Father of all mankind. But, converse ly. by virtue of salvation, God is spiritually the Father of only those who respond to Him through believ ing faith. Only Christians are truly children of God in a day when peo ple loosely speak of every human be ing as being a child of God. But, biblically, this is not true at all. It requires personal belief in Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 12:6, 7 we see this in a family relationship of dis cipline. Ephesians 1 :17 refers to “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.” The basic meaning of the Hebrew word glory is that of weight or heaviness. Consequently, a glori ous or weighty person was one who possessed a great deal of wealth or prestige. In the development of lan guage, the final meaning was char acter. In Romans 3:23 Paul wrote, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” He meant that all men had failed to live up to the character of the Lord. All true wis dom is derived from God. He is the unifying factor of life rather than man himself who is basically ego centric. Knowledge refers to the full understanding of spiritual truth. Di vine wisdom can only come through the ministry of the Holy Spirit as God’s revelation. C hapter F ive I p there is anything we need today, it is spiritual enlightenment. In Ephesians, all the truth Paul wishes to impart seems to be set forth in the form of praise and prayer. It’s as though the Apostle is instructing his readers while on his knees. As a matter of fact, the first three chap ters of this Epistle are almost wholly occupied with expressions of grati tude and desire. The last three chap ters give us practical applications of these blessed truths. This prayer which begins with verse 15 of chapter one and continues through verse 23 is full of sublime
teaching. This prayer-petition is based upon the thanksgiving which it follows. The prayer itself begins with a note of praise as he expresses gratitude for the report reaching him of his readers’ faith and love, the faith of these believers who mani fested in acts of sympathetic love. In its substance, the prayer is a request for fuller and experimental knowledge of all those divine bless ings which are ours in the heavenlies. In verse 18 he speaks of “the hope of his calling.” In this hope we were saved. How wonderful that we should be able to meditate on such great truths! This is the anchor of our soul. It is a treasure laid up for us in heaven. The second object of knowledge in his prayer life concerns the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wants them to appreciate the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. The Church is the special possession of our Lord. He has made it His heri tage. It was purchased by His pre cious blood. Members of the Church, the Body of Christ, appreciate their own standing in the Lord. They have been chosen by Him to show forth His glory. They belong to that celes tial city where the walls are of jas per, the gates of pearl, and the streets of gold. Then Paul prays that we may “know what is the exceeding great ness of His power to usward who believe” (Eph. 1:19). How much strength is available for the Chris tian in his daily living? How great is that might to which we can look for the fulfillment of our hope? It is unlimited. The power which God is exerting toward the Church is ac cording to that working of the strength of His might which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. How much pow er was necessary to take Christ cru cified, mutilated, and dead and raise Him in newness of life, radiant, tri umphant, and glorious? That same 27
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker