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The more we know God, the more we will know what we have in Jesus and the more we will grow in our faith and maturity in Christ.
Ephesians 1:15-17 - 15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 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,
How do you know that you are maturing in Christ? The multiyear vision of our church, 2025 and beyond, is maturing, mentoring, and multiplying. As we approach the next set of verses in our study of the book of Ephesians, how we can know that we are maturing in Christ? There are many tools that can help you to self-evaluate whether you are maturing in Christ or not. However, Ephesians 1:15-23 offers one of the most foundational ways to measure maturity in Christ— our prayer life. How is your prayer life?
The problem is that many people think maturing in Christ requires something new, something more than just salvation. People need to know that their salvation is not lacking anything; rather, it is the lack of understanding of what they have and how much they have in Jesus that prevents them from growing in faith and experiencing maturity in Christ.
This verse by verse study of Ephesians 1:3-14 describes what it is that believers have in Christ, which is they were chosen, adopted, redeemed, and sealed. Ephesians 1:15-23 describes what it will take to grow in faith to experience maturity in Christ.
The big idea is that every believer is expected to grow in faith and experience maturity in Christ, but the question is: how do we do that and what does this maturity look like? Ephesians 1:15-23 gives us answers by presenting a model prayer that teaches three truths about prayer as it relates to experiencing maturity in Christ: the priority of our prayers should be knowing God, the purpose of our prayers should be knowing Christ, and the proof of our prayers should be knowing the power in Christ. Our prayers can be a self-evaluation of our growth in faith and maturity in Christ.
The Priority of Our Prayers Should Be Knowing God (Ephesians 1:15-17)
Ephesians 1:15 starts, “For this reason…” Let’s look at that.
First, the reason we pray is critical to evaluating who we are and who we think God is.
Second, it determines the content and the priority of our prayers.
Third, it reflects what kind of relationship we have with God. If most of our prayers are for earthly things, that shows we don’t value eternity much. It also informs us of what kind of relationship we have and want with God and reveals our view of God.
What is Paul’s reason to pray here? In Ephesians 1:3-14 lists the many blessings with which God has blessed the believers. Following that, Paul says in verse 15-16 that “For this reason,” meaning the blessings in verses 3-14, he has not stopped giving thanks to God for them.
His theological knowledge of their predestination is the primary reason, but there is also a secondary reason, which is how they lived out their faith daily. So, Ephesians 1:15-16 reads, “15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…”
The word “saints” means the holy ones set apart by God in Jesus. It is easy to be a Christian in isolation but a real test of our faith is when we interact with others. This small church was in the city of Ephesus which had the temple of Artemis. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. In this religious, idolatrous environment, these believers held on to their faith in Jesus.
Acts 19 tells us that Paul preached to the church in Ephesus and even pastored them for several years. As he writes the letter to the Ephesian church from a Roman prison, I can only imagine his joy when he heard the report that their faith was not just some head knowledge but rather a practical reality of their lives. They were growing and maturing in Christ. As a pastor, I tell you, there is nothing more joyful for a pastor than hearing how his congregation is living out their faith publicly.
The principle I want us to learn here is that our faith in Jesus should never be reduced to a religious creed or a theological concept. It has to be evident to others through faith in action. Paul’s thanksgiving prayer is not only for their faith in Jesus but also for their love for all the saints.
This love is the agape divine love that comes from above. It is not just a mere emotional feeling that can go up and down or can come and go with circumstances but rather an unconditional, willful action toward fellow believers energized by God the Holy Spirit. It does not depend on our liking or disliking of others.
In my 25-plus years of ministry, I have seen that in many churches, there are people who refuse to repent and submit to other brothers and sisters, refuse to acknowledge that they are wrong, refuse to control anger, refuse to listen to others, refuse to make changes in their lives, and yet, they maintain that they are Christians. The problem is, somehow, they convinced themselves and others that irrespective of their rebellion, loveless, faithless, godless attitude toward other saints, their hearts are in the right place. First John 4:8 teaches, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Second Corinthians 13:11 says, “… Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
Our love toward others not only shows the condition of our hearts but also demonstrates the genuineness and growth of our faith in Jesus. Our horizontal relationship with other believers reveals our vertical relationship with God. We cannot have one without the other.
Paul, in his Thanksgiving prayer, commends them for both their faith in Jesus and love for other saints. However, in Ephesians 1:17, Paul immediately instructs them on what it will take to continue growing in faith to experience maturity in Christ. It shows our growth and maturity in Christ is an ongoing process. His petition in verse 17 says, “17 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,” The “him” here is God the Father Himself. Knowing God more is the priority of Paul’s prayers, and it should be the priority of our prayers, too. Verse 17 outlines three elements of his petition that they may have God’s wisdom, revelation, and knowledge.
Why God’s wisdom? The verse says Paul prays for God give the Ephesian church the Spirit of wisdom.
There is a debate over the word “Spirit” here. Some translations use an uppercase “S” for Spirit, and others use a lowercase “s.” The use of the uppercase “S” would be consistent with Paul’s mention of the triune God in verse 17, but inconsistent with the context of the letter. Remember that it was written to born-again believers who already have the Holy Spirit in them.
I think it is better to take this as a lowercase “s” in which case the spirit of wisdom would mean a disposition of wisdom. It means the inner personal discernment to see things in new and more accurate ways. The spirit of wisdom here is the attitude and a frame of mind that connects us to the divine wisdom, revelation, and knowledge of all that we already have in Jesus.
The problem with not growing in faith and feeling less and less connected with Jesus is not that our salvation lacks something or we need some new blessing or new knowledge, but rather, the problem is the lack of wisdom, a frame of mind to understand what and how much we already have in Jesus.
There is an old TV show called Beverly Hillbillies. In this show, a poor family suddenly became one of the richest when they discovered that the nasty black stuff oozing out of their property was oil. We have all the riches in our possession, but we do not understand its value.
So, we live like the spiritually destitute and the priority of our prayers reflects that. I am not saying that you should not pray for your needs. In Luke 11:3, Jesus instructed us to pray specifically for our daily provisions. However, if our relationship with God is reduced to an ATM or a food bank to meet our daily needs, we have missed the whole point of God revealing Himself to us through His Word.
Why God’s revelation? The Greek word “apokalypsis” from which we get the English word “apocalypse” means to reveal, to demonstrate, or show. Paul’s prayer is that God may show them what they already have in Jesus personally, positionally, and possessionly.
I was listening to a believer who said he wished he could get a copy of the gospel of Thomas. We don’t need any new revelation; we just need to pray that God may show us what has already been revealed in His Word.
Why God’s knowledge? The Greek word for knowledge, “epignosis” means to know something experientially, completely, and perfectly. It carries the idea of intimate personal knowledge of God’s person and work. The more we know God, the more we understand what we already have in Jesus, and the more our prayers will reflect it.
Application
Let me ask you again: for what reason do you pray? How often do you pray? What is your priority in prayer? Do you pray that you may know God more? Only when you know Him more do you know what you have and how much you have in Jesus.
Unless we know what we have and understand its value, we cannot benefit from it. Like Paul, we need to pray for a spirit of wisdom, a frame of mind that connects us to divine wisdom so that we may comprehend what we have in Jesus and pursue Him more.
Prayer is God’s gift to us so that we may talk to Him and God’s Word is God’s gift to us so that He may talk to us. You have been sealed with the Holy Spirit, and when you pray with the priority of knowing God more, He illuminates God’s Word.
I have four little children. Imagine if they only spoke to me when they need something. That will show that there is something fundamentally wrong with our relationship. If we talk to God only when we need something or open His Word only when we are in crisis, there is something fundamentally wrong with our view of God and our relationship with God.
The knowledge of God is not progressive because it has already been revealed completely in God’s Word, but knowing God is progressive because the more we know God, the more we will know what we have in Jesus and the more we will grow in our faith and maturity in Christ. Then, we neither settle for less and earthly things nor hold back anything from God.
Action Step
Let me share the priority of my prayers for the last couple of years. Because I know what and how much we have in Jesus, I believe in the vision of our church, which states, “We strive to be a Christ-centered diverse community caring for every generation in every situation” and I also believe in our mission “to make a difference by creating intentional gospel-centered spaces to worship, connect, and serve together.”
For this reason, I have not stopped praying for multiplication ever since the Lord led us to this vision and mission back in 2021. Because I know what and how much we have in Jesus, I am praying for the multiyear vision of 2025 and beyond, which simply put, is a vision to grow our church spiritually and numerically by maturing together, mentoring each other, and multiplying.
Because I know what and how much we have in Jesus, my view of God is greater than my logic or the total sum of our collective wisdom, so in faith, I can see multiplication taking place, sinners being saved, saints being sanctified, and disciples making disciples and reproducing disciple-makers.
Because I know what and how much we have in Jesus, I can see us raising children, youth, and young adults to know God more, and because they know what, and how much they have in Jesus, I see them being unapologetically radical for their faith in Jesus.
I can see our church being unleashed to do the ministry of the gospel to transform our families and neighborhoods. I can see the expansion of this building. I do not see what is here; in faith, I see what is coming down for us because the priority of our prayers is to know God more. I can see the church planting and I can see the sending of a new force of missionaries. Can you see it? Do you know what and how much you have in Jesus?
Often, I find my four-year-old twin girls singing, “There is nothing my God cannot do…” So, since September of this year, I, along with the elders and pastors, committed the rest of the year to praying and fasting for the 2025 multiyear vision because there is nothing our God cannot do. Prayers change hearts and prayers move God the Holy Spirit.
Appeal
Please don’t let the lack of understanding of what you have in Jesus prevent you from experiencing maturity in Christ. If we want us to be a church that wants to know God more and make Him known to others the join together praying for the 2025 multiyear vision. Because when we know what, and how much we have in Jesus we will care more about the millions of souls are perishing without Jesus. This is why, I will not stop praying and pushing us to do what God has called us to do. In many ways, Paul’s prayer here is my prayer for us as your pastor.
Study Questions
1. In Ephesians 1:15-16, Paul says, “For this reason…I have not stopped giving thanks for you.” To what reason do these verses refer?
2. Why is Paul praying for believers in Ephesus in Ephesians 1:16?
3. What petition does Paul make in his prayer for the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 1:17?
Deeper Study Questions
1. How do you react when you hear about others’ strong faith in Jesus?
2. How often do you pray for fellow believers in our local church or worldwide? Do you use the church weekly prayer list or a prayer journal?
3. How do you pray for yourself and others? Do you spend more time praying for your needs or praying that you may know Jesus?
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