A strong man (Mt. Probably, ere long the whole will have been opened up to European civilization and commerce. The unaccustomed soil is brought beneath the yoke of the plough. Prayer meetings that support only one aspect of prayer are imbalanced and can quickly be awash in negativity. 2 Peter Living in the light of Your goodness But where are You?. Notice that pisteuo is in the present tense which describes those who are continuously believing as for example would be demonstrated by their lifestyle, which is generally (not perfectly) directed God-ward and Heaven-ward (homeward). Exodus 28:1). When he prayed that believers would know Gods incomparably great power, his idea of knowing came right from the Old Testament. Some of the fairest hopes that ever blessed human vision; the most delightful friendships; the most perfect dreams of delight, have faded and withered before our eyes. Zechariah The Hope of His Calling: A sermon on Ephesians 1:18 - MLJTrust.org The field is the world. 10:13; Eph. It is a powerful work, past, present, and future: Gods power was evident in their conversion, Gods power is evident in their endurance, and Gods power will be evident in their resurrection. Salem Media Group. Paul would say "STOP IT!" The Son has accomplished redemption through His death (Ephesians 1:7) and provided the necessary provisions for an inheritance for the believer (verse 11). This is obvious when the writer of Genesis says that Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived (Gen. 4:1 ESV, emphasis added). These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might. No amount of worldly noise or manmade programming will make up for the sad lack of the Holy Spirit's presence. 2:13). Ephesians 6:10 says, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. 1:19). 10:16; 51:19; etc.). (Daily Bible Study). Thus, His possession is located in the saints. Harold Hoehner -In Eph 1:14 Paul wrote that the Christians inheritance is their final redemption from the presence of sin. Its in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. ", etc (See 5W/H questions). COMMENT - Note how Paul associates our New Creation in Christ (2Co 5:17+) with the creation of the heavens and the earth. How can we fail with Him as our Head and with such power at our disposal? but we barred our gates, and fenced our walls against him. Only here in the NT (hapax legomenon)BDAG -1. quality of exceeding a standard involving physical magnitude (size),2. quality of exceeding a standard of excellence, greatness.". You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. 1 Peter 2:9+ But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR Gods OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 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 servants eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. That view stresses the value God places on us as believers, as demonstrated in Christs death, the forgiveness of our sins, and the abundant grace that He lavishes on us (Eph 1: 78). Don't you think it's time all Heaven broke loose? 8:30), And these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. That sequence is certain! Here in verse 18 he wrote about Gods inheritance, the saints themselves! In 1:18-19, he elaborates on what that means, namely, that God wants us to know three essentials about our salvation that will give us assurance about our high calling as God's people. observe fully, consider attentively denotes action of mind apprehending certain facts about a thing) wonderful (amazing, astounding, marvelous, extraordinary or even difficult - things beyond human capability) things from Thy law. Obadiah Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1Cor. Savor each moment. 26:64), and so in classical Greek used to denote the magistrates or authorities. God can. It grows even taller when he prays that we would know the glory of Gods inheritance in the saints. Mark THOUGHT - God's great doctrine of our calling should cause all the "called of Jesus Christ" to exclaim "Glory! The occasion of it was the foresight the apostle had of false teachers that would spring up in this church, after his death, and spread their pernicious doctrines, and draw away disciples after them, and do great mischief in the church; wherefore the design of this epistle is to establish the saints in the doctrines of the Gospel, that so they might not be carried away with the errors of the wicked: the subject matter of it is most excellent; it treats of the most sublime doctrines of grace, of divine predestination, and eternal election, of redemption by Christ, and of peace and pardon by his blood, of conversion by the power of efficacious grace, and of salvation by the free grace of God, in opposition to works: it also very largely treats of the nature and usefulness of the Gospel ministry, and of gifts qualifying for it, and of the several duties of religion incumbent on Christians; and the method which is used is exceeding apt and beautiful, for the apostle first begins with the doctrines of the Gospel, which he distinctly handles and explains, and then proceeds to enforce the duties belonging to men, both as men and Christians. Throughout Scripture, the word hope always refers to that which is coming, to that which is ahead. Is she supposed to do something about this? Finally, the context both here and throughout Ephesians seems to emphasize the motif of light as a property belonging to believers. Daniel CSB and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength. See related in depth study of the Believer's Blessed Hope. Calmen had expected her former teacher to say, "I knew you could do that.". By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Paul referred to this when he told the Colossians that God's power "worketh in me mightily" (1:29). Note that all three clauses (hope, inheritance, power) are linked to the verb "will know". To each the conception of looking onward is attached; to the "calling" "hope," to the "inheritance" "glory," to the "power" the exaltation of Christ (and of us with Him; see Ephesians 2:6) to the right hand of God. Pray Ephesians 1:17-19 (and other Pauline prayers). That fadeth not away! THOUGHT - MacArthur's comment makes "sense" because if you love Him, you will obey Him (Jn 14:15) and (Spirit enabled) obedience to Him opens the "windows of heaven" to have spiritual blessings poured out (in this case enlightenment) from Him. Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. It is the power of God that made this possible. 8:30), the God who predestined you and called you will also glorify you. Paul is praying for the Ephesians understanding of Gods work on their behalf. Even though God has opened our eyes to see and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we still must seek Him to enlighten the eyes of our hearts so that we will come to a deeper understanding of these crucial truths. 8:3839)! After the supplies had been purchased and were being loaded in the wagon, the owner of the store said to the boy, "Son, you have been such a good boy, I'm going to let you put your hand in the candy jar and get all the candy you can grab." Eph 3:20+ Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us (speaking of the power of the Spirit that continually energizes us - see Php 2:13+, cp the prayer in Eph 3:16+!). 2:11. She begins to pray for direction. I'm no longer bound by sin and darkness 2:1416). Ephesians 1:19 is a power packed passage with 4 Greek synonyms for power that give a great glimpse of the God's manifold power, especially His resurrection power (cf Ro 1:4+). What kind of riches are you looking for? (Ibid). No sin, no corruption, no devils in hell nor sinners upon earth, can stay the hand of God's grace when it intends to convert a man. There is no way for sinful men and women to find their way into Gods presence unless He reveals Himself and appears to us. Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. (Eph 1:3). I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance He has given to his people. What kinds of trials did Paul face? But there are many good reasons to interpret the text this way. THOUGHT - Why do we doubt God's power to deliver us out of our "little Red Sea" experiences? Having been enlightened rests on the observation that you cant see in the dark and implies that the addressees used to live in mental darkness but that at conversion they were transferred into the realm of mental light, so that now they can see what the Spirit reveals to them (Eph 4:1718; Eph 5:8; Colossians 1:13). J C Philpot -It is no great mystery that the Son of God should be exalted to the throne of power. 2:14; 1 Pet. Ephesians 1:18 I. The resurrection power that raised up the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is the power that works in every single believer. Even the ancients considered the heart to be the very center of a person -- the center of knowledge, understanding, thinking, wisdom. (Ephesians 1:18) What an extraordinary combination! Just as His calling (Eph 1:18) issued from Him and was received by believers, so His inheritance issues from Him. 28:19; Acts 17:3031). The analogy that we have quoted, however, fails us utterly in its final working out. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened By the Spirit of God already, to see the exceeding sinfulness of sin; the insufficiency of their own righteousness; the beauty, glory, fulness, and suitableness of Christ, as a Saviour; the excellency, truth, and usefulness of the doctrines of the Gospel; in which their understandings were before dark, but now had light into them: wherefore these words are not to be considered as part of the apostle's petitions, but rather as what was taken for granted by him; and are to be put into a parenthesis, and the following words to be joined in connection with the preceding verse; unless it should be thought, that the apostle prays for greater illuminations, and for more spiritual light, and that the eyes of their understandings might be more and more enlightened; the phrase, (lkvh Nye) , (omma thv dianoiav) , "the eye of the understanding", is Rabbinical, and often to be met with in Jewish writings F6; the Alexandrian copy, and several others, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, "the eyes of your heart"; and to, (twbblh ynye) , "the eyes of the hearts, or minds", is a phrase used by the Jewish writers F7: that ye may know what is the hope of his calling; by which is meant, the effectual calling of the saints; which is not a call to an office, or a call merely by the external ministry of the word; but which is internal, special, powerful, high, and heavenly: and this is the calling of God, of which he is the author; who calls with an holy calling, unto eternal glory by Christ Jesus; and which is without repentance: and the hope of this calling, is either eternal happiness, which is the thing hoped for; or Christ, who is the ground and foundation of it; or the grace of hope, which is exercised on both; or all three: for hope of eternal glory, as it is founded on Christ, may be said to be the hope of the calling of God, because it is wrought in the soul at the time of the effectual calling, and what saints are then called to the exercise of; and calling grace, is an encouragement to hope for eternal life; since whom God calls, he justifies and glorifies: and now the apostle prays, that these saints who were called by the grace of God, might know more of Christ, the foundation of their hope; and what that is they are hoping for, and more and more what it is to hope for the same, upon the view of Christ's person, blood, and righteousness: and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints; the saints themselves are the Lord's portion, and the lot of his inheritance, in whom he is, and will be abundantly glorified; but here it rather seems to design the heavenly inheritance before spoken of, of which the Spirit is the earnest; and this is the Lord's, it is of his preparing, and it is his gift, and a very rich and glorious inheritance it is: hence it is not only signified by mansions, and everlasting habitations, by an house, and by a city, but by a kingdom; the riches of grace are preparatory to it, and the riches of glory are comprised in it; and this is in, or among the saints, who only have a right unto it, and a meetness for it; and what this inheritance is, with the riches and glory of it, will not be fully known in this life; and indeed but little of it is known; so that such a petition as this is always proper and pertinent. The hope that your effectual calling instills is grounded in Gods promises and in Christs accomplishments (1 Peter 1:3), and is characterized by confidently expecting and yet patiently waiting for those promises to be fulfilled. He was sometimes called the New Elijah. In 1916, while pastoring Moody Memorial Church of Chicago, Rader, 30, was asked to preach at Los Angeles Church of the Open Door.