Ephesians 1:15-19a The First Prayer of the Apostle Paul Ephesians 1:15-19a 12/9/2012

Transcription

1 Ephesians 1:15-19a The First Prayer of the Apostle Paul Ephesians 1:15-19a 12/9/2012 I. Introduction and review A. There is a man that many of you know of, whose name is William Randolph Hearst 1. Is was a famous newspaper publisher, owner and media tycoon 2. His home is now a tourist attraction and is full of many valuable and exquisite works of art 3. This man collected these works of art from all over the world 4. At a point in time, Mr. Hearst was reviewing an art catalog and the works of several well known artists and decided that there were several pieces that he needed to acquire for his collection 5. He therefore engaged his long time art agent and gave him instructions to find these pieces and to acquire them for his collection 6. After a while the agent sent a telegram to Mr. Hearst saying that he had located each of the pieces that he wantedand they were currently being stored in warehouse of their owner, one Mr. William Randolph Hearst 7. Had hearst compared what he wanted with what he possessed, he would have found that the things that he wanted so badly, were already his B. Christians are a lot like that, they don t know what they really have C. Paul has now told us at length how God has blessed us with every spiritual Page 1 of 9

2 blessing 1. There were blessings involving the Father, from the Son, and involving the Holy Spirit 2. We have been chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, enlightened, made an heir, sealed, and secured by the earnest money deposit of the Holy Spirit. 3. Paul now wants believers to embrace, enjoy, and even revel in those gifts D. To that end... he prays for us II. The first prayer of Paul [1:15-19a] A. Who is he praying for? 1. If the book was written only to the Ephesian church, then we must conclude he prayed for them only 2. If the book was written to the church at Ephesus and to certain surrounding churches, then he is praying for the members of those various churches 3. But if he was writing to the Church at Ephesus and to all others who are faithful in Christ, then he was praying for us also 4. Let s look again at verse 1:1 B. He starts out for this reason [1:15] 1. In the KJV they translate it wherefore 2. The Greek is: Dtu/t ia. oo [dia touto] a. On this account b. On account of all of the blessings referred to before, [then this] Page 2 of 9

3 C. He references their faith in this verse also [1:15] 1. tnk h. aqv ùm/j a pisi,tn [ten kath humas pistin] 2. Literally read it says: the down among your faith 3. The preposition kata normally means down, but here it is in the accusative case and should be understood to mean down along 4. It is used in a distributive sense 5. That tells us that Paul is referring to the faith currently existent among the saints and not the faith which was the initial act salvation, that is an everyday faith D. Paul then claims that this faith to which he referred has caused or given these believers a great love for all believers [1:15] 1. This will become more poignant when we come to see the concerns of Paul for the enmity between Jewish believers and Gentile believers E. Paul then indicates that he continues to pray for those to whom he is writing [1:16] F. Now he is going to relate to those to whom this letter was sent, what he has been praying for them 1. He commences indicating that he prays to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ [1:17] a. This refers to our Lord, in His humanity obeying and worshiping the Heavenly Father b. Paul also refers to Him as the Father of glory Page 3 of 9

4 c. But actually the text says the Father of the glory d. Which in the Greek text means the Father to whom the glory belongs 2. Then Paul prays that God give these believers two things [1:17] a. A spirit of wisdom b. A spirit of revelation 3. Paul then prays that we receive these two things in and through the knowledge of Him [1:17] a. In Him refers to God b. This word knowledge is key for us to know and understand (1) both now and in future studies in the book (2) epiwsi v,gnj epignosis {ep-ig'-no-sis} Meaning: 1) precise and correct knowledge 1a) used in the NT of the knowledge of things ethical and divine (3) this Greek word comes from two words (a) the first is gn,k iwsw ginosko {ghin-oce'-ko} Meaning: 1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel 1a) to become known 2) to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of 2a) to understand 2b) to know 3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman 4) to Page 4 of 9

5 become acquainted with, to know (b) and the word epi v, epi {ep-ee'} Meaning: 1) upon, on, at, by, before 2) of position, on, at, by, over, against 3) to, over, on, at, across, against (4) this word may best be understood to mean full or experiential knowledge (a) {give examples} (5) in other words Paul wants us to experientially know or understand a spirit of wisdom and of revelation c. The first thing that Paul prays for is a spirit of wisdom [1:17] (1) the word for spirit is pneuma (2) this is the word used to refer to the spirit of a man (e.g. I Tim. 5:23) (3) it is also the word used to refer to the Holy Spirit (e.g. Acts 1:8) (4) to which does it refer to here? (5) I believe that it should be understand to mean: a disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of anyone (6) what Paul is praying for is that God might so work in the lives of these believers that they will have spiritual wisdom and a revelation from God that is the result of the Holy Spirit s work of energizing their human spirit Page 5 of 9

6 d. The spirit of wisdom what is that? (1) soia f, sophia {sof-ee'-ah} Meaning: 1) wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters 1a) the wisdom which belongs to men 1a1) spec. the varied knowledge of things human and divine, acquired by acuteness and experience, and summed up in maxims and proverbs 1a2) the science and learning 1a3) the act of interpreting dreams and always giving the sagest advice 1a4) the intelligence evinced in discovering the meaning of some mysterious number or vision 1a5) skill in the management of affairs 1a6) devout and proper prudence in intercourse with men not disciples of Christ, skill and discretion in imparting Christian truth 1a7) the knowledge and practice of the requisites for godly and upright living 1b) supreme intelligence, such as belongs to God 1b1) to Christ 1b2) the wisdom of God as evinced in forming and executing counsels in the formation and government of the world and the scriptures (2) consider a verse we looked at last time, Eph. 1:8 He lavished on us, in all wisdom.... (3) we spoke of this wisdom as a knowledge and understanding of the deeper things of God Page 6 of 9

7 (4) there is a series of steps or levels which we go through as we grow as believers (a) (b) (c) (d) the first is faith in God the second is the love of God the third is the obedience toward God and the fourth is our fear of God (e) consider Gen. 22:12 i) give the background of the story ii) iii) what was God testing in Abraham s life? his fear of God (f) consider Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. e. The spirit of revelation what is that? (1) vk,luj apoayi apokalupsis {ap-ok-al'-oop-sis} Meaning: 1) a laying bear, making naked 2) a disclosure of truth, instruction 2a) concerning things before unknown 2b) used of events by which things or states or persons hitherto withdrawn from view are made visible to all 3) manifestation, appearance (2) isn t general revelation closed or completed? (3) but is personal revelation? (4) was it open then but not now, or is it still possible? Page 7 of 9

8 (5) Personal example about 2 months ago (a) Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me and I will answer you, (b) Dan. 9 and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know. (c) (d) the old prayer the new prayer G. Enlightened eyes [1:18] 1. Paul says: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, 2. Spiritual senses a. Hearing 1 Kings 18:41 Now Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower." b. Sight 2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. c. Feel Luke 24:32 They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" Page 8 of 9

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