Episode 3: Ephesians 1:15-23: What's God's priority for you?

Do you ever wonder what God's priority is for you? Here in Paul's prayer, at the end of chapter 1 of Ephesians, we get it clearly laid out for us, along with his priority for the church and for all of history for that matter. Let's dig in!

• Questions to Dig into over a Cup of Tea

  1. What does Paul pray that we would know?

  2. Why do both the Ephesians, and us, need to know these things more and more?

  3. Spend some time praying this prayer for yourself, and for someone else.

• Sponsorship Details

  This episode is sponsored by Crossway.

  Crossway publish gospel-centered, Bible-based content that honours our Savior and serves his church. They seek to help people understand the massive implications of the gospel and the truth of God’s Word, for all of life, for all eternity, and for the glory of God.

  Check out their website for all their up-to-date resources.

• Episode Transcript

  The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

  Felicity: You're listening to the Two Sisters in a Cup of Tea podcast, the Bible Study podcast for everyday life. We're here for a 20 minute burst of Bible chat over a cup of tea and an English style biscuit as we make our way through a Bible book over the course of the season and drive it to our hearts. And this season we're getting into Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Whether you've been listening for a while or you've just found us, we're so pleased you're here.

  Sarah: We’re grateful for the sponsorship of Crossway this season. Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin has fast become an essential read and for good reason. Wilkin seeks to equip women to mind God's Word for all it's worth but not just for the sake of informing the mind and knowing the Bible better but for the sake of loving Christ more deeply, seeking his face and thus being transformed into his likeness more. We've recommended it before and we're recommending it again because in so many ways this book embodies what we're seeking to do on each episode of this podcast. Go and grab your copy from www.crossway.org

  Felicity: Welcome to Two Sisters in a Cup of Tea. My name is Felicity and I'm in the States. I'm here with my sister Sarah. She's in the UK. We're excited to be jumping into the second half of chapter one of this letter to the Ephesians. Sarah, you were muttering something about gingery tea, which, if I'm honest, is not making me want what's in your cup.

  Sarah: I know it's not your favourite cup of tea. It's three ginger tea in a royal mug. So I've got all the kings and queens of England just, you know, hanging out with me as I drink my tea quite a civilised affair. There's kind of carrot... carrot... carrot... carrot... carrot... what's the word? Caricature that one. One doesn't have his head anymore and you know.

  Felicity: They seem to be doing some funny, some funny actions. There's a bit of cart wheeling queens.

  Sarah: all the things but yeah Tower of London merch there you go perks of living in London

  Felicity: Love it, love it. Well Sarah, we're getting into this section here where the first of two prayers, this is the only letter in the New Testament that has two prayers from Paul, and we were talking beforehand about just the impact that praying Paul's prayers has had in our lives. You want to share a bit of what that's been for you?

  Sarah: Yeah, I think just the reality that God gives us prayers to pray is so brilliant, isn't it? Because often, I don't really know what to pray for people and I struggle to kind of pray different prayers. I often find myself feeling like I'm praying the same prayer time and again. And yet, when you come to something like this and you're like, ooh he tells us what to pray, brilliant. And I just think that's really helpful. So wherever possible. It's just really good to be rooting ourselves in the prayers of the Bible. Now we have a whole prayer book in the Psalms, don't we? But these prayers that Paul includes in his letters, they're seeking to pastor the people he's writing to at the same time that he's sharing what he's praying for. And so I think just over the years it's been a really beneficial thing for me to be not only knowing the content of the prayers, but to be disciplined in praying them for others and for myself as well. I've only benefited from doing that. How about you?

  Felicity: Yeah, I think the same and I think that every time I use these words and I pray these prayers for myself and for others then it begins to sink in more as to what he's saying so as we pray it feels like we live it a bit more or at least we desire it like our desires are shaped by what we're reading and then what we're praying and particularly this one I feel like this one that we're about to get into has been really significant in terms of just shaping what I really desire for myself and for others. So I'm excited to get into it. Shall we read the verses? You go for it.

  Sarah: Yeah. Let's do this. I'm going to, I'm going to read it's chapter one, verse 15 through to the end of the chapter, verse 23. Let me read. 

  “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He's called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who feels everything in every way.”

  Felicity: Thank you Sarah. Isn't it just the most encouraging start to these verses? I have heard about your faith and I just love that that's what's going on. I think if thanks continually.

  Sarah: Yeah and this is is a guy who spent quite a lot of time and effort, so didn't he? Like he spent two or three years there and so this is probably kind of a broadening of the church. There's a kind of you know the church has grown and he's writing to them from prison and he's saying I'm hearing great things like this isn't a kind of problem that he's seeking to address with this prayer. He's like I'm giving thanks for you. I've not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Like what a heartening thing to receive in the post.

  Felicity: Yeah, I know, imagine that landing on your doorstep. I love that. I think, and this is something which as we get into this prayer, we'll begin to notice this throughout the whole letter, words to do with knowledge and revelation. And this is one of those places, isn't it, where if we were to go through the highlighter, I have no doubt that you have used different colour highlighters on this page. 

  Sarah: Yes I have, it's very satisfying to say but the word know jumps out at you doesn't it? Like it's that's his priority that's really striking but it's not just that you would he's not just praying for these things for them he's praying that they would know these things like he's praying for them to know in their heart to deeply know the reality of their salvation and well we'll get into it but the first thing is the Spirit's role in knowing these things, isn't it? In verse 17, he's praying that the Spirit of wisdom and revelation would be given so that they may know Christ better.

  Felicity: Yes, and that in itself, just even to see that and to understand that, that he's not praying that they would have their salvation, they already have their salvation, but that this spirit of wisdom and revelation, knowledgey kind of words would enable them to know Jesus better, to know that salvation better. And then going on to say, I pray that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened in order that, and then he gets into some of the details of what he really wants them to know. But just to stop and think, well, to pray for knowledge, to pray for understanding, enlightenment, that is a spiritual thing. I think often categorizing things like that in our life, knowledge I kind of have over here, cerebral kind of brainy activity, spiritual stuff in a different category, but actually that we would pray for this knowledge, which is a work of the Lord, to be able to know these things. Even just merging those two categories in my mind has been just pretty transformative in terms of how I understand what God is doing. How is God at work in the world? What is the purpose of what he's doing?

  Sarah: Yeah. Yes, and that it's not, as you say, it's not just knowledge for knowledge sake. It's not an absolute, you're not coming to grasp more of an abstract concept, although you might do and you will do in terms of the kind of mechanics of salvation and what the gospel is about, but actually know that the relational knowledge of knowing Christ better, and the eyes of your heart, that being kind of the source of everything, the kind of wheelhouse of every part of you being enlightened. It's a deeply kind of transformational knowledge that he's talking about. And actually that is what happens, isn't it? As we know the gospel, as we grow in our knowledge of Christ, we will then live out what we know. And that's kind of where he's going with this, isn't it? But the first thing, so he says the first thing is he's praying that they would know him better. But then there's other things that he's praying that they would know as well, isn't it? And the first one is the hope to which they've been called. And just like that links back, doesn't it, to what we've been seeing in that first part of the chapter with all these blessings, with kind of the future inheritance that they've kind of been shored up for and they have that in, you know, the deposit, the guarantee of what's to come. He wants them to know just how secure that hope is for them. And that is a sweet prayer, isn't it, to pray for people.

  Felicity: Yes, a sweet prayer and one which, as we were saying last time, these are invisible heavenly realities. And so to know these things, to really believe that all that was described in the first half of this chapter is true and real when you're, you know, for them, little Ephesian church in the shadow of just all the other things, and for us in our context, to know that hope, to really trust it and therefore to live in light of it is massive. And then he moves on to, and this one actually is one where you've got to read it carefully to understand what's being said here, I think. Because in the second one he says, the hope to which he's called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. And I hear inheritance, it takes me back to chapter one and that kind of inheritance. And there is an element of that, the future of what we will receive. But I think what he's actually talking about here is God's glorious inheritance in the church, as in God's people are his inheritance. Which when we first read it, we're like, surely that can't be right, because to what degree are we glorious? And why would God want us as his inheritance? Inheritance is supposed to be something that you kind of treasure and you look forward to. And that is the game changer in terms of how we view church and God's gathered people and wow that this would be it

  Sarah: and that we would know that he views the church like this and that he views us in this way. I mean, that is just like a shift of the mind, isn't it? To be praying that we would know this perspective even. So we've got knowing the hope, we've got knowing the riches of being part of this glorious inheritance, the riches of the church and then knowing his power, which is the same power as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead. Just again, just like it blows out the water. Any thought that, this is just a bit small. I'm feeling a bit weak. I'm feeling like, I'm not quite sure that I'm in the right camp here because, you know, whatever's going on in Ephesus or in our world, whatever it is. And actually he's like, no, no, just, just know. Like, do you know what power is at work in you? Do you really truly know this power that's the same as the mighty strength exerted when Christ was raised? That is... yeah.

  Felicity: Yeah, and I love that 21, far above the rule and authority, power and dominion, every name that is invoked, not only in the present age, but also in the ones coming. And not only is it power that's like bigger, but it actually reaches further, which takes us back to the start of the chapter, doesn't it? The heavenly realms and these spiritual cosmic realities that have been talked about. So the power is so much greater than we can conceive of. And as a result then, we can trust God that he can and does do all that he's promised, all that he's said in that abundant list of blessings. Even as we hear that hope, the thing about the church, like this is possible and real and trustworthy because of the power of God.

  Sarah: Yes. And yet it feels invisible and it doesn't often feel like it does. And so that's, and I think that's why he's praying that you would know it. That's pretty praying that this would be such a deep seated, rooted belief that you would know this even when today, this week, this month, it doesn't really feel like this is true, but it is true. This is the truest thing ever, isn't it? And he's placed all things under Christ at the end here in verse 22. All things are under him. We've been talking the last couple of weeks haven't we about that kind of view, kind of gradually the curtain's been drawn back and just seeing how much Christ is over all and just the reminder here, he is. He is over all. There's nothing that can thwart his power. There's nothing that can kind of derail his purposes. Which, we just need to keep reminding ourselves of this truth, don't we?

  Felicity: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's far reaching that prayer, isn't it? That to be able to pray that we would know these things more gives hope when we're not feeling like we know it. It also, I think, as we consider our world and as we consider the way in which the majority of the world are operating as if these things aren't true and aren't possible, which can feel quite hopeless and can make me think, am I even running in the right direction? Actually, I can pray this for those around me, I can pray this, that the eyes of my friend's hearts, of even the leaders of the nation's hearts would be opened to this cosmic reality, to this God who is, is doing this. And at the end there, again, coming back around to the church, isn't he? I pointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. And it's a little bit confusing maybe that last kind of this, all this filling and filling and we're gonna have a bit of that as we go through the letter. But then what we have there is a connection, an unbreakable connection between Jesus and his people and the fullness of that, the fullness of him, that we would be those as God's people who are maturing in him. We are filled with Jesus. We not just know him, like as we might think, know in the head, but know like relationally just, yeah, how would you describe that?

  Sarah: Yeah, I think it's really hard to be honest. I think this is a teaser for what's to come. Like, we're gonna see this phrase pop up time and again, aren't we, in this letter? And I think it's okay to leave it here just for now. Come back for a couple episodes time, but just the reality that there's fullness in him. There's fullness in the church here.

  Felicity: ooh just dropping it as a little come back for a couple of episodes time.

  Sarah: somehow, we don't know what that looks like yet but we're gonna see it. But also just the reality that with all this massive, massive picture that's been given to us that he's over everything, but actually at the heart of that is this body called the church and that is at the heart of his purposes and that's what we're starting to see here isn't it? That all of what we're seeing prayed for and all the truth that we're kind of being encouraged to dwell on and delighted and pray for it's all again corporately bound up, intrinsically linked as a body together as the church to be praying these things. It's not an individual pursuit. It's not to be something that's just like on the side for me, myself and I. Like it's, this is a call to pray as a church, isn't it? For a local church, but for a worldwide church that this would be, that we would know deeply these truths and that they would be so grounded, they would be the foundation of our faith that is then lived out.

  Felicity: Yeah, I think that's right, I think that's right. And I think for those of you listening, I would really encourage, have a look through the letter with your highlighter and look for these knowledge words, not just the word know, but any words associated with that idea of knowing, wisdom, revelation, those kind of things, because what we'll see is that not only is this the starting prayer, this is actually the means by which God is working as we walk through. And it really shifts, it has shifted my understanding of how God is at work. So I'd encourage that. In terms of like how this has shaped us Sarah, so we've been talking about how we've prayed it and that we would be knowing these things. I mean, have we seen this prayer answered in our lives? We've been praying it a lot.

  Sarah: Yeah, in massive ways, we? Yeah, which is just so encouraging, isn't it? Because actually, the more that we pray this prayer, the more we're then delighted when he answers it, the more that we want to go deeper and see more of him. I think we've been, you know, I've been talking about this quite a lot in the last couple of months, haven't we? This kind of growing desire and appetite for knowledge of him only begets more desire and appetite for knowledge of Him. He's unfathomable, isn't it? And that's just the most amazing pursuit, to pursue a greater and deeper, more intimate knowledge of Christ. But also just to take it back to the simplicity of, I can pray this for everyone. I can pray this for everyone. Lord, please give everyone I'm praying for, my family, my friends, my church family, everyone, the spirit of wisdom and revelation so they may know you better. That is such a simple prayer to pray, isn't it? But that is such a powerful prayer to pray and that is at the heart of what he wants us to be praying. And so we know that we're praying in line with God's will there. We know that we can pray that confidently that he wants to answer that prayer. And that's really reassuring, isn't it?

  Felicity: really good, really good, I love that. Shall I pray for us now? Yeah. Heavenly Father, we praise you so much that you invite us into your purposes and your plans, that you show us what you're doing and that you give us this prayer. Lord, we pray that you would enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we might know you better, that we might know the hope to which you're called, to which we're called, that we might know the glories of your church and that we might know that power that reaches beyond anything we can really probably conceive of. Father, please would you grow us in our knowledge and understanding of you so that we might be those who walk in light of that and we pray this for your namesake. Amen.

  Sarah: Amen. Well, who can you pray for and pray with this week? Why not message someone now or commit to praying Paul's prayer for someone or a group of people or your church family over the next few weeks? It is such a rich prayer to delve into and to pray for others. And we will, well, we'll be back next Friday as we get into the start of chapter two together. We're really looking forward to kind of carrying on in this letter and we will see you then.

  Felicity: We'll see you then, goodbye.

  Sarah: This episode has been sponsored by Crossway.

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