Ephesians 1
Introduction
Only a few weeks ago we had the Pope visiting our shores and one of the features of his visit was the “Beatification of Cardinal Newman”. Understandably there was some confusion over what this meant. I was chatting with someone who asked me what this “deification” meant! In the Roman Catholic church there is a very detailed process by which somebody is declared to be an official saint. Beatification, which means the person is then called blessed, is part of that process. I think it is a shame that this official process obscures the fact that all of us who are part of the body of Christ are saints. What the process does is recognise formally what we all recognise informally, that some people stand out as shining examples of Godly living.
Many of you know of my interest in Celtic christianity. One of the key features of this is the saints. If you go to somewhere like Cornwall you will find large numbers of villages named after obscure saints. Often nothing is known about these saints apart from the church dedication, place name and sometimes their feast day. It is thought that by and large these saints were simply locally recognised holy people. It is clear that their influence continued after they had died and gone to be with their Lord.
I am a firm believer in the “communion of saints”. It seems to me to be a natural consequence of our belief in the resurrection. As we gather in worship Sunday by Sunday our voices are blended with those who have gone before us and now offer up songs of ceaseless praise in the throne room of heaven. The reality of the communion of saints has lead some people to pray to the saints. Whilst understandable the Scriptures encourage us more to pray FOR the saints. A good example of this is found in our reading from Ephesians.
In this passage Paul prays for the saints at Ephesus. In doing so he highlights a number of things, I would like us to be enriched in our praying for one another as we look at the content of his praying for the saints
Thanksgiving – in virtually all his letters Paul speaks about the sense of thanks giving he has when he remembers the saints. When we pray for one another do we share in that sense of thanks giving. I have been to so many prayer gathering where the leader has tried to have a time specifically for thanksgiving and it always seems terribly hard to stick to that. People inevitably go on from giving thanks to asking.
So what does Paul go on to ask for? Firstly he prays that the saints may have Spiritual Insight. “I keep asking that God...may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation”v.17 and “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be opened”v.18. This Paul’s first priority in praying for the saints – that they may be filled with the Spirit and have the eyes of their hearts opened. So often when we pray for one another we pray for physical things – health, safety, financial provision – how often do we pray for spiritual insight?
Paul goes on to identify four areas where this spiritual insight is needed – to know God, to know hope, the riches of inheritance and power.
Knowing God – we need spiritual insight in order to grow in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Paul’s prayer is that the saints may know God better. Is this our prayer for one another? Do we pray daily that we may grow in our knowledge and love of the Father who made us, the Son who died for us and the Spirit who sustains us?
Knowing hope – the next thing Paul prays for is that the saints may “know the hope to which he has called you”v.18. Chsitian hope is not wishful thinking – like hoping one might win the lottery. It is based on our relationship with God. In a parallel passage in Colossians 1 Paul says ”Christ in you, the hope of glory”v.27. Our hope of glory is based on our experience of Christ indwelling us by His Spirit.
Riches – not dosh but disciples! We are incredibly enriched through the fellowship we have one with another and through being co-inheritors of a heavenly kingdom. “Now if we are children (of God) then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” Romans 8:17. This is the glorious truth of the gospel
Power. Finally Paul prays that the saints may know the power of God in their lives. “his incomparably great power for us who believe”v.19. That power is like the mighty strength which raised Jesus from the dead. There are a number of words which we derive from the Greek word for power used here – dunamis. Dynamite, dynamic, dynamo.
Dynamite describes the explosive power which released Jesus from the grips of death and raised him to glory – this power is available to us all. Dynamic – our church life should be dynamic, constantly on the move as we follow the promptings of the Spirit. Dynamo – here I think of the steadier power which helps illuminate our walk with God.
Application
Today we give thanks to God for all the saints – living and departed. As we do so may we be encouraged in our praying for one another – that we may have spiritual insight, grow in our relationship with God, be filled with hope, rejoice in our inheritance and be filled with power to the praise of His glory.