Hope, Inheritance and Power

September 1

Ecclesiastes 6-8

Psalm 100

Proverbs 21:22-24

Ephesians 1

Hope, Inheritance and Power

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the full knowledge of Him, so that you—the eyes of your heart having been enlightened—will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength, which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”  Ephesians 1:17-22 LSB

This passage is packed with truth!  Paul is encouraging believers to pray for spiritual insight to understand divine truth.  He is not just talking about intellectual understanding, but a deeper knowledge based on experience and faith.  The Holy Spirit abiding in us is able to help us see things that we would otherwise not be able to grasp.   “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”  I Corinthians 2:14 NIV  We can all think of times when things seem so obvious to us and we don’t understand why others can’t see it.  Often it is because it is spiritual insight God has given us to see the truth of a situation that those who do not have the Spirit or those who are not listening to the Spirit don’t have.  Paul wants us to have full knowledge of Jesus so that we can know the hope of His calling on our lives, the riches of our inheritance in Him, and the incredible power that is available to us through Him. 

Those who have accepted Jesus have a calling on their life that gives them purpose and meaning.  “Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13-14 LSB  The hope of eternal life gives us the motivation to persevere and walk in faith.  At salvation we become children of God.  “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, also heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”  Romans 8:16-17 LSB  Our future is secure.  We have blessings and rewards waiting for us in heaven.  Perhaps the most encouraging part of this passage is the assurance that we have the surpassing greatness of His power available to us now.  Jesus raised Himself from the dead.  He conquered death and hell and is seated at the right hand of God in heaven.  God has put all things in subjection under His feet.  He is the head over all things in this age and in the one to come.  All rule, all authority, all power and all dominion belong to Him.  He is over all and above all.  His power is at work in our lives to give us the strength and ability to live for Him, obey His commands and overcome any difficulties we may face.  We underestimate the power of His presence and the ability of His hand to accomplish His purposes in our lives.