Ephesians - Knowing God's Riches

Do you know who God is? What God will do, what God is doing, what God wants to do, oh let him do it in your life and he will give you his power.

And now as we open the word of God, let's pray together. Thank you Father for this beautiful hymn of praise in Ephesians 1, how the Holy Spirit of God inspired Paul to praise you for what you have done in us and for us through Jesus Christ. Help us as we study together. Oh, warm our hearts, quicken us I pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior. 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 that Paul wrote as far as the opening is concerned. Usually Paul would greet the people; 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, 102 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.

The prayer in Ephesians 1 is a prayer for enlightenment, that you may know. The prayer in Ephesians 3 is a prayer for enablement, that you might be. There are four requests in this prayer in Ephesians 1. First, that we need to know who God is. 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 with what Jesus said in John 17:3 when he prayed: "And this is life eternal, that they might 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. That makes me think of Proverbs 4:18, "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Whenever I read my Bible and God does not say something to me, I know there's something wrong with my heart. There's nothing wrong with God or my Bible; there's something wrong with my heart. The Holy Spirit wants to give me enlightenment that I might know who God is.

Secondly, what God will do. What is the hope of his calling? We're born again to a living hope. And oh, that future hope gives us joy today. As you study your Bible, you'll notice that God is the God of hope. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." If life is hopeless for you today, stop and consider what God has done for you. What your future is in the Lord Jesus. "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself."

Thirdly, in Ephesians 1:18, he prays that we might know what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. He wants us to know who God is, what God will do, and what God is doing. What is God doing? He is enriching us. I like to compare the Bible to a bank book. One of the major themes in Ephesians is how rich we are in Jesus Christ. That's the way he starts his song. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Not he will bless us if we are good, not he will bless us if we meet certain conditions. He has already blessed us with everything we need to live a godly Christian life. All we have to do is appropriate it. So, this is the bank book, your Bible. And as you read the Bible, you find out how rich you are. You find out how much God has done for you.

Notice the four keywords in this statement: "the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints." Let's start with the word saints. The set-apart ones, the believers in Jesus Christ. These are not dead saints. Churches don't make saints; God makes saints. Saints are not made saints after they die; they had better become saints when they are alive or they never will be saints. Paul was writing to living saints. "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints." Nine times in this letter he talks about the saints. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the witness of the Holy Spirit in your heart, you are a set-apart one, one who belongs especially to God. We're saints. Now, these saints have an inheritance and they are an inheritance. What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints? Now this ties back to Ephesians 1:11, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance." We have obtained an inheritance and we have become an inheritance. You know, when God called Israel, he looked upon Israel as his special treasure, his special people. I'm looking at Deuteronomy 4:20, "But the Lord has taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace of Egypt, to be his people, his inheritance, as you are today." And so we are God's inheritance, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. But we have an inheritance in Jesus Christ. Oh, how valuable we are to God, and oh, how rich we are in God.

Now if you're discouraged today, think about that. You are valuable to God. Jesus said, you're of more value than a sheep. You're of more value than many sparrows. If God's taking care of the sparrows and the lilies, he's going to take care of his inheritance. We are predestined to share an inheritance in glory, but today we are an inheritance and we can draw upon our inheritance. I get excited about this. Ephesians tells us to be rich. Ephesians 1:7, the riches of his grace. I like that. The riches of his grace. How much grace? The riches of his grace. He is the God of all grace. His throne is the throne of grace. Peter talks about the manifold grace of God. Ephesians 2:7, "that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace." Oh, how rich we are. He giveth more grace. Today you feel poor. You're poor in strength and poor in resources, ah, but you're rich in Jesus Christ. The riches of his grace.

The riches of his glory. He talks about that again. "What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints?" Saints, set-apart ones. Inheritance, we are an inheritance for Christ, we are an inheritance in Christ, we have an inheritance through Christ. Glory, all that God is, all that God has, his riches in glory. He talks about this again in Ephesians 3:16, "that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory." "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus," Philippians 4:19. How rich are you? Well, we have the riches of his grace, we have the riches of his glory. We have the riches of his mercy, Ephesians 2:4, "But God, who is rich in mercy." Did you get that? You know what mercy is? God in his mercy does not give us what we deserve. God in his grace gives us what we don't deserve. And we are rich in grace, and we are rich in mercy. How much more could we want? How many times we come to God in prayer and we say, "Oh Lord, why don't you do this? And why didn't you give me that? And why don't you answer this prayer?" instead of stopping and saying, "Oh, how rich I am in Jesus Christ."

I often think of Ruth in the Old Testament when it comes to riches. In chapter 1, you have a series of funerals in the book of Ruth. End up with two widows, Ruth and Naomi. And Ruth has become a believer in Jehovah God, the true God of Israel. And she goes back to Bethlehem a poor widow. And in chapter 2, she's out gleaning in the field, back-breaking work under the hot sun, gleaning in the field to get a little bit to eat. Chapter 3, Boaz gives her some gifts. Now that's an improvement. Now she has a friend who is giving her gifts. But you know in chapter 4, Ruth married Boaz, and you know what happened? Everything he owned was hers. All of his riches became hers. And suppose there were a chapter 5 in the book of Ruth, and she's out gleaning in the field and she's doing that back-breaking work under the hot sun, and Boaz comes out and says, "My dear, what are you doing out here?" "Oh, I need something to eat." "Why, you are my wife! All that I have is yours. Come home and enjoy the riches of my bounty." That's what God's saying to us today. We have the riches of his grace, and the riches of his glory, and the riches of his mercy.

In fact, it is so profound that in Ephesians 3:8, Paul calls it unsearchable riches. You can't even trace it out. There's no path you can walk, there's no computer program that will take inventory of it. Unsearchable riches. That means unlimited riches, riches we can't comprehend, we can't understand, but oh, we can appropriate. We have the riches of his wisdom. Romans 11. Listen to what he says in verse 33, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Have you discovered the riches of God's wisdom? When you have to make decisions, when you're facing a puzzling problem, when life becomes difficult and you come and you need wisdom. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men richly, richly, the riches of his wisdom.

Now why are we complaining? Paul is praising God, and he's praying for these people that they might be praising God. He wants us to know who God is; that's Ephesians 1:17, the revelation in the knowledge of him. He wants us to know what God will do; the hope of his calling. What God is doing; he's pouring out his riches upon us through Christ Jesus.

But now, in Ephesians 1:19-23, here is his fourth request. He wants us to know what God wants to do. There's always so much more. Now God does not have to give me one more blessing; he's given them all to me. But progressively I appropriate the blessings. Progressively I learn more about God. Progressively I grow in the hope of his calling. And in Ephesians 1:19, he says, "I'm praying that you might know what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places." That's where our blessings are. That's where our Savior is. By the way, that's also where our conflict is. We are wrestling against principalities and powers in the heavenly places according to Ephesians 6. He raised him from the dead. He seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all.

Oh, Paul's not afraid to use the word all. Ephesians 1:10, that he might gather together in one all things in Christ. Ephesians 1:11, he works all things according to the counsel of his will. Ephesians 1:20, he raised him from the dead, seated him at his right hand far above all. All what? All principality, and power, and might, and dominion. All rule, authority, and power. Name any authority—government authority, spiritual authority—name any authority, Christ is far above all. Name any principality, any power, any dominion. Name every name that is named. Take anybody's name who thinks he has power, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. He's put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church. How much more can Paul say? All things. He's working all things. He's going to gather all things. He has put all things under his feet. He is the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him. And Paul makes one final statement here, "who fills all in all." Now I don't know how much more he can say. I don't see how it's possible for him to say anything more than what he has said.

And yet you and I don't believe it. Paul says, "I'm praying that you might know what God wants to do." What does he want to do? He wants to pour his power upon his church. Now he uses so many different words here. "The exceeding greatness of his power"—that's the Greek word dunamis, which gives us dynamite—"toward us who believe, according to the working"—energeia, gives us our word energy—"of his mighty power." That means power in action. According to the working of his mighty power. What is the measure of God's power? He raised Jesus from the dead. Now the Old Testament Jew measured power by the Exodus. Whenever the prophets talk about power, they say, the God who opened the sea and delivered us from Egypt. But in the New Testament, the measure of God's power is the God who opened the tomb, who raised his Son from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof that God has conquered death, he's conquered Satan, God is at work in this world, and this power is available to us. I like that statement: "according to the working of his mighty power, the exceeding greatness of his power." One translator puts it, "the energy of the strength of the might of God's power." Paul is running out of vocabulary to describe for us the greatness of the power of God.

Now this power is available to us who believe. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And as you and I grow in our knowledge of who God is, as we grow in our knowledge of what God will do—that takes care of the future, our hope—our knowledge of what God is doing—he's pouring out his riches upon us—but oh, what God wants to do. What does he want to do? He wants to give us power. Too many Christians are living between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Oh, they know that Jesus died for their sins, they believed in him and they're saved, but they have not entered into the power of his resurrection, the power of his ascension. He is in heaven and we are seated with him in the heavenlies. Therefore, whatever problem we face today, he is far above all. Whatever threat, whatever burden, whatever power comes against us, he is far above all. All things are under his feet. And that's where we had better be, at the feet of Jesus. Though we are seated on the throne over in Ephesians 3:14, Paul says, "I bow my knees." Oh, when you bow your knees to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, his power is made available to you. He has been raised, seated. He is enthroned. He is glorified. Paul wants us to know all this and then put it into practice.

Do you know who God is? What God will do, what God is doing, what God wants to do, oh let him do it in your life and he will give you his power.