Ephesians 1:15-23 – Berris Patience – 2025 08 31

15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 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. 18 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, 19 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 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NASB 1995)

Transcript:

(Disclaimer: AI generated transcript. Accuracy may vary)

We’re in Ephesians chapter one again and we’re gonna be wrapping up this chapter this morning. Ephesians chapter one, we’re looking at verses 15 to 23 under the theme petition and pray. As Paul closes this section, he as he does so often ends with or focuses on praying for the saints as he does with so many of his churches that he’s written two. So Ephesians chapter one, verses 15 to 23, Paul writes, for this reason, of course, he’s pointing back to the passage, the verses prior, the spiritual blessings that we looked at. So for this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you remembering you in my prayers that the God of for Lord the 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 heart and enlightened that you may know, 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 towards us who believe according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heaven of places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion above every name that is named not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Lord, take your words. Use me Lord to proclaim the truth of your word to your people. God made enrich, hearts made uplift, spirits made, encourage, and Lord where conviction is needed made bring on conviction onto a change and renewed mind. So Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit will lead, guide, and direct for Christ’s sake. Amen. On January 6th, 1822, the wife of a poor German pastor had his son never dreaming that he would one day achieve world renowned and great wealth. When Henrik Shellman was seven years old, a picture of ancient Troy in flames captured his imagination contrary to what many people believed, Henrik argued that Homer’s great poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey were based on a histo, based on a historic fact. And he set out to prove this. In 1873, he uncovered the ancient site of Troy along with some fabulous treasures which belonged, which he rather smuggled out of the country much to the anger of the Turkish government. Schumann became a famous wealthy man because he dared to believed an ancient record, an act on his faith. We discovered previous verses, verses three to verses verse 14, we discovered in these verses that we were born rich, born rich in Christ when we trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But what we need to realize is this id, this reality is not enough to know our riches. We must grow in our understanding of these riches. We must grow in our understanding of this. And if we desire to go and to grow in the glory of God, we have to gain and grasp a good understanding of the riches we have in Christ and how they should impact our living for God. Newspaper publisher, William Randolph Hurst who invested a fortune collecting art, collecting art treasures from all around the world, one day Mr. Hurst found a description of some valuable item that he felt he must own, so he must have this item. So we sent his agent abroad to find these items or this item. And after months of searching, the agent reported that he had finally found the treasures they were in Mr. Hurst warehouse. Hurst had been searching frantically for years for these treasures that he already owned, that he already possessed, that he already had. Had he read, read the catalog of his treasures, he would’ve known that he had them in his possession. He would’ve saved himself so much time and so much money and so much effort if he had just read the catalog that he already had Paul’s desire here for the Ephesians church and for the believers in Ephesus. He desires that they gain an understanding of what great wealth they have in Jesus Christ. And that is my desire for us this morning. Paul knew of the faith and the love that this church displayed. He writes about it in this passage that we’re gonna look at, and he rejoices in the fact that their faith is being displayed, their love for God and their love for one another is on full display. The Christian life has two dimensions to it, faith towards God, that’s the first dimension and love towards men. And you cannot separate these two things. You cannot separate the two faith towards God, love towards men. But Paul knew that faith and love were just the beginning. It’s just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. The Ephesians needed to know a lot more and this is why he prayed for them. This to this end. He prays for them, and this is my prayer for you as well and will continually be my prayer for you. In his prison epistles, his prison letters, Paul never ceases to pray for the believers. He does so in here in Ephesians, and he also does it in Ephesians one. He does it again in Ephesians chapter three, 14 to 21, Philippians chapter one, nine to 11, Colossians, that was read chapter one verses nine to 12. He constantly is praying for the believers while he is in prison. That’s his focus, that’s his heart is not about himself. He’s focusing on those in the body of Jesus Christ. We discover the blessings he wanted his converts to have and to enjoy. And in none of these prayers, as I mentioned, Paul does not pray. If you go through these Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, Paul doesn’t pray for material things for the believers. He doesn’t pray that they’ll be protected from the onslaught of the those who want to persecute him, even though context for that, he doesn’t pray that they’ll be blessed materially. They’ll have stuff upon stuff. His focus, his emphasis is on their spirituality. His focus, his emphasis is praying that God will be glorified and magnified in the lives of these individuals. His prayer, his focus, his thought is to pray that these believers, whether it’s in kalo, COE, Ephesus, Philippi, Rome, wherever it is, that they grow and mature and nurture in the grace and in the knowledge of their Lord and their savior, Jesus Christ. That is the focal point of Paul’s prayer for the churches, for the believers. He does not ask God to give them what they do not have, but they rather praise that God will reveal what they already have to them, that it’ll become so evident in their lives and it’ll be manifested in their actions. So let’s look then at the occasion for the prayer in verses 15 and 16. Paul, for this reason, the fact that God has blessed you immensely because of this, I’ve heard, I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your love towards the saint. I do not cease to give thanks for you. Remember remembering you in my prayers considering God’s extraordinary blessing on the readers in Ephesus experiencing all this blessing, Paul hearing that the believers are displaying such a faith in Christ that they’re displaying such love for one another. Paul is moved to pray for them when he hears of their faith, when he sees the life that they’re living, Paul is moved to pray for them. And the introductory phrase because of this or for this reason, depending on the translation that you have, of course reaches back as I mentioned to the thanksgiving unto the blessings that they have received in Christ. And that is the basis on which Paul prays for the people despite being in chains. As I mentioned earlier, Paul’s concern was not for himself, it wasn’t concern for his freedom. And this is the kind of heart that leaders have to develop a heart for the body of Jesus Christ. Not selfish, not for self, but not only leaders. This is the kind of heart that each believer should have towards one another. That’s what Paul talks about in the in Philippians chapter one, look not on your own things, don’t just be concerned about the things, your things or the things that concerns you, but also on the interest of others. Let each of you esteem each other better than yourselves. And Paul is on displaying that what he preaches, Paul is living what he preaches in the in Philippians. He wasn’t concerned that he was in jail, he wasn’t concerned that he was imprisoned. And again, going back to Philippians, Paul talks about the fact that listen, I’m in pre jail. It doesn’t matter to me. I have have, I have a glorious opportunity to proclaim the gospel to the pretor, to high officials. And I’m rejoicing in that fact that these men and probably women are hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ because I’m in chains, because I’m in prison. And he said, because of my faith, because of what I’m doing here in prison, you have developed a confidence to proclaim Jesus Christ to the world in the free world in which you’re living. Paul wasn’t concerned of his freedom or his wellbeing or his welfare. In fact, again, going back to Philippians, he said, look, I’d rather be with Christ. I’m ready to die, but it’s better. You guys prefer me to still be here on this earth. Paul was deeply concerned or deeply touched, rather by the manifestation of God’s grace in the life of the church in prison, he’s hearing of God’s grace being on full display in the life of the believers. Wouldn’t that be something for this community, for the world, for Canada to hear of the faith that is on display, God’s grace being on full display here at Bowmanville Baptist Church, It inspired Paul to pray for the church as a result, recognizing God’s grace in their lives and in the lives of the believers and G, our compelled Paul to pray for them, but he also praised God for them. Hence why it’s petition and praise the second occasion for this prayer brought out in the words after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love to all the saints, faith and love to great words that the note, the leading of grace and the leading of God’s grace in the lives of believers faith was essentially means trust. May he refer to either the reader’s initial believing and accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ unto salvation and also in their ex conduct of fidelity. And I would argue that it’s both their faith that they put in Jesus Christ to receive salvation and the faith that they’re continually displaying. They were on display here, But not just their faith that they have in Christ, the faith that they put in Christ for salvation and the faith that they’re continually having in Jesus Christ and placing rather in Jesus Christ. But Paul says, I’m hearing about you loving one another, something that Paul desires for all the church, something that John desires, something that Jesus Christ desire. Paul saying, listen, you actually love each other and this is a sacrificial love. This is a a love that puts self last. This is a love that puts the needs of your brother and the needs of your sister above yourself. And Paul says, I’m hearing this while I’m in prison and this is commendable and I’m praying that God will continue to stir up this kind of faith that your faith will increase and that your love for one another will continually increase and grow. Paul was very encouraged by these believers, persevering, growing. There may also be a sense in which he was grateful that all who have come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior since his time ministering to the church in Ephesus was very evident. He seen the fruit of his labor and he’s like a proud father seeing that the message that he’s preaching to the church, they’re living it. They’re living it. They may not be perfect saints, there may be flaws here and there, but Paul senses that these be believers are on the right track and they’re going in the right direction according to the word of God. They’re loving God as they should. They’re loving the brothers and sisters as they should. The world is seeing that these people belong to God and they’re a united front. I wanna highlight a few things as we look at the occasion for this prayer. Paul’s prayer stems from a common ground that the believers share and that is their faith in Jesus Christ that is very obvious. He prays for them and makes petition for them because of their union with Jesus Christ. That’s why he prays for them. They have a common ground and that same common ground is why they continually to dis continue to display faith that they continue to strive to maintain the unity. That’s why they continue to display love for each other because they are serving the same Lord. They were saved by the same Lord Jesus Christ. So they have the same mindset, the same ideology. Secondly, Paul prays for the church, and again I mentioned this, this is a duty. This is expected of all believers, not just the leaders in the church. Yes, we’re called to do so as leaders even more, but it’s expected of every single one of us that we pray, pray for each other, pray for one another, and Paul does this. Third, he praises God for the saints. He’s grateful to God for them, genuinely, sincerely grateful to God to have encountered believers like this in his life and again seeing the love that they’re displaying and the faith that they have for God on full display, the grace of God being shed abroad in their lives and expelled outwards. Fourth Paul hears that the church is display displaying Christlike, Christlike character christlikeness towards each other, their faith in Christ, both for salvation and perseverance, the love for God and their manifestation of those attributes. This singular verse, verse 15, if taken to heart, changes drastically the entire dynamic of the church of Jesus Christ. These two verses praying for one another, living the life that God has called us to live in faith and in love. If we take these two verses to heart, this will change drastically the dynamic of the church. I guarantee you this, I guarantee you this. Paul says, I don’t seize, I don’t, I don’t cease to pray for you and this is his ongoing petition and praise. As we move to verses 16 to seven to 19, I don’t 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 the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him having eyes of the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you. Now we see that Paul is very thankful to God for the church, for the church in Ephesus. Paul says, every time I hear hear of you, every time I think of you, every time your thought, a thought of you pops into my mind. What happens? I pray for you. I pray for you. Is that our attitude when somebody pops in our minds, do we right away go to God and pray for that individual or those individuals? When we think of our church outside of the context of Sunday morning and we’re out there in the world and we’re thinking of Bowmanville Baptist Church is our first instinct to pray for the church is our first instinct to pray for one another. That’s what Paul is saying here, folks, Paul, every time you come into my thoughts, I’m praying for you. And he of course he’s gonna divulge into what he prays for specifically, but the fact of the matter is possible. I’m praying for you every time I think of you and I give God thanks for you. Not just praying but thanking God that he saved you, that he is lavishly restored upon you. All these blessings that you are striving and moving towards godliness. Pastor, I give God thanks for that. That is the heart’s desire of Paul to see the people of God move closer and closer to their Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Paul could have said, I give thanks for you and leave it there, but he wanted to make sure that the church knew how often he prays for them. I know often, often those prayers starts off with thanking God for them. He does not cease to give thanks for the church every time they’re present in his mind. I know that this is not just the church in Ephesus, I’ve hinted at this, But let me expound. It’s not just Ephesus. Paul often reports to his church or to his churches in the beginning of his letters with Thanksgiving to God for the church he does. So in Romans chapter one passage that was read, he does so in one Corinthians chapter one, Philippians as mentioned earlier, he does. So Colossians chapter one, first Thessalonians chapter one, second Thessalonians chapter one and Philemon verse four. He doesn’t cease to thank God for the people that God has brought his way that he has shared the gospel with and that that the gospel has transformed their lives and is continuing to transform their lives and renewing their minds. He never ceases to give thanks for them. The word give thanks which occur occurs in verse 16 is very Pauline and it’s found 26 times in Paul’s writings 26 times in Paul’s writings in his letter to the Romans for example, he thanks God for their faith that is spoken of throughout the world. May that be Bowmanville Baptist Church in one Corinthians. He writes of his gratitude for the grace of God which was given in Jesus Christ. He thanks God upon every remembrance of the believers in Philippi. And the second letter to the Thessalonians, he writes, we are bound. We are bound, we’re compelled. Paul says, I can’t but give thanks to God always for you. Paul sees it as not something that he does. Occasionally Paul sees it as an obligation to give thanks. We are bound to give thanks to God for you. The basis for this Thanksgiving has nothing to do with anything that Paul has personally received from the Philippians or from the if the believers in Ephesus, rather it’s based on God’s powerful work in the lives of these people, in the lives of these readers, their faithfulness to the word of God, they have experienced God’s graced God’s grace. It has changed their lives and Paul is profoundly grateful to God for this. So let me ask you this. Bowmanville Baptist church members, friends who are here, how thankful are you for the body of believers that is sitting in front of you or beside you or behind you? How thankful are you? How thankful are you for this church? How grateful to God are you to have people that are a part of this church in your lives? How grateful are you for each, for each other? This is Paul’s heart and this should be the heart of every single believer to have this graciousness to God for those that he has placed in our lives. Paul was not unmindful of the moral and spiritual deficiencies that exist or may have exist in the church, but he was the kind of man who was able to also recognize the good in the church. So he didn’t just highlight and point out the bad and Paul wasn’t afraid to do this one. Arthur speaks of the frequency of Paul’s thanksgiving as indicating the prevalence in him of a bright joyous state of mind. And he adds constantly to recognize God’s goodness in the past, begets a larger expectation of it in the future. So if we constantly are recognizing how good God is to us, this is what this author is saying, then by default we expect far greater things from an all powerful God in the future, knowing by faith that he can do greater than he has been doing in our lives thus far. Three things may be said, few things may be said about Paul Thanksgiving As expressed in the present. First, That for which he’s especially grateful is the good news of their faith and their love towards one another. Second is his gratitude that is constant and continual. He doesn’t cease to pray for these individuals. And third, he addresses the God of glory, the God of our Lord and our savior. Jesus Christ. The apostle recognized that God is the true fountain of all that is good in his people. And James would say amen to this because James says every good and perfect gifts gift comes from the Father above. What does Paul pray for for this church? For this church? Verse 17, he prays that the Holy Spirit would grant wisdom to this, to these believers. That’s the first request that Paul prays for. He prays that the believers he is addressing would grow in their knowledge for God grow in their knowledge for God, knowing that this cannot happen apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul prays that the spirit will grant them wisdom and reveal insight to them about the glorious God whom they’re serving In his description of God, Paul closely associates the one God with the Jesus of Nazareth, whom he calls and terms the Messiah. This is a reiteration of what, of a similar designation for God at the beginning of the blessings that we looked at at the outset of this letter. It is in and through Jesus Christ that God has fulfilled his promises. It is in and through Jesus Christ that God has brought redemption to the world and it is in and through Jesus Christ. As I mentioned when we’re looking at these blessings that God will continue to grow and mature and nurture his church into Christ’s likeness. And Paul appeals to the powerful and glorious father to give his spirit to the believers, which he already did, that they, that the spirit, the Spirit rather that they already possess will grant a deeper wisdom, a deeper knowledge of God, that the spirit will allow the believers and the believers will allow the Holy Spirit of God through the word of God to cultivate a deeper knowledge of who God really is. And again, Paul gives us a picture of that earlier, the God who chose us, he adopted us, et cetera. But there is even more knowledge that Paul wants these believers to grasp about the greatness and the glorious nature of the God that they serve. Consequently part of the spirit’s ministry as the Ephesians Christians are filled to a greater measure with the spirit’s presence is to help them. And the same with us is to help us to grow in a deeper understanding and deeper in our relationship with the true and living God. That is one of the work of the Holy Spirit. What Paul is referring to here is not new truth about salvation, the nature of God or other doctrine, but an illuminating work of the Holy Spirit of God to impress already revealed the truth, the word of God to the hearts and to the minds of the people of God. Paul wants the believers to grow deeper in their knowledge of Jesus Christ. And he talks about this in the Philippines chapter three, verse 10 that I may know him and this is Paul here. Paul takes the Philippians out of the equation momentarily and said that I, me Paul May know him, may know Jesus Christ and may know the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering being made conformable to his death. Paul said, I want to know more about Jesus Christ, the same Paul that goes from place to place, establishing churches, preaching and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Paul has this deep desire and I I can assure that he had the desire to his final breath. He wants to know more about God. He wants to know about ge, more about Jesus Christ. He wants to know more about the Lord and Savior that I saved him that has transformed his life. How much more we are we, how much more us We must church. We must grow in our knowledge of God. John talks about this knowing God so much in the epistles, especially the fir epistle First John, God, Paul, the word of God, the Spirit of God is compelling us and moving us to know God more personally in salvation John 17 three, we are desire, we’re we should desire to know him more increasingly in sanctification, as I just read our quoted from Philippians three 10, we’re we should desire to know him perfectly and since we are made in the image of God, the better we know God, the better we know ourselves or the better we’ll know each other. When we start focusing on self, that’s where we lose sight of who God really is. But once we get focusing on God and knowing God better, because then we’ll realize how we ought to live as image bearers of God and we’ll know each other better and know ourselves better. It is not enough. It’s not enough to know God only as savior. It’s good. Yes, but it’s not. That’s not enough. We must grow in him. We must get to know him as our Father, God the Father. We must get to know him as our friend. We must get to know him as a guide. And the better we know him folks, the better we know him, the more satisfying our spiritual lives will be. And you can analyze this statement for yourself. How much closer do you feel to God the more you dive into the word of God and the more the Holy Spirit illuminates your mind and reveals to you the God that you serve, how much more spiritual do you feel compared to when you know that little the way you and I prove that we know God. John tells us this multiple times in his epistles and in include in um, the gospel account of John, how we prove to our, to the our believers around us, how we prove to the world, how we prove to God that we know him is when we keep his commandments. John said, this is how you’re gonna prove that you actually know God by keeping his commandment, keeping his words. Paul desires that the believers know God more intimately, more personally, have a deeper knowledge of the God that has saved them and transformed them and transferred them from the dominion of darkness into the marvelous light. But he also wants them to be aware of their hope, the hope that they have in Christ that you may know the hope. What is the hope to which he has called you? What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints? The ancient world was characterized by a profound absence of hope And we see this in Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians skip over chapter two verse 12. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers of the covenant of pro promise having no hope. No hope and without God in this world, The ancient world was this was the ancient world. No hope hopeless, a common statement not to be born at all and this was a statement that used to be echoed in the ancient world, not to be born at all. That is by far the best fortune. The second best is to die as soon as one is born that could not picture a more hopeless state of a human being. Hopelessness. This is what the statement echoes not to be born at all is the best fortune and the second best is to be to die as soon as you’re born born. This perspective, this perspective was not so for those who have been transformed by the power of Jesus Christ, the acceptance of Christ and the understanding of his resurrection unveiled a new realm of unforeseen wonder and glory for the people of God. The future ceases to be a source of dread or it should for us. I hope it is. It ceases or it should cease to be a dread. Instead, it could now be approached with eager anticipation and confidence. As I prayed earlier in my pastoral prayer, we shouldn’t look at the future with dread and fear and terror. Yes, it’s uncertain. Yes. We don’t know what lies ahead. We don’t know what the next minute or hour has for us and has prepared for us. But here’s what we know folks. We have a sovereign God that is in total control of every single aspect of our lives. A God was promised us that we are of anybody on this planet are more hopeful. We have a God that has promised that he will be there for us regardless of the hardship and the circumstances that come our way. We are a hopeful people, not because we can do things in and of ourselves, but because of the hope that God has given us through his Holy Spirit and through his son Jesus Christ. We look to the future with joy and ex and great anticipation not because of what bear can do, what? Because the leaders of this church can do what? Because you can do, but because of the God that we serve. That’s our hope. Folks and pastor, I want you to be aware of this hope you are not hopeless. You are not swimming in a sea of hopelessness anymore that has changed. So your outlook on life, your outlook on your spirituality, your outlook, and who you are as a believer in Jesus Christ must be in conformity to the hope that you have in God. That’s our hope. The hope the in scripture, The term hope is employed in two distinct manners. It could be used objectively to refer to things that are hoped for as in the case with Colossians one verse five, which serves an which serves as an illustration to the hope that we have laid up for us in heaven in this context that we have in front of us. In Ephesians hope pertains to the outcome or the result of redemption, representing the ultimate fulfillment of God’s purpose concerning his people. So when Paul prays that his readers may know of this hope he’s requesting not only that they comprehend its true essence, but also that they grasp its breath and its significance. Conversely, hope can also be understood in an object, in a subjective manner referring to an expectant attitude, the absolute certainty of future joy. For instance, one, Peter one verse 13, set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought onto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Romans chapter five, verse two, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God to no hope in this context means to have conscious experience of it. You’ve experienced it. Hence Paul was praying that his readers, that the believers in Ephesus and by default, by application us who have already possessed this hope within our hearts, might come to experience its power in an ever-growing measure. It is also quite plausible that this passage contains a fusion of both the subjective and objective concept Of hope. So both things that we’re hoping to get in the future and our experience of it, we are hopeful. Paul wants his readers to be aware of this. He wants them also to be aware of their value to God. Something that sometimes we question off and we question a lot, why choose me? Why did you save me? And though those are valid questions to ask contextually, We have to come to the place in our Christianity where we realize how valuable we are to God. We have to come to that place. In the latter part of verse 18 said to the hope to which he’s called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints? Something that Paul already made mention of earlier in this passage, that inheritance language, God has predestined us. God has selected us, he chose us before the foundation of the world. God has adopted us as his own. The people of God were referred to during the Exodus as his inheritance, but they are your people, your irritants that you brought out by great power and with your outstretched arm in Deuteronomy 9 29 throughout the Old Testament, God’s people continue to be recognized as his inheritance and multiple scriptures for that. And through Jesus Christ, his sense on God has once more accomplished a significant redemption and assembled a people to his own possession. Ephesians one, verse 14, his inheritance. I want you to think of inheritance in our day in our context. You have a rich relative passes away and you are in line to receive every single penny of his riches or his wealth that will change the outlook financially, ma materially of your life significantly. I want you to think of inheritance in that light because God, Paul is saying we you, you that are sitting there that have been transformed by the power of God, you God’s inheritance. That’s how important, that’s so significant. You are to the God that you serve your God’s inheritance. Not because he desperately needs any of you, but because by his grace and his love and his mercy, he shows you as Paul reminds us early in the text, before the foundations of the world, you are special to God. And Paul wants the believers to realize that, to let this knowledge permeate their being and fuse into the world in which they’re living, this is an absolutely amazing truth that God should look on me. God should look on us as a part of his great wealth, that our powerful God that needs nothing, that needs nothing from human beings, from human hands looks at us, those whom he saved and called to his purpose as a part of his great wealth when Jesus Christ returned. Paul reminds us in Ephesians one verse six, that we will be to the praise of his glorious grace. Paul wants you to realize and may aware of how special you are to God, but he also wants us to be aware of the power of God. He wants us to be aware of the power of God. In verse 19, the ultimate and concluding request is for God to grant these believers an understanding of the immeasurable greatness of his power, a power that is active in the lives of each believer. Paul expresses this with a great emphasis by employing diverse range of terms related to the power of God and it’s just to again, stress the immensity of the power and the greatness of the God that we serve. Paul is not merely attempting to construct or instruct these believers regarding the enormity of God’s power. He firmly believes that this truth must ultimately be engraved upon the hearts of the believers through the spirit’s revelation. He’s informing the readers that he’s engaged in persistent prayer for this to occur, that the believers will come to the realization of how powerful the God they service. And folks, I really don’t think we, we say it, we we, we know the terms, we can define the terms the omnipotence of God and the sovereignty of God, but I don’t think we come to that realization due to our actions. I don’t really believe we come. We have the understanding and Paul knew this and that’s why he was praying that the believers not only have a head knowledge that yes God is powerful, but they they have that heart knowledge that will propel them into the future with great hope and anticipation that folks is why we can face this future with absolute certainty because of the power of God. That’s why he didn’t just want them to get this in their head. Yes, he’s powerful. Look at what he did. He made the stars and the moon and the entire universe just by speaking in them into being no, he wanted the believers to get the heart understanding of the power of God, the power that God that God has and he’ll get more into this power when we get to the last three chapter three verses, Paul firmly believes that this truth needs to be engraved on our hearts, not just in our heads. He’s informing the believers, he’s informing his readers that he’s engaged in constant prayer, that God will reveal this to them. So Bowmanville Baptist Church, I encourage you take heart and rest in the power of your God. Take heart and rest in the power of your God. We don’t know the future, but we know who holds the future in his hands. We know who controls the future and if that’s the case, why are we gonna worry? Why we should be concerned? God has it planned out to perfection according to His glory. God has gone through great length and hear this, listen to this, take heat of this. God went through great length to bring salvation to us who are sitting here and to millions, millions of others in the world. He went to great length to make us his own possession. That sending his son Jesus Christ into this world, his one and only son, to be brutally beaten, battered on a cross. I think we should be take assurance from that, that God has you in the palm of his hands, he has you. And I hope you take comfort in that truth. Take comfort in that truth. As we wrap up, we look at the power of God on this play in verses 20 to 23, the same power Paul said that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seeded him at the right hand in the heaven, the places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion above every name that is named not only in this age but in the one to come and put all things under his feet and gave him head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that fulfills all in all. As Paul ends his petition, the sec, the petition section of his prayer, he ends on a note of the power that is available to the believers through our great God. He ends this section and the chapter by expounding on the greatness of the power of God is as though we say, and I’ve showed you these things, I’m going back to verse five or verse three and reminding you of this is what the awesome, all powerful God did. He saved you. He chose you before the foundation of the world, the world that he created, which is implied in that statement, but it’s as if that wasn’t convincing enough for the believers to say, man, this God is really powerful. This God is truly awesome. He’s truly marvelous. He’s truly amazing. So Paul ends by expounding on the greatness of the of the power of God. And again, by way of reminder to us of the magnitude of the power of God that we serve. The first thing that Paul says is this, God is so powerful that he raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrection of Christ from the dead was and still is the fundamental foundational truth and conviction of the church since the beginning. It’s a fundamental doctrine of scripture that if denied, you cannot call yourself a Christian or a believer. And Paul speaks of the resurrection of Christ innumerable times throughout his letters. The bodily resurrection of Christ was so important to Paul’s view of the church that he told the the church in Corinth that if Jesus Christ, if God in his all powerful didn’t raise Jesus Christ from the dead, everything we are doing is futile. Everything we’re doing is vain. Everything we’re doing is worthless. It has no meaning. And furthermore, we’re still in our sins. We’re still without hope in this world. We have not been adopted. We have not been conformed to the image of Christ. If Jesus Christ isn’t raised from the dead, the power, the power of God is seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, people measured God’s power by his creation. Isaiah did this in Isaiah 40 or by the miracles that he did when Israel was in ex well coming out of Egypt, Jeremiah 16. But today, how do we measure God’s power? It’s by the work of Jesus, by the resurrection rather of Jesus Christ. Much more was involved than merely raising him from the dead for Christ also ascended. Paul talks about this in Philippians, said he was humiliated, he was beaten, but God has given him a name. The same idea here that is above every other name. God has highly exalted Jesus Christ and placed him in a position that only him can have. John in Revelation said, I saw the scroll and there was nobody worthy to open the scroll. And then he looked and he saw behold the lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world. John, before he saw the lamb was hopeless. John, before he saw the lamb, said, man, we’re doomed. But then he saw the one that was slain before the foundation of the world. And you can feel the countenance, you can sense the, the emotion just change from hopelessness to we have hope because the exalted one is worthy to open the scroll. God has given him a name that is above every name. And Paul says here that he doesn’t say in Philippians that this name is above every name in this earth and in the earth and in the age to come no authority. Paul says, no authority, no human being, nothing in the spirit world, nothing. Folks think of how powerful some men are. Think of how powerful the enemy is. And Paul, there’s nothing in this world, in the outer world, in the world to come that is more powerful than our God, our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. He’s a sovereign one. He’s not only just savior, he’s a sovereign one. How does this then apply to the church today in Ephesians 1 22 to 23, Paul explains the practical applica application here because we are believers, we are in the church. That’s what Paul, that’s the idea that Paul is trying to bring about. He has put everything under his feet. And the idea there is a submission where the the foot of Christ is on the neck of his enemy. That’s the power of our God. Paucity as gee God. God the Fathers put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things pertaining to the church. And that is something profound. It’s not Bear’s Church, it’s not Pastor Dave’s church in a sense, it’s not your church, it’s God’s church. It’s the church of Jesus Christ. And I again remind you of what he says to Peter in Matthew 1618 upon this rock himself. The confession that Peter make is I came right after the confession that you are the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus said, Peter, upon this rock, the rock that you just confessed upon myself, I Jesus Christ will build my church and the gates of hell will never, future promise, never prevail against it. Folks, our head is bigger than the enemy that is under his foot. And I really hope we grasp that God has placed everything under his power, his control. Colossians tells us that passage that was read early as well. And we can take comfort in that In the four gospels, we see God’s power at work in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Well, fascinatingly, we see the same power of God in work in ordinary men and women, in acts in the church, members of the body of Christ. Remember Peter, not Peter Heron, Peter the Apostle who denied Jesus Christ sore. I do not know the man Peter who thought I would, I would die with you. Jesus. What are you talking about? Betray? What are you talking about? Deny. Come on Peter. Who wept bitterly after he denied Christ three times we saw a powerful transformation. The same Peter who ran away from a, a slave girl or a, a worker, a girl in the courtyard in fear. It’s the same. Peter Acts chapter four, stand up when the council, these powerful men, 70, I believe 70, 72 men said, listen, say whatever you want. Preach about whoever you want. Stop talking about this Jesus person. Peter said, well, you know what? Do whatever you will beat us. Throw us in prison, but we will not stop speaking Jesus Christ. Folks, that’s the power of God and display in the lives of Peter. Once he came to the realization that this power is available to me through the grace and the mercy of God, through the spirit that is working in me, I can stand boldly for God. I can face the future with great certainty and great hope because of the power that God has and the control that God has. What a transformation and the difference was the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. Paul’s heart reverberates in praise of the God who has blessed his people in an extraordinary manner through Jesus Christ. He praises God for the faith that the church is exhibiting. He praises God for the love that they’re showing each other. And that is beyond a shadow of the doubt being exhibited in the community in which they live now hundreds of miles away incarcerated, unable to visit them or assist them in any physical way. Paul is grateful to God when he receives news that these people in Asia Minor, these believers are robust and they’re on fire for God. Tangible disp, display, display of God’s grace in their lives. Paul tells these dear believers how he constantly prays for them. They live in an environment where there was many gods many immorality. The temple of Diana was in Ephesus, very immoral place. All kind of immorality went down there. Worshiping idols were very prevalent in Ephesus. And Paul asserts that he prays to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not to any of these God, not to Diana, our Venus or any of these other gods are the Roman, um, emperor serve, but the God of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the God who has bestowed on you salvation through Jesus Christ, the prophesied Messiah. He is the one true God who lives in expressible, inexpressible glory, but imparts his glory and power on behalf of his people. Paul repeatedly praised that God will cause his indwelling spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit that came after Jesus Christ ascended and seeded at the right hand of the Father to impart wisdom and knowledge to these individuals that they will grow deeper in their knowledge and understanding of who God really is, how God really saved them, the length to which God went to save them, and to raw salvation for them. And that that knowledge of God will be manifested in their lives and that will draw them closer and closer to Jesus Christ. He prays His prayer is essential, that they will receive profound spiritual illumination and insight from the Holy Spirit of God that dwells them. And I pray this very same message for all of us today, for all of you today, and I sincerely hope, sincerely hope that you are praying this exact prayer. Go over it again and use it. You can personalize it. Insert, instead of Ephesus or the believers of Ephesus, insert Bowmanville Baptist Church. I sincerely hope that you’re praying in the same manner for each person that is here this morning for each member adherence to this church, I pray that this church will be a beacon that God has called or the beacon that God has called it to be in this community. I pray that your love for one another will abound more and more through the grace and mercy of God. I pray that we will develop an attitude of prayer like Paul, for all the churches that he has come in connection with. Prayer is powerful folks. We underestimate it. We use it so little, we read about it and we know all the fanciful stuff about it, but we underestimate the power of prayer in our lives. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will prompt us to utilize this great gift that God has given us as we’re reminded in Hebrews, once upon a time we have to go through priest, but now we go boldly to the throne of grace where we can obtain mercy and find grace to help in times of trouble. Take heart. Your hope is sure, your hope is certain that because of anything that you and I can ever do, but because our faithfulness through the Holy Spirit of God to His word and through the all powerful God who controls the future that we’re heading in, father, we are so grateful, so thankful for your love towards us. God forgive us when we have failed to pray earnestly, sincerely for one another, uphold each other constantly daily in our prayers. Lord, forgive us when we have neglected to pray in general. Forgive us when we have belittled, the imen, the immensity of your power in our lives, our lack of faith towards you, our lack of love towards you, our lack of love towards one another. And I pray, Lord, that you’ll strengthen us and our you’ll increase our love for you. You’ll increase us our knowledge of you. You’ll increase our faith in you and by default, our hope in you. God, we’re grateful for these reminders and this heartfelt prayer of Paul to the church in Ephesus, as he so often does to the churches that he writes to. And God, may we employ this kind of attitude and this prayer life in our lives, for your sake, for your glory. Strengthen each believer that’s here, Lord. You know where each heart is. You know where they are. We all are spiritually. But I pray that as this service closed or closes, we will all feel that we’ve been drawn, uh, that much closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to be image like imitators of him through the adherence of your word in our lives, for Christ’s sake. Amen.