Read Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 15–23.
When I was 16 an optometrist told I couldn’t see properly. That’s not what you want to be told when you’re 16! Not so much because I couldn’t see properly but because I was also told I would need to wear glasses! it was probably a much bigger deal for a teenager then than it is now — you don’t stand out like you did then. As I read Paul’s words the Christians at Ephesus (with my glasses on!), it seems to me that, in a sense, he is praying that God will give them “glasses.” Not glasses like the ones I’m wearing but the “glasses” of God’s Holy Spirit who will help them, and us, to see the church, and ourselves as individual church members, the way God sees the church “in Christ,” and, like Paul, to share God’s priorities for the church, especially our prayers.
- Paul Gives Thanks for God’s Grace in the Lives of the Ephesians (v. 15–16)
I’m sure we can all remember a time when we just couldn’t wait to share some great news. Perhaps it was the news of being appointed to a new job? Or perhaps the news of good exam results? Or maybe it was the news that you are getting married? Or maybe the birth of a child? What is the news that Paul so excited about in his letter to the Ephesians? His first words in verse 15 are:
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love toward all the saints,
Paul is excited because he has heard that the Ephesians believe the good news about Jesus. And he has also heard about the love they show towards other Christians. This demonstrates that their faith is real.
What does Paul do when he hears this news? He prays:
and for this reason
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.
Paul gives thanks to God “for this reason” — in their “faith” and “love” Paul sees evidence of God’s work in their lives. He takes it for granted that their faith and their love would not have happened without God’s intervention in their lives. So, Paul makes it his business to thank God for the faith and love of the Ephesians. He doesn’t just do this once. He does it every time he remembers them in his prayers.
When I was in my second year at theological college, Paul gave me this book for Christmas. Not Paul the apostle but a lecturer who also happened to be named Paul. The book he gave me is called A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers (Baker Book House, 1992) by Don Carson. Many of the insights I’m sharing today I learned from Don’s book. He believes that prayer is the most urgent need of the church today. But not just any prayers. The church needs prayers that share the priorities found in Paul’s prayers. One of those priorities is already clear from the first verse of today’s reading.
Paul prays about the sharing of the good news of Jesus. Paul wants the good news of Jesus to be shared with everyone, everywhere. So obviously he is excited when he hears that the church at Ephesus has heard the good news. Christians who want to imitate Paul’s prayers need to be praying that the good news of Jesus will spread everywhere to everyone. And we will thank God every time we hear that anyone has accepted Jesus.
- Paul Prays That the Ephesians Will Come to Know God Better (v. 17–19)
In v. 17–19 Paul prays that God’s work in the lives of Ephesian Christians will continue. I think we can see another priority in Paul’s prayer here. That priority is that they will know God better. Which raises some questions, doesn’t it?
The first question is: HOW will the Ephesians come to know God better? Paul says:
17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him,
Paul implies that real knowledge of God is impossible without God revealing it to us. In v. 18 Paul prays that “the eyes of your heart” will be “enlightened.”
The second question is: WHAT is it that they need to know about God? Paul prays that:
18 you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
Notice that Paul prays that the Ephesians might know three truths:
(1) The “hope to which he has called you” (v. 18)
(2) The “riches of his glorious inheritance” (v. 18)
(3) The “immeasurable greatness of his power” (v. 19).
Paul has already said what these truths mean in the first half of this chapter, which we studied two weeks ago. Remember Paul saying in v. 3–5 that God has “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing … just as he chose us” and “destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ.” Our “hope” and our “inheritance” are to be part of God’s own people, as Paul said in v. 11–12:
11 In Christ, we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who first set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.
How is all this possible? Paul says only God’s power can do it. Only God’s power can bring us safely to our inheritance. But does Paul have any doubt that God is able to do these things? It doesn’t sound like it, does it? Paul reassures them of “the immeasurable greatness of God’s power” (v. 19).
- Paul Reviews God’s Most Revealing Displays of Power (v. 20–23)
What do you think of when you think about God’s power? Perhaps like me you think of the power of God in creation? God who made the furthest stars in the universe. God who made the tiniest sub-atomic particles. Paul chooses three events which he says reveal God’s power at work:
20 God put this power to work in Christ
when he raised him from the dead
and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion,
and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.
22 And he has put all things under his feet
and has made him the head over all things for the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
So, the three events Paul wants the Ephesians to know are:
(1) Jesus “raised from the dead” by God (v. 20)
(2) Jesus “seated far above all rule” by God (v. 21); and that
(3) God has “put all things under [Jesus’] feet and has made head over all things” (v. 22).
But what Paul says next is even more amazing. God did all this “for the church” (v. 22). Everything God has done in Christ has been for the church. Or as Paul said earlier in v. 19, “for us who believe.” All this is just amazing, isn’t it? Isn’t it just incredible!
Today we’ve seen that Paul had some very clear priorities when he prayed for others:
- Paul prayed about faith in Jesus and love for the saints
- Paul prayed that disciples of Jesus would come to know God better; and
- Paul prayed that disciples would have confidence in the power of God.
This raises some questions for us:
- Do we regularly pray for the things that Paul prays for? If we don’t, how can we pray more like Paul?
- Do we pray with the confidence of people who believe God who raised Jesus from the dead and made him head of the church?
- Do we pray “big prayers” for the church?
(The afternoon after preaching this message, I read these words about “big prayers” by Dave Moore, which I would have used.) Dave says that the big prayer is “humble because it is a request, but it’s exciting because you’re daring to request amazing things from the king of the universe. It’s what you’re hoping and longing that God will make happen—either today, or this month, or next year—through your team [in our case, St Luke’s church].” He continues—and this is the essential point for us: “your team’s big prayer should paint a picture of the future you’re hoping God will bring about through your labours” ([The Team Leader’s Handbook (Matthias Media, 2024), p. 55-56; emphasis added).
- Do You See What I See?
I want to finish by sharing with you three small sections from Don Carson’s book on Priorities from Paul and His Prayers. I’m confident that at least one of them will speak to each of us. This first comment relates to the first half of the chapter (which we studies two weeks ago) and our spiritual blessings in Christ “in the heavenly places” (v. 3–14):
Of course, in one sense I’m still here not there. But because God views me as ‘in Christ’, and Christ is seated with his Father in the heavenlies, therefore God views me as there in principle. That is my destination; that is where I properly belong, because of God’s great love for me. (Carson, p.179)
Don goes to say:
Not a drop of rain can fall outside the orb of Jesus’ sovereignty. All our days – our health, our illnesses, our joys, our victories, our tears, our prayers, and the answers to our prayers – fall within the sweep of one who wears a human face, a thorn-shadowed face. All of God’s sovereignty is mediated through one who was crucified on my behalf. (Carson, pp. 179–180)
Finally, Don draws our attention to the question that is implied in every word Paul has written in chapter 1 of Ephesians: “Do you see what I see?”
God’s valuation of his people is established by his valuation of Christ. We need to know who we are, as God sees us. Paul wants us to appreciate the value that God puts on us, not because we are intrinsically worthy but because we have been identified with Christ. (Carson, p.176; emphasis added)