EPHESIANS 1:15-23 - REDEEMED, RICH, AND RECALIBRATED

Ephesians 1:15-23

REDEEMED, RICH, AND RECALIBRATED

Ephesians 1:15-23 (KJV) Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

The prayers of Paul are an excellent example of how we, as believers, should pray for one another. When he heard that many in Ephesus had become Christians, he thanked the Lord for their salvation and prayed for them on a regular basis. Paul extolled their faith in Jesus and the excellent way they demonstrated God’s love one to another.

Ephesians 1:17 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:

God and Jesus are equally deity, and are in a family relationship as Father and Son. God is glorious, in fact the angels at the throne of God declare this truth!

Isaiah 6:3 (KJV) And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

What does Paul ask the Lord to give these newer believers? He wants the Father to give them wisdom and revelation about the Lord Jesus. Seasoned believers need this layer by layer as well because we will never arrive until we see Him face to face.

Philippians 3:12-14 (NASB) Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on [h]so that I may lay hold of that [i]for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Even in Heaven, I believe we will continually be learning new things. How could we ever exhaust the vastness and richness of God?

Ephesians 1:18 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,

Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would teach the disciples and help them remember His words.

John 14:26 (NASB) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Paul is praying this same understanding will be evident in the Ephesians’ lives. He wants them to have a clear understanding of exactly what they have in Christ, because of their relationship to Him. He wants them to be informed of what Christ purchased on their behalf, their certificate of inheritance, the guarantee they have because of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Oswald Chambers addressed our calling in this way:

My Utmost for His Highest, May 15th:

“The only aim of the life is that the Son of God may be manifested, and all dictation to God vanishes. Our Lord never dictated to His Father, and we are not here to dictate to God; we are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. When we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine to feed and nourish others.”

Ephesians 1:19 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,

God extends to believers the same power that quickened Jesus’ mortal body after His death on the cross. The same power that resurrected our Savior will resurrected us at His return, but is available to us each day even now. God not only raised Jesus from the dead but restored Him to His rightful place of honor at the right-hand of the Father.

Ephesians 1:21 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:

After Jesus obedience to the Father in all things, including death on the cross, He has been restored to the highest position.

Philippians 2:8-11 (NASB) Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Everyone will eventually bow to Jesus, but how blessed are we who surrender to His will and honor Him now rather than by force at the end of the world!

Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Paul quoted from the Psalms:

Psalm 8:6 (NASB) You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet…

Christ is over all things as the Psalmist prophesied concerning the Messiah. Therefore, He is head over the church which is referred to as the body of Christ. Just as our bodies are controlled by our brains and when working properly obey its commands, so the church is led by Jesus and will only function well when its members live in obedience to Him. Jesus recalibrates our minds as we study His word in order to prepare us for His service.

Romans 12:2 (Phillips) Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

APPLICATION:

1.       We should thank the Lord for and pray for new believers in our sphere of influence.

2.       Are we fully surrendered to the service of Jesus? Are we willing to be broken bread and spilled out wine in order to minister to others?

3.       Are we fully surrendered to Jesus, recognizing and submitting to Him as the highest authority, the ruler over all?