Paul has finally come to the end of the long sen­tence contained in the previous eleven verses in which he has extolled the salvation revealed by the Triune God. He has stressed the work of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All these works must be seen by the people of God to appreciate the fulness and the beau­ty of the salvation which has been revealed.

Thanks for the Church⤒🔗

Paul had worked in this church at Ephesus for some time — but that was about four years ago. He worked diligently here and his labors were also crowned with success. Many had come to the faith in this important city. Its church is the first of the churches mentioned by John in the book of Revela­tion. When John speaks of this church in Revelation 2, it had lost its first love. At the time in which Paul is writing to this people that love is still very much in evidence. Therefore he rejoices in the news he has heard from this church while he himself is in prison. Their faith in Jesus Christ is evident to everyone. They also live their faith because they show their love to all the saints. (The great danger which this church faces some years later when they have lost that first love is that their faith has then died.) Faith shows itself in love and by means of the true love one is able to deduce that the true faith is present. The Apostle rejoices in the good report he hears and that he is thus able to see the continuing work of the Spirit of God in them.

How often this Apostle mentions the fact that he gives thanks for the faith of the people he is address­ing. This is genuine. When he looks back to the time when he came to Ephesus and compares it with the present time, there is indeed reason to rejoice and give thanks. It is true, Apollos had worked there, but his view of the gospel needed correction. When Paul arrived in this city some of the people admitted that they did not even know that Pentecost had come and that they had been baptized with the bap­tism of John. Paul had a great deal of work to do here and he was given two years to do it. Ah, how that work had been blessed! He is in prison now but he has time for prayer and does not forget this church.

Prayer for the Church←⤒🔗

What does he pray for? No doubt he prays that the church may fare well and that it may be kept in the truth. This would be the natural prayer of this former pastor for this church. But, he tells us specifically what he prays for concerning this church. He makes it very clear to them to Whom he prays. He prays to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. Strange isn't it that he should speak in this way? Why doesn't he say: I pray to God for you? Remember how he has emphasized the at­tributes of God in the verses 3-14. Every part of that revelation is important, and must also be recognized in the prayer life of His people. His people don't just pray! Some have the idea today that God is standing at their elbow and is ready to do the bidding of the one who "prays" as though He is his servant. No, we come to the God of Jesus Christ. He is the Father of glory. Let there be awe in prayer!

Prayer for Vision←⤒🔗

What does he pray for them? The content of his prayer sounds rather strange to us. He prays that God may give them His Holy Spirit so that they may have wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Certainly, only the Spirit of God will be able to give such wisdom in the revelation He has given of Himself so that they may come to an understanding of Him. They do have this knowledge, but he wishes them to increase in this knowledge. All their knowl­edge of Him must come by revelation. Let them then work diligently with the revelation they have received and may the Spirit of God illumine their minds.

Paul continues his train of thought in verse 18, but again uses some strange language to make clear what he has in mind. He prays that "the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened." That is the only way they will come to the proper knowledge of God and of His gifts. By the term "heart" the Scriptures refer to the core of man's being. Now, to see with the heart and not only with the physical eye is the con­cern of the Apostle in this verse. The "eye" of the natural man's heart is blind. He cannot see anything but that which is observable by the physical eye. Believers are of a different nature. That which eye has not seen is nevertheless believed! They do not only live by that which the natural eye is able to see. The Spirit of God has given them a vision which others are not able to perceive. Only if the eye of the heart is enlightened will they be able to realize the hope of His calling. What does the natural man know about an inner call? Only if the heart's eye is enlightened will he be able to understand the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in the saints. Together with all other believers they have this as­sured knowledge. This is the essence of faith! You can tell someone about the hope you have, but if his heart's eye is not enlightened you are speaking in riddles in his estimation. The believer's life is so much richer than he is able to imagine.

God's Power←⤒🔗

The believer is dependent on the enlightenment of the heart's eye for all the spiritual benefits he re­ceives. By that enlightenment the hope is real, the faith is placed on a solid foundation and the believer recognizes the tremendous power of God which has been exerted in order that we might obtain salva­tion. The power of God is usually spoken of in regard to the mighty works we see in nature. This is Bibli­cal too. The book of Job speaks of the powers of God as they are shown in the mighty storms which rage over the earth and in His creation of powerful crea­tures, and His power displayed in the orderliness of all things. However, when we deal with the subject of salvation we usually emphasize the love and grace of God. This too is Biblical. Time and again the Bible speaks of the great love He had for those whom He had chosen and that their very choice revealed His grace. But, the power of God which has been revealed in the salvation of His people may not be overlooked. His power also makes our hope sure — no one shall snatch us out of His powerful grasp.

This power of God is shown especially in the fact that He raised Christ from the dead and caused Him to be seated at the place of power in the heavens. We may never become so accustomed to the knowl­edge of the resurrection of Christ that we fail to see the marvel of it. It seemed as though death would reign and have the preeminence as long as the world would stand. However, God reached down with His almighty power and raised Him from the dead, thereby conquering death for all those whose heart's eye has been enlightened. It is also well for us to note how often Paul speaks of the exalted and ruling Christ of the present time. The church has not grasped this fact fully even to the present day! Several churches have to meet together on Ascen­sion Day in order to make it worthwhile to have a service! What a shame! Paul becomes ecstatic when he thinks of Christ's present position because that is the guarantee of his present safety and future goal!

Christ's Ascendant Power←⤒🔗

Christ, he says, is ascended far above all the powers you may imagine. No one can compare with Him. He is not speaking now of human rule but the rule of angels too. Human rule is often praised and its might revered. But, human rule and might is not found in the heavenly places nor is it named in both this world and the next. We know from the Scrip­tures that the angels are powerful and that their power and rule exceeds that of men so far that it cannot be measured. An angel stands on the thresh­ing floor in David's time and slays thousands in Israel and it seems as though nothing can stop him. Angels will have a prominent place at the time of the return of our Lord. But, Christ stands far above them all! God gave Him authority over all things. By virtue of the fact that He rose from the dead He says: All authority is mine both in heaven and on earth! No, He does not stand as a beggar before men to ask whether or not they will have Him! All authority is His and He exercises it! This makes the lot of the believer glorious. There is absolutely nothing which can prevent his hope from being realized. Surely, we must see Christ's love and grace displayed, but we have a very warped view of salva­tion if that is our only basis of hope. Paul emphasizes both the aspects of love and power and we must do the same, or we impoverish ourselves.

Sovereign Head←⤒🔗

Christ has all things made subject to Him and He has also been made the Head over all things. This is the complete picture of His absolute sovereignty. Now the Apostle tells us what is the immediate pur­pose of this sovereignty. He has been given all this authority for the benefit of the church. As I said before, Ephesians stresses the nature and impor­tance of the church as virtually no other book of the New Testament. Later (5:25-33) he will speak of the Head-body symbolism. Here he speaks of the fact that Christ has received all rule for the benefit of the church. No one can, therefore, understand the history of the world apart from the history of the church. The church stands at the center of all things. That church is His body. This is already preparatory to the things Paul is going to say about the church in chapter 5. Much is made of personal salvation today — know Jesus as your personal Savior! Of course, this cannot be denied. But, the nature and importance of the church is minimized in many circles today! "You will not be asked to which church you belonged on earth"! Many seem to know that this question will not be asked. I think it might be one of the first questions asked! Did you belong to my body or not? Did you belong to the false church or the true church? Christ loves His church for which He gave His life. He loves that church so much that He rules everything in this world for the benefit of that church. We must get back to those things said about the church in the Scriptures and what is therefore said about her in the Belgic Confession.

The final words of this chapter give some difficul­ty. Paul has spoken of the church being Christ's body and then adds "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." Let it never be said that Christ is not suffi­cient unto Himself. Yet, he here speaks of that church being the fulness of HIM, even though He fills all in all. The best interpretation seems to be as follows: Christ is presented here as the head of the church and the church is presented as His body. Keeping this figure in mind, the closing words of this chapter become clear. The head is not complete without the body, and, of course, the body also would not be complete without the head. In other words, the church is here spoken of as complemen­ting the Christ! As Christ, as Messiah, He would not be complete without the church — His body. This again reveals the importance of the church.

Marvelous things have been spoken concerning the salvation of His people in this chapter and the important place of the church. These are the things which he will explain further in the coming chapters of this glorious book.

Questions for Discussion←⤒🔗

1. How are faith and love related?
    
2. According to Paul, the believer sees things the unbeliever does not see. Can there then ever be a true discussion between them?
    
3. Why do we emphasize so little the power of God in our redemption? Do you think this might make a greater impression on the unbeliever than if we always talk about love?
    
4. The rule of Christ really began with His ascen­sion. Why do you think believers generally pay so little attention to the Ascension of Christ? If we pay so little attention to it, do we preach a complete gospel?
    
5. How important is it to which church you belong? Should it be worth going a few extra miles to join one church instead of another? Someone wrote: the church is fellowship. What do you think of that?