Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and blameless before him.
In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons
through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of our
trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace,
which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and
insight
making
known to us the mystery of his will, according to
his purpose,
which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the
fullness of time,
to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance,
having been predestined
according to the purpose of him who
works all things
according to the
counsel
of his will,
so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might
be to the praise of his glory
In him you also, when you heard the
word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him,
were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the
praise of his glory.
Paul, in his prayers
"for saints who are in Ephesus, and are
faithful
in
Christ Jesus
(Ephesians 1:1, ESV),
asks that God
“may give you the Spirit of wisdom
and revelation,
so that you may know him better”
(verse 17).
Prior to his prayer for the spirit of wisdom and revelation,
Paul reminds
the Ephesian believers of the blessings
God has bestowed upon them
(Ephesians 1:3),
their adoption as children through Christ
(verse 4),
the wisdom and insight they have been given
(verse 8),
and
“the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure,
which he
purposed in Christ”
(verse 9).
He also reminds them that they have been
“
marked in him with a
seal,
the promised Holy Spirit,
who is a deposit
guaranteeing our inheritance”
(verses 13–14).
Now he desires for them to
be given the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
Since Christians receive the promised Holy Spirit
at the moment of Salvation
(John 14:17),
the spirit of wisdom and revelation that Paul prays for cannot refer to the initial gift of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s reference could easily be to an attitude or frame of mind
(although the NIV and ESV capitalize Spirit, other translations such as the NASB and BSB translate it as “a spirit,” and the NLT simply has “spiritual wisdom and insight”).
If not the Holy Spirit, then what does Paul ask for in his request
for “the spirit of wisdom and revelation”?
The key
is in the phrase that follows,
“in the knowledge of him”
or
“so that you may know him better”
Paul had commended the Ephesians for their faith in the Lord Jesus
and their love toward all the saints
(Ephesians 1:15),
but now he is asking God to give
them a deeper and greater
understanding of the mysteries of
His character and will,
to know Him more thoroughly and intimately.
Now that they have the Holy Spirit in their hearts,
Paul desires Him to grant them
more understanding and greater insight.
The “wisdom” is a better understanding
of the doctrines of God,
and the “revelation” is a clearer picture
of the
divine character and will.
In the NLT, the prayer is that believers would have
“spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.”
The AMP translation has Paul asking that God “may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation that gives
you a deep and personal and intimate insight
into the true knowledge of Him.”
God is infinite,
and He can never be fully known by finite creatures.
We all need wisdom from above.
No matter how far we may advance in our
understanding of God,
there is an unfathomed depth of knowledge that remains to be explored.
Scripture is full of admonitions to
grow in our knowledge of Christ
(2 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:2; Ephesians 4:15).
Paul outlines some of the mysteries
he wants the Ephesians to understand through this
spirit of wisdom and revelation.
He desires them to
grasp
"the hope to which he has
called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance”
(Ephesians 1:18).
This is the hope of eternal life, which Paul refers to as the
“upward call of God in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 3:14, ESV).
We inherit the riches of eternal life
through Him who saved us
and
called us to holiness in Christ
before time began
(2 Timothy 1:9).
Paul also prays
the Spirit will reveal
God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe”
(Ephesians 1:19)
--power so great it raised Jesus from the dead.
It’s a power that we can only
comprehend
as we possess the spirit of
wisdom and revelation.
The spirit of wisdom and revelation is not some mysterious blessing given to a special few, and it is not the ability to speak as a prophet.
Rather,
it is the work of the Holy Spirit
to help the people of God
understand the things of God
more
fully and completely.
what does God's Word reveal?
know his word.
1) sound theology is clear and in control, it's governing the flock
2) theology and the will of God must be understood
then god reveals purposes for his kingdom
not vice versa, we can't impose on god,
he leads us.
If he's
not leading you,
you don't know him.
3) god intervenes in our lives, we don't intervene on him.
4) God is the source,
God is the wisdom, God is in Control
God is the
only way to -progress-
5) Experiencing God's will
comes through life experience, wisdom and revelation,
that's the centrality. and really the point.
Revelation of God's will comes through knowing the word-
which is what the purpose of the church is.
That needs to be foremost.
without the fundamental source,
there's not an anchor.
Human motivation just leads
astray and we aren't
really
accomplishing
God's will, but
man's will.