August 24
Bible Reading: Ephesians 1
Ephesians 1:15-19a, “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.”
Some years ago, a Californian couple was walking a trail on their property — a trail that they had walked many times—when they noticed the side of a can poking up from the ground. The couple opened the can and were astonished to find it packed with gold coins. That can and others contained 1427 gold coins, worth an estimated $10 million! But before you go walking the trails of your property looking for gold, note here in this passage how incredibly blessed you already are.
God has lavished His grace upon the believer in Christ (Ephesians 1:7-8). In spite of this, it is quite possible for any of us to lose track of the spiritual blessings and resources availed to us. We might even grow despondent in our struggles, not realizing the riches we possess in Christ.
Paul’s prayer in this chapter is that we might be given a “Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened” that we might know certain things (Ephesians 1:17-19). Three things are spoken of: 1) “the hope to which he has called you;” 2) “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints;” and 3) “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19). Each has to do with our relationship with Jesus (i.e., the hope we have in Him, the riches we possess in Him, and the power availed to us through Him).
No matter how you might “feel” about such things, the truth is that you even now possess, in Christ, immeasurable resources. In Him, you possess an unassailable hope. No matter what happens in this life, nothing can work to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ. God will finish the work He started in you and will bring you safely home to heaven when that time comes. You even now possess, in Christ, a glorious inheritance. Unimaginable blessings—“imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4)–are reserved for you in heaven. Though you might feel sometimes weak and inadequate, the omnipotence of Christ is availed toward you. His grace is more than sufficient!
These unseen realities are apprehended not with our physical sight, but through the “eyes of (our) hearts” (Ephesians 1:17). It is a work of the Spirit of God to open our eyes to the glory of Christ and all we possess in our relationship with Him. To the extent that we are walking by the Spirit and allowing the Word of Christ to dwell in us (Colossians 3:16), we will walk in awareness of how incredibly blessed we are!
Helen Keller was only two years old when an illness struck her blind and deaf. Unable to communicate with the outside world her life was filled with unimaginable loneliness and despair. Miss Anne Sullivan was brought to assist her and worked patiently to break through the darkness. One day she and “Teacher”—as Helen always called her—went to the outdoor pump. Miss Sullivan started to draw water and put Helen’s hand under the spout. As the cool water gushed over one hand, she spelled into the other hand the word “w-a-t-e-r” first slowly, then rapidly. Suddenly, the signals had meaning in Helen’s mind. She knew that “water” meant the wonderful cool substance flowing over her hand. Quickly, she stopped and touched the earth and demanded its letter name and by nightfall she had learned thirty words. Helen later wrote of the experiences of that day: “As we continued to the house every object which I touched quivered with life. That was because I saw everything with a strange, new sight that had come to me. It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was as I lay in my crib…and for the first time longed for a new day to come.”
Whether you realize it or not, you owe any spiritual understanding you now possess to the person of the Holy Spirit. Were it not for Him in His illuminating work, you and I would be blind and deaf to spiritual truth. It is the Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and it is the Spirit who unveils to us the full measure of God’s blessings to us as His children. You are a child of the King! And knowing that influences the way you live out your Christian life in this world. And so, Paul prayed here in Ephesians chapter 1 that we might know how blessed we are in Christ. And so, we should pray too.
If you are born-again you are incredibly blessed beyond measure. It is by the Spirit that our spiritual eyes are open to how much!
More about Jesus let me learn,
More of His holy will discern;
Spirit of God, my teacher be,
Showing the things of Christ to me.
LookingtoJesus 