Praying to See our Riches in Christ

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not 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 your eyes 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 that He worked 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 in 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 fulness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:15-23)

Last week, we saw the absolute necessity of having the Spirit of God "enlighten the eyes of our hearts" so that we might come to a greater realization of, and appreciation for, "the knowledge of God." That is, if we really want to know God better, we need to have our eyes increasingly opened by the Spirit; as this happens, our hearts - which God has created to be the center of our passions and volition, will pant after and live for God and His glory.

As the Spirit opens the eyes of the hearts of the Ephesian believers, Paul prays that they would "see" three things. As they do, their hearts, and thus subsequently their "walk,"* will be radically and dynamically transformed.

As we look at them, let us endeavor to pray for these very things for others in our church and spheres of influence.

First, we ought to pray that we might "know" what is the hope to which the Father has called us in Christ. Again, "know" means more than an intellectual 'fact' that we acquire and store up in our brain. We might liken the connotation here to a kind of assurance - a settled disposition of the heart.

• How differently would we live if we were absolutely and resolutely convinced and continually aware that for eternity of eternities we will forever abide in the very presence of Christ our King!!

The Good News of the gospel is not less than having our sins forgiven in Christ. But there is so much more to the gospel than just the glories of Christ's atonement!! The epistles** of the NT are absolutely saturated with this kind of forward-looking hope that all of God's saints will forever enjoy in His new heaven and new earth. 

• Pray that the age to come would be a reality in the hearts of your brothers and sisters at GCC. I guarantee that their lives will not be the same (e.g. think of how differently we will see our treasures on earth [cf. Matt. 6:19-20, 33]).

Second, and I believe closely related to the first, we are to pray that we as God's people might realize "what is the wealth of the glory of His inheritance in the saints".*** 

In ancient cultures, inheritance was everything. One's future inheritance determined their earthly destiny. In a much greater way, teaches Paul, the believer's "knowledge" of the certainty of their inheritance - one of "glory" and thus true "riches" - ought to transform how they live here on earth as well. 

• Imagine two men are hired to a one-year contract on an assembly line making widgets. Imagine that to the first man, he is told at the end of the year he will receive the equivalent salary to one who made minimum wage. Then imagine the second man is promised that at the end of the year, he will be paid out ten million dollars. Then try to imagine how each will work that year. The "knowledge" of the second man's "glorious inheritance" that awaits him in the future will enable him to view - and thus carry out - his tedious, monotonous, and 'inglorious' work differently than the other man.****

Oh for the Spirit to open the eyes of our hearts to "see" that the inheritance the Lord has for us (literally "in us") is "glorious"! In fact, our inheritance is glory. Beloved, we will forever bask in the glory of Christ for ages of ages. No "riches" in this age can compare to this. But we need the eyes of our hearts to see it and to feel it.

• Pray for God to remind us that all God promises us in the future will be defined by glory (e.g. "glorified" joy in 1 Pet. 1:8).*****

Third, Paul prays that believers might see the great treasure they have now. The same Spirit that gives us hope for the future also grants us power for the present.

Despite what many wrongly believe, this 'power' is not granted to us to cast out demons or bind Satan, nor does it seem that the Spirit is given for the church to put on shows of "signs and wonders." Ultimately, in light of the theology of Ephesians, as well as the Great Commission of Jesus (cf. Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8), it seems that the Spirit is especially given to God's people to accomplish God's mission, namely the building of Christ's church (1:22-23; 3:9-11; 4:11-16) in the face of demonic opposition (cf. 6:10-20). This happens both as the church preaches the unsearchable riches of Christ to others (cf. 3:7-9), and as she walks together in unity and obedience (4:1-6:9).

God has given His people the power to carry out His commission. But, like the man who lives like a beggar because he has forgotten the riches his father deposited into his bank account, we as Christians all too often live powerless and fruitless lives because we all too often forget that the very power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in us who believe.******

• Pray that the Spirit would open our eyes to see this vast power at our disposal to live holy and evangelistically powerful lives.

As long as this study is, much (much!) more could have been written. For those who would like to study this prayer out more fully, I heartily recommend the following sermons preached by Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Lord, in Your mercy visit Your people this week as we pray for Your blessing on us.

In Christ, and for His glory to the ends of the earth, through His church,
pastor ryan


* This is a key theme in the second half of the letter, where chapters 4-6 flesh out and apply the doctrine Paul sets forth in chapters 1-3. Simply put, what we believe affects how we live.

** For example, read 1 Peter 1:3-12, and see how this "hope" transforms our "walk," as elucidated in the following verses. Or, see the classic chapter on eschatological hope in Romans 8, and how it shapes how we suffer in this life (cf. Rom. 5:3-5). In fact, the entire book of Revelation is meant to instill this hope of our eternal future into the hearts of God's suffering saints.

*** This is a literal translation of the original Greek.

**** This is the same line of argument Paul uses to motivate slaves to work "as to the Lord" in Colossians 3:22-25, "knowing" that from the Lord Himself, they will receive "the inheritance." Also, this illustration is borrowed from Timothy Keller's "Gospel for Life" video series.

***** The participle is in the perfect tense, meaning that the joy we experience now is defined by glory, but one day in the future, it will be fully realized and eternally enjoyed and celebrated.

****** The present participle could be rendered "to us as we are believing", hinting at the notion that this "power" of the Spirit is unleashed as we believe (cf. Rom. 1:16).