How often he sent us terms of capitulation! Dr. Hammond thinks it was written about the year 58, and Dr. Lightfoot places it in 59, and the fifth year of Nero. What prerogatives did David attribute to God (vv. 391-422) argues at length that Paul is referring here to the power of God in raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life when He saved us. | GotQuestions.org, Is there any power in positive thinking? It is a matter of constant complaint with Christian people that they fall so far below their aspirations and hopes. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary), John MacArthur has an excellent discussion of this verse - Paul uses four different Greek synonyms to emphasize the greatness of that power. You have given us freedom, That I'm dressed in Your royalty He rarely had a good nights sleep, and guards stood constantly at his door. Then we begin to possess the power that God has already given us in Christ. We must live as saints, Gods holy ones, separate from this evil world. Because he wants the field? This inheritance will be fully realized in the future. Youll not be happy until you know the hope of His calling. (See the Three Tenses of Salvation), Lehman Strauss- And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe (1:19). But where is He?. Calmen had expected her former teacher to say, "I knew you could do that.". 1:3), you are less likely to succumb to temptation. Prayer meetings that support only one aspect of prayer are imbalanced and can quickly be awash in negativity. Believers already have that power. The Greek word translated power is dunamis, from which we get dynamite and dynamo. Ephesians 1:18 The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, Read more Share Copy Show footnotes Ephesians 1:18 The New International Version (NIV) 6:5 = in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;; Eph. We, who are God's tillage, must make no bargain with his ploughshare, and withhold no acre from the operations of his Spirit. What Does It Really Mean That Your Body Is a Temple? Hes the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Think about it: When the church holds a Bible study, concert, or picnic, many people show up. (Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary). THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Languagecopyright 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Ephesians 1:7,11 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; , Ephesians 3:8,16 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; . (2) The other view is that the inheritance means all that we will inherit in Christ. Ephesians 1:19 is a power packed passage with 4 Greek synonyms for power that give a great glimpse of the God's manifold power, especially His resurrection power (cf Ro 1:4+). At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. (Ephesians 1:18) What an extraordinary combination! Romans 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Ibid). Knowing God has given you His very best in Christ (Rom. The inner man can see (Ps. 4:16; Phil. It sounds vague and theoretical. It grows even taller when he prays that we would know the glory of Gods inheritance in the saints. But this is as impossible to our unaided energy, as for the swallow to follow the majestic flight of the golden eagle, soaring sunward. NET since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints. Rather, as Paul will go on to say, we were dead in our sins, but God raised us up. It is reserved in heaven for you. In verse 18 he prays that we will comprehend those great truths, which he summarizes in the phrase, the hope of His calling.. Some of the fairest hopes that ever blessed human vision; the most delightful friendships; the most perfect dreams of delight, have faded and withered before our eyes. Of course, all these blessings are only for those who meet the conditions set forth in Eph 1:1-2 (ED: THOSE WHO BELIEVE). In 1:18-19, he elaborates on what that means, namely, that God wants us to know three essentials about our salvation that will give us assurance about our high calling as God's people. Paul did not pray for power to be given to believers. Romans On the Saturday before, California businessman Charles Fuller read about Raders visit in the newspaper. Amen. As Paul shows (Rom. His call now is to all those redeemed by the blood of Jesus to showcase to our world Gods mercy, grace, and salvation (Hebrews 12:14;Matthew 5:16). In other words, if we now have come to believe in Christ, we can know that it took nothing less than Gods mighty power to bring us to that point. The Christian Church is precious to God. In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul is praying that God would give the saints a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the true knowledge of Him. 18:1; Rev. Reprinted by permission. Wealthybut miserable! 5:10; 8:14; 14:4, 26; 15:6; 18:10; 27:24; 30:25; 31:25; Eccl. When you begin to understand what is the hope of His calling in your life, the assurance and certainty associated with that calling and when you begin to realize that now we only have the earnest of that calling, but that one day well have the full payment, then whatever comes your way you can stand fast on the truth of what God has accomplished for you in Christ in the past, present and future. This power was irresistible. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have resurrection power! 1:4; 2:37; 3:4, 20; 4:1, 13f, 21ff, 30f; 5:7; 7:7; 8:6f, 22, 24; 10:8, 16f; 11:1, 6f, 10, 15, 17, 19, 25, 34; Hos. Ephesians 1:18-19 In-Context 16 I couldn't stop thanking God for you - every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. | GotQuestions.org, Is there power in the name of Jesus? 1:3; 2:1; 3:9; Hab. Here are the other two uses in Ephesians. God's power is sufficient for our every need. Ephesians 1:17-18 - MSG Bible - But I do more than thank. I ask - ask In following the call of God, we must be sure to obey His instructions in Scripture. Whereas the first and second concepts to be understood dealt with the past and future respectively, the third deals with the power of God in the present time toward believers. Luke used ophthalmos figuratively in recording Christ's charge to Paul that He was sending him to the Gentiles to open (anoigo) their eyes so that they may turn (epistrepho) from darkness (cf "prince of the power of the air" in Eph 2:2+) to light (cf Col 1:13, 14+) and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness (sending away) of sins and an inheritance (for which they were predestined before the foundation of the world, Ep 1:5+) among those who have been sanctified (set apart - here referring to the initial act of belief although more commonly in NT referring to the ongoing day to day salvation of the believer = sanctification, which is also by faith) by faith in Me. He knows that future hope has the potential to motivate us to present obedience. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. This expression was often used metaphorically for faith (Pss. Thats why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldnt stop thanking God for youevery time I prayed, Id think of you and give thanks. Hope (1680) (elpis) (See also study on Believer's Blessed Hope) expresses a desire of some good with the expectation of obtaining it. Ephesians 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. On the other hand Alexander Maclaren asks Is that heaping together of synonyms or all but synonyms, mere tautology? They are, so to speak, what he looks forward to enjoying forever. There is no mortgage on his estate; no suits can be raised by opposing claimants, the price was paid in open court (1Co 6:20, Rev 5:9), and the Church is the Lord's freehold for ever. When her teacher finally did let her discover for herself that she would one day be Queen of England, Victorias response was, Then I will be good! Her life would be controlled by her position. Commentary on Ephesians 1:15-23. -- Glenn Spencer, Glenn Spencer - Old fashioned Holy Ghost power is the need of the day. The gospel is dynamic, Gods dynamic, and so is powerful in the transformation of human lives. The wealthy devoted their treasure to the cause, and all classes sacrificed everyday amenities for troops in the field. There are too many Christians trying to do the work of God without first being filled with God. Heart (2588) (kardia) is most often used in the Bible not of the literal organ that circulates blood in our body. Meditate on the truths in Ephesians Chapter One. See discussion of the value of pausing to ponder this term of purpose or result . May God not find the whine in us any more, but may He find us full of spiritual pluck and athleticism, ready to face anything He brings. It sounds like religious hype. If you are still the same miserable crosspatch, set on your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you. Revival and blessing come to the church when we stop looking at a picture of God and look at God Himself! It is from from which we get theocracy, the rule of God; autocracy, absolute rule; democracy, the rule of the people; and plutocracy, the rule of the wealthy. The field is the world. He teaches you to recognize and uphold what is excellent so that you will be sincere and blameless before God (Phil. Thus here Paul is emphasizing Gods power that already saved us rather than the power that He gives to sustain us. He told them they could do anything God wanted them to do through Christ who would strengthen them (Phil. But God waits to realize in us all that He has prepared for us; and the third item in the apostle's prayer for his converts is that they might know "the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened By the Spirit of God already, to see the exceeding sinfulness of sin; the insufficiency of their own righteousness; the beauty, glory, fulness, and suitableness of Christ, as a Saviour; the excellency, truth, and usefulness of the doctrines of the Gospel; in which their understandings were before dark, but now had light into them: wherefore these words are not to be considered as part of the apostle's petitions, but rather as what was taken for granted by him; and are to be put into a parenthesis, and the following words to be joined in connection with the preceding verse; unless it should be thought, that the apostle prays for greater illuminations, and for more spiritual light, and that the eyes of their understandings might be more and more enlightened; the phrase, (lkvh Nye) , (omma thv dianoiav) , "the eye of the understanding", is Rabbinical, and often to be met with in Jewish writings F6; the Alexandrian copy, and several others, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, "the eyes of your heart"; and to, (twbblh ynye) , "the eyes of the hearts, or minds", is a phrase used by the Jewish writers F7: that ye may know what is the hope of his calling; by which is meant, the effectual calling of the saints; which is not a call to an office, or a call merely by the external ministry of the word; but which is internal, special, powerful, high, and heavenly: and this is the calling of God, of which he is the author; who calls with an holy calling, unto eternal glory by Christ Jesus; and which is without repentance: and the hope of this calling, is either eternal happiness, which is the thing hoped for; or Christ, who is the ground and foundation of it; or the grace of hope, which is exercised on both; or all three: for hope of eternal glory, as it is founded on Christ, may be said to be the hope of the calling of God, because it is wrought in the soul at the time of the effectual calling, and what saints are then called to the exercise of; and calling grace, is an encouragement to hope for eternal life; since whom God calls, he justifies and glorifies: and now the apostle prays, that these saints who were called by the grace of God, might know more of Christ, the foundation of their hope; and what that is they are hoping for, and more and more what it is to hope for the same, upon the view of Christ's person, blood, and righteousness: and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints; the saints themselves are the Lord's portion, and the lot of his inheritance, in whom he is, and will be abundantly glorified; but here it rather seems to design the heavenly inheritance before spoken of, of which the Spirit is the earnest; and this is the Lord's, it is of his preparing, and it is his gift, and a very rich and glorious inheritance it is: hence it is not only signified by mansions, and everlasting habitations, by an house, and by a city, but by a kingdom; the riches of grace are preparatory to it, and the riches of glory are comprised in it; and this is in, or among the saints, who only have a right unto it, and a meetness for it; and what this inheritance is, with the riches and glory of it, will not be fully known in this life; and indeed but little of it is known; so that such a petition as this is always proper and pertinent.