Articles
What We Should Know
Early in Paul’s letter to the disciples in Ephesus, he told them that he did “not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” (Eph. 1:16), and then notes some of the things for which he prayed on their behalf. It is those things that are worthy of note, for they are things every Christian should know. Let us consider his inspired words and then consider why we, too, need to know these things.
God! Paul begins by saying he prayed for them, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). It might seem strange that Paul would write to Christians about this, but far too many people today who profess to be Christians do not know God as they should. Some know something about God, but do not really know God! The knowledge Paul prays that they have of God is that which comes by spending time with Him and making Him a major part of their lives.
But that knowledge of God is also essential to eternal life. Jesus prayed to the Father, “And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). What did he mean by that? Paul put it in negative terms that I believe we can understand: “God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:6-8). You see, knowledge of God is not an insignificant matter!
We cannot hope to have a true knowledge of God — and we cannot presume to know Him — unless He reveals Himself to us. Paul prayed that God would “give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). At the time, that may have come by special revelation (cf. 1 John 2:20, 27), but whether in that way or by a gift of knowledge and wisdom given by Him (cf. 1 Cor. 12:8), at the time of the establishment of the church, it was needed to reveal the will of God after the apostles had gone and until the written word was available. For us today, we have the written word which, when we read, may understand (Eph. 3:3, 4). For us today, the knowledge we must have includes — begins with — God. The knowledge of God comes through a continuous study of His word. It is only through that study that we may truly come to “know God.”
The Hope of His Calling. Paul further stated that part of his prayer for them was “that you may know what is the hope of His calling” (Eph. 1:8). While there is much misinformation in the world about the calling of God, the Bible is not so confusing. Peter reminded the early Christians that God “called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9); Paul reminded the Thessalonian brethren that God “calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:12), and that the call came “through our gospel” (2 Thess. 2:13, 14). Paul prayed that the brethren in Ephesus, too, might know that calling. He wanted them to not just know about the gospel message; he wanted them to acknowledge that as the call to salvation, for there is no other means.
The hope that we speak of here, of course, is eternal life. As Paul wrote to Titus, it is the “hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” (Titus 1:1, 2); it is the hope of eternal life made possible through the death of Jesus Christ (Titus 3:6, 7). It is not for just anyone who makes the claim but only those who have been made His heirs that have this hope, and it is only those who have obeyed the gospel who are His heirs (cf. Gal. 3:26-29) because of what Christ has done for us (Gal. 4:4-7). Through his own writings in this letter to the Ephesians, Paul will help these brethren to fulfill his desire that they may know of the hope of God’s calling which is in Christ — that their eyes may be enlightened.
The Riches of His Inheritance. Paul also prayed that the brethren might know “what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.” First, let us recall that Paul has already stated that they had been chosen by God “for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:5), that they “have obtained an inheritance” (Eph. 1:11), and that they had “the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Eph. 1:13, 14). Paul prayed that they might know the glorious inheritance that awaited because he knew that they had done what was necessary [that is, they had obeyed God’s commands] to obtain that inheritance, given by God to those who have the right to be called His children.
But what is this inheritance? As with anything that is of God, it will far exceed and outweigh anything man could ever have or even conceive in the mind. Paul doesn’t just pray about an inheritance measurable by human standards; he prays that they might know the abundance of an inheritance that would move them to praise God for what He has promised — an inheritance that awaited them! The riches of God’s promised inheritance, as is the extent of everything which comes from God, is immeasurable and simply beyond our comprehension. Who of us could put into words the value of the eternal inheritance? Yet Paul wants us to know! Peter does gives us a hint, when he wrote of our “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:3, 4). No man can offer that!
The Greatness of His Power. The greatness of the power of God is something we need to know because of what it has done. As Paul went on to describe this power, he spoke of how that power was demonstrated by God “in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” This power is unlike anything man has ever known, raising one from the dead to never die again, but then exalting this resurrected One to a position that no man has the ability or even knowledge to do — to a position far above any other power! [That would not be a stretch to believe, since none of these other powers could do what God had done!] Paul’s point is not just Christ’s supreme authority, but his desire that they know of the power of God that made it possible; this was a power that allowed Jesus to be raised from the dead and defeat the one who held its power [the devil, Heb. 2:14] and what that should mean to us who believe.
As Paul will note later in this letter, this power was made available to us in that he raised us up, too. We who were “dead in the trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1, 2) He “made alive” (Eph. 2:4, 5) and “raised us up” (Eph. 2:6). Paul’s prayer for them was that they would forever remember what God had done for them, remember the extent of His blessings and the inheritance he has promised us, and remember the power that made it possible.
Do you know these things? Don’t take someone else’s word for what God’s word has revealed; read it yourself. Everyone needs to know these things, for they tell of God’s great work! — Steven Harper
