Ephesians 1:15-23
The Prayer for Wisdom
15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
18I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
19and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,
20which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,
21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
22And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Berean Standard Bible
Paul says he has heard about the Ephesians' faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints. Their faith is not treated as a private opinion, and their love is not limited to people who are easy to like. Both are visible enough that Paul has heard about them.
He responds by giving thanks and praying continually. He asks the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they may know Him better. The goal is not simply to collect more religious information. It is to know God more truly.
Paul wants the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened so they can know the hope of God's calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance among the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power toward those who believe. These are not three unrelated rewards. They answer three deep fears: that life has no direction, that God's people are insignificant, or that obedience will finally fail.
That power is the power God exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand above every ruler, authority, power, and dominion. Christ is not one spiritual force among many. God placed all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body and the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Questions
1 What two things had Paul heard about the Ephesians?
AnswerHe had heard about their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints. Their trust and their treatment of people belonged together.
2 What does Paul ask God to give them?
AnswerHe asks for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so they may know God better. The prayer seeks deeper relationship, not mere facts.
3 What does Paul want the eyes of their hearts to understand?
AnswerHe wants them to know the hope of God's calling, the riches of His inheritance among the saints, and the greatness of God's power toward believers.
4 Where is Christ placed in relation to every other power?
AnswerGod raised Him above every ruler, authority, power, and dominion, placed all things under His feet, and gave Him as head over the church.
What This Means for Us
Paul's prayer gives a household better things to ask for than comfort alone. We can ask God to make His calling clearer, His promises more precious, and Christ's authority more real to us when fear makes the world look larger than it is.
The church is Christ's body, not a club organized around one impressive person. Our faith should therefore make room for love across differences and should keep directing attention back to Jesus, its head.
Prayer
Father, open the eyes of our hearts. Give us wisdom to know You, hope in Your calling, confidence in Your promises, and faith in the power You showed by raising Jesus from the dead. Amen.