I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened… Ephesians 1:16-18a
If I rise in the night and look out my back window I can see the outline of trees and the fence at the back of my yard. You see, over the hill beyond where I live is a burrough that gives off a faint light that gives a lightened glow to my back yard even after the sun has made its departure from the daytime sky. But bring on the illumination the sun delivers! It’s a game changer! Suddenly I am able to see that there is goldenrod nodding at me behind my neighbor's yard and blackberries growing again over my fence and wily weeds that have grown in the abundance of rain we’ve had. Light reveals everything!
Paul spent over two years in Ephesus, establishing the church there. He ministered to these believers longer than he had anywhere else. He knew them well. When he sits down to write a letter to them he starts with a reminder of all the blessings they had been given in Christ. Undoubtedly they had already been taught about these blessings. (Ephesians 1:3-14) He then writes out a prayer he has been praying to God over them. He starts his prayer asking that God would give his readers “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.” He essentially asks God to awaken their spirits by the power of His Spirit in bringing them illumination concerning everything they had been taught.
It is the Holy Spirit who shines His light into our lives. Paul understands this. He’s experienced it and he wants his little flock to understand it too. There are three specific areas Paul would like to see his readers grow in understanding.
First, he wants them to “know what is the hope to which he has called you.” (Ephesians 1:18) I suspect for all of us this is an area that is in constant need of growth. As our eyes are enlightened we are able to gain more hope and see more clearly how God is blessing us with those spirituals blessings Paul has been talking about. Paul uses the Greek word oida when he asks that these believers “know.” It conveys the idea of a cherished, skilled understanding, an experiential understanding of their calling. This is enlightenment in action!
Second, Paul wants them to know “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” (Ephesians 1:18) Again this is a cherished understanding he’s asking for. He wants us to know that Christ’s death on the cross has given us the inheritance of God Himself, the greatest treasure we could possibly hope for!!
And last, Paul wants us to gain a cherished experience of Christ’s power poured out in us. He asks that we know “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:19) We aren’t alone and we’ve got the entire offense and defense of heaven with us!!
This week as you pray for your sons, the team, and yourselves, appeal to God to give us the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. Ask that they would gain a cherished understanding of hope, God’s glorious inheritance and His immeasurable power. Ask Him to reveal the joyful blessings that only He can bring. Ask Him to bring illumination to all that Papa God wants for us. I guarantee He wants more than we can imagine!!!!! (see Ephesians 3:20)