“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every

spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)

And so, if you are here today, and you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are included in Christ and have been blessed with every blessing that comes

from God.

God the Father has decided long ago that whoever believes in His Son, Jesus Christ, will be:

- holy and blameless in His sight (v.4)- adopted as His sons and daughters (v.5)- forgiven of their sins through the blood of Jesus (v.7)- lavished with His grace (v. 8) - shown the mystery of His will (v. 10)- made His inheritance, bringing praise to His glory (v. 11-12)- marked with the Holy Spirit as a seal of God’s ownership (v.

13-14)

A Prayer for Someone who Has Everything

Ephesians 1:15-23

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. I pray also 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 the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who

believe.

That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead

and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,

and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every

way.

4 Things that they may know:

1. know God better

2. know the hope to which He has called them

3. know the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints

4. know His incomparably great power for them who believes

All these four things can only be given to them not by human intelligence but by divine revelation of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation mentioned in v. 17

Know Him Better

(John 17:3) Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

(2 Peter 1:3) His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Know the hope to which He has called you

(Romans 5:2) through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in

the hope of the glory of God.(2 Cor. 1:10) He has delivered us from such a deadly peril,

and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us

(Gal. 5:5) But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.

(Col. 1:27) To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is

Christ in you, the hope of glory.(1 Thes. 5:8) But since we belong to the day, let us be self-

controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

(Titus 1:2) a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised

before the beginning of time,

Know the hope to which He has called you

2 elements of hope, there’s the future looking

(1 Cor. 15:9) If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

The second element of hope is the object where we put our hope on

(1 Tim. 6:17) Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Know the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints

- He sees us as His glorious inheritance, it means there’s something about us that God thinks is glorious

- Now He has another child to love by, He can now use our hands to work through, our lips to speak through, our eyes to see through

- Let’s desire to be more available to God’s purpose and agenda

Know His incomparably great power to them who believes

- there are 2 aspects of this great power, one is the resurrection power.

- Jesus has defeated all our enemies, including death

- 2nd aspect of this great power is His reigning and ruling power

- He is now seated at the throne and reigning at the right hand of God in the heavenly realm that is far above all rule and authority (Eph. 1:22)

Conclusion:We who heard the good news of salvation and who believed in

Jesus Christ, we were included in Christ and marked with the Holy Spirit as God’s seal

God the Father has blessed us with all kinds of spiritual blessing because we belong to Christ (Eph. 1:3)

For this reason, let’s pray for one another to receive wisdom and revelation that come from the Holy Spirit, that we may become intelligent and discerning

That we may know Him better, growing in our personal encounters with God and increasing in our knowledge of His heart, His purposes

That we may know the hope which He has called us, living the present life but looking forward to a better future that God has planned for us

That we may know the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, that we are made to be His inheritance that brings glory to Him, and therefore we should become more available for His service

That we may know His incomparably great power to us who believes, that we will be assured that all enemies that seek to destroy us, even death, has been defeated by Christ Jesus. And that He reigns and He rules even at present when evil seems to dominate