what he is teaching them up to this point.  How does he know this?  By looking at the life they are living.  The church in Ephesus were not only “hearers of the Word, but doers as well.”  Notice first Paul exalts their “faith in the Lord Jesus.”  They had their eyes fixed upon Him the foundation of their faith.  We are not called to believe in a creed, religion or the church; but our faith is focused in on “the Lord Jesus.”  Saving faith comes only through the blood of Jesus the Son of God and He is the One we are committed to follow.  Paul then mentions the evidence of their faith coming out with their “love for the saints.”  A change in your heart will soon become a change in your actions and as your faith and love for God grow, so will your love for others.  As we endeavor upon our journey following Jesus, we will naturally create a bond of love with those who are walking along with us.  We truly are brothers and sisters in Christ living a life with the same goals in mind; to be found a faithful follower.  We invest in one another sharing each other’s burdens and joys alike; living life together.  We truly are a family and we are “better together!”  Having faith and a love for each other is how we let our light shine to this dark world testifying that we are a peculiar people chosen by God Himself to fulfill His purpose.  Paul now continues with his prayer for them (and us) to receive a revelation and understanding to increase the depth of our faith.

 

Eph. 1:16-19 (I) 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

            Paul acting as mentor to this church “does not cease” to pray for them.  Prayer is a vital part of our walk with Jesus and should never be taken lightly.  In his prayers, he thanks God for them and also asks for God to grant that their “understanding might be enlightened.”  He prays that God give to them (and us) “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”  What he speaks of here is exactly what the Holy Spirit does for us.  He allows us the ability to be able to see beyond the words and grasp the spiritual implications of the Word.  He wants us to have a deep, spiritual knowledge and understanding that goes beyond our intellectual abilities.  Tony Evans explains it this way: “If we only see what we can see, we are not seeing all that there is to be seen.”  The Holy Spirit makes that possible for us enabling our vision to be keener, clearer, and stronger.  We must learn to slow down and listen to the Spirit as He speaks to us and allow Him to change us from the inside out. 

Paul prays that the Spirit allows us to understand and KNOW these three things.  First, “what is the hope of His calling.”  This again points to what the future holds for us.  We are promised that Jesus will return to take us to our eternal home where we will “see Him as He is and be like Him!”  Hope does not disappoint.  Just as the Jewish people in the OT constantly held on to the hope that the Messiah would come, we must grasp firmly the hope that He will come a second and final time for us.

  Secondly, he wants us to know the “riches of the glory of our inheritance in the saints.”  This ties in closely with the first request but also includes that we know not only what the future holds and our inheritance, but also that we will enjoy it together with all the saints.  Our hope and inheritance lies in Jesus alone, but our reward goes beyond that and we will share eternity with all other believers including our friends and family.  This is our gravy on the biscuit of eternal life.  We will see Jesus and all those who are now asleep in Christ and all those we now journey along with.  There is a comfort and a joy in that knowing that heaven will be shared with those who share in our faith.  That gives a whole new meaning to together!

 Thirdly, Paul prays that we know “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.”  F.B. Meyer writes that “it is great power, nothing would suffice.  It is exceeding great power beyond the furthest cast of thought.”  With God all things are possible, nothing stands outside of His ability.  Our creation and redemption are evidence of the power of the God we serve.  To know, trust, and believe that God has no limits and loves us more than we can comprehend is Paul’s request for us to spiritually understand and be able to apply it to our daily walk.  Never are we powerless in a situation when God is for us, who can be against us?  Paul finishes the chapter with a declaration of how that power is revealed to us through Christ.

 

Eph. 1:20-23 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.

            Paul here states the resume of Jesus for us.  He lived the perfect sinless life, freely gave it upon the cross and arose from the grave.  He now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us, His chose people.  He awaits the moment in time when the Father will say, “bring my children home.”  He alone stands FAR ABOVE all principality, power, might and dominion.  At the mention of His Name, every knee will bow and tongue confess that He alone is Lord.  All things are placed under His authority which includes us the church being our Head and we being His body.  He now works in this world through us His Bride (the church).  This image of us shows the unity we share in following Him.  He, through the Spirit, is molding each one of us to become more like Him.  He gives each of us gifts to be used to exhort one another making us “better together!”  We work, serve, and worship Him not as individuals, but as one unified body.

 

1Co 12:12-13 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.  (13)  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.  

            Paul prays that we come to this understanding of thought we all are different and have different gifts and talents we are one in the body of Christ.  Our stories and backgrounds are all unique, but we are one having received the same Spirit, following the same Savior, and being members of the same body (church).  We need to pray to acquire the understanding of the part we play in God’s grand plan.  Where in the church can God use you?  You may ask what difference can one person make?  All you have to do is look around this fellowship this morning.  The vision of what we have become started with one person being obedient to God and then along the road each of us have joined in to make us who we are today.  A church like the one in Ephesus full of faith and love for the saints.  We are the church, we are the Bride of Christ unified by the same Spirit, our love of God, and our eyes all being fixed upon Jesus the Son of God.  We need to get stronger in our faith and get busy about the Father’s business as time is short.  God has brought us together and will bless us as we go forward seeking to bring glory to His Name.

 

Heavenly Father, open the eyes of our heart that we might fully understand Your love for us and Your plan for us.  Thank You for allowing us to walk this journey together and we ask that You use us as Your church to be the light and salt in our community.