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EPHESIANS 1
15 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;
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:
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,
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:
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.
KNOWING CHRIST IN ALL HIS FULLNESS
I wonder what it was like to be one of the believers in Ephesus, as this letter was read to the whole church, it must of been so eye opening to hear these words read in their original written language of Greek.
Paul has said the longest sentence in the bible and now he is going to pray the first of his greet prayers for the church and the individual believers in Ephesus.
Paul has outlined all that we have in Christ and who we are in Christ, now he prays that we fully grasp and grow in this wonderful knowledge.
He doesn't want these things in vs 3-14, just to be head knowledge, he wants these things to deepen and develop in the life of the church and each individual believer.
In verse 17, Paul states that the believers be given the spirit of wisdom and revelation, they would have a passionate heavenly mindset to all the things mentioned in vs 3-14.
The believers would fully grasp all that Christ has given them, to do this, we need God's wisdom, because these things cannot be discerned by human wisdom, how can human wisdom understand redemption, adoption and election?
God through his holy spirit is continually revealing to us new things, Paul is saying, may God continually reveal new and exciting things about Christ to you.
Let me ask you as you read your bible, Is God revealing new things about Christ?
Are you grasping more of what you have in Christ and who you are in Christ?
SEE John 1:14-16, Colossians 3:11. Romans 13:14, John 15:5
He prays for three P's:
To know God's amazing plan verse 19
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will
God had a plan, before time began, he choose you, he predestined you. Do I understand these things? No!
I do not wish to get into an argument over this subject, the bible teaches it and so I believe it. Some things are beyond our mind's scope, all we can do is to wonder at the glory of it...amen
We praise God although we see through a glass darkly, there are things, we don't understand, but we know and praise God that he had a plan for each and everyone for us.
These verses in Romans 8, are so wonderful:
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
To know God's amazing power vs 19-20
The ESV says:
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
We all know that hurricanes and earthquakes can be measured, but God's power cannot be measured, it is immeasurable, and it works in us, it is to us who believe, it is working in and through us, by his precious Holy spirit.
The same power that is working in us, is the same power that raised Christ from the dead, it we ever caught the full extent of this, we would not be afraid of anyone.
To know the person of Christ vs 20-23
Christ is above all things, so we can be assured that he is in control of everything and not only that he is in control of the church.
We can have the upmost confidence because Christ is above all and has all things under his feet, what does Christ have under his feet, sin and death are under his feet, he has defeated them.
That is the confidence the Christian has and Paul prays that the believers will know the glorious fullness of God's plan, power and the magnificent person of Christ.
Paul's whole focus is Christ and his whole focus, is that the church and the believers would know Christ, he wrote to the Philippian believers in this way in chapter 3 of that wonderful book:
8Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Our whole focus should be Christ, our whole aim, should be to know Christ.
Is knowing Christ and knowing him better your whole focus?
Is he and he alone, your abiding passion?
God bless you
KK
Who am I?
I am an ordinary Christian just like you and me, I love to study the scriptures and share what God shows me. I am from the UK, and at present live in Nanjing China. I am an English teacher. I have been saved from my teenage years, am now eligible for Pension.
I believe the whole of the bible, especially love the five Solas of the reformation.
I am saved by GRACE alone by FAITH alone in CHRIST alone through the WORD OF GOD alone for the GLORY OF GOD alone.
15 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;
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:
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,
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:
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.
KNOWING CHRIST IN ALL HIS FULLNESS
I wonder what it was like to be one of the believers in Ephesus, as this letter was read to the whole church, it must of been so eye opening to hear these words read in their original written language of Greek.
Paul has said the longest sentence in the bible and now he is going to pray the first of his greet prayers for the church and the individual believers in Ephesus.
Paul has outlined all that we have in Christ and who we are in Christ, now he prays that we fully grasp and grow in this wonderful knowledge.
He doesn't want these things in vs 3-14, just to be head knowledge, he wants these things to deepen and develop in the life of the church and each individual believer.
In verse 17, Paul states that the believers be given the spirit of wisdom and revelation, they would have a passionate heavenly mindset to all the things mentioned in vs 3-14.
The believers would fully grasp all that Christ has given them, to do this, we need God's wisdom, because these things cannot be discerned by human wisdom, how can human wisdom understand redemption, adoption and election?
God through his holy spirit is continually revealing to us new things, Paul is saying, may God continually reveal new and exciting things about Christ to you.
Let me ask you as you read your bible, Is God revealing new things about Christ?
Are you grasping more of what you have in Christ and who you are in Christ?
SEE John 1:14-16, Colossians 3:11. Romans 13:14, John 15:5
He prays for three P's:
To know God's amazing plan verse 19
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will
God had a plan, before time began, he choose you, he predestined you. Do I understand these things? No!
I do not wish to get into an argument over this subject, the bible teaches it and so I believe it. Some things are beyond our mind's scope, all we can do is to wonder at the glory of it...amen
We praise God although we see through a glass darkly, there are things, we don't understand, but we know and praise God that he had a plan for each and everyone for us.
These verses in Romans 8, are so wonderful:
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
To know God's amazing power vs 19-20
The ESV says:
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
We all know that hurricanes and earthquakes can be measured, but God's power cannot be measured, it is immeasurable, and it works in us, it is to us who believe, it is working in and through us, by his precious Holy spirit.
The same power that is working in us, is the same power that raised Christ from the dead, it we ever caught the full extent of this, we would not be afraid of anyone.
To know the person of Christ vs 20-23
Christ is above all things, so we can be assured that he is in control of everything and not only that he is in control of the church.
We can have the upmost confidence because Christ is above all and has all things under his feet, what does Christ have under his feet, sin and death are under his feet, he has defeated them.
That is the confidence the Christian has and Paul prays that the believers will know the glorious fullness of God's plan, power and the magnificent person of Christ.
Paul's whole focus is Christ and his whole focus, is that the church and the believers would know Christ, he wrote to the Philippian believers in this way in chapter 3 of that wonderful book:
8Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Our whole focus should be Christ, our whole aim, should be to know Christ.
Is knowing Christ and knowing him better your whole focus?
Is he and he alone, your abiding passion?
God bless you
KK
Who am I?
I am an ordinary Christian just like you and me, I love to study the scriptures and share what God shows me. I am from the UK, and at present live in Nanjing China. I am an English teacher. I have been saved from my teenage years, am now eligible for Pension.
I believe the whole of the bible, especially love the five Solas of the reformation.
I am saved by GRACE alone by FAITH alone in CHRIST alone through the WORD OF GOD alone for the GLORY OF GOD alone.
