WE HAVE IT ALL!

Ephesians 1:18-19a
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Do you realize how much God has made available to you, dear Believer?  Do you count the promises that are yours in Him who saved you?  If you're like me, you probably go about your day to day life without really considering all that is ours in Christ.  Sometimes in the midst of difficulty, I hope and pray in a rather uncertain way for His word and His promises to be real in my current situation.  "God, are you there?"  "God, do you hear my cry?"   I can't help but wonder, if I lived in this awareness every moment of every day . . . how different I would be and how different would be my sight.  Paul wants his readers to know, to be fully aware, of all that God has made available to those who believe.

The heart is the seat of thought, of understanding, of feeling.  It is in the heart that the Holy Spirit provides that inner awareness of our hope in God, the riches that are ours in Christ, and His power directed toward you.  But let's break it down.  First, that "hope" to which you and I have been called is eternal life.  The hope of something better makes my momentary afflictions seem easier to bear.  First and foremost, our glorious Father wants us to be and remain assured of our future glory. (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:17-20)  Second, we have inherited all the "riches" of God and heaven through our faith in Jesus Christ.  Provision, healing, forgiveness, truth, understanding, wisdom and so much more makes me rich! (2 Corinthians 1:20; 2 Peter 1:3-4)  Third, and not at all least, is His "incomparably great power," an unimaginable divine potency that is directed toward all who believe.  (I'll speak more about this power in my next post.)  No power on this earth or below can take me down because my God is more powerful and is always at work in me and surrounding me.  We're marked, remember. (Romans 8:38; 1 Peter 1:5)

Believers, we have it all!  Today I'm praying for the eyes of my heart to be enlightened so that I might know all that God has made available to me.  Today I'm praying for my sight to change.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NIV

Enlightened,
Kerry

IT'S A REVELATION!

Ephesians 1:15-17 

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

The Ephesians had embraced the word of truth and were sealed with the Holy Spirit and for this reason Paul's thanksgivng for them rises up in prayer.  News had been brought to him in Rome of the Ephesians faith in the Lord and their love for others.  Galatians 5:6 tells us that faith expresses itself in love.  They were on the right track and Paul was expressing his pleasure at what they learned by giving thanks for them and remembering them in his prayers and he was letting the Ephesians know it. The word "remembering" literally means "making mention."  Deeper than that, however, is that it implies that Paul was not just sending up a blanket prayer of thankfulness for the Ephesians as a whole.  Paul was mentioning each one that he knew in the church in Ephesus by name.  The Apostle Paul remained deeply involved in the lives of those with whom he helped to bring to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  He was no slouch when it came to prayer or study. 

The believers in Ephesus have been taught about the Holy Spirit and Paul was helping them to take it a step further . . . to go deeper.  "Revelation" refers to insight into the mysteries of God's divine truth.  Friends, we cannot even receive Christ as our Savior without first receiving a revelation, insight, that Jesus indeed died for our sins.  You know this to be true by how many people out there have heard this truth but do not believe it to be truth.  A revelation is needed and that can only be given by God, the glorious Father.  The Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of truth at least 3 times in the Book of John. (John 14:16; 15:23; and 16:13)  I cannot over emphasize the importance of reading and knowing God's word.  It is in the pages of God's word where the mysteries are hidden and the truth is found.  And, it is from the truth found in God's word that the Holy Spirit can begin to open the eyes of your heart.  What Paul wants for the believers at the church in Ephesus, and for us now, is to follow suit.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and revelation into the mysteries of God's word so that we might know Him, the glorious Father who loves us without measure and beyond reason, better.

Please read the following piece from 1 Corinthians 2:7-16 as if the Apostle Paul was writing directly to you as he received it straight from the heart of our glorious Father.

Friends, 
No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 

~Paul 

Following suit,
Kerry 

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED . . . I'M YOURS!

Ephesians 1:13-14

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

In verses 11 and 12 (see previous post), Paul was addressing the Jews alone.  In verses 13 and 14 he addresses the Gentiles.   Paul is not trying to draw any kind of line between the Jews and the Gentiles.  On the contrary, he is reminding the Gentile Christians that they are fully incorporated into the Body of Christ with the Jews. In the previous two verses, he was reminding the Jews that though they were the first to believe it does not mean that they alone get to share in the inheritance of Christ.  He is trying to show that there is no difference now.  We are co-heirs, equal partners, and we have a full share in the inheritance.  We (i.e., all those belonging to God's family) came into it the same way.  We heard the word of truth -- the gospel of our salvation.  Jew and Gentile, alike.  The Jews of the Old Testament started with the promise of a Savior and salvation and it was their job to share that good news with the nations.  They were privileged because they were chosen to take on this task.  They still had to trust God for His grace and mercy just like we do now.  And when Jesus came, they had to accept the word of truth the same as the Gentiles did.  Now we're all privileged and chosen to take on the task of sharing the gospel.

At the moment we believe, God's word says we are sealed with the Holy Spirit -- marked so that it is clear that we belong to Him.  Think of the word "seal" this way: *something affixed to a document to guarantee its genuineness; it indicates ownership and ensures protection; it represents a designation of office in the state of service.  Once you believe, you have the promised Holy Spirit in whom all God's promises are fulfilled.  Once you believe, you are a genuine member of the family of God, you hold a place of belonging and are under God's protection and are assured a place to serve in His kingdom.  What's more, the Holy Spirit is not just a seal, but a deposit.  Think of "deposit" this way: *the first installment in a major purchase; a token payment assuring the vendor that the full amount will eventually follow.  The gift of the Holy Spirit is the first installment of our inheritance.  At the end of the age, God's treasury, heaven itself will be opened up to all who are His in Christ.  God's Holy Spirit is no small deposit.  God gave us His Holy Spirit as a guarantee of His faithfulness to me and to you!  Meanwhile, we wait.  We wait for the rest of the payment and the Holy Spirit is our reminder that God is real and He fulfills His promises!  THIS, my friends, is a GENEROUS GOD!!!

Marked,
Kerry

*Definition taken from Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, pg. 754.