PAUL'S FIRST PRAYER THAT THE EPHESIANS MAY UNDERSTAND WHAT HE HAS JUST TAUGHT THEM
Paul temporarily ceases his teaching to tell the Ephesians he has heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus, their love to all the saints that is, faith in their invisible Head, love to His visible members. He is constantly thankful for this and mentions them in his prayers. Spiritual as they were they still needed his prayers, for the teaching in his letter was too deep for them. Isn't it too deep for most Christians today? And there is good reason for this, for Paul has been revealing the thoughts and purposes of God from a past eternity. So he prays unceasingly for them that they might receive a special gift from God to understand what he has written to them. And what is this gift? Why it is "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him." The God of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom he prayed is also the Father of glory that is, the source, the originator of glory. He has found all His glory in Christ in Manhood the One who said "I have glorified Thee on the earth" John 17:44I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. (John 17:4). The glory of the Father must be known not partially but fully. The gift of the spirit of wisdom and revelation would bring the Ephesians into the full knowledge of the Father of glory. He would have them know their privileges, the inheritance flowing out of them, and the power which brought them into them.
This is the first of two apostolic prayers in the Ephesian letter. The thoughts are so rich that they flood the soul like the rays of the rising sun, cheering us. If the lark soaring in the heavens bursts into song as the morning breaks, should not we with an infinitely greater prospect before us?
“And is it so! I shall be like Thy Son
Is this the grace which He for me has won?
Father of glory, thought beyond all thought
In glory to His own blest likeness brought.
O Jesus, Lord, who loved me like to Thee?
Fruit of Thy work, with Thee too there to see
Thy glory, Lord, while endless ages roll
Myself the prize and travail of Thy soul.”
And so in this prayer the prayer for conscious knowledge the apostle prays that the Ephesians might be enlightened "in the eyes of your heart." A strange expression that "the eyes of your heart" too literal a rendering for some translators who prefer "the eyes of your understanding" or something similar. But God is wiser than man. The eye is the inlet to discernment the heart, not the mind, the way in which the knowledge of God is imparted. We learn God not wholly through the mind as in the human learning process, but also and primarily from affections occupied with Christ where He now is. That is what is meant by "the eyes of your heart.”
The Apostle Prays That We Might Know the Hope of Our Calling
In simple language the hope of our calling here*1 means the complete accomplishment of the purposes of God as made known to us in the first three blessings. This ranges from its origin in a past eternity to the present time and on to a future eternity which makes us heavenly men predestinated to sonship. The hope of our calling viewed as a present thing is the conscious realization of the dignity of our relationship to God our Father in choice and sonship. It goes on to a future eternity when all shall see the fruit of the divine counsels to make us one with Christ, and partakers of the divine nature. For in that heavenly glory, at ease in the presence of our Father, and beholding the glory of His Son, we shall share divine thoughts and affections.
The Apostle Prays That We Might Know That We Will Be Displayed Before the World in Glorified Bodies
The Apostle's next petition is that we might know the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in the saints that is that when the kingdom comes we will be publicly displayed before the world in radiant, glorified bodies. These are known as spiritual bodies in Scripture, which also calls our present bodies "natural bodies" 1 Cor. 15:4444It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:44). Since an understanding of the natural body and its environment helps us to understand the spiritual body by way of contrast, we will consider both here.
The natural body. Our natural bodies belong to the Adam creation a passing flesh and blood condition. When man sinned God pronounced the judgment of death on his body but said nothing about his soul Gen 3:1919In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19). Born but to die, man also experiences in his body the effects of the fall in this world. Internally he suffers from hunger, thirst, disease, bodily weakness, the need for sleep; externally he suffers from the divided state of the world into which he is born. The Adam race is divided into male and female, into nations, religions, political systems, languages, wealth and poverty, literacy and ignorance, and so on. In every way, internally and externally then, man experiences the results of his departure from God in his body until finally he dies, and that body is sown in the earth in corruption, dishonor, and weakness 1 Cor. 15:42, 4342So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: (1 Corinthians 15:42‑43). Still the question arises "if a man die shall he live again?" Job 14:1414If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. (Job 14:14). Job, a Gentile, answers it this way "I know that my Redeemer liveth and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold and not another though my reins be consumed within me" Job 19:25-7. Martha, a Jew, met that Redeemer of whom Job spoke. She too believed in resurrection, but only in a general way. Jesus told her that His own would be resurrected if dead and would never die if alive (that is at His second coming, although He did not reveal that truth to Martha) John 11:24-2624Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:24‑26). That is why He is called the Savior of the body Eph. 5:2323For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. (Ephesians 5:23).
Peter tells us that our present body is only a tent 2 Peter 1:13, 1413Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; 14Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. (2 Peter 1:13‑14); Paul that our future glorified body is the house we await expectantly. For "in these" (our natural bodies) "we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven" 2 Cor. 5:22For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: (2 Corinthians 5:2). Our present bodies are completely inconsistent with the dignity of sonship to which we are predestined and unsuitable for our future reign with Christ over the universe. So Paul tells us that we cannot enter into our inheritance in the kingdom of God in our natural flesh and blood bodies 1 Cor. 15:5050Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. (1 Corinthians 15:50). These will be resurrected from the dust if we have fallen asleep in Jesus or changed in a moment if we are alive when Jesus comes.
The spiritual body. While a great deal of the doctrine of the spiritual body is found in 1 Cor. 15, the teaching permeates the New Testament. We must, therefore, bring it together from the passages which refer to it, if we are to understand the subject. "There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body" 1 Cor. 15:4444It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:44) is a plain statement that each body is separate and distinct. The spiritual body is incorruptible (negative) and characterized by power and glory (positive) 1 Cor. 15:42, 4342So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: (1 Corinthians 15:42‑43) just the opposite of the natural body.
It was the Lord Himself who introduced the subject of the spiritual body when answering the Sadducees. To mock the doctrine of the resurrection they invented a story about a woman whose seven husbands died successively following which she also died. Who should have her in the resurrection this was their challenge. The Lord met this by pointing out that in the resurrection they neither married nor were given in marriage but are as the angels of God Mark 12:24,2524And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? 25For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. (Mark 12:24‑25) also Luke 20:35,3635But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:35‑36). The great mark of the Adam creation was the division of the race into male and female Gen. 1:2727So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27). But this was due to the need to continue life when the race itself was subject to death. How could such a division as male and female be perpetuated in a deathless scene the glory of God.*2 The Lord clearly told us that it won't be. While the woman is forbidden to teach in the Church now 1 Tim. 2:1212But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. (1 Timothy 2:12) it is also true that "there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" Gal. 3:2828There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28). So "let the woman learn" 1 Tim. 2:1111Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. (1 Timothy 2:11) is in view of the eternal glory. Those who were women on earth will freely exercise their priesthood in the glory when the feeble state of the Adam body has yielded to the incorruptible, spiritual body. He has "made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father" Rev. 1:66And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:6).
We now leave the subject of what the spiritual body is not that is, it is not male and female to what it is. Scripture makes it clear that our body is to be like the Lord's own glorious body Phil. 3:2121Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:21). We will look at some of the Scriptures which tell us about the Lord's glorious body as a guide to what our own spiritual bodies will be like. First there is that familiar scene in John 20. The doors are shut but Jesus comes and stands in the midst. The ability to pass through matter, then, is a characteristic of the spiritual body. But this is so unnatural to our thinking that the disciples in the last chapter of Luke are terrified, and afraid at the Lord's appearance. They thought they had seen a spirit. To set their minds at rest the Lord invited them to gaze at His hands and feet and handle Him something they assuredly did as we know from the opening verse of the first epistle of John. He has a body of flesh and bone now, not flesh and blood, for the blood has been shed. Still, it is a man's body a spiritual body but not a spirit. As final conclusive proof He eats a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb, which no spirit can do. And it was as a Man He ascended to heaven. We could not ascend to heaven in our natural bodies, the life principle of which is breath Gen. 2:77And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7). But we can and will in our spiritual bodies. Because the life principle of the spiritual body is spirit, space means nothing to it. We will be able to ascend from earth to meet the Lord in the clouds 1 Thess. 4:1717Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:17) and descend from heaven to earth as well Rev. 21:1010And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (Revelation 21:10). Such bodies will be needed in our role of administrators of the universe with Christ, the Last Adam, the life giving spirit, the heavenly Man. Another scene which is full of instruction on this subject is the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, James and John up into this high mountain "and was transfigured before them and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as the light" Matt. 17:22And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (Matthew 17:2). Now we are told that "as we have borne the image of the earthly we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" 1 Cor. 15:4949And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:49). Here is a conferred glory "when we shall shine in light divine, in glory never fading." Yes, our bodies will be effulgent with light, clothed with light, as Christ was on the holy mount. This is the promise to the overcomer in Sardis Rev. 3:44Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. (Revelation 3:4).
“With Thee in garments white
Lord Jesus we shall walk
And spotless in that heavenly light
Of all Thy sufferings talk.”
Then too the language barriers erected at the Tower of Babel will be gone. We will all speak one heavenly language, communicated to us instantaneously, no doubt, like Adam following his creation. Gone too will be all national and racial distinctions. No wonder we sing a new song in heaven "Thou wast slain and hast bought us for God with Thy blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and hast made us kings and priests to our God and we shall reign over the earth" Rev. 5:99And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (Revelation 5:9). Finally mental powers commensurate with glorified bodies, suited to the Spirit born, the blood redeemed, are conferred on us. As the body is radiant so is the mind transcendent. We get an intimation of this on the Mount of Transfiguration Matt. 17:1-91And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. (Matthew 17:1‑9). We will know saints who have been with the Lord thousands of years and they will know us, just as those on the holy mount knew one another. These are "the powers of the world to come" Heb. 6:55And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, (Hebrews 6:5) powers too which will enable vast throngs to see the Lord at the same time. In our natural bodies how difficult it is for even a few thousand people to see one man. True, television allows crowds to see one person, but even so it is a feeble thing compared to the powers we will receive which will allow untold millions to see Christ.
So our bodies will be in every way suited to that sonship to which we are predestinated to that share of Christ's universal rule which the will of God has purposed for us. Time means nothing to such bodies, nor space, nor matter, and they will be effulgent with Christ's conferred glory.
The Apostle Prays That We Might Know the Greatness of God's Power Demonstrated in Christ's Resurrection and Ascension and Also That This Power Is Operative Toward Us
The reader should now consult the chart we have prepared to help us understand this part of the prayer. This chart makes it clear that God Himself permeates the prayer. Notice the seven references to "His" which are organized structurally into four central or "core" references with a single theme, and three other references with different themes. Of the three other references two precede the core references and one follows. This system of internal division ranges from v.18 of Chapter 1 to v.23.
We will first look at the four core references. Very clearly they are all about God's power. Now our natural inclination is to think of God's power in terms of natural phenomena awesome displays in nature such as exploding stars, sunspots, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, and so on. The Old Testament certainly speaks of God's power that way. But in the New Testament the power of God is viewed in an entirely different way the raising of the
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The Seven References to "His" in 1:18-23
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so that you should know what is the hope of
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HIS calling and what the riches of the glory of
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HIS inheritance in the saints and what
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the surpassing greatness of
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HIS power toward us who believe according to the
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working of the might of
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HIS strength which He wrought in Christ when
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He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at
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HIS right hand in the heavenlies… and has put all things under
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HIS feet and gave Him to be head over all things
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to the Church which is
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HIS body.
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Man Christ Jesus from among the dead and seating Him on God's throne. A Man on God's throne in the glory a risen Man this is new creation power and glory.
And this is the power which is brought before our souls as Paul prays "the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him down at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come" 1:21. Divine power, then, is looked at in two ways here resurrection and ascension. God has first of all raised a Man from the dead and secondly exalted that Man to His right hand (in Scripture always the figure of the place of power). In this prayer Christ is looked at as Man subject to the "Father of glory" and exalted by Him to the highest pinnacle of glory. "And has put all things under His feet" a figure derived from Oriental monarchs doing this literally to their subjugated enemies. But, you say, Christ has not subjugated His enemies yet. True, but possession of power and use of it are two different things. "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth" said the risen Lord Matt. 28:1818And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18) indicating not the use of that power as yet but its universality. So Paul writes "Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet. For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all things put under Him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor" Heb. 2:8, 98Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:8‑9). This Scripture explains the division of the seven references to "His" in 1:18-23. God's power toward Christ (and so "toward us who believe") is the subject of the four core references. The three remaining references are split so as to surround the four core references to God's power toward Christ as the planets surround the sun.
The three split references give us what is and what is to be. What is speaks of Christ's corporate relationship to the Church. He is now in God's presence exercising His Headship over the Church from that exalted position. But we have not as yet seen our Head He is in heaven and we are on earth. This is the teaching of verses 22-23. What is to be is the subject of verse 18 when we are in glory with the Lord. At present this is a hope, but a hope fortified with the assurance that the same mighty power God used toward Christ He will yet use toward us. That mighty power is resurrection and ascension "and hath raised us up together" (the power of resurrection for we were dead in trespasses and sins) 2:1 "and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" 2:6 (as Christ ascended to glory so will we). In 2:6 of course this is viewed as complete "in Christ" here it is rather a hope, awaiting the exercise of divine power to bring us into the Father's presence in the glory and the enjoyment of our inheritance.
And so the one thing which separates us from the future glory is the exercise of divine power to bring us into it. The way God eventually uses His power is to bring the world into a series of sweeping divine judgments unparalleled catastrophes, the shadows of which are beginning to fall upon the world as I write. They are foretold in the Book of Revelation. They commence with the four horsemen of the Apocalypse in the sixth chapter and continue on in ever increasing severity until none are left to challenge Christ's rightful claim to "all things" the universe and all created intelligences in it for "all things" were given into His hands by His Father see John 13:33Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; (John 13:3).
The Introduction of Corporate Truth–Christ and the Church
Ephesians, although clearly the epistle of the Church, commences with the individual, his blessings, his future inheritance, his possession of the Holy Spirit as seal and pledge, followed by an apostolic prayer that we may understand these things in our hearts' affections. It is toward the close of this prayer that Paul introduces us to corporate truth the truth of the Church as the body of Christ. The reason for this is that in prayer we are in the presence of the Lord and it was in the presence of the Lord that Paul learned the truth that Christ is the Head of His body the Church. He was on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians when Christ appeared to him. He recounts the incident to Agrippa "I could not see for the glory of that light." "Saul, Saul," the heavenly voice called out, "why are you persecuting Me?" At that moment he learned that Christ and His people are one. Christ is the Head of His body the Church. In persecuting those poor Christians he was persecuting Christ for they were the members of His body. The Lord did not ask Paul why he was persecuting His people. No. While that would have been true it would not have shown him the enormity of his crime. "Why are you persecuting Me?" told him that while the Head of the body was speaking to him from heaven he had been persecuting the members on earth. The unity of Christ's body the Church meant that he was persecuting the Christ of God. No wonder he could not eat or drink for three days after that.
“What raised the wondrous thought;
Or who did it suggest?
That we, the Church to glory brought,
Should with the Son be blest
O God the thought was Thine!
(Thine only it could be)
Fruit of the wisdom, love divine
Peculiar unto Thee
For sure, no other mind
For thoughts so bold, so free,
Greatness or strength could ever find
Thine only it could be
The motives, too, Thine own,
The plan, the counsel Thine!
Made for Thy son, bone of His bone,
In glory bright to shine."*3
The central truth in the Ephesian letter is the counsels of God concerning Christ and the Church, which is His body. Christ is the object of the counsels of God, in whom the power of God is displayed and God's glory centered and we are united to Him. Indeed we were chosen in Him before the world's foundation to be members of His body. The body is the complement of the Head, and in this way its fullness. We are the body of Christ, the Man who divinely fills the whole universe the meaning of filling all in all. This truth was communicated to Paul with a light "above the brightness of the sun" blessed foreshadowing of the day when Christ, with His body the Church, will fill the whole universe with the light of His glory for He is Head "over all things" to the Church.
Summary of the First Apostolic Prayer
In the first apostolic prayer Paul retraces before God the truth which He caused him to reveal to us from 1:3-14. He agonizes before God that we might understand in our affections the objects God has set before us in the greatest revelation of His thoughts toward us. These divide into three our relationship to the Father (choice in Christ, son-ship, acceptance) the inheritance (Christ's and ours) and the Holy Spirit (the power of our new life, the pledge of our glorified bodies). Paul touches on these themes in his prayer without precisely repeating them in detail. It is more a revelation of what is in Paul's heart for us that we may understand the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory of the things he has unfolded.
The Headship of Christ to the Church is a new thought. Yet it follows logically. Christ has ascended to heaven. So He must exercise His Headship of the Church from heaven. But the members who constitute His body are on earth. They are "the fullness of Him who filleth all in all." "The fullness of Him" means that they are the complement of Christ the Man who fills the universe "all in all." This is how God views us.
An intriguing question is where does the first prayer end? There is no 'Amen' to tell us, as in the second prayer. Does it end at Chapter 1 or does it end at 2:10? Or is it left this way to trail on to infinity, so to speak, since it is concerned with our understanding of eternal things, of which there can be no ending? We can ponder such thoughts "for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God" 1 Cor. 2:1010But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10). He is also the power of prayer. This first apostolic prayer in Ephesians is preceded by a reference to "the Holy Spirit of promise" 1:4. Ephesians opens and closes 6:18 with prayer in the Spirit. Prayer in the flesh is vanity. Prayer must be in the Spirit to be effectual.