Prayer Request

Ephesians 1:15-23

Introduction

A. Like Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 1:15-23 is one sentence in the Greek text

B. In Ephesians 1:3-14 Paul praises. Here, in Ephesians 1:15-23 Paul prays.

C. Here in 1:15-23 Paul thanks God, and intercedes on behalf of the Christians in Ephesus

D. This section contains instructional and application points for each of us here tonight

Thanksgiving

1:15-16

1:15-16 ¹⁵Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

A. “Therefore”—“For this reason…” (NAS)

1. This is a reference to Ephesians 1:3-14—God chose, redeemed, and sealed us

2. On the basis of this, Paul prays for the Christians in Ephesus

B. First, Paul thanked God for what he heard about the Christians in Ephesus

1. First, they had “faith in the Lord Jesus”

a. This is God-ward—this is the vertical relationship

b. They were trusting and confessing Jesus to be their one and only Savior

c. They were devoted and dedicated to Jesus as their Lord

2. Second, they had “love for all the saints”

a. This is man-ward—this is the horizontal relationship

b. These Christians had love for God’s people because they possessed a real faith in God

c. Our faith in God is demonstrated by our love for others

d. How does your faith in God show real love towards others?

C. Next, Paul thanked God for the Christians in Ephesus

1. “Give thanks” means, “to express gratitude”

2. The destination of Paul’s thanks was God

a. Paul understood that the faith the Ephesian Christians had in Christ, and their love for one another was the work of God’s grace in and through their lives

b. Their faith and love was not independent of God’s grace, but rather, they were the result of it

c. In hearing of the faith and love of the Ephesian Christians, Paul understood that God was the one who should be thanked for it

3. Paul’s offering of thanks was ceaseless

a. Thanksgiving was not a stranger to the lips of Paul

b. He was ceaseless in giving to God thanks

c. “Thanks to God” was pouring out of his mouth because “thanks to God” was overflowing from his heart

i. Jesus said: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 15:18)

ii. Paul was a thankful person

4. Paul’s thanks was an essential ingredient in his prayers

a. In regards to prayer, Paul wrote: “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

b. Thanks to God should always be contained in our prayers to God—this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus

Intercession

1:16-23

1:16 ¹⁶[I] do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

A. In Ephesians 1:16-23, Paul intercedes in prayer for the Ephesian Christians

1. “Intercession” is the action of saying a prayer on behalf of another person

2. Paul made known his requests to God on behalf of the Ephesian Christians

B. Not only was Paul ceaseless in giving God thanks, but also ceaseless in praying for others—Paul’s expression of love for the Ephesians

C. Paul offered four requests to God on behalf of the Ephesian Christians:

· First, that they may know God (1:17)

· Second, that they may know God’s calling (1:18)

· Third, that they may know God’s riches (1:18)

· Fourth, that they may know God’s power (1:19-23)

D. The key words of Ephesians 1:15-23 are “know”, “knowledge”, and “enlightened”

1. This is knowledge by experience

2. What we know impacts how we live

1:16-17 ¹⁶[I] do not cease 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 to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him…

A. This first petition is for his audience to know God

B. “¹⁷…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him”

1. Wisdom is “proper application of knowledge”

2. Revelation is “unveiling”; it is when our understanding is opened

3. Paul prays for a “spirit of wisdom and revelation”

This statement can be understood two ways:

i. First, an attitude of wisdom and revelation

ii. Second, a wisdom and revelation that comes from the Holy Spirit (see Isaiah 11:2)

4. “…a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him”

a. The purpose for wisdom and revelation is to grow deeper and broader in our knowledge of Jesus Christ

b. In the Greek, this word translated as “knowledge” speaks of an intimate knowledge; knowledge that comes from personal experience

c. Knowing Christ should be beyond the realm of theory; it should be experience

1:18 ¹⁸[I pray that] the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…

A. This second petition is for his audience to know God’s calling

B. God called us—this means that we were “drawn by God to Himself”

· Called to be a saint (Romans 1:7)

· Called according to the purpose of God (Romans 8:28)

· Called into the fellowship of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:9)

· Called by God’s grace (Galatians 1:15)

· Called out of darkness, and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)

· Called that we might inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:9)

C. In this request, we see that Paul wanted the Ephesian Christians to know the hope of God’s calling

1. In the New Testament, “hope” does not mean “maybe”; it is “will be”

a. In this verse, Paul is not praying for possibilities; he’s praying for certainties

b. “Hope” contains “assurance for the future”

2. Paul explained the “hope of His calling” in Romans 8:

Romans 8:28-30

²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

1:18 ¹⁸[I pray that] the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…

A. This third petition is for his audience to know God’s riches

B. This statement can be understood two ways (and both are correct):

1. First, God has given us an inheritance in Christ

1 Peter 1:3-5

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

2. Second, God has given us as an inheritance to Christ

John 17:24

²⁴“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

1:19 ¹⁹[I pray that you may know] what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power…

A. This fourth petition is for his audience to know God’s power

B. Note Paul’s description of God’s power:

1. First, “the exceeding greatness of His power”

This means that God’s power is greater than any other power in the universe—including Satan’s and ours

2. Second, “the working of His mighty power”

a. God’s power is both active and productive

b. In God’s case, “mighty” means, “power without limitations and without disabilities and without corruptions”

C. God’s mighty power is actively at work in our lives—and Paul prays for God’s people to know it

1. God’s power is demonstrated in our salvation

Romans 1:16-17

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

2. God’s power is demonstrated in the Christian life

2 Peter 1:2-4

²Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

3. God’s power is demonstrated in our witness for Christ

Acts 1:8

⁸…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

4. God’s power is displayed in our weaknesses and sufferings

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

⁹He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

5. God’s power is demonstrated in our future resurrection

1 Corinthians 6:14

¹⁴…and God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.

1:19-23 ¹⁹[I pray that you may know] and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His 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 age but also in that which is to come.

²²And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, ²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

In Ephesians 1:19-23, Paul lists three manifestations of God’s power:

1. First, God’s power was displayed in the resurrection of Jesus (1:19-20)

“…according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (19-20)

2. Second, God’s power is displayed in His placing all things under Jesus’ feet (1:21-22)

“…far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church” (21-22)

3. Third, God’s power is displayed in His appointment of Jesus as Head over the Church (1:22-23)

[God] gave Him to be head over all things to the church, ²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (22-23)