Ephesians - A Hopeful Calling

His first request, that you might know God. His second request, that you might know what God will do. We have a wonderful calling, and one day we shall be with Him in heaven. 

And now let’s pray together. Once again, Father, we open the Word and it is so easy for us to study it and understand it, but not practice it. And we don’t want just a head knowledge; we want a heart appropriation of Your truth. And so I pray as we study today, You will teach us by Your Spirit. And again I pray, say far more to us than this speaker says; may Your Spirit enlighten us all and enable us all, I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul pauses to pray. Now Ephesians 1 is not put together the way most of the letters are put together as far as the opening is concerned. Usually Paul would greet the people—well, he does that in Ephesians 1:1-2. Then he would express his thanks for the people—and this he does in Ephesians 1:15-16. Then he would pray for the people—this he does in Ephesians 1:17-23. But in this case, Paul interrupted his thanksgiving and his prayer; that is, he postponed it at least while he sang a hymn of praise to God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

Ephesians 1:3-14—one hundred and two words in the Greek New Testament, one complete sentence, one of the longest sentences you’re going to find anywhere in the New Testament. And he’s praising the Lord. Now he turns from praise to prayer. By the way, that is a good suggestion to follow: from praise to prayer. If you’re having a hard time praying, start praising. If you’re having a difficult time, you have a cold heart and a sluggish mind and you just can’t get ahold of God in prayer, just start praising Him. Take one of the Psalms, take Ephesians 1, and say, "Oh God, I praise You that I’m blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. Thank You for choosing me. Thank You for adopting me." And just praise Him. And you know what will happen? Little by little, that cold heart is going to melt. That sluggish mind is going to have a fire burning on the altar, and you’re going to be able to pray with power. 

Praise and prayer go together. You find that in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, don’t you? He says, "Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks." That’s what Paul does; he reverses it. First he gives thanks, then he prays. But it makes no difference; you can pray and it’ll turn into praise, or you can praise the Lord, it’ll turn into prayer as the Holy Spirit of God is at work. 

Let’s notice this prayer now. It’s the first of two prayers in Ephesians. In this particular prayer, he is praying for enlightenment. Ephesians 1:18, the eyes of your understanding—literally the eyes of your hearts being enlightened. Paul wants us to have enlightenment. He wants us to know. He prays that we might have the Holy Spirit of God give us wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. The word knowledge means personal experience, not just head knowledge, but a personal experience, a full knowledge of Him. And this, of course, parallels what Jesus said in John 17:3 when He prayed: "And this is life eternal, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." 

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened—that word 'understanding' is the word 'heart.' The eyes of your heart being enlightened. In the Greek verb 'enlightened,' it is the perfect passive participle. You say, what does that mean? It means a once-and-for-all enlightenment that continues. You continue to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, not just an occasional glimmer, but a constant enlightening. 

Then in Ephesians 3:14-21, you have a second prayer, but it’s not a prayer for enlightenment; it’s a prayer for enablement. Notice Ephesians 3:16, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man. Now these two prayers parallel the two parts of Ephesians. You'll recall that Ephesians is divided into two parallel parts. Ephesians 1, 2, and 3—the emphasis is on our riches in Christ, our wealth. Ephesians 4, 5, and 6—our responsibility in Christ, our walk. In the first three chapters, we find out what God has done for us; that’s enlightenment. In the last three chapters, what we should do for God; that’s enablement. 

And so the first prayer emphasizes: know what God has done for you. It is a prayer that we might understand Bible doctrine. Now, understanding doctrine is not enough. Ephesians 1, 2, and 3 emphasize doctrine; Ephesians 4, 5, and 6 emphasize duty. In Ephesians 1, 2, and 3, Paul emphasizes our position in Christ in the heavenlies; in Ephesians 4, 5, and 6, our practice in Christ here on earth. Now, they go together. 

There are in our churches far too many people who have never gotten to Ephesians 4. They are living up in the heavenlies, they study doctrine, they argue about predestination and election. They have big heads and they have cold hearts. And the purpose of Bible study is not that we have big heads, but that we have warm, loving hearts. Paul wrote to Timothy and said, "The end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart." That means the purpose for studying the Word of God is to have a loving heart. How can we claim to love the Word of God and not love the God of the Word and the people who belong to God’s family? 

So this prayer is a prayer for enlightenment. Paul had been away from the Ephesian church for about five years; he was a prisoner now in Rome, and he heard what was going on in Ephesus. Paul was always concerned about his churches. He was always concerned how things were going in those churches. "Therefore I also," Ephesians 1:15 says, "after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers." He had heard through messengers that God was still blessing there in Ephesus. He had stayed about three years in Ephesus, the longest he stayed anywhere. Oh, he’d had some battles there. There had been fierce opposition, but Paul saw the Gospel move out so that all Asia heard the Word of God because of the witness of the church at Ephesus. 

Now they had faith and they had love. I like that. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ ought to lead to love for all the saints. There are those saints who walk around, as Spurgeon used to say, with a revolver in their pockets; they're always looking for somebody to shoot down. No, these people had faith and they had love. Love for the saints. And so Paul was thankful for them. 

By the way, are you the kind of a church member for whom your pastor is thankful? I have pastored three churches; I will be very honest with you: there were members in each of these churches when I thought of them, my heart sank. They were heartbreaking members. They were not living for the Lord. They were creating dissension and trouble. Their homes were in trouble; their hearts were in trouble. And many a time I wept over people who were causing problems in the family of God. Are you the kind of a church member that when your pastor thinks about you, he says, "I’m thankful for those people"? Now if you’re not, there’s something wrong. If you’re not—if I’m not—there is something wrong with our lives. 

Paul prayed for his people. He prayed that God would be with them and bless them. By the way, let me say a word to pastors and Sunday school teachers and missionaries: pray for your people. Take the membership of your church before the Lord in prayer. In the Old Testament, the High Priest, when he stood before God wearing his beautiful garments, had twelve stones over his heart, and he had two stones, one on each shoulder. And on those stones were engraved the names of the tribes of Israel. What's God saying to us? He's saying: carry your people over your heart, carry your people on your shoulder, intercede for them. The greatest thing you and I can do after we have taught or preached the Word of God is to pray for the people who have heard. 

The greatest thing you and I can do after we have taught or preached the Word of God is to pray for the people who have heard. Well, he did. He prayed for them and he gave thanks for them. Now, what does he pray? Well, in this prayer, there is a fourfold request. He prays that they might know who God is, what God will do, what God is doing, and what God wants to do. Those are the four requests. And it’s no problem to find out what he’s talking about because three times you find the word "what." 

Let's notice the prayer. "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit"—and I think that should be a capital S, the Holy Spirit, but regardless, the Spirit of God works in our spirit—"that He may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know WHAT is the hope of His calling"—that’s what God will do. "WHAT are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints"—that’s what God is doing. "And WHAT is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe"—that’s what God wants to do. But before you can have those three requests, you have to have the first request: WHO God is. 

I pray that He may give you wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Not in the knowledge of prophecy, not in the knowledge of the deep truths of the Bible—the knowledge of HIM. That’s why Paul opened this letter with a hymn of praise to the Trinity. He wants us to know God. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who chose us, adopted us, accepted us. Blessed be God the Son, who redeemed us, forgave us; He’s given us wisdom, He’s reconciled us to God, He’s made us an inheritance. Blessed be God the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of promise, who has sealed us, who is the down payment of glory yet to come. He sang that hymn of praise, and then he prays and says, "I want you to know this God I have been singing about." 

My friend, there is a big difference between knowing the Word of God and knowing the God of the Word. We often sing the song, "Break Thou the Bread of Life, Dear Lord, to Me." I like that verse that says, "Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord." God doesn’t want us simply to read a book about Him; He wants us to know Him. The word knowledge in Ephesians 1:17 means full knowledge in experience. Not just a head knowledge; it is an experiential knowledge. The Word of God leads us to the God of the Word. 

How do you get to know somebody better? By talking to that person, listening to that person. How do you get to know God better? By talking to Him in prayer and praise and by listening to Him through His Word. The eyes of your heart being enlightened. You see, the Word of God is written for the heart, not just the head. Now you have to use your intelligence, but thank God your IQ does not determine your spiritual quotient. I have known people who had an amazing knowledge of God and His Word who never had much formal education. One of the finest Bible teachers I ever met—a woman who knew God and who could help other people know God—never went past the eighth grade. But oh, how she knew her Bible. Where did she learn it? On her knees before God. 

Now, it's good to have training. I thank God for all the training I’ve been able to get; I wish I had more. I read and study, but I’ve learned this: without the Holy Spirit of God enlightening us and revealing God, all of our Bible study is in vain. If we come away from a sermon saying, "My, I got a good outline today," then somebody failed. We don't go away from a sermon or a Bible study, including a radio Bible study, saying, "My, isn't he intelligent?" or "My, wasn't that a clever outline?" or "My, those were deep truths." We need to come away from the Word of God saying, "Our God is a great and wonderful God." 

So Paul’s first request is that they might know who God is. To know God personally is salvation. To know God progressively is sanctification. To know God perfectly is glorification. Paul said, "That I may know Him." I often think of the statement of A.W. Tozer: "The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him." That’s a frightening statement. The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. 

There’s an interesting statement in Psalm 50. In Psalm 50, God calls His people into court and He really has something to say to them. In Psalm 50:20, he says, for example: "You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done and I kept silent. You thought that I was altogether like you." You see, God made us in His image, now we’re making God after our image. "You thought that I was altogether like you." Well, God is not like us. God is eternal and high and holy and glorious. Oh, how we need to know God. 

Secondly, he wants us to know what God will do. What is the hope of His calling? You can’t get away from the calling of God. We’re saved because He called us. We are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:4. This is something God has done, God’s marvelous calling. The theologians tell us that there is a twofold calling: there is a general external call to everyone—nature speaks of God; there’s the witness of God to everyone. There’s that special, effectual, personal calling when God speaks to us and we trust Jesus Christ for salvation. He talked about that in Ephesians 1:13: "In whom you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." That is God’s wonderful effectual calling. 

Now, His calling involves hope. It is a hopeful calling. We are called one day to be with Him in glory. Ephesians 1:10, one day in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, God is going to gather together in one all things in Christ. We shall enter into our inheritance. In 1 Peter 1:3, Peter praises God for the fact that we have been begotten again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God. Isn't that marvelous? We have a hopeful calling. We know that the future is secure. 

We have a holy calling. 2 Timothy 1:9 tells us that: "Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus." It is a high calling. Philippians 3:14—a high calling. It is a heavenly calling. Hebrews 3:1 says we are partakers of the heavenly calling. It is even a happy calling; there's joy involved in it. Romans 5:2: "We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." When the outlook is bleak, try the uplook. When you look around and everything seems to be failing you, just look up and remember your redemption is drawing nigh. 

Well, I want to stop at this point. I think it’s important that we realize that the purpose of Bible study is to know God. His first request, that you might know God. His second request, that you might know what God will do. We have a wonderful calling, and one day we shall be with Him in heaven. 

Let’s pray together. Oh Father, our hearts rejoice. We give thanks, we praise You for who You are. Help us from Your Word to know You better. We praise You for what You will do, that one day we shall be in glory. It’s so hard for us to grasp this. Thank You for Your wonderful grace. Help us to be faithful to share this with others. I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.