The Fullness of Christ
Introduction
Our text this morning is one of the standard lectionary texts used to recognize the church day of All Saints. The origin of All Saints day stretches back to the 4th c. and by the 8th c. November 1st had been solidified as the date the day was recognized by the church. Often times it is the Sunday immediately preceeding Nov. 1 that All Saints day is recognized which is today.
Ultimately, the Feast of All Saints is a feast that recognizes and celebrates all the saints of the church often particularly recognizing those saints who had died as martyrs.
One of the reasons our passage from Ephesians 1 is a great text to recognize All Saints is because Paul commends the Ephesians for their love toward “all the saints” (v. 15). But in addition to that, Paul prays for the saints in Ephesus that they would come to know all the benefits that are theirs because they are saints.
The passage breaks down into three parts but they are not equally weighted.
1. In vv. 15-16 Paul commends the Colossians for their faith in Jesus & their love toward the saints.
2. In vv. 17-18a Paul states his prayer for the Colossians
3. In vv. 18b-23 Paul explains his prayer to the Colossians
Paul Commends the Ephesians (vv. 15-16)
Eph 1: 15-16 “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,”
In verses 15-16 Paul commends the Colossians for two things. First, their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and second, their love for all the saints.
This is a common structure to Paul’s letters whee he commends the saints of the church along the lines of faith, hope, and love before praying for them which is what he does here.
Paul Prays for the Ephesians (vv. 17-18a)
Eph 1:17-18 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,”
In verses 17 through the first part of verse 18 Paul makes his supplication for the Ephesians.
The core of Paul’s prayer is that the Ephesian Christians would be given a Spirit of Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, by having the eyes of their hearts enlightened.
If you are familiar with Paul’s letter to the Ephesians you will know that our passage is the second of several long sentences that make up the letter. The first long sentence comes in verses 3-14 of Ephesians 1 and lays out the abundance of Spiritual blessings that the Ephesians have in Christ.
In those verses Paul speaks of the Ephesians having “every spiritual blessing the heavenly places” (v. 3), Being chosen (v.4), predestined for adoption (v.5), having redemptions (v. 7), obtained an inheritance (v. 11), and been sealed with the Holy Spirit (v. 13).
Having laid out all these things before the Ephesians Paul then prays that they would be given wisdom and revelation and enlightened spiritual eyes so that they might comprehend all that they have in Christ.
And this is the point in these verses for you this morning. One major aspect of maturing as a Christian is to grow in your understanding of what you have received in Christ. This is a prayer that you should have for yourself and for your family. This is a prayer that we should have for our congregation at Christ the King.
› So a brief point of application here is to seek to gain a deeper understanding of what you have been given by God. One scholar writes that the gist of Paul’s prayer here is that the Ephesians would grow in their intimate knowledge of their God who has saved and blessed them (Hoehner). This is Paul’s desire for the Colossians and it is God’s desire for you. That you would have this Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.
Paul Explains to the Ephesians (vv. 18b-23)
Eph 1:18b - “that you may know...”
As we move into the second part of verse 18 we begin to get into the meat of Paul’s prayer. This is still the content of Pau’s prayer, but he is giving the reason behind his prayer for the Ephesians.
Verses 18-23 are complex and are structured in a somewhat complicated way. They are almost like a Russian doll where the various emphases of Paul’s rationale are nestled inside of one another.
Ultimately, Paul wants the Ephesians to know three things which is why he is praying God would grant them enlightening.
1. The Ephesians would know the hope that they have been called to. (v. 18b)
2. The Ephesians would know the glorious inheritance God has in his saints (v. 18c)
3. The Ephesians would know the power of God toward them (vv. 19-23)
The Hope of the Ephesians (v. 18b)
Eph 1:18b “what is the hope to which he has called you”
The first thing that Paul wants the Ephesians to know is the hope to which they have been called.
In this section Paul is bringing time to bear on the Ephesians as they understand their faith. Here Paul is invoking both the past and the future.
Paul is invoking the Ephesians sense of the past because he is speaking about the hope that God has already called them to. It is a great comfort to Christians to be reminded that God has already called you. God has begun his work in your life in the past and God promises to complete the work that he begins (Phil 1:6).
As a Christian, you should look to your baptism, God’s weekly call to you in the eucharist, and God’s call to you weekly from His Word (read and preached) as sure and steadfast reminders that God has called you. God is calling you right now!
But of course the future is also invoked here. Because the Ephesians, and you, have been called to a “hope”. Christians are a people of hope because we are a people who serve a resurrected Lord and who have received the Spirit of Hope.
Paul’s desire here for the Ephesians is similar to what he prays for the Roman Christians in Romans 15:13 when he writes, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
The Glorious Inheritance of the
Ephesians (v. 18c)
Eph 1:18c “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”
And this future orientation continues in the last part of verse 18 where Paul mentions the second thing he wants the Ephesians to know. And that is the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.
This is a truly remarkable statement because it speaks of the saints as God’s inheritance. Paul prays that the Ephesians would have the eyes of their heart enlightened so that they might know the riches of God’s glorious inheritance in the saints
It takes eyes of faith to look at the church and see it as the glorious inheritance of God. But the Apostle John describes the church with such eyes of faith in Revelation 21:9-11 when an angel came to him and told him ““Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”
A large part of this glory of the church is the community that is brought together in the church. One of the fascinating findings in recent research is the concept of relational poverty. There is a real epidemic of loneliness in our society. Many people live in a state of isolation from family and friends.
Increasingly, family relationships and strong friendships between people are no longer a present aspect of people’s lives. More and more people are lonely and isolated and the consequences of this are detrimental for people. People were made for community and the individual does not function properly in isolation.
It is the communal aspect of the church’s glory that will shine more and more brightly in our modern context as people are increasingly isolated and begin to experience the affects of their isolation. The community of the saints in the church can serve as a life boat to those who are drowning in the loneliness of secular humanism.
God’s Power Toward the Ephesians (vv. 19-23)
The last thing that Paul wants the Ephesians to know in vv. 19-23. Here Paul states that he wants the Ephesians to know the immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward them.
If in the last two points Paul was drawing the focus of the Ephesians to the past and future aspects of what they should focus on, here Paul is focusing on the present. And this is probably why Paul expands more on this point than the previous ones.
Magnitude (v. 19)
Eph 1:19 “and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might”
The first thing that Paul speaks about regarding the power that God has toward the Ephesians is its magnitude!
Paul uses four different words for power in verse 19.
One commentator (Hoehner) offers the illustration of a bulldozer to rightly understand how Paul is using the idea of power here.
When someone tells you how powerful a bulldozer that is one thing. When you see the size of the bulldozer in person that’s another thing. Finally, when you see the bulldozer in action you get an even fuller idea of the power of the machine.
By using all of these senses of power, Paul is showing the Ephesians that the power of God toward them is truly great and active power.
One of the reasons for such a strong emphasis on power is due to the unseen nature of how God’s power is manifested in the lives of his people. When God’s power is at work it usually doesn’t look obvious. God’s power often reveals itself in defeating sin in the lives of his people or developing a spirit of prayer in his people or restoring relationships between his people (Wright). But while these things don’t seem like they are manifestations of God’s power, they truly are and it is important for Christians to remember this.
› The application here is to know that it is often in the unseen and small ways that God’s power is often mightily at work in your life. When you are tempted to use a harsh word with your spouse but you check yourself. When you reach out to a friend you are in a strained relationship with. All these seemingly small ways are ways that God’s power gets demonstrated in our lives.
Manifestation (vv. 20-33)
The second thing that Paul emphasizes about God’s power is the manifestation of God’s power in Christ.
Power Displayed in Christ (vv. 20-21)
Eph 1:20-21 “that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”
The primary way that Christians can know that God’s power is active in the world and in them is to understand that God has displayed his power in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him in the heavenly places above all rule and authority.
Subjected Everything Under Christ’s Feet (v. 22a)
Eph 1:22 “And he put all things under his feet”
The demonstration of God’s power in the resurrection and ascension of Christ is further demonstrated by the fact that God has placed all things under the feet of Jesus.
This is an allusion to Psalm 8 where David writes of how God will one day exalt humanity to the position of rule over all the creation. The Apostles rightly understood that Psalm 8 was fulfilled in Christ.
Hebrews 2 quotes Psalm 8 regarding Jesus stating, “You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet...Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.” (Heb 2:7-8).
The resurrection and ascension of Christ are the clear manifestation of God’s power and Christians are called to live in faith that all things are in subjection to Jesus Christ who is the king of kings and lord of lords, even if “we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”
We are to live in faith. And this is why Paul prayed for the saints in Ephesus and this is what you need to know as well. God’s power is at work in your life even if it doesn’t seem like. All things are being placed under subjection to Jesus even if it doesn’t seem like it!
Gave Christ to the Church (vv. 22b-23)
Eph 1:22-23 “and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
The final way Paul tells the Ephesians that God has manifested his power in Christ is by giving him as head to the church.
For Paul, the fact that Jesus is given to the church to rule the church is a manifestation of God’s power toward his people. This is easy for us to miss because we have such a low view of the church. But what is necessary is for us to change our view of the church to that of the Scriptures.
Too often we consider the works and institutions of man as great while the church sits on the sideline. The church will outlast all institutions of man and is greater than all the institutions of men. For whatever problems the medieval church had, one thing it got very right was a great reverence for the church.
Conclusion
I conclude with this, God greatly loves his saints and is committed to revealing his power to his people. Let us continue to have love for all the saints and for the church that Jesus is head and ruler over so that we might be built up in all the blessings of God that he has for his people!
Share this post