Ephesians 1:15-18a - Faith and Love

Todaywe're continuing in Ephesians 1:15-18. Paul desired the Ephesian Christians tounderstand what great wealth they had in Christ. Paul knew of their faith andlove, and in this he rejoiced. The Christian life has two dimensions: faithtoward God and love toward men, and you cannot separate the two. Now theChristian life always begins with faith. Salvation is experienced by faith inthe Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 10:8-13; Ephesians 2:8-9). But then the realproof of our faith is our love toward other believers and toward the people inthe world around us. We are to love them as Christ loved them. He loved them somuch that while they were yet sinners, He died for them on a cross. We are tolove others even as we want others to love us. TheScripture teaches us that when we walk with God, live in His Word, when we arefill with His Word, that we will be like a tree planted by the rivers ofwaters, bringing forth fruit in its season. Our leaves will not wither, andwhatsoever we do will prosper (Psalms 1:2-3). Now, when you have the Word ofGod, abiding in your heart, living by the river of waters, the water of God's Word,and filling your life with it, your root of your faith will go down deep intothe heart of God. Then my friend, you will be like a tree that is glorious, alife that reflects and shines forth the fruit of the love of God.  Yes,faith is the root and love is the fruit. Don't ever forget that faith is theroot of our Christian life and love is the fruit of our Christian life, andalso the outward evidence that we truly have been born again. But Paul knewthat faith and love were just the beginning. The Ephesians needed to know muchmore. This is why he prayed for them, and for us. Inthe four prison prayers of Paul found in Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Philippians1:9-11; and Colossians 1:9-12, we discover the blessings he wanted his convertsto enjoy. In none of these prayers does Paul request material things. Hisemphasis is on spiritual perception and real Christian character. He does notask God to give them what they do not have, but rather prays that God willreveal to them what they already have. Beforewe study Paul's four requests in this "prayer for enlightenment"in Ephesians 1, we must notice two facts. First, enlightenment comes from theHoly Spirit. He is the "Spirit of wisdom and revelation" (Isaiah11:2; John 14:25-26; 16:12-14). With his natural mind, man cannot understandthe things of God. He needs the Spirit to enlighten him (1 Corinthians 2:9-16).The Holy Spirit reveals truth to us from the Word, and then gives us the wisdomto understand and apply it. He also gives us the power—the enablement—topractice the truth (Ephesians 3:14-21). Second,this enlightenment comes to the heart of the believer (Ephesians 1:18).Literally this verse reads, "The eyes of your heart beingenlightened." We think of the heart as the emotional part of man, butin the Bible, the heart means the inner man, and includes the emotions, themind, and the will. The inner man, the heart, has spiritual faculties thatparallel the physical senses. Theinner man can see (Ps. 119:18; John 3:3).Theinner man can hear (Matt. 13:9; Heb. 5:11).Theinner man can taste (Ps. 34:8; 1 Peter 2:3).Theinner man can smell (Phil. 4:18; 2 Cor. 2:14)Andthe inner man can touch (Acts 17:27). Thisis what Jesus meant when He said of the people: "They seeing see not, andhearing they hear not" (Matt. 13:13). The inability to see and understandspiritual things is not the fault of the intelligence but of the heart. Theeyes of the heart must be opened by the Spirit of God. Thisis why Paul prayed this prayer for the believers at Ephesus. This is a wonderfulprayer that we can also pray for family and friends on regular basis! May God’sHoly Spirit open the eyes of our heart today! Godbless!