Ephesians 1:15-23

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Ephesians 1:15-23

Verse 15: "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints."

Paul heard of the faith of the saints in the Ephesian church in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints.

Verse 16: "Cease not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers."

Paul never ceases to give thanks for the church in Ephesus, mentioning it every time he prays to God.

Paul demonstrates that he is a true apostle to the church (Romans 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; Philemon 1:4).

Verse 17 is Paul's prayer for the church in Ephesus.

This should be the topic of the church's public prayers.

However, it is truly pathetic to call it prayer when people shout out slogans as prayer topics in church.

Even taking the example of the tabernacle, there is no mention of blessings or wishes during the process of entering the Most Holy Place.

Only, passing through the altar of burnt offering, for forgiveness of sins, eat the shown bread by the light of the golden lampstand, and then burn incense on the altar of incense before entering the throne of grace in the Most Holy Place.

Therefore, prayer should be about gratitude for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life as children of God who have received the grace of Christ's atonement on the cross, become one with Christ, eat and drink his flesh and blood, and thus worship and praise God the Father. Blessings should be prayers of those who possess the same spiritual mystery, asking for blessings for others.

Verse 17: "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him."

Who gives the spirit of wisdom and revelation?

The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.

To whom does the spirit of wisdom and revelation come?

"to you", the church in Ephesus and to us, the recipients of this letter to the Ephesians.

Because we have been sanctified in Christ and believe in him as Lord.

So what do we receive through prayer?

The spirit of wisdom (enlightenment) and revelation (light). The work of Holy Spirit  give both together.

The church in Ephesus has faith and love for the saints, but it still lacks this.

Why do we need the spirit of wisdom and revelation? To know God.

Paul prays for the revelation that allows us to know God, that is, to have spiritual eyes.

So faith becomes the eyes that see things hoped for as real (Hebrews 11:1).

Therefore, believers in Christ must pray like this.

That's why some say they've prayed this passage a hundred times.

Verse 18: "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of his glory of his inheritance in the saints."

The eyes of the heart are the eyes that illuminate everything.

With those eyes, we first see the hope of his calling.

We must understand the desire of God who called us into Christ.

It is truly a great vision and a living hope.

Christians are not created to live an ordinary life on this earth.

And we come to understand the riches of his glory of his inheritance within the saints.

We come to understand the value and preciousness of the total spiritual wealth given to the saints.

God wants us to understand the preciousness of our inheritance in Christ.

The reason the church is now called secular is because there is no pride in the glory and honor given to the saints.

Simply put, it is because there is no immersion in the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 19: "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe,  who believe, according to the working of his mighty power."

The power of God, who has born again us and given us eternal life in Christ, is a power beyond imagination.

We must truly understand it.

We must praise the mystery power of Christ's atonement on the cross, which has raised us from our sinful state in Adam, made us righteous, and brought us into his glory.

Verse 20: "Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places."

This explains his power. It is the power of God that holds us captive.

It is the power of God that holds us now. This power is at work in Christ.

We must consider that Jesus raised from the grave and we too was raised together with Christ, even though we died in Adam.

Only then will the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead continue to give life to my mortal body, from the present to the future (Romans 8:10).

2) God's power has seated the Lord at his right hand in the heavenly places.

He has seated us there with him (Ephesians 2:6). We are captive (Ephesians 4:8).

And

Verse 21: "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come."

3) Christ has been exalted above every name.

He is far above all the names of all men, both in this world and in the world to come, put together.

We become partakers of him simply by following his call (Hebrews 3:14).

Verse 22: "And has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church."

4) He put all things under Christ's feet.

5) He gave Christ as head over all things for the church.

The great mystery of the church is that in the Holy Spirit, we are clothed in Christ, eat him, and become one with him, being built into a house for God to dwell in.

Verse 23: "Which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all."

This is a description of the church.

The church is the body of Christ, its head.

And it is fullness through Christ, the fullness.

How many churches truly understand this special function of the church and praise the glory of its grace?

We must dedicate ourselves to the mission of realizing the archetypical church of the Bible, as described in Ephesians.

God has accomplished His plan, predestined before the foundation of the world, through Christ.

If our salvation were a cleverly crafted script, the Bible would have been written first, and then the Lord would have acted it out to prove it to us.

But God has already accomplished everything through His Son, and He gives us the bible and makes it known to the church through the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, the church serves as a mother, revealing the mystery of God's already accomplished salvation.

Therefore, it is essential to have church leaders who work together with the Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, however, leaders who teach Jewish faith or intellectual godliness dominate Christianity. This is like the earth drinking in the water from the serpent's mouth (Revelation 12:16).

Calvin said that if you don't call the church "mother," you don't know the Father.

Indeed, the heavenly Jerusalem is our mother (Galatians 4:26), the New Jerusalem.

The church is the fullness of Christ, who fills all things in all.

Christ, like leaven, fills us within us.

The church in heaven is already full. That is why we say the church in heaven is perfect.

Now, the church on earth must also flourish and be filled with the Holy Spirit and truth.

The body of Christ must be full (John 1:14,18).

Knowing that we have been redeemed (redeemed) by the blood of Christ, that is, receiving forgiveness of sins, is precious.

Hearing the gospel, believing, and being sealed by the Holy Spirit is precious in every generation.

Being one with Christ in him is also invaluable.

But this is only the beginning.

It is the first step in the real orbit of faith.

Paul prayed this prayer because he wanted us, the church in Ephesus and the readers of Ephesians, to all participate in the richness and glory of God's grace.

Therefore, it is essential for us to pray earnestly following Paul's prayer for the maturity of our personal faith and for the spiritual richness and fulfillment of the church.

Written by Ptr. Yohan Kim.

Translated by  Nancy Kim

COME AND SEE WORLD MISSION

TO GOD BE THE GLORY