October 12, 2014 – Ephesians 1:15-17

A Spiritual Person Who Knows God

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, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 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. Ephesians 1:15-17

Intro: If people tell you, “I’m praying for you,” is it important to you to know the content of their prayers?

I once spoke with a monk about a mutual friend who lived for awhile in his monastery
– the brother said, “We’re praying for him, that God will bring him pain”
• he noticed my shocked expression, smiled and explained:
◦ “He’s been running from it, but sometimes going through pain is the only way forward”
– so if someone says, “I’m praying for you,” you might ask, “And what is your prayer?”

Two times in this letter, Paul shares with his readers the content of his prayers for them
– in essence, he prayed that they would experience the fullness of Christian spirituality
• that is, all that life with God can be to a person
– in the prayer we look at today, Paul makes two requests but then shifts from prayer to theology
• it is as if he cannot talk about Jesus without getting carried away
• but it’s precisely what he knows about Jesus that justifies the richness of his requests

Verses 15-16 form an introduction to his prayer

He begins his prayer the same way in chapter 3, but gets carried away again (for twelve verses!)
– “For this reason” – Paul heard about these believers
• he wanted to contribute something to their faith — this was his calling

For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established (Ro. 1:11)

– prayer is one way we can promote God’s work in the lives of other people

Paul had heard about their faith “in the Lord Jesus”
– faith in Jesus is how a person becomes a Christian and the essence of being a Christian
• we go through life with Jesus, trusting him
• he will have more to say about Jesus a few verses down
– Paul had also heard about their “love for all the saints”
• faith is not our only Christian trait and commitment
◦ when it comes to other people, faith is not the most import trait or commitment

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:3)

• a person can have and believe all the right doctrines yet not be a Christian

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. (Jas. 2:19)
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 Jn. 4:8)

◦ so these folks are off to a good start with faith in the Lord Jesus and love for others

Hearing about them inspired Paul to do two things:
– give thanks for them non-stop
– makes mention of them in his prayers

This brings us to the content of his prayer (beginning in v. 17)

Paul likes to be clear regarding the One to whom he addresses his prayers
– not just “God” (which could be one of the Roman gods) or “God of our understanding”
• but “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ”
• the God who revealed himself to humankind through Jesus Christ
– further more, he is “the Father of glory”
• a Father, but one from whom glory radiates
• sometimes when God visibly manifested his presence in the Old Testament, it was seen as a blinding light
◦ Moses could not be exposed to it without his facial skin absorbing some of the glow (Ex. 34:29-35)
– the “God of our Lord Jesus” and “Father of glory” are solid theological realities
• it’s important to get these things right (at least, as far as possible for us imperfect humans)
• it’s important, but it is not everything

So what does Paul pray for them? that God “may give you a spirit …”
– is this the Holy Spirit?
• unlikely, because the are already “sealed” and the Spirit had been given to them “as a pledge” (vv. 13-14)
• so why would he pray that they receive what they already had?
– is it another spirit or spiritual entity?
• this is also unlikely – nowhere else in New Testament is there the suggestion that we receive several spirits
– the way I read it, Paul is talking about our human spirit and something that God does within us
• Yahweh is “God of the spirits of all flesh” (Ex. 16:22)
◦ a reference in the Book of Deuteronomy  can shed light on this
◦ although Israel had seen God’s wonders,

Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. (De. 29:4)

• that is, God had given them a heart, but it was not the kind of heart that was alert to him
◦ what Paul asks for here is that we have the kind of spirit that is open to God
◦ it’s not that every Christians is given a spirit and other people do not have a spirit
◦ but the human spirit is either dead to God or made alive to him (Ep. 2:1 & 5)

George Ladd observed that the fact people “are dead in their spirits means that they are not living in fellowship with God. That they have been made alive means that they have been brought into fellowship with the living God.”

God interacts with us Spirit-to-spirit (Ro. 8:16) — his Spirit awakens our spirits
– a verse that creates problems for biblical scholars — 1 Corinthians 2:13
• since God has given us his Spirit, we discuss the things of God:

. . . not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combing spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

• the New American Standard Bible supplies the two words “thoughts” and “words”
◦ they do not appear in the Greek text, which simply has “matching spiritual with spiritual”
• the question is: spiritual what? with spiritual what?
◦ almost every translation supplies something in the two blank spaces
– but I don’t think we have to supply any words
• if we capitalize one ‘S’ it makes sense in the context
◦ it is the Spirit of God working in the spirit of the person
◦ it is noteworthy that the same word “spiritual” used here is used of the believer enlightened by God’s Spirit (1 Cor. 2:15)

It may help if we look at a summary of 1 Cor. 2:6-16

Paul had mentioned the power of Jesus’ cross (1 Cor. 1:18)
– a crucified Son of God or Messiah was nonsense to the Greeks and a roadblock for Jews
• but for believers, “Christ crucified”  is “the power of God and the  wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23-24)
• but this wisdom it is one that we can naturally acquire
◦ our normal means of information gathering do not work–e.g., observation, sense experience, or logic
◦ so this is not the wisdom of intellectuals or world rulers (1 Cor. 2:7-8)
– then Paul quotes Isaiah:

Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9)

• but he goes on to say, “For to us God revealed them through the  Spirit”
• no one knows inner person except spirit of person
◦ no one knows truth of God except the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:10-11)

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God (1 Cor. 2:12)

• this is why the rational mind alone misses the meaning of cross
◦ it is only known through a revelation of God’s Spirit to the spirit of the believer

Paul says we have a wisdom that enables us to talk about these things
– they make sense, but not in the usual way

. . . a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God . . . . But he who is spiritual appraises all things (1 Cor. 2:14-15)

• what theologians have tried to do last 200 (or 500) years: make truth of God intelligible to the natural mind
• for Paul, there’s definitely a rational side to Christian theology, but it comes after a revelation and not before
◦ some things can only be known by the illumination the Spirit provides us
– so the prayer is that God will give us a spirit that is open and receptive to the wisdom his Spirit reveals

The “wisdom and revelation” Paul has in mind here are not:

1. Abstract theological truth (George Ladd) – this can be taught
   • we have to do the hard work to get this (and I believe it is worth it)
2. Secrets that unlock the supernatural mysteries of the universe

– rather, they are the insights and understanding we need in order to know God in relationship
• they are given to us (they may be received intuitively), provided we are receptive and responsive
• we come to know God as he presents himself to us in this moment

Conc: I think we’ve been led to believe something that is not true

Namely, that what we need to begin and maintain a spiritual life, must enter us through our heads
– so many sermons, books, and seminars filling our brains with information
• but not bringing us any closer to experience of God (cf. 2 Tim. 3:7)
– everything we need to know God is already around us
• but each of us must have a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so our eyes see and our ears hear

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and uyou will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Mt. 7:7-8)
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? (Lk. 11:13)

We will see, if we’re looking; hear, if we’re listening; and receive understanding, if our spirits are open
As a result, our connection with God will be strengthened
and we will live with a greater awareness of his presence,
because his Spirit who has been given to us will have free access to the inner person of our hearts