Ephesians 1:16 Thank You

Man by nature is an ungrateful creature (Rom 1:21), and we live in particularly ungrateful times (2 Tim 3:2). Many Christians have been affected by the ungrateful atmosphere which surrounds them and are deprived of gratitude by the spirit of age. “Thank you,” has become a word for the weak, as it admits that apart from the help of another, you could not have accomplished the task at hand. Non-Christians are unthankful because they do not know of salvation by grace alone – if they believe in eternal life at all, they usually think of it as something for which they are working for or somehow merit. One who believes that he has earned or merited something does not count it as a gift, but as what is due him, so he is unthankful. But Christians know better; we understand that anything we receive is from God as a consequence of His grace. When a Christian fails to be thankful, it is only because he has not lifted his eyes to the throne of grace, from which all blessings flow. But as he does so, gratitude will take its primary place in the true prayer of the true Christian.

We see by example, how enlarged Paul’s heart was in thankfulness to God for the salvation of the souls of others. He realizes from his own firsthand experience that the new birth, from start to finish, is a miraculous act of God’s favor. We are bound, he wrote, to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth (2 Thess 2:13). Paul saw thankfulness as a matter of duty; in light of all that he knew God has done to save a people, he writes, “we are bound to give thanks!” Such a spirit of joy consumes heaven as, we are told, there is joy in heaven over the repentance of one sinner (Lk 15:7). In 1 Thessalonians 3:9 as Paul hears Timothy’s report of the faith and love of that church, he is so deeply affected that he cannot find the appropriate words: for what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God.

How well you understand grace is reflected in how thankful a person you are. You cannot simply excuse thanklessness as a property of your personality or upbringing. To be unthankful is sin, and it must be repented of. If you find that you do not often give thanks to God for other Christians, then ask God to enlarge your heart so that you might understand the magnitude of His grace; for only as you realize this, will you become a thankful person.

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Ephesians 1:15 Faith and Love

… after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints … Ephesians 1:15

Having completed his doctrinal doxology describing the glorious spiritual blessings which the children of God enjoy, Paul turns to give thanks and pray for the Ephesian church who have received these blessings. He prays constantly for them that their wisdom, faith, knowledge, and understanding would increase in order that they might know what is the hope of their calling. As we have already observed, this is a prayer that is prayed, not for the unsaved, but for Christians; but how does Paul know that the Ephesian church has persevered in faith. Recall that Paul was intimately involved in the work of planting the church at Ephesus; but now he writes several years later, as he is pleased to discover that their faith was not a passing emotion, but had continued and was demonstrated in their love for one another.

The mere fact that a man attends church and professes to be a Christian is no proof that he is indeed one. This is a great fallacy that has been propagated by churches of various denominations. The mere fact that one thinks himself to be a Christian is not enough; the fact that others count him as one is not enough. If we are to have solid assurance, there is in our text, two valid tests which we must apply – one refers to belief and the other to practice. Whatever else may be true of us is irrelevant if we fail to pass these two tests.

The first test is genuine, personal faith in the Lord Jesus. There are many very good, benevolent, moral people in this world who are not saved. We are not saved by doing good works, but on the basis of faith alone in Christ alone. This is the starting point for every Christian. It is not belief in God in general, as many religious people believe in God. It is not a mere ascent to the facts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; even the demons, we are told, believe in this manner, but such belief is not the same as saving faith. A Christian is one who trusts Jesus Christ – He is the center of his whole outlook on life. Everything he considers, he does so in light of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His real presence in his life. A Christian is one who sees and finds everything in His Lord and Savior. He places no faith in himself, and realizes that all of his own efforts at being good are useless and worthless, and only that which is done to the glory of Jesus Christ has any lasting and genuine value. Faith in the Lord Jesus means that I have cast my entire hope upon Christ and what He has done for me, and nothing less than His person can satisfy me.

Then, as day follows night, love for all the saints, necessarily follows genuine saving faith. Humans are naturally hateful, envious, vengeful, and prejudiced beings – if we love at all it is only those who love us back or can give us something in return. However, for one to love all of the saints, something must have happened to him; if a man loves the saints, you can be sure he has a new nature. How about you? With whom would you wish to spend your time? If you could choose to have dinner with one person, would it be the President of the United States or your humble Christian brother? Would it be your favorite actress or your meek sister in Christ? Would it be a baseball or football star or that unknown missionary in Africa? Can it be said of you, that others have heard of your love for all the saints? – not just the pretty, pleasant Christians with whom you get along, but the least of them who are your brethren?

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Judges 6:33-40 Fleece Faith

Impossible situations confront all of us throughout life – the death of a loved one, a life-threatening illness, a disability that we are born with or that is caused by an accident, separation or divorce, bankruptcy or loss of a job, a serious sense of emptiness, loneliness, or depression, a deep-seated lack of purpose or meaning in life. Throughout our lives, such solemn circumstances often arise and grab hold of us. As we face these crises, we have a choice to make – we can be weak and wavering, allowing the crisis to defeat us, or we can be strong in faith and attack the dilemma head-on. But take note of this fact: if we stand alone in any crisis – that is, only in our personal strength – the outcome will be unpredictable. We may overcome the crisis, but we may also be totally defeated and crushed by it.

However, there is wonderful news, glorious news! There is a faith available that will always conquer in all crises, no matter how severe or terrifying. That faith is faith in God. Whether or not we conquer the most severe crises in life does not depend upon our faith itself, but upon the object of our faith, God Himself. God alone can assure victory over all crises. In all circumstances, but particularly as deal with the most severe crises of life, we must have faith, specifically in the God of Scripture – or our Lord Jesus Christ – not in our own strength or ability, nor in the strength of mankind. Consider death, for example. Even though the latest technology of medicine can extend life for a brief period of time, we still cannot conqueror death. However, that inevitable day of leaving this world through the portals of death can be conquered only by God Himself.

Faith is essential throughout life, and faith in God guarantees us the victory. Believing God, trusting Him, and having faith in His love and concern for us pleases God; and such active, living faith in Him stirs His help, as we face the crises of life.

Faith is the great subject of the present passage of Scripture. Do you have a doubting, fleece faith, or faith in the God who removes doubt?

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Ephesians 1:15-23 How Do You Pray?

What is the most urgent need in the church today? Sexual purity? Integrity? Care for the needy? Church planting? Evangelism? Expository Preaching? A case can be made for any of these; however in our day, where we find a conflict for every moment of our attention, perhaps the most urgent need in the church is that which most often gets squeezed out – namely, Holy Spirit-empowered prayer. When it comes to knowing God and knowing how to pray, our church culture is spiritually stunted. Yet Robert Murray M’Cheyne declared, “what a man is alone on his knees before God, that he is and no more.” A convicting statement, you say? Well, rather than continually beating yourself up over a meager and ineffective prayer life, how about considering what to do about the conviction! How do you pray?

To begin with, we must realize how it is, that many of us have come to this present feeble condition. There is very little discipleship in how to pray in the modern church. When you were a new Christian, chances are that someone told you that prayer is easy, something that anybody can do – just talk to Daddy. While this is true, such an attitude risks trivializing what is an holy event. Others are taught that a truly Spirit-wrought prayer must be ecstatic and include many “Lord Gods” and “justs” and an occasional utterance in a ‘heavenly tongue.’ In some cases prayer is taught apart from any knowledge of God whatsoever. In reality, much praying is not done because we do not know how to pray. One effective way to pray is to tie your prayers to your Bible reading. As it has been said, “pray with your eyes open” – and not merely open, but upon the Scripture. As you think through what is written in the Word, it will help you to organize analogous prayers. In Ephesians 1 we find a model prayer of the apostle Paul from which we can draw from his theology of prayer to apply to our own prayers.

We have often heard it said, “If God is sovereign why pray?” On the other side, “Prayer changes things.” Comments such as these demonstrate our deficient ideas about prayer. Many people equate prayer only with supplication or request. While this is an aspect of prayer, it is only one of many. Ephesians chapter 1 is a prayer in its entirety. In it Paul addresses God while thinking about the Ephesians. He first exults in a glorious doxology rooted in a deep theological understanding of the sovereignty of God. Paul prays because he knows God is sovereign. But then Paul also intercedes. He knows what James writes, “you have not because you ask not,” so he is not afraid to make petitions in prayer. To fail to intercede in prayer is to flee from your responsibility as a Christian. Petitionary prayers honor God because He is a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God. D. A. Carson observes that the God of the Bible acknowledges that He is not less that utterly sovereign and not less than personal and responsive.

This week, read Paul’s intercessory prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23. Read it often – and then pray with your eyes open – with the text before you. Begin with the words, “For this reason …” In light of all that you have learned about what God has wrought in salvation – pray. Arrange the content of your prayers for the people of your church according to what Paul prays. While it is not wrong to pray for your aunt Tillie’s health that your children would do well in school, realize that Paul’s prayers stretch much farther than the temporal and physical needs of the church. Take the words of this text and personalize them for those whom you pray for.