A Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation

February 22, 2016

Today and next Sunday we’re looking at a prayer of Paul written to the Christians in Ephesus. Written while Paul was a prisoner (see Ephesians 3:1; 4:1; 6:20), probably at about the same time as the Letter to the Colossians, Ephesians shares with that letter many of the same phrases and expressions. Because there is no reference to Ephesus in 1:1 nor any local allusions or personal greetings, most scholars regard Ephesians as an example of what’s called an encyclical or “circular letter,” of which copies were distributed by Tychicus (see 6:21-22) to several churches in Asia Minor. When Paul’s correspondence was collected a copy of this letter was probably secured from Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia, and given its present title.

February 21, 2016
1 Ephesians 1.15-23, A Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation
Pastor Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

Audio only[powerpress]

For many people, the word “saints” conjures up an image of someone like Mother Teresa or Saint Francis of Assisi. However, in the New Testament “saints” are the believers who make up the church. The majority of the believers in Ephesus were common people with ordinary jobs and everyday problems, just like us. Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians by commending the church for their faith and love for which Paul gives thanks and then he offers a prayer for them. Listen to Ephesians 1:15-23,

“15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

When you’re driving and you see orange cones and barrels, yellow “Caution” tape, bright colored vests, and people with hard helmets, what do they suggest? Work is taking place, something is going on, often something is being built, there might even be some element of risk that means we need to especially have our eyes and ears open and pay attention. Driving a car you may see caution signs that warn you work is taking place, lanes may shift or narrow, watch out, fines are doubled, and you may see people in vests and hard hats. If you’ve ever taken a subway underground you’re probably aware of what the third rail is – the rail that carries enough power that you don’t want to touch it. There are always signs warning you about the danger of the power that is very close by and powerful enough to run a train.

I thought about all that when I was reading Ephesians because Paul talks about God’s power and who God is. Maybe we should pass out hard hats and have caution tape by the door to the sanctuary and install seatbelts in the pews to communicate, “Hey when you come in here, look out, hold on, and pay attention, because there is power present that can have a great impact if you’re touched by it or if it gets into you.” Paul begins his letter with a prayer which is densely packed with things Paul wants us to know about God. It worked for God to give Moses Ten Commandments and in Ephesians 1:15-23 Paul lists Ten Things to Know about God. If you ever wished you had an easily accessible reference to help you explain God to someone else, you may want to use your worship bulletin to write down these Ten Things to Know About God:

We pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray and communicate with the kind of God who would send a beloved Son to live among us full of grace and truth, to teach, heal, love, and forgive. A God who would express the greatest self-giving love, for the greatest amount of people – for the world; by giving the greatest gift – a Son, that anyone who believes in him may have the greatest reward – abundant, eternal, joyful life. We believe in a God who practices sacrificial love and calls us to do the same. Jesus is Lord because he’s our leader, the one we seek to follow. Joseph the earthly father of Jesus was told to give his son that name because “he would save his people from their sins.” We pray to the God of self-giving love who saves us from our sins and invites us to follow Jesus for the rest of our lives.
God is The Father of Glory. Glory has many definitions including: great honor, praise, or distinction. The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God who has shown such great self-giving love, is worthy of honor and distinction. The Father of glory longs for our heart-felt praise and thanks when we’re together in worship and throughout the week. We’re to continually offer praise to God. How do we greet each new day – by saying, “Good Lord, morning?” or “Good Morning, Lord!” God is characterized by majestic beauty and splendor. That’s why we sing at times, “Early in the morning, I will celebrate the light. The heavens are your tabernacle, I will call your name by night, God of wonders…” Or “Father all glorious come and reign over us, Ancient of Days.”
God gives us a Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Wisdom and revelation are different aspects of knowledge. Wisdom is knowledge and experience that are applied to life. People who are wise not only know what to do, how to behave, how to speak – they actually do it and act that way, and speak that way. Revelation is knowledge or insight that’s given; it’s not based on experience or education. Revelation can come in a flash. Paul is telling us that God gives us a spirit of wisdom and revelation – that the Holy Spirit assists us both by helping us learn from life and experience how we’re to live and be as followers of Jesus as well as by providing at times revelation through prayer, God’s word, or even the godly counsel of another believer. Paul frequently challenges us to live as wise people, making the most of the time we have to live. It’s heartbreaking to see how many people suffer and die needlessly because they make foolish, unwise decisions. God gives us a spirit of wisdom and revelation that we are to pay attention to, listen to, and follow.
God desires to be known by us. Paul prays “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him.” This is a simple but important point – God desires to be known by us, God wants to be known. God sent Jesus and gives us the Spirit so we can know God. We don’t worship a God who makes us play hide and seek. Yes, there are mysteries about God that we’ll never know or be able to understand or explain, but there is plenty that we can know. We believe in a God who knows us personally and who desires to be known by us personally. Our Creator wants us to invest time in a personal relationship with the One who gave us life. The better we know God, the more we will love and seek to please God.
God enlightens and transforms us. Paul’s prayer continues “so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened,” this is an interesting image. In biblical terms the heart is not merely a blood pump – it’s the source of our will, the seat of our emotions and identified with our character. We still use the phrase this way today when we say, someone “has a good heart,” or “I love you with all my heart.” You don’t look at someone you love and say, “I love you with all my blood pump.” The word “heart” still signifies much more than that. We worship a God who can change our hearts, our will, our emotions, and character – a God who can help us to see ourselves, our family and friends, and the world in a whole new way. God enlightens and transforms us from the inside out.
God gives us hope and calls us to hope. “so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.” The God Christians believe in is a God of hope. God reaches out to us in our moments of despair, discouragement, and grief to give us hope. Having a sense of hope is vital to our mental and emotional health. People who feel hopeless have a difficult time with motivation, energy, and focus. As Christians we have hope even in difficult circumstances. We believe that as long as there is life there is hope and that even after life is over God has more in store for us that we can look forward to with hope.
God gives us a rich and glorious inheritance. To inherit something means to come into possession or to possess it. When we inherit something it means we receive it from someone who has gone before us, usually someone who loves us or cares about us. Have you ever inherited something? When my father’s sister Bettie died in 2006, her son, my cousin Chris, gave us her car which was very generous and totally unexpected. The sad thing about an inheritance is that to receive it means that someone we love has died. I would have preferred that my Aunt was still living than to have had her car. Yet every time we saw or used the car it was a reminder of my Aunt and my cousin’s generosity that made me feel good. As Christians we have a rich and glorious inheritance in Christ which is generous and unexpected, but it’s given to us because someone who loved us, Jesus, died on the cross. We don’t earn or deserve an inheritance, it’s a gift. We’ve all seen bumper stickers that say, “I’m spending my children’s inheritance.” Children shouldn’t expect their parents to leave them anything materially – they’ve already given us life, and hopefully love, faith, values, and so much more. God gives us a rich and glorious inheritance –abundant, eternal life. Hope on earth and joy in heaven. Not a bad deal.
We believe in a God of great power for those who believe. The interesting thing about this thought is that Paul writes God is a God of great power not for everybody but only “for us who believe;” that’s why believing is important. If someone came into your home and had no idea why there were little holes located low on the wall of each room they wouldn’t know that there was power available in the form of electricity that could run all kinds of amazing devices such as computers, lights, televisions, and refrigerators,. In a similar way, like electricity, God is a source of great power to those who believe that God is exists and who plug into God for power for living. God wants to be and can be a source of great power for everybody, but the Lord’s power can go untapped and unutilized by those who don’t believe. While electrical current can be measured, the power of God is beyond our calculation. Paul calls it “the immeasurable greatness of his power.” Paul is very focused on power, he mentions it four times in this brief prayer, especially noting that “God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead,” which is the ninth thing we should know about God.
God raised Jesus from the dead. God’s power and God’s love are shown in the resurrection of Jesus. This is one of the defining things about God – that God not only creates life, God can bring something redeeming even out of death. We believe this because after his crucifixion, Jesus was seen by many of his followers who were transformed from frightened, fearful individuals at the time of Jesus’ death to bold witnesses proclaiming publicly that God raised Jesus from the dead. They were willing to brave ridicule, imprisonment, riots, beatings, and risked dangerous journeys all to tell others about the power and hope that are available to those who believe in the God who raised Jesus from the dead. Christians believe there is hope even in the worst circumstances, and that even death itself is not the end of our hope because God raised Jesus from the dead. God can bring life to situations and people that seem hopeless. Finally, the tenth thing we learn about God in this prayer is that we worship the
God made Jesus head over all things for the church. God “has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” The church is to be the visible and working body of Christ in the world today. The church is not a building, the church is people. We don’t go to church, we are the church and Jesus is the head of the church. He’s in charge. What he wants, we will seek, what he asks we will do, where he sends, we will go. It’s amazing how these ten things about God which are so important to know are all in Paul’s brief prayer. We believe in the God of Glory who sent Jesus Christ and gave us the Holy Spirit. We believe in a God who gives wisdom and revelation, who transforms, enlightens, and gives hope; a God of great power who gives a rich inheritance to all who believe. A God who raised Jesus from the dead to make him head over the church. Our God is an awesome God.

If you are willing to believe, tremendous power is available to you. So keep the caution tape, the helmet, and the vest in mind, and pray for God to be revealed to you and to empower you for living. I invite you to pray this prayer:

Prayer: God of our Lord Jesus Christ, reveal yourself to me and grant me wisdom so that the eyes of my heart may be opened and enlightened. By your Spirit, may I know the hope and inheritance which you have given me and may the greatness of your power that is at work in Christ who is the head of the church also be at work in me.

Blessing

“Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith,

from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 6:23-24.

Questions for Discussion or Reflection

As we go through this series on the Prayers of Paul, we will hear and notice the repetition of themes, phrases, and words. After looking at 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 last week, what sounds familiar in Ephesians 1:17-23? Do you notice Paul touching on any of the same themes?
What is the distinction between wisdom and revelation?
Paul prays that God will give believers a spirit of wisdom and revelation – so that….?
I things that are said about God in Ephesians 1:17-23.
According to this passage, Who is God? What does God give us and do for us?
How do your answers to #’s 4 and 5 make you feel?

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