PT-4 "Petition for Believers" from Eph. 1:17

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/2/2018 8:25 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus: PT-4 “Petition for Believers”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                        Focus:  Ephesians 1:17

            Message of the verses:  “17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

            Well we only have a little bit to go on this sub-section as I hope to complete it this evening.  In our last SD we looked at the word for spirit which actually means to breathe. 

            Paul prays for the Ephesians believers, and all who read this letter that they would have a special disposition of wisdom, the fullness of godly knowledge and understanding of which the sanctified human mind is actually capable of receiving.  We have mentioned that some of the inheritances that we have in Christ will only be given when we get to heaven, and some are very difficult to understand, and so that is why Paul is praying for believers to understand what we are capable to understand.  MacArthur writes the following which is what he believes Paul is praying for:  “Let them know how much they possess in your Son,’ he says, in effect.  ‘Give them a keen, rich, deep, strong understanding of their inheritance in Christ.’  He prays for the Holy Spirit to give their spirits the right ‘spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.’

            “Revelation, though used here as a synonym of ‘wisdom,’ deals with God’s imparting knowledge to us, whereas ‘wisdom’ could emphasize our use of that knowledge.  We must know and understand our position in the Lord before we are capable of serving Him.  We must know what we have before we can satisfactory use it.  This additional ‘wisdom’ goes beyond intellectual knowledge.  It is far richer and Paul desired that the Ephesian Christians, like those in Colossae, would ‘keep seeking the things above, where Christ is.’ Col 3:1).”

            Paul prays that the Ephesian believers, that is that God would give them revelation and wisdom in three particular areas of God magnificent, incomparable truth.  Here are the three things he prays about:  1) for them to come to a clearer understanding of the greatness of God’s plan, 2) the greatness of His power, and 3) the greatness of His person.  I have to say that these are three lofty prayer requests to receive from the Lord.

Answer from to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Acts.”

Today’s Bible question:  “Moses belonged to what tribe?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/2/2018 8:59 PM