Paul praised the church in Ephesus for their faith in Jesus, demonstrated by their love for all God’s people. The Book of Acts describes the early church as a close community: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:42-47.)”
We need that level of “one another” commitment today!
Paul goes from praise to praying for wisdom, knowledge, and revelation (Eph 1:17-18.) Knowing God, allows us to stand up in this fallen world. A world that celebrates sin. A world that mocks God's Word.
But, it’s not enough just to know the facts about God. Wisdom is based on how we use facts. We must, therefore, continually seek out Godly wisdom.
To this end, Paul prays that God open the eyes of our hearts (Eph 1:18) so we can see ourselves in the light of our special relationship to Him. In doing so we will understand the “incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him (Eph 1:19-20.)”
This is no ordinary power. It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in heaven. It is so powerful that the grave cannot hold it. It is so powerful that death cannot end it. It is so powerful that time cannot diminish it.
We need to understand and tap into the power of God. His power is greater than our needs. His power is greater than our worries. His power is greater than our pain.
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