‘OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART, LORD.’
In one of his great prayers, Paul the apostle asks that God will give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ (Ephesians 1:17). In this way, we shall get to know Christ better. Indeed, without such help from the Spirit of God, there is no way that we can know […]
A SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION
In Ephesians 1:18-19, Paul the apostle prays we will experience divine wisdom and revelation. First, that we will know the hope to which we have been called (1:18). Such knowledge of Christ takes away despair and gives us a sense of joyful expectation for the future! There is no place for despair in the life […]
GOD’S WORKMANSHIP
‘We are God’s workmanship,’ says Paul, ‘created in Christ Jesus to do good works…’ (Ephesians 2:10). The word ‘created’ draws attention to the fact that when we come to Christ the image of God is renewed. Notice, too, that Paul goes on to say that we can now do the good deeds that God has […]
STILL MORE BLESSINGS
The list of the ways in which God has blessed us seems never-ending. The first chapter of Ephesians contains a smorgasbord of good things. He sealed us with the Spirit (1:13). God gives his Holy Spirit as a guarantee. When the Spirit comes we know that our inheritance is secure. He has given us an […]
INFINITE AND ETERNAL
God’s blessings are as infinite and eternal as he is himself. If we personalise them, we have a powerful list of affirmations. Here are some of them– I am blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3) I am redeemed (1:7) I am forgiven (1:7) I am included in Christ (1:13) I am seated in […]
THOSE WHO WORSHIP IDOLS BECOME LIKE THEM
When we kneel to man-made objects or worldly practices, we are not elevated. By worshiping something less than ourselves we ourselves are lessened by the experience. So the Scripture says that those who worship idols become like the very idols they worship (Psalm 115:8; 135:18). In contrast, those who worship the Lord become like him, […]
MORE BLESSINGS
The list of the ways in which God has blessed us seems never-ending. He forgave us (Ephesians 1:7). No longer do we need to feel guilty before God. Every sin is forgiven–not only those that we have committed in the past, but also those that we may commit in the future. All sin is covered! […]
ALWAYS A VERB, NEVER A NOUN
In the New Testament, ‘worship’ is always a verb, never a noun. In other words, the focus is on doing. It is concrete, not abstract; active, not passive. To worship the Lord is to devote our energies to honouring him. It is easy to make ‘worship’ a noun–the name of a theological concept–and then study […]
YET MORE SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS
Christ is ‘far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come’ (Ephesians 1:21). There is no title or position greater than his–and he shares this mighty achievement with us! Never again can we say that […]
HINDRANCES TO BLESSING
So why don’t more people enjoy God’s blessings in their daily lives? We may be ignorant of God’s promises and declarations of grace. We may not even know they exist. We may be doubtful about them: can it really be true that such things belong to us already? That all we have to do is […]