Reflections Upon Paul’s Ephesians 1:15-23 Prayer – Part One

 

Reflections Upon Paul’s Ephesians 1:15-23 Prayer – Part One

 

Overjoyed to learn of the burgeoning Christian community in Ephesus, Paul writes and prays for this gathering of new disciples. He is also elated that the light of Gospel of Jesus Christ continues to spread throughout the Roman Empire. It is amazing that Christ’s message of love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and redemption reaches Ephesus, a major city. The Temple of Artemis stood in the city as an imposing religious structure. It ran three hundred columns on the side; possibly the length of three football fields. The cult of Diana remained unchallenged in the city of Ephesus until Christian disciples arrived. Following his apostolic mission to the city, Paul swells with enthusiasm when he learns of a burgeoning church community in a major Roman metropolis. He rejoices that the Gospel of Christ is reaching further into the Roman Empire. Beyond competing with emperor worship and myriad religions in the empire, the message of Christ is now available to average people, specifically the Gentiles. They have an eternal and earthly alternative to daily debauchery and licentiousness. Moreover, they can rightly relate themselves to the Risen Lord of  the universe who imparts unfailing love, redemption and personal transformation to them. He writes to the Ephesian disciples to encourage and empower them as well as express his unbridled excitement.

 

In this powerful first chapter of the book of Ephesians, Paul prays for the church. He starts a prayer that extends to the end of the third chapter. Typical of this learned man who wishes to impart the breadth and width of his knowledge and passion for Christ and His teachings, the apostle interrupts himself. He makes a few pastoral and theological detours within this prayer designed to empower his readers and hearers with a toolbox of spiritual disciplines. Each distraction affords the Ephesian disciples with practical tools for personal growth and spiritual development.

 

Central to this passionate pastoral prayer is the eighteenth verse. Paul intercedes on behalf of the Ephesians and asks the Heavenly Father to open the eyes of their hearts. He also asks Him to enlighten them as it relates to the hope in which they have been called and the glorious inheritance of God’s people. It is important to dissect that verse and its compound phrases. What are the eyes of the heart? How do you open them? Who opens them? Does God exclusively open them? How do disciples know when they are open? Paul’s statement evidently references a dimension of sight that exceeds natural eyes. Conceivably, it is possible to embrace daily life while simultaneously being blind to certain realities. Amid a very bleak experience, disciples can stumble in darkness because they fail to see any hope. Paul insists that Almighty God imparts eternal hope to disciples. In the Ancient Near East and specifically in the dynamism of the Roman Empire with its licentiousness,  myriad temptations and threat to the lives of Christian people, Paul encourages Ephesian believers to remain hopeful. Despite their sufferings and persecution because the civic religion of emperor worship fiercely opposed their wholehearted and unequivocal devotion to Christ, Paul recommends that they steadfastly put their hope and trust in Christ.

 

Paul then addresses the glorious inheritance of holy people. Anyone or anything that is holy has been set apart exclusively and distinctly for God’s purposes. Anyone or anything claiming to be holy cannot be contaminated by the vicissitudes of the world. They are clean vessels internally and externally. All residues of worldliness have been removed. For the people who have chosen proactively to devote themselves to the expansion of Christ’s teachings, reign and kingdom, they receive a glorious inheritance. As the generation of Israelites, who were born in the wilderness wandering years, unquestionably believed the promises of God inherited the Promised Land (Joshua 17); contemporary disciples who believe and trust God will inherit His covenantal promises. There are rewards to faithfulness in obeying God’s commands and promises.

 

Paul prays that the Ephesian believer will receive this revelation. He encourages them to resist the temptation to lapse into the quicksand of self-reliance. Oftentimes, we seek access to God’s power to realize our self-centered desires. We pay lip service to the concepts of discerning and obeying God’s will. Realistically, we do not want to know it. We really want His power to realize our will. In contrast, Paul prays that the church at Ephesus will abandon this ingrained self-centered fear. Paul rather hopes that they will allow Almighty God to show them the extravagance of knowing and living in His will. Hence, the apostle prays that God opens the eyes of their hearts to enlighten them.

 

You recall the childhood story of Pandora’s Box. Yielding to temptation though he had been warned straightforwardly and duly, someone opens the box. All types of critters, creatures and circumstances come out of the box. Unimaginable disastrous consequences appear. If only the person had listened to the dire warnings. Fearing destruction, the disobedient person finds solace and deliverance in the final thing that emerges from the box, the enduring attribute of hope. With the mercy of God and resilience, the errant person can seize hope and transform his life.

 

Similarly, Paul assures the Ephesians that they acquire hope as they genuinely rely upon God. He can redeem any situation no matter how adverse, misguided or erroneous. In opening the eyes of our hearts, the Holy Spirit reveals God’s presence. The fog of fear, depression, guilt, bitterness, cynicism, strife and other toxic emotions eclipse God’s presence. These penetrating emotions obscure hope. We cannot see anything positive. Paul says persevere within hardship believing in God’s unfailing love and unquestioned faithfulness. A personal Promised Land awaits if you seize hope.

 

Recently, the chief executive officer and director of human resources decided to terminate the employment of a staff member. In the three years and two months that I worked at this nonprofit organization, this team member had been given multiple opportunities to improve his performance, attendance and work relationships. They allowed two leaves for drug treatment. They mediated four or more verbally harsh confrontations with fellow employees whom he threatened. They allowed numerous occasions in which he disappeared for days and returned later without any explanation or doctor’s notes. He missed mandatory special days of work. His personnel file became thicker with disciplinary memoranda. A final outburst in the hallway of headquarters in which he berated his supervisor with profane and threatening words was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Upon reading the lengthy and detailed description of the incident, these senior officers resolved that this situation was untenable and warranted termination.

 

This fellow is still active in drug addiction and alcoholism. His personal hygiene suffers considerably because he devotes his money to servicing his habit. He lives in an apartment that the organization owns. A payroll deduction is the method by which he pays his monthly rent. He takes clothes from the donation bin that the organization uses to serve the community. Primarily, he utilizes food donation places in the surrounding neighborhoods to eat. Essentially, he has imprisoned himself to his addiction by establishing guard rails of food, clothing and shelter. He does not see his incarceration. He falsely believes that he is free. He fallaciously thinks that he is in control of his life because he guards against homelessness, hunger and nakedness. He did not realize that he was not free to lose his job or consider working somewhere else. He did not accept that he did not have financial resources for entertainment, travel, clothing, transportation or other activities. His enslavement to his addiction does not allow him to experience anything other than work and perpetual pursuit of a mood-altering substance. The termination equates with an earthquake in his life. The foundation has been shattered into countless pieces. What will he do?