In Ephesians 1:15-20, Paul prays for believers in Ephesus to have a spiritual revelation of their position in Christ. The prayer is for us, too. It is a powerful prayer because Paul prays from the knowledge and belief of who he is in Jesus Christ. Paul knows that believers have no power without the spiritual wisdom God has given them. He doesn't plead with God to provide the Ephesians with spiritual insight. He prays for the Ephesians to open their spiritual eyes to what they have received in Christ.
“Therefore I also, 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: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, 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, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:15-18, NKJV).
Paul does not stop praising God for faithful believers and their love for each other. He prays that God would give them wisdom and revelation in their knowledge of Him. Paul wants them to understand what they have received—what is theirs in coming to know Christ. He knows that without knowing what they have received they will not grow in their understanding of their new birth in Christ. Without believing in their position in Christ, they will have no power to stand against the enemy's lies and have confidence in God’s calling. Without understanding, they will not believe the spiritual riches that are theirs in Christ.
Have we grown in knowledge of what we have received in Christ? Do we know what belongs to us? Do we often plead with God to give us what we have already received because we don’t have the wisdom to know that it is already ours?
“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:19-20, NKJV).
Paul prays for us to understand the power we have when we believe what God says. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Do we understand that His Resurrection power lives in us? We don’t plead with God from weakness. When we have the spiritual wisdom of who we are in Jesus Christ, we pray from His position of strength. We know that in our weakness, He is strong. And that His strength and power are ours. We pray, believing we have already received what we ask (Mark 11:24, 1 John 5:14-15).
Do you know what you have received in Jesus Christ? You have received Jesus and His finished work of grace in your born-again spirit (John 3:6). Do you believe what you have received is true for you? With your heart, you believe unto righteousness (Romans 10:10), and you believe the truths your right standing in Christ has given you. If you don’t know the truths of your new identity in Jesus, then you will not be changed by the truths that are yours. Learn who you are in God’s Word. His Word is Truth, and it is life (John 6:63). Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you what you have received in Christ. Ask Him for wisdom. He gives it generously (James 1:5).
When we seek God’s truth, we find it. When we renew our minds with God’s Word, we conform to its truth. When we believe His truth in our hearts, we receive the promises Jesus purchased for us with His precious blood. When we believe in the new life that is ours, we put on the righteousness He has given us. We live in the fullness of His grace.
And then blessed are our eyes because they finally see and our ears because they finally hear what the Holy Spirit desires for us to see and hear and understand with our hearts.
You might begin with Ephesians 1. The Holy Spirit wants to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
© 2023 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2023/12/wisdom-and-revelation-in-your-knowledge-of-him.html
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