In his inspired letter to the Ephesians the Apostle Paul is writing from the perspective of a Jew – one of God’s chosen people. He is writing, however, to non-Jewish people and he wants them to understand the magnitude of what God has done for them through Christ. From that perspective, when Paul thinks about God’s great plan to include the Gentile peoples in His scheme of redemption, he is overcome by wonder. He breaks out in thanks to God and then offers up a prayer for those to whom he is writing. In chapter 1, verses 15 through 19 he writes, “For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints, don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, 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; having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe…”
Paul begins his prayer by giving thanks. When one studies Scripture, he finds that there is a close relationship between prayer and thanksgiving. For example it says, “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 NIV) It would probably be accurate to say that one of the main reasons God sometimes does not answer prayer is because it is not accompanied by thanksgiving. In view of the command to pray continually, it is interesting to note that Paul writes he does not “cease to give thanks.” Another reason our prayers are not answered is that we often give up too easily.
In regard to the people to whom he is writing, Paul is thankful for two things, that is, their faith in Christ and their love for all the saints. As we shall see, he goes on to pray that they will also have hope. The quality and maturity of anyone’s relationship with God may be judged by these three characteristics, that is, by how much faith, hope and love they possess. Time and again, these three traits are mentioned in Scripture. They are the key to measuring spiritual progress. For example, after writing about various spiritual gifts to the church at Corinth, Paul writes, “But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV) It is worth noting that, many years after this letter was written to the Ephesians, the church at Ephesus was rebuked because in their zeal to maintain a pure faith they had lost their love. Scripture records the words of Christ to this church as follows: “I know your works, and your toil and perseverance, and that you can’t tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false… But I have this against you, that you left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent….” (Revelation 2:2, 4-5 NIV)
Paul continues his prayer for the Ephesians by asking God for two things. The first is that he would give them “a spirit of wisdom and revelation.” It is possible that Paul is referring to the special gifts of the Holy Spirit which were given to selected Christians by the laying on of the Apostle’s hands before the completion of the New Testament Scriptures. Both wisdom and prophecy are mentioned in the list of the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. But it is more likely that Paul is praying not about the gifts but the role God’s Spirit should have in the life of every follower of Christ. He had already said in verse 14 that the Spirit is a down payment toward redemption. Here the role of the Spirit is to grant wisdom and a knowledge of God’s will. Indeed the goal of Paul’s prayer is, that they would know Him better. Scripture describes this role of the Spirit elsewhere when it says, “…For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit. But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God..” (1 Corinthians 2:10-12 NIV)
The second thing which Paul prays for is “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened.” There are three reasons why Paul wishes them to be enlightened: That they may know hope; that they may know the riches of God’s inheritance, and they may know God’s power. The person without Christ lives in a state of hopelessness, for as Paul says later in this letter they are ‘dead’ in their sins. But when they respond to God’s call, they can live in hope because they can look forward to receiving an eternal inheritance.
But it is not only the follower of Christ who receives an inheritance. God considers the Christian to be His own inheritance. In God’s sight the follower of Christ has a tremendous value. Paul wants those to whom he writing to recognize their worth.
God’s Spirit not only gives the follower of Christ hope and an appreciation of his worth in God’s sight, but also power. Though Paul is writing to those who have already accepted Christ, he reinforces what he is saying by explicitly writing that this power is for those who believe. The kind of power that Paul is writing about is not political or military, but the power to live a righteous and holy life.