Ephesians 1 15-23 — Alan Martin

Okay, hopefully most of you received my text this morning, Ephesians chapter 1, let's start with verse 15, because of this I also hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and the love unto all the saints have not ceased giving thanks in your behalf, making mention of you in my prayers.

Paul's Thanksgiving for the Ephesians' Faith and Love

We'll stop there and go back to the first phrase, I sent you a question, because of this I also hearing, because of what? He's referring to something and it's so important to understand his what do you think he's referring back to?

Because of this I also hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for the saints. What had he just been talking about? Go back to verse 13, what is he thinking about? Why this particular people?

Why is he writing them? Where is his confidence? His connecting point with him? Let's look at verse 13 again, in whom also you hearing the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, and in whom also you believing you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, and because of this I also hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and the love for all the saints do not cease giving thanks for you.

You know, Paul didn't feel that way about everybody. You'd like to feel that every way that way about everybody, but there are those that you can look at and you're just so thankful for what God's doing in their lives, and there's others you just look at and you are burdened.

You're just hoping that they will get it someday, that their eyes will be opened, because when someone has come to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, it set Paul's heart on fire. Just like Jesus said, there's more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over a hundred or a thousand righteous men who don't need to repent, and Paul hearing of the faith of these people, for them, not for everyone, every time I think of you I give thanks.

You know, that's just the way it is expressed by several writers in the New Testament. Think with me. Can you think of anything else that sounds similar? I'll get your help. John says something like this, I have no greater, can you finish that?

What is it? Joy than what? Than to hear my children walking in the truth. To an apostle who loved the Lord Jesus Christ, he never had a greater connection with people than to see they loved Jesus too.

Remember even our Lord himself in John chapter 17, he says, Father, I'm not praying for the world, but I'm praying for those you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and I am praying for them.

Paul had this in his heart, if we're going to experiment with something, if Ruth can help me back there, I'm going to ask her to pull up 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, if you want to turn with me there, 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 19.

Paul kind of expresses this in other places, it's kind of common that he felt this way about the people who love Jesus like he did. This is in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, and I believe it's verse 19. For this, no, for who is our hope and the joy of our crown are boasting?

Is it not you who before our Lord Jesus, in whom at his appearing, you are our glory and joy? And that's the way I want to feel. I want to look out here, and those of you who are loving Jesus, my heart leaps.

I'd like it to feel that way about everybody, but not everybody gets it. And there is a special connection when spirit, when people love the Lord. In that same book, 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse 8, 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 8, Paul says, because now I live since you are standing firm in the Lord.

That's the joy. That's what he was saying to the Ephesians. That's what he's saying. Boy, hearing about your faith in the Lord and your love for all the saints, I never cease giving thanks for you. And I make mention in my prayers all the time of this, because I have such a connection with you through this.

And he goes on to say, making mention of you in my prayers because of this identity, this identity, what binds all of us together here is our mutual love for one another. When you love the Lord Jesus, suddenly the people that are most important to you are other believers in the Lord Jesus.

That's who becomes, that becomes your life. You lose the ability to fully relate to, in the same way, those who are not followers of Lord Jesus Christ. But when you have come to love the Lord Jesus and his spirit resides in you, you are drawn to fellowship with and share life with those who have the spirit of the Lord Jesus in them.

That's your identity. And that's why Paul can say to the Ephesians here, man, I never cease giving thanks for you and making mention of you always in my prayers. And then what does he do? What, what does he say?

Paul's Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation

He, he then begins to describe what he makes mention right there in verse 17. And he says, he makes mention of them in, in his prayers in order that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

Question time to see if you're paying attention. Who is Paul praying to in order that it's in order that the person he prays to, he's going to address who distinctly. Yes, you're on track. That's it. In the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and the father of glory.

So who is he praying to? He's not praying to Jesus. He's praying to the father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you remember that Jesus said, it's good for you. If you knew where I was going, I'm going back to the father.

And if you knew, if you knew that I were going back to the father, you would rejoice for the father is greater than I, that throws some people off because they think there's an equality. But yet Jesus said his entire time on the earth, what did, what did he say?

Who was the one speaking through him? The father, who was the one doing the works through him? And why was he here? He wasn't here for his own glory. He was here to make the father known. And do you remember, there was a time he even said about his disciples praying.

There's coming a time when you're not going to ask me anything right now. You've asked for nothing in my name, but now I'm going to say, you're going to ask the father in my name and not, not saying I'm going to ask for you.

He says, you're going to ask the father in my name because the father himself loves you because you have loved me. So who do we pray to? I'm not telling you that if you've been praying to Jesus, he's not heard you.

But when Jesus taught us to pray, when his disciples ask him, Lord, teach us to pray. What did he begin with? Our, our father. We pray to the father. He told the people, when you pray, enter into your closet and pray to the father who sees in secret.

And the father who sees in secret shall reward you openly. Paul is praying to God, the father for the Ephesians. He's the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he is the father of glory. Jesus said very clearly that the son has no glory in himself.

The glory he had, he said was given to him by the father. Ruth, can you pull up John chapter 17? You're going to turn there, John chapter 17, the first and second verse. Let's look there. If someone gets their head at me, you go right ahead and read verse John 17.

You have to read it nice and loud. Yeah. Yeah. And he, um, verse five, Larry, would you read verse five? So the, who the father has chosen to share his glory with the son, but who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead?

The father did who sent Jesus into the world. The father did. So the Jesus said that all may worship the father and, and the son, because the father has granted that the son would have glory, a glory he shares with the father.

But notice when Paul prays here in Ephesians chapter one, that he's his prayers are to the God and father of our Lord, the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the glorious father. And then what does he pray?

Spiritual Wisdom Versus Human Wisdom

All right. In order that the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the father of glory may give to you and to you in Texas, it'd be give to y 'all or give to you all plural, not to the individual, to those in the church of Ephesus, because Paul's praying for all the believers in the church of Ephesus.

That's his heart to all of you. This is what he prayed that God may give to all of you a spirit of wisdom and revelation. Now, why did he, why did he specify a spirit of wisdom and revelation, a spirit of wisdom?

Evidently that's not the only kind of wisdom there is who could, what's another type of wisdom, earthly wisdom, the wisdom of men, the wisdom that's taught the wisdom that comes by information, the wisdom that you can make, put in a logical sequence and a plus B equals C therefore C minus B equals A.

Yeah, it's wisdom. It comes from the mind of men, but not this, that's not what Paul's praying. There is a wisdom that doesn't come from information. It's a spirit, the spirit of God giving spiritual wisdom.

Can you pull up for us, Ruth, back there? First Corinthians chapter two, and we're going to go through verses one through 16. I think it's most of the, most of the chapter. First Corinthians chapter two verses one through 16.

Now in this engaging atmosphere, you have to be bold enough to interrupt me without thinking I'm going to jump you. I welcome your comment and your questions. So just, I'll encourage, it's something you're going to have to get used to.

Okay, but that's all right. We'll get you used to it. First Corinthians chapter two, and I'm reading from the Greek so that it's, if it's a little bit different than your, than what, what your version is, it's going to be close, but I'm just translating it as I go.

And I also coming towards you, brethren, came not to you with some exceeding excessive word of wisdom, announcing to you the testimony of God for I, for I judged not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and this one crucified.

And I came in weakness and in fear and in much trembling when I became among you. And the, and my word, which I preach was not in persuasive words of wisdom. That's too much preaching and too much Sunday school teaching and too much writing of books is words of persuasive wisdom.

It's logical. It's factual. It's information. I believe Jesus Christ died. I believe he rose from the dead. I believe he's coming again. I'm a Baptist. I don't drink. I don't cuss. I don't smoke. And I don't run around with those who do.

And they got it. You've given them all the facts. What spirit have you given? Have you given spiritual wisdom? Those are facts. Sometimes they're good facts. And Paul says, but my, but I didn't give you words in my preaching were not a persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and power in order that your faith might not rest on, look at this, the wisdom of men.

I do not want your faith to rest upon what I know and what I've learned by studying. I don't want your faith to rest upon that because that's not going to sustain you. You, your faith needs to be on the wisdom of God and God is spirit and God's wisdom will be spiritual given to your spirit, not on the wisdom of man, but on the power of God.

But he does say verse six, but we do speak a message of wisdom among the mature, a wisdom that the, that this age or the rulers of this stage did not understand, but we speak of God's secret wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden, which God for ordained for the ages unto our glory.

So there is a wisdom that's hidden to the world, hidden to the rulers of the world. That's the wisdom, the spirit of wisdom that Paul is praying that be given to the Ephesians. It's not natural. It's not in this age.

None of the rulers of this age understood it for if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Verse nine of their Ephesians chapter two, verse nine. But according to what is written, no eye has seen, you're not going to see this wisdom with your eyes.

No mind is conceived or no ear is heard. Neither has the heart of man. No one has ascertained to it that which God has prepared for those who love him. So this is a wisdom you will never get in your natural self.

You're not going to get it from a man. You're not going to get it from a preacher. You're not going to get it from me. You're not going to get it from Tom. You're not going to get it from Yolanda de los Santos.

You're not going to get it from Rachel Neen. You're not going to get it from our teachers. This wisdom only comes from God. It's spiritual in nature. No human eye has seen, no ear has heard. It's never entered the mind of man.

Verse 10. But to us, God has uncovered it. That's the word revealed. He's uncovered it. God has to uncover what God has hidden. God has hidden it for a reason. Remember what Jesus says, I praise you father, you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and you've uncovered it to babes.

God covers things and he uncovers things. To the proud, you know what he does? He covers. To those who cry out humbly and broken who need him, he uncovers. God, it's just his ways are not our ways. For to us, God has uncovered because of the spirit.

For the spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. Verse 11. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of a man within him? And accordingly, the things of God, no one knows except the spirit of God.

And we have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit from God in order that we may know the things that have freely been given to us by him, which things we speak, not in teachings of men using wise words.

See again, it's not going to be in some logical explanation, academic, clear words of men. Here you're taught it. Now you've got the facts. Okay, put it together. You got it. No, it's not going to be like that.

It's not that way. He goes on verse 13. Again, the things we speak, they're not in teachings of men using wise words, but by the teachings of the spirit, explaining spiritual truths to spiritual men. That's how I like to interpret that.

You can only explain spiritual truths to spiritual men because you know what the next verse is? Because the person without the spirit, he can't understand spiritual things. Without the spirit, spiritual things are foolish.

They don't make sense. So what, what, what we need to get gather from this is the reason Paul is praying for the Ephesians, that God give them a spirit of wisdom is because it's only something God can give.

And he's not necessarily giving it to the mind. He's breathing it through his spirit into their spirit. Right. Let's go back to Ephesians. Okay. Back to Ephesians there. Chapter one, that, that verse again, 17 in order that, that, that, uh, the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the father of glory may give to you a spirit of wisdom and uncovering.

Revelation as God's Uncovering of Hidden Truth

I like that word revelation. It's literally mean he's going to, he's going to pull back the covers and let you see. And this was so much Paul's heart. Keep your finger there and flip over me, flip over with me to Colossians chapter two, another letter that Paul wrote to the church of Colossae Colossians chapter two.

And I'm going to start right at the very first of Colossians chapter two, verse one, Colossians two, one for, I desire for you to know how great of an agony I have concerning you and those in Laodicea.

And as many has have not actually seen my face in the flesh in order that they, their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love unto the riches of the complete assurance of understanding unto the, the knowledge or the full knowledge of the mystery of God.

See, there's a mystery of God. And what is the mystery of God in Christ is this mystery of God in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. God has hidden from the eyes of the world, all of the, his treasures of wisdom and knowledge in his son.

And you know what that means for us? Not a single one of us will ever know them that are, do not learn them from Jesus and in Jesus and by the spirit of God, giving them to us now back to Ephesians. Let's look at something else.

Something interesting that goes right along with what Paul's building here at verse 17, again, in order that the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the father of glory may give you a spirit of wisdom uncovering in the knowledge of him.

Knowing God Through Personal, Firsthand Relationship

Now look up here. Knowledge. Let's see what we know about this word. Epigenosco. I like that. I, for a long time, I would translate that as full knowledge, but that's not completely accurate. It's it.

I am so grateful for the men that God used to study his language and dig into it and provide for us the deep meanings of this word. Cause this word knowledge is, this is the, this is what I want you to get.

It's firsthand. It's contact knowledge. So it's not something I can even give you. It's secondhand. You got to get it from your own personal contact with God, or you're never going to get it. All you get from me here is secondhand knowledge.

I tell you about it. You have to actually encounter God himself to get it. It's relational. It's direct. It's experiential. It's comprehensive. It's accurate. And the reason God must give it is that's who he is.

It just doesn't come in an academic setting. It doesn't, the spirit works in settings like this as we gather, the spirit works and, and gives us insight through messages. But I like what Paul told Timothy, Paul told Timothy some things that the hardworking farmer should be the first to enjoy the fruit of his labor.

And that no soldier serves at his own expense. He's paid so that he could devote himself to defending the, uh, to fulfilling his duty. And then he tell Paul tells him meditate on these things and the Lord will give you insight.

See, Paul spoke, Paul gave him something to think about, but Paul knew it's only God who gives the insight. I don't want you getting all your insight from God, from me. I want you to have your own personal encounter.

And that is what Paul is praying for the Ephesians that God may give to each of you, the spirit of wisdom and uncovering in your own dynamic firsthand personal encounter with him. You know, it, you know, it not secondhand.

It was a guy named Gilbert Olinger. I was a young believer attending the church of the Lord Jesus at Brownwood, Texas. And he had this song till I know you for myself. I'll never really know. And part of the song says, I don't want to depend upon another guy's salvation.

I just want to depend on a you and me relation until I know you for myself. I'll never really know. And let me tell you a difference. I was raised in this church, sitting in these pews, listening to someone doing what I'm doing, smoking my pot, drinking my beer, snorting my rails, going to West Texas, finding peyote, doing it all.

I was hearing all about Jesus. I knew Jesus. I knew Bible verses. I'd been to all the Sunday school classes, but I didn't know Jesus, no personal firsthand dynamic contact. And until I met Jesus Christ in that way, I just was around.

I was influenced by the people around me, not, and then I met him in a, in a real, in dynamic way. And that's what Paul's wanting for the Ephesians. He's wanting them to, for, for God and them to meet in their own dynamic, intimate way.

The Enlightened Eyes of the Heart

So back there at Ephesians chapter one, now notice this, uh, verse 18, I'll read 17 and 18 together again, just try to keep us in context in order that the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the father of glory might give to you a spirit of wisdom and uncovering in your own personal firsthand contact, your own relationship with him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened.

What do you know about that? Isn't that strange? When we talk about eyes, we talk about having eyes where? In your head. Wait a minute. What's he talking about? Eyes of the heart. What are you going to see with the eyes of your heart?

Spiritual things. What do you see with the eyes in your head? Natural things. We just read earlier. I, the eyes in the head have not seen the things that God has hidden for our glory. If you're going to see these treasures, if you're going to see these things that have been hidden, you're going to have to see them with the eyes of your heart.

And the heart is your inner man where your spirit is. And Paul's going to talk a lot about that in this letter of the Ephesians that the eyes of our heart, but what does he say about the eyes of our heart?

Because I it's very important. I, the eyes are very important. One of the things Jesus said about the eye is the eye is the lamp of the body. And if your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is evil or if your eye is dark, how great is that darkness? So what does it mean? What is Paul saying? And I want you to think with me. What is he meaning by he's praying that the eyes of our heart be enlightened.

I want you to think about light with me. This is, this is a, this is something that I'll encourage you to do more and more. Here's what you do with these eyes. These eyes give you observation. That's what they see.

These eyes, the eyes of your heart give you meditation. What you see, the problem with too, with a lot of us is we live by what we see with our eyes, the eyes of our head and not the eyes of our heart.

The eyes of our heart are going to see the spiritual hidden treasures that God himself must bring to light. That's what Paul's saying that the eyes of your heart being enlightened later on in this same book, we're going to see that Paul says in his light, we see light.

It's light that yeah, brother. Also lets us see the spiritual warfare that we're going through. Very much so. And we're going to get into that. They, they let you see things that many natural men and women, religious people, even never see things that are more real.

We, yes, the things we see with our eyes are real, but there is, there is a realm not visible with human eyes. It is just as real the realm of the spirit, but it takes light to see something. Now think about light.

Jesus Christ as the Light of the World

Think about verses of light. What comes to your mind? That's what I do. I see some about life. What, what that your heart may be enlightened that takes light to enlighten something. What do you think?

What does it make you think? What there? Ah, and Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will never walk in darkness, but we'll have the light of life in him was life. And that life was what the light of men and the light shines in the darkness, the light, the true light that light is every man is coming into the world.

How are the eyes of our heart? How do they have to be enlightened? There's only one person who is light. Actually it's a mystery. God is light. And Jesus said, I am the light of the world. And he, and he talks about it.

We'll read it in chapter four of this same letter that we're not to live like the Gentiles, because it says the Gentiles are, are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their heart.

No, we're not supposed to have a darkened understanding. We're supposed to have a God illuminated spiritual wisdom and understanding. So how do the eyes of our heart have to be enlightened? God's presence must enlighten them.

God himself reveals them. God gives the light. I'm not, I can't give you the light. I can talk about the light. I can remind you of what has been said about the light, but if you want to see light, is there a verse in the Bible?

Can you think of something with me? Is there a way that we can actually see light? Does it have something to do with the response on our part? Didn't Jesus say in John chapter three, this, there's a verdict.

There's a verdict that's been rendered. We can look at the, in God's court, here's the verdict and here's the verdict. Light has come. And who can tell me what follows that verdict? Light has come, but men love darkness more than light.

Why? Why do men love darkness more than light? Because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil, everyone practicing evil. Yes, sister. Yes. That God is light. And in him, there is no darkness, not any.

Right. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with him and the blood of Jesus Christ then does what? Cleanses us from all sin. If we walk in the light, but why does someone, I'll tell you the truth of it here.

There are some, there are some who do not want to come to the light because the light exposes. And Jesus said this, everyone who's practicing what's wrong, they don't want to come to the light because what is the light going to do?

It's going to expose. It's going to expose what they've been done. But here's what he said. He goes on to say, but everyone who does truth comes into the light that it may be seen that what he has been done has been done in God.

Paul is wanting the Ephesians to have their inner man, their heart revealed in God's presence, that his light would give to them a spiritual wisdom and understanding that they would see things hidden from the world.

God's Word Illuminates Spiritual Understanding

It's so beautiful to see. The scripture says this, you can, I'll see if you can finish the quote for me. The entrance of thy word does what? It gives light. It gives understanding, but what is the entrance of the word?

Is it memorizing scripture or is it saying, Lord, open my eyes that I might see wonderful things in thy word. You remember the two disciples on the road to Emmaus that were all, they were all discouraged having heard they were confused and discouraged at the same time they'd seen the resurrection.

They knew the Lord was killed. They had heard about the they had heard about the resurrection. They'd claimed some of the disciples had claimed to see him, but they were all upset and Jesus came right alongside of him.

But what does it say? He was hidden to them. They didn't recognize him. Did you remember what happened as he walked with them? By the way, he had asked him, why are you so discouraged? And they said, haven't you heard, you know, you knew right here, remember what he did?

He began to be, he began in the old Testament and he began to open the scriptures to them. He began to reveal them. He removed the covering to them, the God of light, enlightening them so that suddenly they could see things that were completely hidden to them.

And you remember when they, they suddenly that when they didn't recognize him and they ran back and they were talking to each other and you remember what they said, what was going on in their hearts? Remember that?

Did not our hearts burn within us? They didn't talk about their head. Something was happening deeper, deeper, man. They were, their hearts were burning within them as he opened to us the scripture. Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

And the only way I fully am going to understand this word is drawing near God himself, that he may give to me a spirit of wisdom and uncovering. And that's what Paul is praying for you. Yeah, brother Mark.

Ministry Equips Believers to Know God Personally

How does this relate to his sheep? Yeah, right. This is, God's desire is that every single one of us hear him for ourself, have our own personal direct knowledge of him. That's what we're, that's the reason we gather together.

We encourage one another to that end. Paul said this and it's in chapter four, a little sneak peek of chapter four. Then you might ask, well, if we're all supposed to know him, why do we need you? Good question.

Good question. That's a great question. And Paul explains that in chapter four, that God gave some to be apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry until the body of Christ can be built up until we all come to the unity of the faith and our own personal contact, firsthand experience of God himself.

And at that point, the new covenant, where you no longer need someone to tell you about God, because you will know him directly, immediately. You need no priest, you need no pastor, you need no anyone else to tell you, know the Lord, because you will know him yourself.

That's the goal. So I do have a ministry to help us get there. And the more of you get there, then I can retire right away. Let's go. Let's get there. Let's know him ourself. And the beautiful thing about that is, you know him, your confidence is him.

You're listening to him. You're following him. He's the one giving you spiritual revelation. It can happen everywhere. It can happen on the job. It can happen in the kitchen. It can happen in the house.

It can happen when you're driving, it can happen everywhere because God is everywhere. I'm not, I'm not. His spirit gives these things. Ministers and teachers are supposed to be helping us recognize how available it all is to us.

And that's what Paul's trying to bring, get these Ephesians to. He's wanting them to see this in a dynamic way, that the eyes of their heart would be enlightened in order that they may know. And that's where I'm going to stop.

You have to catch next week in order that they may know what, oh wow, that'll take the entire time next week to talk about in order what we may know.