Ephesians: Sit-WalkStand
Wisdom, Revelation and an
Enlightened Heart
Ephesians 1:15-23
Pastor Steve Johnson
August 21st, 2016
This morning we continue in our study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. I opened up the
series a couple weeks ago with Watchman Nee’s beautifully succinct synopsis of the
letter. He called it: Sit, Walk, Stand. Because Jesus has completed the work, as Christ
himself has rested and is seated at the Father’s right hand—so are we to rest and be
seated because the work is complete. There is absolutely nothing that you and I can
add to what Christ has accomplished. And though we remain seated in regard to
working for, or adding to our salvation; or earning God’s gift of grace—there is a
corresponding lifestyle that is to be walked-out as a result of that seated position. It is
not about earning, but it does take effort.
And, when we are seated in Christ and walking in the Spirit then we are able to
take our stand against the enemy of our souls and be victorious.
This morning we close out the first chapter with a powerful prayer of blessing from Paul
to the saints in Ephesus and the surrounding area. He says in the way of
encouragement:
15 …Since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
16 I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.
This is the heart of a pastor and shepherd—one that cares for his flock. And though he
cannot be with them because of his incarceration, reports have come back to him of the
faith that resides among them as well as the unity that is on display within the body.
And though there are still issues between the Jewish and Gentile believers that Paul has
addressed, he cheers them on for their faith.
He says that he does not cease to pray for them. What does that mean exactly? Is Paul
actually doing nothing else but praying for these brothers and sisters 24/7? No, this is
typical hyperbolic language that expresses a point through exaggeration. What it means
is that he never takes them off of his prayer list! As he is praying and as he remembers
them, he lifts them up to God.
But as we read through the opening verses, why would Paul have to pray for them at
all when he just told them that they possess every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies?
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He just told them that both Jews and Gentiles have been chosen for adoption
(v4)
Both groups have redemption through Christ’s blood (v7)
They have the complete forgiveness of their sins through God’s abundant grace
(v7)
He has lavished upon them both wisdom and understanding (v8)
They have been made partakers of the mystery of His will (v9)
They also are now included in an incredible inheritance as a result of their
adoption (v11)
And to top it off…they have been given the Holy Spirit as the down payment on
that inheritance (v14)
Think about it, if you’ve got all of that going for you…you are in pretty good shape,
wouldn’t you agree? Why in the world would you need anything else? Why would Paul
have to pray continuously for these brothers and sisters when they have every one of
these incredible spiritual blessings? I’ll tell you why—aside from the fact that you and I
are blessed with these blessings; none of us can fully grasp the magnitude of what God
has provided for us, or what else he’s got in store. Neither the Ephesian believers or
you and I have come close to exhausting the blessings of God—there is more!
Are you content with yesterdays breakfast? No, I need more!
Are good with last month’s paycheck? No, I need more!
So then, are you fine with yesterday’s blessings? I don’t know!
Why do you think that God made the Israelites go out every morning and pick up new
manna? So they would trust him each and every day for their sustenance. They were
not to hoard because God promised to meet their needs each and every day.
Yesterday’s manna goes bad. It was good for yesterday—but insufficient for today. Paul
believes more is better and that is why he is not letting up. He wants everything that
God has available in his blessing arsenal to be poured out on these believers and on
you and I.
So what exactly does Paul pray for?
He actually asks for three very specific things for these brothers and sisters. And think
about this, if Paul is praying these requests for them, it must mean that they either
don’t currently possess them, or more likely, these areas are so important that he
wants them to keep on receiving these for their on-going lives of faith.
There are three parts to his prayer, but I want to take them in reverse order. Yes, I’m
going to go backwards through Paul’s prayer. I believe it makes the first two requests
even more significant.
Thirdly—An Enlightened Heart
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, (NASB)
I remember when I was a kid, our family visited Carlsbad Caverns in Southeastern New
Mexico. It was pretty amazing. But what really got my attention, was when the curator
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asked if anyone had ever experienced true darkness. And then she turned off the lights.
I had never in my life experienced that kind of darkness—ever.
You could not see your own hand inches in front of your face. There was absolutely
zero light. You could see nothing. I still had eyes in my head—they were working
perfectly fine. I was trying to see, but couldn’t make out anything. There were still
people standing around me—they hadn’t gone anywhere. The cave we were in had not
disappeared. What had happened? No light—no vision—no perception.
Your eyes need to have illumination to perceive anything. If you don’t have light shining
on your surroundings, you have no understanding of your surroundings. But what is
interesting is your eyes actually don’t “see” anything, your brain does. Seeing is a very
complex high-order brain function, but the eyes are the entry point. So if the eyes have
no illumination, they can take in nothing for the brain to process.
The reason this phrase is so interesting from Paul is because none of us can picture our
hearts having eyes. However, Paul is painting an amazing word picture of something
incredibly profound. He uses the word “kardia,” which in almost every case speaks of
the very center of our beings and not the physical blood pump in our chest.
Though he is writing to the body of Christ in Asia Minor, Kardia, is singular here, not
plural. Why? Simple, every individual needs this to become a reality. He is writing to
Christians, but how many have family, friends and co-workers who are living in the
dark? How many of them need the eyes of their “heart” illuminated with light so they
can understand the course they’re on?
If the heart is the very core of our being it is important that the light we are allowing in
to be true. Jesus understood this truth when he said:
Matthew 6:22-23
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of
light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light
within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness!
He says that if the light you are living by is not light at all, but actually darkness, you
are blind and aren’t even aware of it. It’s like lights out in the cavern and you think
that’s the way life actually is. So when Paul is asking that the eyes of your heart be
enlightened, he is praying a very specific and incredibly important request that will
allow the core of your being to receive valuable revelation and wisdom.
The Amplified Bible does a great job with the translation of what Paul is getting at here.
It reads this way: 18 “…having the eyes of your heart flooded with light…” That’s what
happened when the curator at Carlsbad Caverns flipped the light switch back on. All of
a sudden our brains could picture what our eyes were taking in. You and I need our
hearts, the very center of our beings, flooded with light because without it, we have no
perception, understanding or knowledge. We lose our bearings completely.
An incredible illustration of this is recorded for us in the story of the brothers walking to
Emmaus after Jesus’ crucifixion.
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Luke 24:31-32; 45
30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and
breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they
recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, “Were
not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was
explaining the Scriptures to us?” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures,
Do you want to know why you need an enlightened heart?
You and I as intelligent as we might be can never fathom the depths of God or the
truth of His words without the Holy Spirit opening our minds. If He doesn’t flood the
eyes of our heart with light (insight, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, etc), we will
remain in the dark.
What was happening as they traveled together? It says their hearts were burning
within them. Why? Divine revelation was being granted to them; they were being
flooded with light; truth was being unveiled because the eyes of their hearts were
opening to receive.
Jesus opening their minds was an unveiling. He took away their blindness and gave
them sight. This leads us to the second part of his prayer:
Secondly—A Spirit of Revelation
17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
However, back up in verse 8 Paul already said that God had “lavished on them all
wisdom and understanding.” So, why is he praying for more if they’ve already been
given a boatload of it? Because more is better!
Now what is interesting in the Greek is that there is no preceding article in front of
spirit, and that is why most translations read, “a” instead of “the.” But think about it,
the kind of insight and understanding that Paul is asking on their behalf is not
something that can even remotely be generated from within each believer. Remember,
this is all in relation to the knowledge of God. Paul is not referring to wise discernment
or a keen spiritual disposition that is generated from within ourselves. Our human
spirits cannot delve into the mysteries of the knowledge of Him. In other words, without
Him—we got nothing! When your heart is not enlightened with truth, as Jesus said,
your truth could actually be great darkness.
Though the Holy Spirit is not identified in the usual manner in the Greek with a definite
article, it is pretty clear that Paul is asking the glorious Father to send the Holy Spirit—
the one that Jesus said would:
John 14:25 “…teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”
To have a “revelation” is to have something unveiled. It is the light going on; it’s the
elevator making it to the top floor; the oars hitting the water. It is the “AH-HA” moment
when you start to see clearly. The same Holy Spirit is being asked to unveil and disclose
that which has been hidden.
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Matthew 16:17
And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood
did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven.
Jesus knew that Peter would have never gotten this “revelation” on his own. Jesus also
knew that the truth of who He was, came from an unveiling by God.
1 Corinthians 2:10; 12
Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches
everything, even the depths of God…12 Now we have not received the spirit of the
world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been
freely given to us by God.
So, this idea is not new for Paul. He fully understands where this revelation and insight
come from and he is praying this prayer continuously that the Holy Spirit would reveal
to each of these believers wonders and insights into the majesty of God. Do you see
why we need to pray this prayer for each other and for our family and loved ones?
“God open the eyes of their hearts…that they might see you. Let them experience a
different reality; let them see as we see.”
Story of Elisha and his servant
2 Kings 6
The prophet Elisha was given wisdom and knowledge from God in a very supernatural
manner. We read in 2 Kings 6:12
“Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in
your bedroom.”
In other words, what the King of Aram was whispering in his bedroom, God was
revealing to Elisha who in turn relayed the information to the King of Israel. The King of
Aram wasn’t happy about this and sent a raiding party to capture Elisha. In the morning
when Elisha’s servant awoke and saw horses and chariots surrounding the city he
freaked out and said to Elisha,
15 “Oh, my master, what are we to do?” 16 Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who
are with us outnumber those who are with them.”
The guy is probably looking around and thinking to himself—it’s just you and me Elisha!
What in the world are you talking about?
17 Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord
opened the servant’s eyes. He looked and saw that the mountain was covered with
horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Lord, open his eyes and let him really see what I see. Let him see the reality beyond his
own vision; his own perception; his own knowledge; and his own limited worldview.
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The reason Paul prayed this was because, like Elisha, he experienced this. Paul could
pray for the Ephesians for the eyes of their hearts to be flooded with light and for the
Spirit of revelation, because this is how he lived. Paul saw Jesus clearly and prayed that
their eyes would see the way he saw. Jesus is still in the business of healing people of
blindness! He is still about flooding people with light that want to see.
So this is why I have reversed the order of Paul’s petition. We arrive at the last point, or
the first point, however you want to look at it.
First – A Spirit of Wisdom
17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
When the eyes of your heart have been flooded with light and the Holy Spirit has taken
off the veil and revealed God to you, then Paul prays for the Holy Spirit to grant you
wisdom in the knowledge of Him. They already have the Holy Spirit who has given them
wisdom, but Paul is asking for MORE. He is requesting that the Holy Spirit grant them
an abundance of wisdom because it takes wisdom to live out the truth we’ve been
granted.
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He is not praying for more wisdom in your relationships, though you need it;
He is not asking the Father to grant you more understanding so you can be a
better businesswoman, though you need that as well.
Paul is not petitioning God to reveal to you the mysteries of universe so you can
outsmart your co-workers.
He is requesting that God grant you wisdom and revelation so that you may
know Him better.
Do you think you have to date, received all of the blessings that God has in store for
you? Not even close! But this wisdom and revelation is not simply facts about God, but
being welcomed into a deeper relationship with knowing him personally.
There might be some debate, but most sports buffs believe that Michael Jordan was
probably the best basketball player of all time. Now let’s say that you memorized his
stats, you traveled around the country and went to as many of his games as possible.
You got signed jerseys; you even have a signed Hanes T-shirt and some vintage Air
Jordan shoes.
Would it be fair to say that you don’t actually know him—or that he even knew who you
were? More than probable. The facts and the admiration make this somewhat of an
obsession without a personal relationship. It is a one-way relationship in your mind.
The kind of knowledge Paul is referring to here is beyond mere facts and statistics. It is
the Greek word epignosko, which speaks of personal and experiential knowledge. But
make no mistakes, facts are incredibly important, but if they do not lead to a personal
relationship they are futile and empty. Paul told the Corinthians that knowledge by itself
inflates one with pride (1 cor 8:1). He is talking about personal and experiential
knowledge of the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: You either have it or you
don’t.
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Paul closes out this chapter by telling the brothers and sisters in Ephesus the reason he
is praying these three specific petitions:
17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18 By having the eyes of your
heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He
has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (Amplified) 19 and
what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe…
We need this prayer answered because we have no greater need then:
1. Know and Understand the hope of His Calling for you
It doesn’t say the hope of your calling, which could be interpreted in a rather narrow
manner or individualistic sense. It is the hope of His calling, which speaks of the
content of their salvation. As Gentiles, they had zero hope before they believed. But this
takes us back to all of the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ: redemption,
forgiveness, inclusiveness, inheritance, and adoption. And that is why Watchman Nee
tells us to Sit in that. It’s a finished work and all you and I need to do, is appropriate it
through faith. But make no mistake…it is His calling for you and I!
2. How Rich is God’s Inheritance in the Saints
Again, it doesn’t say your inheritance here, as it did back in verse 11. Look closely, Paul
is talking about how rich is God’s inheritance. Verse 11 tells us that we have become
part of his chosen people through Christ. We are His portion! Jewish and Gentile
believers, who have placed their hope in Christ have become God’s prize.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“…You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price…”
You belong to God! You are special; you are loved; and you are irreplaceable. God went
to extraordinary lengths to save you and bring you from death to life.
Paul is praying that we have the eyes of our hearts absolutely flooded with light, so that
we can experientially know and understand:
3. His Incredible Power toward Us
Paul was writing to believers, many of whom, were converted out of backgrounds of
magic and the Artemis cult with their astrological beliefs. These believers needed to
know that God was greater. They needed a new worldview—one that presupposes and
emphasizes the supremacy of God’s power over all others.
And then to back this up, Paul sites the greatest event in human history where God
actually flexed his muscles in raising Christ from the grave
19…These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which
He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His
right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to
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come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over
all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Now, I’m not at all suggesting that you can’t see, or that you don’t know or that you
have no understanding—but have you stopped growing in your relationship with God?
Have you become satisfied with normal, regular and average?
Has yesterday’s blessing become satisfactory to you?
Jim Collins, in his incredible book, Good to Great, says that the greatest enemy of
“great” is “good.”
 Why have a great relationship with your wife when you already have a good
one?
 Why have a great church when we can settle for a good one?
 Why have a deeper relationship with God when you have an adequate one?
So the question is really: How bad do you want to see God?
How desperate are you to know him more?
Do you really want the eyes of your heart flooded with light?
Think about it, when the light goes on, all the darkness disappears. Now that in itself
can be a very unnerving thing because most don’t like to be exposed. We like a bit of
darkness to hide in. But light is—illuminating, it’s revealing; it unveils and discloses! You
and I need the eyes of our heart flooded with light; we need the Spirit of wisdom and
revelation to take us deeper in God, because without it, we would never understand;
we would never get it.
The concrete foreman on one of my projects in Newport Beach told me that his Dad
had studied martial arts since he was a child. He became incredibly good and achieved
a lot of invitations to compete internationally.
But at the same time he was practicing, he got involved in the eastern philosophies that
went hand in hand with most of the oriental martial arts. He would meditate regularly
before competitions. Before one major event, he was telling me that his dad felt this
deeply disturbing presence around him. He actually felt something pressing in around
him—and then he heard a voice that said, “Do you want to go deeper?”
He said he snapped out of it immediately and realized he was in the presence of
something very evil. He was not a believer before that experience, but he became one
afterwards. Look, the enemy of your soul wants to take you deeper in the wrong
direction. He doesn’t love you, he doesn’t like you; as a matter of fact he despises you
and wants to see you fail. But he will entice you with false wisdom, false revelation and
darkness.
This morning, I pray that the Holy Spirit will flood your heart with light and that he will
reveal God to you in new and exiting ways with wisdom to live humbly in the
knowledge of His calling; and, that you would understand how rich is God’s inheritance
in you; and, how vast is His power toward you.
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Go with God…and tell Him this week you want more!
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