Paul's Prayers for the Ephesians

  1. INTRODUCTION

    1. In the first three chapters of Paul's epistle to the church at Ephesus, Paul sought to communicate an understanding of the vast riches these Gentile Christians had obtained in Christ.

      1. Repeatedly, Paul enumerated the many blessings that Christians receive only in Christ.

      2. These blessings provide the motivation for the actions commanded in the latter three chapters of the epistle.

    2. In this context, Paul twice described prayers that he offered on behalf of the Ephesians. These prayers will be the subject of our study.

      1. The objects of these two prayers are virtually the same, which reinforces how important this purpose was to the apostle Paul.

      2. These prayers are as relevant to us as they were to the Ephesians.  These thoughts should be on our minds as we approach the Father in prayer for ourselves and for others.

         

  2. MAKING MENTION OF YOU IN MY PRAYERS -- EPHESIANS 1:15-21

    1. Paul prayed for the Ephesians to have understanding.

      1. Having heard good reports of the Ephesians' faith and love, Paul gave thanks for them from his prison home in Rome (approx. A.D. 60-61).

      2. Paul's requests for them were pleas for their understanding. Notice verses 17-18:

        17...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.  18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know...

      3. The emphasis of this prayer is unmistakable.  Paul desperately wanted them to have an understanding from God.

      4. Likewise, our prayers for ourselves and for one another should request understanding, and our efforts should comply with our prayers.

        1. James wrote, "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him" (Jas. 1:5).

        2. Such wisdom and understanding do not come miraculously, but rather they come by the power of the Holy Spirit offered through the word of God (2Tim. 3:15-17; 2Pet. 1:20-21).  Therefore, we must make the effort to obtain this understanding as 2Timothy 2:15 indicates:

          Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

    2. Specifically, Paul wanted them to know three things (Eph. 1:18-19).

      1. The first of these is "what is the hope of His calling."

        1. Hope is a confident expectation of a future event.  It is an essential element of faith in Christ (Rom. 8:24-25; Heb. 11:1).

        2. The hope of our calling is given in 2Thessalonians 2:14, which says, "It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

      2. Next is "what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."

        1. Peter describes these riches as "an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you" (1Pet. 1:4).

        2. The knowledge of these riches is necessary for our hope and our endurance in this world.

      3. Third is "what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe."

        1. The power of God is evident in the creation around us (Rom. 1:20).  However, we who are Christians do not always realize the great power of God that is at work in us.

        2. The word of God through the gospel of Christ is the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16-17; 1Cor. 1:18).  Let us understand that God's power to save us from our sins is even greater than His power that created the material world.

    3. These are in accordance with God's power given in the resurrection of Christ (Eph. 1:19-21).

      1. Surely, we are impressed with the "the working of the strength of His might" when God raised Christ from the dead.  It was this feat by which God declared that Jesus is His Son with power (Rom. 1:4).

      2. Proportional to this power is the strength of God in the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

  3. I BOW MY KNEES BEFORE THE FATHER -- EPHESIANS 3:14-19

    1. Paul's prayer involved the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and their effect upon the "inner man" and the hearts of the Ephesians.

      1. Paul said that "every family in heaven and on earth derives its name" from the Father.  In this sense, there is "one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all" (Eph. 4:6).

      2. Paul's request was that the Father "would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man" (Eph. 3:16).

        1. Recall that the power of God for salvation is contained and accessed through the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16-17; 1Cor. 1:18).  It is this power that Paul requested.

        2. This power is through the Holy Spirit.  May it never be said that we do not believe in the working of the Holy Spirit, for He must dwell in us, and we must be individually and collectively a temple to Him (Rom. 8:9-11; 1Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20).  Otherwise, there can be no power of God within us.

        3. This power is for the "inner man" and not for the flesh. Consider 2Corinthians 4:16-18:

          16Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  17For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

      3. The purpose of this request was "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" (Eph. 3:17).

        1. The inner man must be strengthened with power through the Spirit in order for Christ to dwell in the heart through faith.  This strengthening is the building of faith itself.

        2. Jesus taught this very meaning of the indwelling in John 14 when He promised to send the "Spirit of truth" to His apostles and then said in verses 21 and 23:

          21"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him...23If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."

        3. The indwelling of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is not mysterious or difficult to understand.  They dwell in us by faith, and faith comes by hearing the word of Christ, which is God's power for salvation (Rom. 1:16; 10:17).

    2. As with the previous prayer, this prayer had the goal of understanding for the Ephesians (Eph. 3:17-19).

      1. This second purpose for Paul's request was so that the Ephesian Christians...

        17...being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

      2. As with the other prayer, the emphasis of this prayer is unmistakable.  Paul wanted them to have understanding.

        1. A cursory, superficial, and incomplete understanding of God and His word is insufficient and unsatisfying.  We must grow beyond these immature stages into the grace and knowledge of our Lord (Heb. 5:11-14; 2Pet. 3:18).

        2. "All the saints" need a deep, full, complete, and satisfying understanding, and God has made it possible for us to have it.  It is ours for the asking and the taking.

           

  4. CONCLUSION

    1. As we make our daily requests to God, let us not neglect to ask Him for understanding.

      1. The Lord taught us to ask for our daily bread (Matt. 6:11), but He also taught us that "man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4).

      2. Shall we seek only the "food which perishes" and neglect the bread of life (John 6:27, 35)?

    2. Let us seek understanding, and let us praise God, who will grant our petitions, just as Paul said, in Ephesians 3:20-21:

      20Now 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, 21to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.