Pauls Letter to the Ephesians

Part 5

The story is told of the late newspaper publisher, William Randolph Hearst, who invested a fortune collecting art treasures from around the world. One day Mr. Hearst found a description of some valuable items that he felt he must own, so he sent his agent abroad to find them. After months of searching, the agent reported that he had finally found the treasures. They were in Mr. Hearsts warehouse. Hearst had been searching frantically for treasures he already owned! Had he read the catalog of his treasures, he would have saved himself a great deal of money and trouble.

In verses 3-14 of chapter 1, Paul expresses his strong desire for the Ephesians to know and understand all the treasures they have as result of the gifts they have received from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but in verses 15-23, he prays that the "eyes of their hearts" may be enlightened to realize that this is only the beginning. He prays for them to know God personally and intimately:

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,
do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NASB95)

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere,
I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,
asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.
I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power
that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at Gods right hand in the heavenly realms.
Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come.
And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church.
And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence. (NLT)

Verse 15 begins with Pauls commendation of the Ephesians. The phrase "For this reason" can be understood to refer back to verses 3-14 where Paul outlines the gifts from the Father (choosing, acceptance and adoption), the gifts from the Son (forgiveness, redemption, revelation of Gods will and inheritance), and gifts from the Holy Spirit (sealing and guaranteeing) or can be understood to refer to Pauls hearing about the faith and love of the Ephesians. Because in the Greek, verses 3-14 are one whole sentence and verses 15-23 are another whole sentence as well, I believe the context connects Pauls reason for thanking God for the Ephesians to what he as heard about their faith in Jesus and their love for other Christians. He certainly wanted them to know what they had received, but he is thankful for their response of faith and love.

The Christian life has two dimensions: faith toward God and love toward menthe two cannot be separated. The vertical relationship (toward God) brings about the horizontal (toward men), but Paul understood that this was just the beginning and so in verse 16, he begins his supplication for the Ephesians. I dont think its a stretch to say that what he prayed for the Ephesians, he was also praying for Christians today. In the prison prayers of Paul (Eph. 1:1523; 3:1421; Phil. 1:911; Col. 1:912), we discover the blessings he wanted his converts to enjoy. In none of these prayers does Paul request material things. His emphasis is on spiritual perception and real Christian character. He does not ask God to give them what they do not have, but rather prays that God will reveal to them what they already have and make it possible for them to appropriate every spiritual blessing they already posses in Christ Jesus.

His first request was that they would be given (allowed to use) a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. The NIV translators interpret the word spirit (pneuma) as the Holy Spirit, but the absence of the definite article and the following adjetives (wisdom and revelation) seem to indicate a disposition or attitude. However, wisdom and revelation about God (...in the knowledge of Him...) can only come by the Holy Spirit. The things of God are only communicated by the Holy Spirit to our human spirits...we will never "know" God unless He reveals Himself to us. Finite human intellect cannot comprehend the infinite God!

The word knowledge comes from the Greek epgnosis that comes from two root words, ep, upon, and ginosko, to know. The word ep serves as an intensifier...this knowledge is not abstract knowledge of God or objective facts about Him, but intimate, personal knowledge that reveals His character and will. Human philosophy says, "Know thyself"; Christianity says, "Know God through Jesus Christ"!

...that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened...

Why would Paul use this phrase? Do our hearts have eyes? Acccording to the Bible, the heart describes the inner man...our spirit. This inner man has spiritual faculties that equate to the physical senses. According to Scripture, the inner man can see (Ps. 119:18; John 3:3), hear (Matt. 13:9; Heb. 5:11), taste (Ps. 34:8; 1 Peter 2:3), smell (Phil. 4:18; 2 Cor. 2:14), and touch (Acts 17:27). This is what Jesus meant when He said of the people: "They seeing see not, and hearing they hear not" (Matt. 13:13). The inability to see and understand spiritual things is not the fault of the intelligence but of the heart. The eyes of the heart must be opened by the Spirit of God.

Why does Paul pray that the eyes of the Ephesians will be opened? Verse 17 says that they may know God (...in the knowledge of Him...). This, of course, is the highest knowledge possible. The atheist claims there is no God for us to know, and the agnostic states that if there is a God we cannot know Him. But Paul has met God in the person of Jesus Christ, and he knows that a man really cannot understand much of anything else without a knowledge of God. Paul had been educated under the finest Jewish scholars (Gamaliel) and he realized that apart from knowing God through Jesus Christ it all amounted to rubbish (Philippians 3:7-8). The believer must grow in his knowledge of God if he is to experience the abundant life. To know God personally is salvation (John 17:3). To know Him increasingly is sanctification (Phil. 3:10). To know Him perfectly is glorification (1 Cor. 13:912). Since we are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:2628), the better we know God, the better we know ourselves and each other. To know God only as Savior is to miss out on the abundant life Jesus promised. We must get to know Him as Father, Friend, Guide, and the better we know Him, the more satisfying our spiritual lives will be.

that you will know what is the hope of His calling

The word called is an important word in the Christians vocabulary. The word church is a combination of two Greek words (ek, out and klesa, called) that mean, "called out." Paul never tired of testifying that God called him "by His grace" (Gal. 1:15); and he reminded Timothy that the believer has a "holy calling" (2 Tim. 1:9). We have been "called out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9), and have even been "called to glory" (1 Peter 5:10). God calls us by His grace and not because of any merit that we may possess. Paul wanted the Ephesians and he wants us to understand the hope that is ours because of this calling (Eph. 4:4). Some callings offer no hope, but the calling we have in Christ assures us of a delightful future. Keep in mind that the word hope in the Bible does not mean "hope so," like a child hoping for a doll or a bike at Christmas. The word carries with it "assurance for the future." The believers hope is, of course, the return of Jesus Christ for His church (1 Thess. 4:1318; 1 John 3:13).

...the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints...

All of the commentators I could find believe that this refers to the saints as being a part of Gods wealth; His prized possession. And while I agree there is a sense in which that is true, I dont think that is the meaning of this verse. I think Paul is refering to the indwelling Christ. I couldnt find a published commentator that agrees, but I was gratified to discover that Jay Kulinna does. The word glory (doxa) carries several meanings, but in the Old Testament it was used to describe the physical presence of God, especially with Israel (...the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. (Exodus 16:10)) and in the New Testament "the appearance of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13) refers to the Second Coming.

Of the New Testament writers, Paul is the clearest on this subject of the indwelling Christ with statements like, "to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27) Ephesians 1:11 says, "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance" The reason believers are heirs is that their inheritance is Jesus Christ Himself and He comes to live in the saints by the Holy Spirit. All this is the fulfillment of Gods plan, laid out before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-6).

In verse19, Paul reaches down deep into his vocabulary to find the most superlative superlatives to describe the power of God, available to every believer for appropriating the riches God has given them as described in the preceding verses. He uses words like:

Surpassing or exceeding (huperballo), to excel, above, highly eminent.

Greatness (megethos), strong, splender, magnificent.

Power (dunamis), almighty energy, acheiving power.

Working (energeia), effecient, active exhibition of power, energy.

Strength or might (kratos),manifested power, dominion.

In verses 20-21, Paul cites the best illustration of this power of Godsthe resurrection of Jesus Christ! To the Jewish mind, the greatest examples of Gods power were creation and the raising of the dead in the futurePaul sees Jesus as the first example of resurrection power which has already taken place and is an historical assurance that God can and will do it again. The seat at the right hand of a ruler was considered a position of honor and authority. Paul says that by exalting Christ to that position, God has given Him all power, authority and dominion over every power in the universe, every name that is named, both in this age, and the age to come.

In verses 22-23, Paul concludes his prayer for the Ephesians by declaring that God has placed everything in subjection to Christ and has placed Christ as the head of the church, His body. As mentioned earlier, the word church is a combination of two Greek words (ek, out and klesa, called) that mean, "called out." Its interesting to note that with the passage of time, the word church has come to identify a buildingthe house of God, instead of believers, who, according to Scripture, are the "house of God" (1Corinthians 3:16).

Again, in verse 23, Paul reminds the Ephesians that Christ dwells inside them (the fullness of Him who fills all in all.) Pauls focus is always on Christ!!! What does it mean to be the "head" of the church? This means that there is a living connection between you and Christ. Physically speaking, the head controls the body and keeps the body functioning properly. Injure certain parts of the brain and you handicap or paralyze corresponding parts of the body. Christ is our spiritual Head. Through the Spirit, we are united to Him as the members of His body.

 

Next week, well begin looking at the first 3 verses of Chapter 2.

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