Ephesians 1:17-19
“… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the 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 toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.”
Paul prays that the Lord will enlighten “the eyes of our hearts” so that we might know and understand the hope, riches, and power that we have in Christ. Paul does not pray a general prayer, such as “Lord please bless the Ephesians.” No, he prays quite specifically that the Lord would enlighten the hearts of the believers in Asia Minor and Ephesus (and us) so that we would comprehend and act upon these three realities of life in Christ.
Keep in mind that when scripture speaks of “knowing” or “understanding” a truth or a principle, it is always with action in mind. Not mere concepts or principles, but action and daily practice.
The first reality that Paul prays that we would understand is “the hope to which he has called you.” Hope concerns the future. When I read this, my thoughts go immediately to Romans 8:18-21:
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
The phrase “bondage to decay” is an accurate description of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the law of entropy, which states that everything in the universe is running down, that it is declining and deteriorating. This decay is the result of the sin which entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden.
Notice what Romans says. Although sin, death, and decay entered the world because of man’s sin, there is the hope (the promise) that the creation will, at some point in the future, be liberated from its bondage to decay.
Romans 8 goes on to say: “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
The hope which scripture speaks of is not wishful thinking; rather, it is confident expectation. It is firm assurance. This is what Paul prays that we will understand and act upon. As Romans says, the redemption of our bodies and the restoration of the earth is “hope” because we don’t see it yet. And even though it is unseen, it is nonetheless firm assurance because God is faithful, and our trust is in him and his promise.
Paul says an interesting thing. He says that God has “called” us to this hope. This means that the Lord has called us to live each day in the confidence that he will fulfill his promise to restore the earth and redeem our bodies. Paul is saying: given the reality of the incredible blessings you will receive in the future, here is how God wants you to live today.
This message is echoed in Titus 2.11-13: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ …”.
Our future is certain. Our hope is secure. Let us then live and work every day in the confidence of the reality of that hope.
