Thursday, September 20, 2018: Ephesians 1:17-19

¹⁷ 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, ¹⁸ 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, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might …

When it comes to being able to determine if something is true, we have two means at our disposal: we can look at something objectively—standing outside of it and trying to get an unbiased understanding of it—or we can look at something subjectively—immersing ourselves into something and experiencing it. For example, if you wanted to know if chocolate chip cookies taste delicious, you stand outside of a bakery and examine it (the ingredients, the chemistry, the processes of cooking, etc.), or you could just shove a few into your mouth. In this example, a more subjective method probably helps you more than an objective one, but sometimes an objective method is best for determining if something is true.

Interestingly, neither is good enough when it comes to truly knowing God. A different kind of method is needed for knowing Him: revelation. In today’s passage, Paul prays for his readers to know God. More specifically, that the “eyes of their hearts” be enlightened, that they will “know what is the hope” to which God called them, what their “glorious inheritance” is, and the “immeasurable greatness of his power” in their lives is (vv. 18-19). Such knowledge, says Paul, is impossible without God revealing it to them (v. 17).

There are many disciplines we undertake to grow in our relationship with God: Bible reading, prayer, fasting, serving, worshiping, and the like. But these disciplines are not our objective or subjective attempts to know God, but the mechanisms He has chosen to use to reveal Himself to us. So as you make every effort to spend time with Jesus through these disciplines, pray along with Paul that God would reveal more and more to you who He is and what He is up to in your life and in this world.

1. What are some specific ways we can expand our understanding of God’s hope, calling, riches, and power? What role does Bible study play in this process? What role does prayer play? What role does the Holy Spirit play?
2. Which of the things Paul prayed for in these verses could you use most in your life right now?
3. Pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will 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. Amen.