Ephesians 1:15-19
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe ..”
Paul praises God for having blessed us in Christ, then he prays that God will open our eyes to grasp the fullness of this blessing. He prays that we will fully understand the hope, riches, and power we have in Christ.
Notice that Paul prays for the knowledge and wisdom of the church, not simply for the knowledge and wisdom of individual Christians. Although it does not come through in the English translation, it is quite evident in the original Greek text that the references to “you” in this passage are plural, not singular.
In order for the church to impact the world the way that God intends, we must have a shared understanding of who we are in Christ. In the book of Ephesians, the Lord is addressing the Christian community, not just individual Christians. This will become increasingly clear as we move through this great book of the bible.
Paul begins this section by saying, “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you …”.
Here are three distinguishing characteristics of a strong and effective Christian life: faith in Jesus, love toward other Christians, prayer and thanksgiving. These three elements are connected.
First is faith in Jesus, which should direct and empower everything we do.
Second, when we believe and have faith in Jesus, then the love of Christ naturally flows from us toward other Christians and toward people in the world. This is not because people are always lovable, because frequently they are not. We love others because we trust in Jesus, and His love dwells in us and moves through us.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” (1 John 3:14)
That is a strong statement: “Whoever does not love abides in death.” The message is that when we fail to love, we operate according to our old fallen nature. We lose sight of God’s standards, and we operate from a place of self-centeredness. In other words, when we fail to love others it is an act of unbelief toward God.
True faith in Jesus always produces real love toward others.
Thirdly, because of their faith in Jesus and love toward others, Paul tells the recipients of this letter that “I do not cease to give thanks for you.” Paul recognizes the vibrant and fruitful spiritual life of the believers in Ephesus, and he continuously thanks God for them.
“Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 106.1)
To summarize: This passage gives us three distinguishing characteristics of a strong and effective Christian life: faith in Jesus, love toward other Christians and people in the world, and prayer and thanksgiving.
