Ephesians 1:15-23

Sometimes one of the greatest gifts from God is the people that he uses to do his will. Paul thought this of the Ephesians. The churches that he established varied greatly, with some (such as the Galatians) having turned their backs completely on their savior and some (for example, the Corinthians) being considered mostly worthy but still in need of doctrinal corrections on some issues.

Ephesus had a church that Paul considered worthy of thanks. Even in an age where communication was slow, Paul had heard of the faith of this church and considered it worthy of commendation. This church also had love, rightly considered of highest importance by Paul, who is fairly well known for 1 Corinthians 13, the famous discourse on the subject.

I’m going to go on a bit of a tangent about love. The Greek language had many words for the subject that primarily differed in intensity. (Pastors and Greek scholars may skip this paragraph.) Phileo could best be translated “friendship”—it is love, and quite a good thing to have, but not as deep as some of the others. Eros is physical love, as between a husband and wife. Agape is what all Christians are to show to all others at all times; it is sacrificial love, consciously aware of this, and the constant direction of one’s efforts to the welfare of the recipient. Agape is what Jesus showed to us when he laid down his life to bear our sins.

Obviously love was a big deal, and lovelessness has been a problem in many churches, ancient (Corinth, Laodicea) and modern churches (you know who you are). But the Ephesian church did not have this problem. Paul did not stop giving thanks for the great gift that this was.

Paul appreciated a loving, faithful church for one reason: that they were useful to the Body of Christ. He prayed that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation. This was not a prayer for an end to persecution, or a wish of physical blessing; it was a prayer of spiritual blessing. He prayed for this because, as Matthew Henry wrote, “If the same Spirit who indited the sacred scriptures do not take the veil from off our hearts, and enable us to understand and improve them, we shall be never the better.”

He further prayed: “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe.” He prayed that they would know that even in the face of persecution and martyrdom, they had a Father in Heaven who sought to bless them, and that the end of this life means eternal blessing. There is no greater gift than to be released from fear of death, because we will never know death.

The mere fact that Paul can be so thankful for a group of people is a testimony to the greatness of God. That he may regard those who were once sinners as having great faith and love is a testimony to the great transformation that has happened because of the work of Jesus. The last five verses of the chapter cover this, and talk about Christ’s fulfillment of his purpose—to die for us, and then to be resurrected to the right hand of his Father to lead over his church, his very body. And as we are the body, Jesus is both the mind (directing us as he wishes, to do his work) and the immune system, allowing what was once weak and diseased to be filled and strengthened to be used for a greater purpose.

Keep reading; next up is the debate between salvation by faith and works.