Ephesians 1:15-23
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints… (v. 15) This is a strange sentence coming from Paul, the “I have heard…” portion. He had spent two to three years in Ephesus, so he knew well of their faith – a faith that he had brought to them and encouraged in them. So why the present perfect tense? It is extremely unlikely that Paul could have written this letter before he had ever visited Ephesus. Bible scholars also wonder about this construction, with explanations like news coming to Paul in prison about a major growth in the Ephesian Christian community or in the surrounding cities if this letter were to be one of his circular letters. Strange.
…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places… (vv. 17-20).
Three items related to these four verses. First, yes, Paul has another triad here (what, what, what), one of his more distinct triads and possibly one of the first that ever came to mind for me. Second, a comment about Paul and his pronouns… There are nine third-person pronouns (He, Him, His) in these four verses. Having read it over and over again my guess is that all the first seven of those pronouns refer to God the Father and only the last two refer to Jesus. But it’s not clear unless you look closely. Finally, the third “what” phrase in those verses has “toward us” as a prepositional phrase, meaning that His power is available to us. I believe that we can also add “toward us” or “for us” as additional phrases in the first two “what” phrases, so that they would read “His calling [for us]” and “His inheritance [for us]”. That is, God the Father has called us, has an inheritance for us, and has made His power available to us. That’s a lot of His working in our lives. GLORY!!!
Slava Bohu!
I was reminded in vv. 16-17 that our intercessory prayers are not just for health or specific needs but that God may give them a spirit of wisdom (Holy Spirit) and revelation to know Him, His power, and His glory.
SO true, Debbie!
We often pray for physical aspects of life; prayer for a spirit of wisdom (Holy Spirit) and revelation to know Him, His power, and His glory–these should account for a much greater percent of my prayers for others, and myself!