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Paul's Prayer

Ephesians 1:15-23

Good News Translation (GNT)

15  For this reason, ever since I heard of your
   faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all
   of God's people,
16  I have not stopped giving thanks to God for
   you. I remember you in my prayers
17  and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
   the glorious Father, to give you the Spirit,
   who will make you wise and reveal God to
   you, so that you will know him.
18  I ask that your minds may be opened to see
   his light, so that you will know what is the
   hope to which he has called you, how rich are
   the wonderful blessings he promises his
   people,
19  and how very great is his power at work in us
   who believe. This power working in us is the
   same as the mighty strength
20   which he used when he raised Christ from
   death and seated him at his right side in the
   heavenly world.
21  Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers,
   authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title
   superior to all titles of authority in this world
   and in the next.
22  God put all things under Christ's feet and
   gave him to the church as supreme Lord
   over all things.
23  The church is Christ's body, the completion
   of him who himself completes all things
   everywhere.(a)

   Footnotes
   Ephesians 1:23 who himself completes
   all things everywhere;
   or
   who is himself completely filled with God's
   fullness.

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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

Even though Paul has written this letter to the Ephesians, almost two thousand years ago, it is also written for us today.

If Paul were alive today, would he be able to give thanks for our faith and love?

Paul prays that we, and the Ephesians, might be given the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we might know God better.

Paul further prays that through this wisdom, we might know three things: first, the hope to which God has called us; second, the riches of his glorious inheritance and third, his incomparably great power.

We hope to be free of sin; we hope to be children of God; we hope to be holy and to remain in Christ. We have been called to all of these things, and thus we can place our hope in them.

We have already received the deposit of this inheritance - that is, the Holy Spirit.

The remainder of our inheritance is waiting for us in heaven, where we will be living forever with God and Jesus.

During our Christian lives, we are sustained by God's incomparably great power - his mighty strength. By that power God raised Jesus from the dead and he (Jesus) reigns in heaven over all rule and authority, power and dominion.

He reigns over Satan, and all his spirits and demons. He reigns over evil and over death.

God's power can bring a dead person to life.

And that same power that raised Jesus is available to us who believe. That power is available to us day by day through the Holy Spirit; therefore, let us not fail to ask for it.

All things have been placed under the feet of Jesus - that is, under His authority. When we feel overwhelmed by sin, by weakness, by fear and anxiety, let us remember that all these things have already been put under his authority.

Paul says here that Jesus is the head over everything in the church. The church is His body. and we believers are members of His body.

The church is the fullness of Jesus. But it is not the church that does the "filling"; it is he who fills everything in every way.

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