Gifts of Grace: Eyes that See

This is the 3rd part of a sermon series on the book of Ephesians. The sermon series is called gifts of grace, because gifts—gifts which we don’t deserve—is a recurrent theme throughout Ephesians.

"gift" and "give" are mentioned 17 times

"grace" is mentioned 11 times

"rich" and "riches" are mentioned 6 times

"inheritance" and "heirs " are mentioned 4 times

This is really just the tip of the iceberg, though, as particular gifts—salvation, redemption, etc.—and the generous nature of God—loving, kind, etc.—are evident through out the letter.

The question is: "What is God’s purpose in giving you anything?" Is he like some of our grandparents who just can’t help but buy and give gifts to their loved ones? Or is something else going on here?

Jesus told the disciples, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:48). A cynic might claim that God’s gifts come with a hook, a catch, in much the same way that we might give someone a gift and then expect the recipient to do something nice for us. Today’s prayer by Paul suggests a different agenda at work.

Ephesians 1

Commentary

This starts as a characteristic prayer by Paul, giving thanks for the church to whom he is writing and praying for them. Note that his prayer of thanksgiving quickly changes into a prayer of intercession, asking God for more spiritual blessings for the Ephesian church.

v17-19 Paul asks for two blessings: a Spirit of wisdom and revelation; and enlightenment of the eyes of their hearts. A reason is given for each blessing—what are they?

Note: For those of you who like to memorize Scripture—and even for those who don’t—may I suggest memorizing v18-19a as a prayer you might pray for yourself & others?

v19-23 v19b begins a tangential comment that continues through v23; this entire section is focused on the power of God. Consider just 19b: "that power is like the working of his mighty strength!"

The power in Christ is ultimately universal:

over every "rule & authority, power & dominion & every title" (v21)

over eternity "the present age but also in the one to come" (v21)

over the church (v22-23)

Did Paul get distracted during his prayer for the church—as we sometimes get distracted in our prayers—or are these two sections somehow related?

Application

Why does Paul pray for wisdom, revelation, and enlightenment for the church in Ephesus?

What is the point of wisdom? Is it to be able to sit around and be wise?

What is the point of revelation? Is it simply to know and to understand?

What is the point of enlightenment? Is it sufficient to have all the right answers?

What is the point of any spiritual blessing? Is it its own end, or is it the means to another end? If the chief end of man is really simply "to praise God and enjoy him forever," isn’t this all there is to it?

A failure of modern evangelicals is the depiction of spirituality as an inward experience, such as John Wesley’s conversion when his heart was "strangely warmed." Necessarily such inwardly focused perceptions of spirituality have made Christian faith look like a private affair between the person and Jesus alone. This is not Biblical! (James 1:22-25)

Rather, the acid test of one’s faith is how it is lived out with others: friends, strangers, even enemies! When Paul prays for enlightenment, it is for the purpose of knowing the hope with which the church has been called, including knowing the incomparably great power of God, which brings life to the dead, is in control (even when evidence might suggest otherwise), and fills the emptiness within us.

God’s plan for those in whom his Spirit dwells is for them to be used by God in his work. Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work" (John 4:34). So it is for us as well. We can read the Bible all we want; we can pray for hours; but until we are doing the work of our Father, it means little.

A Chinese proverb says, "I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand." We can read about the power of forgiveness all day long, but until we forgive another person, we cannot know its full power. We can read about the resurrection power forever, but until we are willing to die to self for the sake of another who is spiritually dead in sin, we cannot know the totality of God’s power "to give life to the dead, and call things that are not as though they were" (Romans 4:17)

Does enlightenment lead to trusting God’s power, or does trusting God’s power lead to enlightenment? Probably both. But once we have the gift of eyes that see, we must change how we live; that is the purpose of the gift.

Gifts to be Spent on Others

It was [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors & teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions & in truth. 1 John 4:16-18

Points to Ponder

"Until we forgive another person, we cannot know its full power." What have you learned about forgiveness by forgiving someone? How has forgiving someone healed you?

"Until we are willing to die to self for the sake of another who is spiritually dead in sin, we cannot know the totality of God’s power to give life to the dead." Where has God transformed a bad situation once you gave up?

What gift from God would he say you have been underutilizing? (Pleading ignorance is no excuse!)

End Notes

1 - Check the context! Luke 12 begins and ends with warnings about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees—the religious elite who should have known about the kingdom of God and somehow missed it by their actions. In Luke 12:35-48, Jesus counsels the disciples to be watchful and ready for when the master should come. Fundamentalists may claim that this verse applies to the second coming, but the context suggests that Jesus is talking about whenever God chooses to come into one’s life ... will you be ready? The manager was put in charge of taking care of the other servants. The manager is berated for being self-indulgent and not taking care of the others. What does that suggest you should be doing?

2 - This is the answer to the first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, i.e. "What is the chief end of man?"