Praying for the Church (Part 1)
Ephesians 1:15-23
What gift can you give someone who has everything? In a spiritual sense, how should you pray for people – Christians – who already have everything they need from God? When we pray for one another, we often ask God to “be with so-and-so” (though we’re probably unclear about what that means or if it’s even a good request). Or we may ask God to bless so-and-so, which isn’t a bad prayer for sure, or to help them in some financial or physical way. But could we be more specific and pray in a more meaningful way?
In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, he tells them two different times about how and what he prays for them. We find these two prayers for the church in 1:15-23 and 3:14-21. These are remarkable prayers that show us how deeply Paul loved and cherished the church. They also show us how he prayed for the people in the church, and so these prayers show us how we can pray for one another better.
Today, let’s look at the first of these two prayers and learn how we can pray for one another better. For if we truly cherish and love our church, we will be praying for one another and praying for one another well.
Thank God for each other.
When was the last time you thanked God for some people in your church? From Eph 1:15-16, we see that Paul did this a lot. In fact, Eph 1:15-23 tells us both that he prayed for other believers and how he did so. Together, these verses form one long sentence, but the main verb of the sentence is, “I do not cease to give thanks for you” (1:17).
Give thanks means “to express appreciation” and describes a grateful, warmhearted response to the good things and people in your life. So, we see that Paul viewed other people in the church as a benefit and blessing of life. That’s why he was thankful for them.
Do we feel the same way about each other? Do we view each other as a blessing of life? If so, then we should go beyond feeling thankful to expressing our thanks to God in prayer.
For faith you see in one another’s lives.
Paul was especially thankful for two things (1:15), their faith in Jesus and their love for other Christians.
To appreciate the faith of other believers in our church family, we should look back at the first half of this chapter (1:3-14). It describes all that goes into the salvation of a person. These things include predestination, election, creation, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, the seal of the Holy Spirit, and more. The triune God – the Father, Son, and Spirit – does so much to make salvation possible and bring it to pass (1:3-12, 14).
The more complex and exquisite something is, the more we appreciate it. That’s why we handle porcelain dinnerware differently than paper plates, and diamond rings than plastic party favors. It should be the same way with the faith and salvation of a Christian.
When you understand all that went into bringing a person from death to life, from slave to sin to a child in God kingdom, then you will thank God deeply for anyone who believes on Jesus. Their salvation is no mere human choice – it is the result of an eternal, costly, complicated (to us) plan worked out by an all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing God.
That anyone is a child of God is the most remarkable thing ever, so we should be incredibly thankful for being a believer and for having other believers in our lives.
For love you see in one another’s lives.
The second factor that motivated Paul to thank God for the believers at Ephesus was their love for all the saints. This, too, is a wonder of God’s grace. For another believer to show the kindness of God is a miracle indeed.
We don’t deserve such love, nor do we naturally offer it to each another. We’re selfish by nature, so, when you see, hear, or experience the love of God from another Christian, you should not take it for granted. You are witnessing a miracle of epic proportions.
Paul not only thanked God for other believers, but he did so “without ceasing” (1:16). This doesn’t mean he prayed 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a wk., 365 days a yr. It means he kept on praying for them throughout his life and routine – not just once, but a lot.
It’s normal to hear positive things about another believer and be thankful, but such feelings easily fade. It takes a God-focused, gospel-focused, doctrine-focused mindset to remain deeply, genuinely, perpetually thankful for one another. But why is this so?
The more we know about other believers, the more their faults may irritate us. We shouldn’t let this happen, of course. We should be grateful for each other no matter how much we know of each other. Our faith in God and love for other believers will always be a mind-blowing, God-glorifying reality to never take for granted.
Paul showed this thankfulness many believers in churches he knew.
So, we see that when Paul prayed for other believers, he thanked God for them. He didn’t just jump to some prayer requests. Even so, he did ask for things, too. What did he ask?
Pray for an Understanding Spirit
When Paul prayed for other Christians, he asked God to give them a certain kind of spirit (1:17). This does not refer to God giving them more blessings as such or to giving them the Holy Spirit, because we already have him in our lives. Instead, it refers to God developing in us an inner disposition and ability to understand what he has already given us from the moment we believed on Christ.
This understanding consists of two primary aspects, wisdom and revelation.
He was not praying for believers to get new revelations from God in the form of dreams, visions, and prophecies. He was praying for them to understand what had been revealed to them about the person and work of Christ through the apostles. He makes this clear in the following verses by giving a series of three things related to the person and work of Jesus and to our new relationship with him.
These factors were definitely “new revelation” to the church because they were newly revealed through the apostles. But imparting this knowledge as information alone would not guarantee full understanding. That’s why Paul prayed for them to have an inner disposition to understand this revelation in a personal way and put it into practice.
The series of factors which Paul describes in the following verses are nothing short of astounding (1:18-23). They are extravagant, magnificent, grandiose, and bold; but most importantly, they are real.
To enjoy and experience the Christian life to its maximum potential, we need God’s help to understand and apply his blessings for all they’re worth. That’s why Paul prayed people in the church to understand spiritual realities about God and our relationship with him. He prayed specifically for believers to understand three things:
To understand the full scope of our calling.
Hope is a confident, unrelenting expectation of what is in the future. This “hope of his calling” likely refers to our future resurrection from the dead in a fully restored, sinless body, to a life with God that will never end. Calling refers to the invitation we receive from God. His highlights God the Father as the one who gave us the invitation (1:18). This invitation came from God.
This call guarantees our place in God’s kingdom, delivering us from evil in all its forms forever. Yet this call also affects our lives in many other ways. God calls us to:
This hope of our calling should be more than a faint wish or elusive dream. It should be a firm foundation and clear compass that guides us with confidence throughout life.
A new believer cannot comprehend all that Christ calls us to be, do, and experience. We must understand the essential elements of the gospel message to get started in the Christian life, but there’s so much more to discover.
The Christian life is like this. God calls us to salvation and we respond in faith. He gives us a new perspective, a confident expectation that never goes away. We will be raised from the dead someday, like Christ himself. We will be with him forever. We know this to a degree and it guides us through our daily lives.
The full view of our calling is far more expansive that we understand today. Yet our confidence and anticipation of this should deepen and expand. It should motivate us to draw you closer to Christ, push through many trials, and achieve greater things for God. That’s why we must pray for one another to understand the hope of our calling even better.
To understand our immense value to God.
In addition to better understanding the “hope of your calling,” we must also better understand “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (1:18). This phrase describes us as God’s inheritance and as “glorious riches.” In other words, we are God’s extravagant inheritance. We have extraordinary value and immeasurable worth to him.
In describing us as God’s inheritance, Paul uses words for wealth and glory that the OT frequently uses to describe the wealth and honor of kings. 2 Chr 32:27-29, for instance:
Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and folds for flocks. Moreover, he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much property.
God treasures you greatly. As an earthly king values his vast accumulation of treasure, buildings, property, and land, so God values believers in the church. We may know this as a fact, but do we fully comprehend the implications of this truth personally?
If God values us this greatly, then how should we respond to the painful feelings of guilt, loneliness, shame, and worthlessness that linger in our souls? When other people hurt, and neglect us, how should this truth influence our inner thoughts and feelings? If God treasures us this greatly, how should we care for and view ourselves on a day-to-day basis? And how should we present ourselves to others?
In addition to the hope of our calling and our incredible value to God, Paul prayed for believers to better understand one more thing.
To understand the awesomeness of God’s power.
Paul really emphasizes what he is trying to say here in two ways. First, he uses a variety “power” words, using all the words for “power” available to him in the Greek language.
By clustering these words together, Paul draws attention to the sheer awesomeness of God’s power. Whatever power we’re up against, whether power of nature, government, physical strength of another person, spiritual forces, technology, evil and death, or any other power – that power is always outmatched by the power of God.
As if his point is not already clear, Paul adds two descriptive words to make his point even more powerful (pun intended). He describes God’s power as “incredible” and “great.”
Paul uses greatness (μέγεθος) from what Moses said about God’s power in Exo 15:16 when he conquered the nations in Canaan for his people, even though those nations were superior in military numbers, technology, and skill than Israel was, showing that he is the same God who delivered Canaan to Israel.
He uses incredible (ὑπερβάλλον) from what magical papyri and secular inscriptions said about the gods of Rome, Greece, and other pagan religions, showing that he was more powerful than all of them.
What’s amazing here is that God gives us direct access to his superior power through Christ. To know how great and incredible this power truly is, then you need to consider the saving work of Jesus for us – his death, resurrection, and ascension (1:20). When he did these things, they showed us what his power can do.
They also show that he is the superior, ultimate authority in the universe – over everything.
No other authority or powerful being is more superior or powerful than him (1:21).
As if that’s not enough, there’s no other thing of any kind – natural disaster, military technology, or anything, supposed god – that is more powerful than him. Everything you can think of is subject to him and he reigns over everything that exists (1:22).
Paul explains how God’s power relates to the lives of ordinary Christian like us. Like a magnifying glass that concentrates sunlight on a dry leaf and as Niagara Falls gushes water on the ground below, God channels his power into and through the lives of people who believe on Christ, the people of the church (1:19).
God directs his power towards us – especially as the church. God doesn’t scatter his power randomly to everyone in the world or store it up in a faraway place. He unleashes it freely to “us who believe.” It is always available to us and is always working on our side.
We’re not only God’s children, we’re also his church (1:22-23), and it is through the church that God shows his power and authority in the world. Governments have their place, scientific and educational advances make their mark, and wealthy philanthropists finance wonderful causes. Yet it is through the church that God extends his power.
Let’s be clear– the church is up against a lot of things. The church in Ephesus experienced a lot of persecution and social pressure. Paul was nearly executed by local authorities for his teaching in that city on one occasion (Acts 19). He faced strong opposition there from demonic influences, crooked businessmen, and corrupt government officials.
Nevertheless, the church persevered and so did Paul. That’s because Jesus exercises superior power and authority over all supernatural beings, though they somehow fight against us today in our Christian lives (1:22; 6:12). Powerful, supernatural beings were somehow instrumental in working together with “the world” and “our flesh” before our conversion to keep us in bondage to sin, and they still fight against us today (Eph 2:1-3).
From Paul’s fourfold description of supernatural beings here, we learn at least two things: (1) there are various kinds with differing functions and (2) they are powerful.
This should sober us enough to pray, but it should also remind us that Christ is more powerful than they are. We don’t need to get or ask or pray for more power from God. We need to recognize, instead, that the power of God is already ours through Christ to overcome whatever spiritual challenges we face. Eph 1:21 assures us that no supernatural power has been overlooked in some far-flung galaxy or distant mountain. Christ is superior to every supernatural power or influence that exists.
God cannot give us any more grace.
Unfortunately, we often pray for more grace, for more blessings, power, revelation, guidance, and so on. We fail to see that we already have what we need. We don’t need more. We simply need to understand all that we already have in Christ.
Let’s not be like the man who buys a screwdriver every time he needs to turn a screw, though he already has a dozen of them in his toolbox somewhere. Let’s not be like the woman who buys a toaster every time she makes breakfast, even though the one she has works just fine.
At the end of our honeymoon, Sarah and I drove a Dodge Caliber from Olympia National Forest, WA to Seattle. Just before we arrived at SeaTac airport, a tractor trailer threw a rock up at our windshield, leaving a nice long crack in the glass. Since we were driving a rental car, we had to pay for the repairs to the tune of a few hundred dollars.
To save money, I had opted not to buy renter’s insurance, which would have covered this incident. Even more unfortunate was the fact that the credit card I had used to pay for the rental offered free rental insurance and I didn’t even know it until months later.
We need to be more aware and consistent in living for Christ as his church.
About this passage of Scripture (1:15-23), Max Anders shares the following remarks:
This, then, is the lot of the Christian—a rich lot but one we scarcely comprehend. We have been chosen by God the Father to be his spiritual children. In Christ, our sins have been forgiven, and we have been given an inheritance that this world knows no way to measure. In the Holy Spirit, we have been sealed in Christ, made secure until our final redemption when we will see the Lord face-to-face. Clearly, the magnitude of these blessings escapes us, or else we would be more consistent in living for him than we are. That is why Paul ends the chapter by praying for us that we might comprehend the significance and magnitude of the blessings. (Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol. 8, Holman New Testament Commentary [Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999], 94-95).
That’s why we must pray for one another (and for ourselves). We’re children of God destined for his kingdom. Our Savior is seated as the king over all things and shares his power with us as his children and church. Yet we live defeated by sin and afraid of the world – and when we pray, we pray for things we already have.
When we pray, let’s learn not to pray for things we already have, but to pray for understanding about the things we already have in Christ.
Let’s pray for one another this way – that we would understand the “hope of God’s calling” on our lives, “our value as God’s inheritance,” and the “incredible greatness of God’s power” at work in our lives. May we pray these prayers for one another so that we can more deeply experience these very things in our lives. If we grow together in understanding these things, we will become an even healthier, joyful, and vibrant church.
These are biblical prayers, and they’re better than the generic prayers we often offer like “bless so-and-so” and “be with so-and-so.” If they’re a believer, then God has already blessed them. If they are a Christian, then God is already with them.
Prayers like that don’t mean anything. They’re like asking the sun to rise in the morning, snow to fall in a northern winter, or the cashier to give you your food at the grocery store after you’ve already paid for it. These things already happen.
We would also do well to pray for one another in the same way as Paul prayed for the church –“that our eyes would be open” to the spiritual realities that are already true in our lives because of Christ. That we would understand these realities better and learn to apply them to the thoughts we think, choices we make, and things we do every day. In this way we can express our love for the church and cherish the church as Christ does.
Discussion Questions
What gift can you give someone who has everything? In a spiritual sense, how should you pray for people – Christians – who already have everything they need from God? When we pray for one another, we often ask God to “be with so-and-so” (though we’re probably unclear about what that means or if it’s even a good request). Or we may ask God to bless so-and-so, which isn’t a bad prayer for sure, or to help them in some financial or physical way. But could we be more specific and pray in a more meaningful way?
In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, he tells them two different times about how and what he prays for them. We find these two prayers for the church in 1:15-23 and 3:14-21. These are remarkable prayers that show us how deeply Paul loved and cherished the church. They also show us how he prayed for the people in the church, and so these prayers show us how we can pray for one another better.
Today, let’s look at the first of these two prayers and learn how we can pray for one another better. For if we truly cherish and love our church, we will be praying for one another and praying for one another well.
Thank God for each other.
When was the last time you thanked God for some people in your church? From Eph 1:15-16, we see that Paul did this a lot. In fact, Eph 1:15-23 tells us both that he prayed for other believers and how he did so. Together, these verses form one long sentence, but the main verb of the sentence is, “I do not cease to give thanks for you” (1:17).
Give thanks means “to express appreciation” and describes a grateful, warmhearted response to the good things and people in your life. So, we see that Paul viewed other people in the church as a benefit and blessing of life. That’s why he was thankful for them.
Do we feel the same way about each other? Do we view each other as a blessing of life? If so, then we should go beyond feeling thankful to expressing our thanks to God in prayer.
For faith you see in one another’s lives.
Paul was especially thankful for two things (1:15), their faith in Jesus and their love for other Christians.
To appreciate the faith of other believers in our church family, we should look back at the first half of this chapter (1:3-14). It describes all that goes into the salvation of a person. These things include predestination, election, creation, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, the seal of the Holy Spirit, and more. The triune God – the Father, Son, and Spirit – does so much to make salvation possible and bring it to pass (1:3-12, 14).
The more complex and exquisite something is, the more we appreciate it. That’s why we handle porcelain dinnerware differently than paper plates, and diamond rings than plastic party favors. It should be the same way with the faith and salvation of a Christian.
When you understand all that went into bringing a person from death to life, from slave to sin to a child in God kingdom, then you will thank God deeply for anyone who believes on Jesus. Their salvation is no mere human choice – it is the result of an eternal, costly, complicated (to us) plan worked out by an all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing God.
That anyone is a child of God is the most remarkable thing ever, so we should be incredibly thankful for being a believer and for having other believers in our lives.
For love you see in one another’s lives.
The second factor that motivated Paul to thank God for the believers at Ephesus was their love for all the saints. This, too, is a wonder of God’s grace. For another believer to show the kindness of God is a miracle indeed.
We don’t deserve such love, nor do we naturally offer it to each another. We’re selfish by nature, so, when you see, hear, or experience the love of God from another Christian, you should not take it for granted. You are witnessing a miracle of epic proportions.
Paul not only thanked God for other believers, but he did so “without ceasing” (1:16). This doesn’t mean he prayed 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a wk., 365 days a yr. It means he kept on praying for them throughout his life and routine – not just once, but a lot.
It’s normal to hear positive things about another believer and be thankful, but such feelings easily fade. It takes a God-focused, gospel-focused, doctrine-focused mindset to remain deeply, genuinely, perpetually thankful for one another. But why is this so?
The more we know about other believers, the more their faults may irritate us. We shouldn’t let this happen, of course. We should be grateful for each other no matter how much we know of each other. Our faith in God and love for other believers will always be a mind-blowing, God-glorifying reality to never take for granted.
Paul showed this thankfulness many believers in churches he knew.
- Believers in Rome, even though he had never met them. (Rom 1:8)
- Believers at Philippi who had supported his missionary work. (Phil 1:3)
- Perhaps most remarkable of all is that he thanked God for the believers at Corinth, even though they behaved very badly and caused him much stress. (1 Cor 1:4)
So, we see that when Paul prayed for other believers, he thanked God for them. He didn’t just jump to some prayer requests. Even so, he did ask for things, too. What did he ask?
Pray for an Understanding Spirit
When Paul prayed for other Christians, he asked God to give them a certain kind of spirit (1:17). This does not refer to God giving them more blessings as such or to giving them the Holy Spirit, because we already have him in our lives. Instead, it refers to God developing in us an inner disposition and ability to understand what he has already given us from the moment we believed on Christ.
This understanding consists of two primary aspects, wisdom and revelation.
- Wisdom refers to understanding things so well that we can live with true skill.
- Revelation refers to uncovering or revealing something that was formerly covered or unknown. Paul tells what he’s referring to in the next phrase, “the knowledge of him.”
He was not praying for believers to get new revelations from God in the form of dreams, visions, and prophecies. He was praying for them to understand what had been revealed to them about the person and work of Christ through the apostles. He makes this clear in the following verses by giving a series of three things related to the person and work of Jesus and to our new relationship with him.
These factors were definitely “new revelation” to the church because they were newly revealed through the apostles. But imparting this knowledge as information alone would not guarantee full understanding. That’s why Paul prayed for them to have an inner disposition to understand this revelation in a personal way and put it into practice.
The series of factors which Paul describes in the following verses are nothing short of astounding (1:18-23). They are extravagant, magnificent, grandiose, and bold; but most importantly, they are real.
To enjoy and experience the Christian life to its maximum potential, we need God’s help to understand and apply his blessings for all they’re worth. That’s why Paul prayed people in the church to understand spiritual realities about God and our relationship with him. He prayed specifically for believers to understand three things:
- the hope of God’s calling (1:18)
- the riches of God’s inheritance (1:18)
- the greatness of God’s power (1:19-21)
To understand the full scope of our calling.
Hope is a confident, unrelenting expectation of what is in the future. This “hope of his calling” likely refers to our future resurrection from the dead in a fully restored, sinless body, to a life with God that will never end. Calling refers to the invitation we receive from God. His highlights God the Father as the one who gave us the invitation (1:18). This invitation came from God.
This call guarantees our place in God’s kingdom, delivering us from evil in all its forms forever. Yet this call also affects our lives in many other ways. God calls us to:
- Fellowship with his Son (1 Cor 1:9)
- Peace (1 Cor 7:15)
- Grace (Gal 1:6)
- Freedom (Gal 5:13)
- His kingdom and glory (1 Ths 2:12)
- Holiness (1 Ths 4:7; cf. 2:13-14)
- Eternal life (1 Tim 6:12)
- Light (1 Pt 2:9)
- Suffering (1 Pt 2:20-21)
This hope of our calling should be more than a faint wish or elusive dream. It should be a firm foundation and clear compass that guides us with confidence throughout life.
A new believer cannot comprehend all that Christ calls us to be, do, and experience. We must understand the essential elements of the gospel message to get started in the Christian life, but there’s so much more to discover.
- On our first day of kindergarten, we became students. Yet we had no idea what that would mean for the next 20 years as we would eventually go through college.
- On the day some of us exchanged wedding vows, we became spouses. Yet we had no idea (despite premarital counseling) what our marriage would require of us.
- When we begin a new job, welcome a child into the world, or move to a new country or neighborhood, we know a lot of things on one hand and so very little on the other.
The Christian life is like this. God calls us to salvation and we respond in faith. He gives us a new perspective, a confident expectation that never goes away. We will be raised from the dead someday, like Christ himself. We will be with him forever. We know this to a degree and it guides us through our daily lives.
The full view of our calling is far more expansive that we understand today. Yet our confidence and anticipation of this should deepen and expand. It should motivate us to draw you closer to Christ, push through many trials, and achieve greater things for God. That’s why we must pray for one another to understand the hope of our calling even better.
To understand our immense value to God.
In addition to better understanding the “hope of your calling,” we must also better understand “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (1:18). This phrase describes us as God’s inheritance and as “glorious riches.” In other words, we are God’s extravagant inheritance. We have extraordinary value and immeasurable worth to him.
In describing us as God’s inheritance, Paul uses words for wealth and glory that the OT frequently uses to describe the wealth and honor of kings. 2 Chr 32:27-29, for instance:
Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and folds for flocks. Moreover, he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much property.
God treasures you greatly. As an earthly king values his vast accumulation of treasure, buildings, property, and land, so God values believers in the church. We may know this as a fact, but do we fully comprehend the implications of this truth personally?
If God values us this greatly, then how should we respond to the painful feelings of guilt, loneliness, shame, and worthlessness that linger in our souls? When other people hurt, and neglect us, how should this truth influence our inner thoughts and feelings? If God treasures us this greatly, how should we care for and view ourselves on a day-to-day basis? And how should we present ourselves to others?
In addition to the hope of our calling and our incredible value to God, Paul prayed for believers to better understand one more thing.
To understand the awesomeness of God’s power.
Paul really emphasizes what he is trying to say here in two ways. First, he uses a variety “power” words, using all the words for “power” available to him in the Greek language.
- δύναμις (dunamis) refers to God’s ability to do things (“his power,” 1:19), emphasizing what he does and is doing for us – his active power.
- ἐνέργεια (energeia) refers to something God does or accomplishes (“the working,” 1:19), emphasizing what God is able to do – his potential, unlimited power.
- ἰσχύς (ischus) refers to God’s capability and strength (“mighty,” 1:19).
- κράτος (kratos) refers to God’s might and strength (“power,” 1:19).
- ἐνεργέω (energeō) refers to the act of working, producing, or causing something to happen (“worked,” 1:20).
By clustering these words together, Paul draws attention to the sheer awesomeness of God’s power. Whatever power we’re up against, whether power of nature, government, physical strength of another person, spiritual forces, technology, evil and death, or any other power – that power is always outmatched by the power of God.
As if his point is not already clear, Paul adds two descriptive words to make his point even more powerful (pun intended). He describes God’s power as “incredible” and “great.”
Paul uses greatness (μέγεθος) from what Moses said about God’s power in Exo 15:16 when he conquered the nations in Canaan for his people, even though those nations were superior in military numbers, technology, and skill than Israel was, showing that he is the same God who delivered Canaan to Israel.
He uses incredible (ὑπερβάλλον) from what magical papyri and secular inscriptions said about the gods of Rome, Greece, and other pagan religions, showing that he was more powerful than all of them.
What’s amazing here is that God gives us direct access to his superior power through Christ. To know how great and incredible this power truly is, then you need to consider the saving work of Jesus for us – his death, resurrection, and ascension (1:20). When he did these things, they showed us what his power can do.
They also show that he is the superior, ultimate authority in the universe – over everything.
No other authority or powerful being is more superior or powerful than him (1:21).
As if that’s not enough, there’s no other thing of any kind – natural disaster, military technology, or anything, supposed god – that is more powerful than him. Everything you can think of is subject to him and he reigns over everything that exists (1:22).
Paul explains how God’s power relates to the lives of ordinary Christian like us. Like a magnifying glass that concentrates sunlight on a dry leaf and as Niagara Falls gushes water on the ground below, God channels his power into and through the lives of people who believe on Christ, the people of the church (1:19).
God directs his power towards us – especially as the church. God doesn’t scatter his power randomly to everyone in the world or store it up in a faraway place. He unleashes it freely to “us who believe.” It is always available to us and is always working on our side.
We’re not only God’s children, we’re also his church (1:22-23), and it is through the church that God shows his power and authority in the world. Governments have their place, scientific and educational advances make their mark, and wealthy philanthropists finance wonderful causes. Yet it is through the church that God extends his power.
Let’s be clear– the church is up against a lot of things. The church in Ephesus experienced a lot of persecution and social pressure. Paul was nearly executed by local authorities for his teaching in that city on one occasion (Acts 19). He faced strong opposition there from demonic influences, crooked businessmen, and corrupt government officials.
Nevertheless, the church persevered and so did Paul. That’s because Jesus exercises superior power and authority over all supernatural beings, though they somehow fight against us today in our Christian lives (1:22; 6:12). Powerful, supernatural beings were somehow instrumental in working together with “the world” and “our flesh” before our conversion to keep us in bondage to sin, and they still fight against us today (Eph 2:1-3).
From Paul’s fourfold description of supernatural beings here, we learn at least two things: (1) there are various kinds with differing functions and (2) they are powerful.
This should sober us enough to pray, but it should also remind us that Christ is more powerful than they are. We don’t need to get or ask or pray for more power from God. We need to recognize, instead, that the power of God is already ours through Christ to overcome whatever spiritual challenges we face. Eph 1:21 assures us that no supernatural power has been overlooked in some far-flung galaxy or distant mountain. Christ is superior to every supernatural power or influence that exists.
God cannot give us any more grace.
Unfortunately, we often pray for more grace, for more blessings, power, revelation, guidance, and so on. We fail to see that we already have what we need. We don’t need more. We simply need to understand all that we already have in Christ.
Let’s not be like the man who buys a screwdriver every time he needs to turn a screw, though he already has a dozen of them in his toolbox somewhere. Let’s not be like the woman who buys a toaster every time she makes breakfast, even though the one she has works just fine.
At the end of our honeymoon, Sarah and I drove a Dodge Caliber from Olympia National Forest, WA to Seattle. Just before we arrived at SeaTac airport, a tractor trailer threw a rock up at our windshield, leaving a nice long crack in the glass. Since we were driving a rental car, we had to pay for the repairs to the tune of a few hundred dollars.
To save money, I had opted not to buy renter’s insurance, which would have covered this incident. Even more unfortunate was the fact that the credit card I had used to pay for the rental offered free rental insurance and I didn’t even know it until months later.
We need to be more aware and consistent in living for Christ as his church.
About this passage of Scripture (1:15-23), Max Anders shares the following remarks:
This, then, is the lot of the Christian—a rich lot but one we scarcely comprehend. We have been chosen by God the Father to be his spiritual children. In Christ, our sins have been forgiven, and we have been given an inheritance that this world knows no way to measure. In the Holy Spirit, we have been sealed in Christ, made secure until our final redemption when we will see the Lord face-to-face. Clearly, the magnitude of these blessings escapes us, or else we would be more consistent in living for him than we are. That is why Paul ends the chapter by praying for us that we might comprehend the significance and magnitude of the blessings. (Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol. 8, Holman New Testament Commentary [Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999], 94-95).
That’s why we must pray for one another (and for ourselves). We’re children of God destined for his kingdom. Our Savior is seated as the king over all things and shares his power with us as his children and church. Yet we live defeated by sin and afraid of the world – and when we pray, we pray for things we already have.
When we pray, let’s learn not to pray for things we already have, but to pray for understanding about the things we already have in Christ.
Let’s pray for one another this way – that we would understand the “hope of God’s calling” on our lives, “our value as God’s inheritance,” and the “incredible greatness of God’s power” at work in our lives. May we pray these prayers for one another so that we can more deeply experience these very things in our lives. If we grow together in understanding these things, we will become an even healthier, joyful, and vibrant church.
These are biblical prayers, and they’re better than the generic prayers we often offer like “bless so-and-so” and “be with so-and-so.” If they’re a believer, then God has already blessed them. If they are a Christian, then God is already with them.
Prayers like that don’t mean anything. They’re like asking the sun to rise in the morning, snow to fall in a northern winter, or the cashier to give you your food at the grocery store after you’ve already paid for it. These things already happen.
We would also do well to pray for one another in the same way as Paul prayed for the church –“that our eyes would be open” to the spiritual realities that are already true in our lives because of Christ. That we would understand these realities better and learn to apply them to the thoughts we think, choices we make, and things we do every day. In this way we can express our love for the church and cherish the church as Christ does.
Discussion Questions
- What can we learn from what someone chooses to pray about?
- Are people today generally thankful? Why or why not?
- Do you see the same effects of ungratefulness from these causes in yourself?
- How do we cultivate gratitude for the people in our lives, including the church?
- Describe the complex beauty of salvation in Christ.
- How could a true view of the beaty of salvation help us appreciate how God is working in them?
- What are some ways that we can maintain an honest gratitude for people as we become close enough to see and experience their faults?
- What does the kind of understanding Paul mentions in Ephesians 1:18 mean? How might this be different from a purely intellectual sense of “understanding?”
- What are some practical steps we can take to grow in understanding the spiritual blessings we have in Christ?
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