Ephesians 1:15-23

13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

15Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17That 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: 18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21Far 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: 22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

We have seen the election and predestination of God the Father, the action of Christ’s redemption, and the Holy Spirit’s preaching/drawing/sealing in the salvation of the saints in vs. 3-14. Now we come to Paul’s response to the saints’ faith in light of the truths of those verses. Because we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, we are indeed the elect of God as proven by our faith and the Holy Spirit within us. We are children of God through the redemption by the blood of Christ. We are partakers of the knowledge of the mystery of God’s redemption of all things. Paul, now seeing this same faith in the Lord Jesus and its outworking in love to all the saints, ceases not to give thanks. We shall see later in the book an indication that Paul had not yet even personally met at least some (or maybe many) of these people when he wrote this letter to them. These are the children in Christ by the evangelization of other missionaries in the same Holy Spirit, by the same Gospel, in the same election of God (Ephesians 3:2-4 indicates that not all of his readers had even met Paul, just as was the case with the Roman epistle).

Nevertheless, Paul, as the apostle most given to the New Covenant mysteries of the grafting in of the Gentiles to the covenants of promise made with Israel, gives thanks for them and prays that they would realize the fullness of their possession in the Triune God. He prays that God, the Father of glory, would give to them (1) the enlivening essence of wisdom and (2) revelation in the knowledge of God so that the eyes of their understanding being now enlightened would result in their knowing (1) the awesomeness of the hope of His calling; (2) the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints; (note here that his prayer is not that they know the glory of theirinheritance in Christ but that they would fathom, as God’s people, the glory of God’sinheritance in them!) and (3) he prays that they would know the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe. This is the same mighty power with which He wrought when He raised Christ from the dead. In the same way, believers are raised from the dead as Christ was raised. Christ’s resurrection involved not just continued life, not just glorification even—but also exaltation to God the Father’s own right hand above all angels, all realms, every name in the heavens and in earth, not only now but also in the world to come. So the same power is at work in us. It has raised us up from the dead spiritually and will glorify and exalt us, not to the same position as Christ as only One can occupy that place at God’s right hand; but just as Christ was exalted, God will also exalt us to be with Christ, according to this passage.

Christ is head over all things to the church in a unique relationship. He is ruler over all in the coming Kingdom of God upon earth. He upholds all things with the word of His power, even naturally-speaking. But the church is the firstfruits of His redemption, the type of the coming redemption of all things, most special to God’s heart in that we are bear the imago dei (the image of God), and though we rebelled and fell, yet now we are redeemed, justified, sanctified, and we shall be glorified and even exalted. We are uniquely Christ’s body, as a collective of saints. He is the head; we are the members. This is how close the relationship between the Lord and His people is. The body of saints in conjunction with Christ as our head is the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

1.Prayer for others is founded upon their own spiritual condition.

a.Notice Paul’s description of the spiritual life of the Ephesian believers.

  1. The Ephesian believers had faith in Jesus as Lord: 15a
  2. The evidence of their faith was in the show of their love to other believers: 15b

b.Having heard this good news, Paul expresses to them his constant prayer.

  1. His prayer for them is thanksgiving to God: vs. 16a.
  2. Not ceasing means here that when he prayed, he remembered them in his prayers: vs. 16b.

2.Prayer for others always involves their growth in grace.

  1. Verse 17 begins with a “hina” clause indicating purpose—so that or in order that. This is the reason why Paul was praying for these Christians.
  2. Content:
  1. Address—the interpretation of this prayer begins with this understanding: vs. 17
  1. He is the God of the Lord Jesus Christ
  2. He is the “Father of glory”
  1. Request:
  1. He was asking God that the Ephesians might receive from God a special gift: vs. 17
  1. Spirit of wisdom: the ability to understand
  2. Spirit of revelation “in the knowledge of Him.”
  1. The result of this is that they would be spiritually enlightened: vs. 18a
  1. Result:
  1. He wanted the believers to know the “three “what’s”
  1. What is the hope of salvation: vs. 18b
  2. What are the riches of God’s inheritance in the saints: vs. 18c
  3. What is the incredible greatness of His power toward Christians: vs: 19a
  1. The power is further explained being illustrated in God’s work in Jesus.
  1. This is evidenced in the resurrection of Jesus: vs. 20
  2. This is evidenced in the glorification of Jesus: vs. 20-23

Discipleship

How we pray for each other is not unimportant. Rather, it is one of the most important ways in which we remain connected together as the body of Christ. Unfortunately, many times our prayers for others are filled with things are good, but they are not accompanied by things which are primarily important. This is one aspect of our Christian lives which we often miss. We regularly let the good replace the best. This is particularly true in our prayers. As disciples of Jesus we need to learn how to pray! This lesson is an examination of two of Paul’s prayers—Colossians 1:9-11 and Philippians 1:9-11. Look first at Colossians 1:9-11.

  1. Epaphras apparently informs Paul of the situation in Colossae and immediately Paul develops a prayer burden. How soon after learning of the situation did he begin to pray?
  2. Does he indicate when he stopped praying for them?
  3. What were Paul’s requests for the Christians in Colossae?
  1. Request 1: Filled with the ______of God’s ______in all ______and spiritual ______: vs. 9
  2. Request 2: Walk (order their lives) ______of the Lord as indicated by two qualities: vs. 10
  1. In good works being ______.
  2. In the knowledge of God ______.
  1. Request 3: Strong in patience and longsuffering: vs. 11

Look also at Philippians 1:9-11.

  1. Paul prayed that the Christians in Philippi would have an increasing ______: vs. 9a
  2. This increasing love was limited in this case to a couple of areas: vs. 9b
  1. ______
  2. ______
  1. This is the idea of learning to love what is best over what is good. (Can you think of things which are good, but not always best?)
  2. The result of this increasing love in these areas was discernment.
  1. They would learn to ______excellent things: vs. 10
  2. This discernment would lead to a life of honest living: vs. 10b.
  3. They would be ______with the “fruits” of righteousness: vs. 11a
  1. These only come by life in ______: 11b
  2. These always bring glory to God: 11c.

•Are these prayers similar to the way you pray for others?

•Share with your discipleship partner a spiritual matter for which he might pray for you.