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bEphes. 1:17-23 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:

[18] The 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,

[19] And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,

[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, 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: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.

[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]

Twelve Things that Paul Prayed for the Ephesians

1. The spirit of wisdom (Ephes. 1:17)

2. The spirit of revelation (Ephes. 1:17)

3. Full enlightenment of truth (Ephes. 1:18)

4. The hope of His calling (Ephes. 1:18; cp. note, § Ephes. 3:16)

5. The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Ephes. 1:18; Ephes. 1:7)

6. The exceeding greatness of His power to those who believe (Ephes. 1:19; Ephes. 3:19-20)

7. Spiritual power in the inner man (Ephes. 3:16)

8. Indwelling Christ (Ephes. 3:16; § Luke 22:3, note)

9. To be rooted in love (Ephes. 3:17)

10. Spiritual understanding (Ephes. 3:18)

11. To know the love of Christ (Ephes. 3:19)

12. To be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephes. 3:19)

b [God of our Lord Jesus Christ]ref. § Ephes. 1:3.

c [the Father of glory] The author and giver of glory to all saints.

d [spirit of wisdom and revelation] They already had the Spirit of sonship—the earnest of the Holy Spirit (Ephes. 1:13-14).

Now he prays that they might receive the fullness of the Spirit of which they had only a measure (Ephes. 3:16-21; note, § John 3:34). .

In the Greek, verses 3 through 14 are one long sentence; as an opera has an overture, which sets the tone for all the melodies that will follow , so is the place of 1:3-14 to the rest of Ephesians

b. Paul calls for a blessing upon the Father (in the sense of recognizing His glory and honor and goodness), because the Father has already blessed the believer with every spiritual blessing

c. This blessing is ours; God's resources are there for us in our time of need - but notice these blessings are ours in the heavenly places in Christ

i. This is where Ephesians wants to take us - into the heavenly places in Christ; to show us the treasure of riches and blessings that are for us there

d. Our possession of every spiritual blessing is as certain as our being chosen by Him, and chosen before the foundation of the world

i. We dare not diminish what Paul is saying here; believers are chosen by God, and they are chosen before they have done anything or have been anything for God

All the riches that are ours from the Father are only ours in Jesus; we are accepted, yes, but only accepted in the Beloved

i. Notice the concluding refrain: to the praise of . . . His glory repeated in verses 6, 12, and 14 The mystery of His will

a. Part of what belongs to us under the riches of His grace is the knowledge of the mystery of His will, God's great plan and purpose which was once hidden but is now revealed to us in Jesus i. "In the New Testament sense a mystery is something which is hidden to the heathen but clear to the Christian." (Barclay)

ii. Here, Paul really is in the heavenlies, calling us to come with him and to consider the greatness of God's great plan for the ages and our place in that plan

b. God's ultimate plan is to bring together - to ultimately resolve - all things in Christ, either through Jesus as a Savior or Jesus as a Judge; this will happen at the fullness of the times

(17) Paul prays that they would know God

a. Paul prays that the Father would grant the Ephesians the spirit of wisdom and that He would give them revelation; but not so they may see into the lives of others or have the ability to predict events or do what we commonly think of as "prophet stuff"; but simply so that they may have a better knowledge of Him (God)

b. Our Christian lives must be centered around this purpose: to know God as He is in truth, as revealed by His Word; and to correct our false, idolatrous conceptions of who God is the hope of His calling; few things give us a more secure, enduring hope in our lives than simply knowing that God has called us and has a specific calling for us to fulfill

c. Paul wants them to know the riches of the glory of His [God's] inheritance in the saints; we usually think only of our inheritance in God, but Paul wants the Ephesians to understand that they are so precious to God that He considers them His own inheritance

i. Several commentators believe that Paul was also speaking of God's inheritance in His people back in verse 11; but that is certainly his idea here, with Paul probably drawing his idea from Deuteronomy 32:8-9: When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.

d. Paul wants them to know how great the power of God is towards us who believe; the Ephesians should know that they serve and love a God of living power who shows His strength on behalf of His people

3. (19b-21) A description of the great power of God that Paul wants the Ephesians to know

a. It is the mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead; this same incredible power is extended to us who believe! -----------------------------

a. The prayer of 17-19 is essentially a request that the promises of 3-14 be realized in the lives of the Ephesians

b. In the same way, your prayers for the spiritual growth and enlightenment of others can be important - and missed if they are not there ----------------------------------

in heavenly places--a phrase five times found in this Epistle, and not elsewhere ( Eph 1:20 Eph 2:6 3:10 6:12 ); Greek, "in the heavenly places."

Christ's ascension is the means of introducing us into the heavenly places, which by our sin were barred against us.

Compare the change made by Christ ( Col 1:20 Eph 1:20 ). While Christ in the flesh was in the form of a servant, God's people could not realize fully their heavenly privileges as sons. Now "our citizenship (Greek) is in heaven" ( Phl 3:20 ), where our High Priest is ever "blessing" us. Our "treasures" are there ( Mat 6:20, 21 ); our aims and affections ( Col 3:1, 2 ); our hope ( Col 1:5 Tts 2:13 ); our inheritance ( 1Pe 1:4 ). The gift of the Spirit itself, the source of the "spiritual blessing," is by virtue of Jesus having ascended thither ( Eph 4:8 ).

in Christ--the center and source of all blessing to us.

What the Bible teaches about salvation Salvation is the result of what we believe, not the result of what we do (Rom. 4:5). Salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation is meant to result in good works (Eph. 2:10). Salvation is missed by those who, while having a zeal for God, try to win God's approval on the basis of their own right actions (Rom. 10:1-4).  personal faith in Christ the sole requirement for salvation (Gal. 3:1-7; Eph. 2:8-9) ************* John 3:16   For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:36 ALT   "The one believing [or, trusting] in the Son has eternal life, but the one refusing to believe the Son will not see {the} life, _but_ the wrath of God abides on him." Romans 5:8-10 KJV  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. John 11:25-26    Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:   And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? John 14:6    Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Revelation 1:5-6  And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 1 John 4:10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. 1 Peter 1:17-23    And if ye call on the Father, Who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning [here] in fear:  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers;   But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:   Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,   Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure heart fervently:  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. John 1:12-14 KJV   But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on hHs name:   Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.   And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 1 Peter 1:3-5    Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.   In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Just pray:  “Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.” ************************ Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it! *********************** Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change. "After you are saved, there are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth: Pray -- you talk to God. Read your Bible -- God talks to you. Witness -- you talk for God. ************* You should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . .” (2 Timothy 1:8) “Whosoever therefore shall confess [testify of] Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).   Feel free to email me , we will pary together , and rejoice, for all the angels in heaven are rejoicing!

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