For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 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, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 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. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Whether you are new in Christ or an old saint, there will be times when you feel spiritually weak and not up to the task. None of us like being there. So, what do we do when we find ourselves spiritually weak?
The first thing to do is remind ourselves that our salvation and walk with God are ultimately not up to us. We need to preach afresh to ourselves the gospel. The gospel is about what Christ has done for us, not what we are required to do for him. When I feel weak, I must be reminded that my Savior is the King of the Universe, and he has given his salvation to me. I didn’t earn it. It is His strength that carries me through life, not my own; in fact, the Scripture tells us that when we are weak, we are strong. We must refocus and get our eyes on the King of the Universe, not on our strength.
Paul gives us some great insight in our passage from Ephesians. He tells us the critical points of his prayer for the Ephesian believers. I want to encourage us to use this as a model prayer that we will pray for ourselves when we feel spiritually weak. There is one overarching request, “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.” This work of the Holy Spirit is to enlighten our hearts to have intimate knowledge of Christ. This moves us away from a superficial academic understanding of God into a genuine friendship with Jesus, an intimacy with the King of the Universe.
Paul then goes on to what we might call subtopics in his request for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened. The first is that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you. What does the Scripture teach us about our hope? Our hope is the resurrection and the glory with which it is accompanied. To expand a little, the hope in the resurrection implies our life with Christ and the rest of redeemed humanity in the New Heaven and New Earth in which nothing but righteousness dwells, and no sin will be there. It will be a literal glorious life. When we feel spiritually weak, it is a good thing to meditate on this future hope for all who have placed their trust in the finished work of Christ.
I remember when I first recognized this second subpoint, “What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” For years I had misread this thinking it referred to our inheritance in Christ, which is glorious. However, this is speaking of Christ’s inheritance in us.
7I will tell of the decree:
P{salm 2:7-8
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
We Gentiles are that inheritance, along with the faithful Jews. We are grafted into that olive tree of the Jewish heritage and have become the joy for which Jesus suffered in his passion and crucifixion. He earned us through his suffering and death.
Note that Paul refers to us as the “riches of his glorious inheritance.” That is how God views us, the image bearers of God. We are a glorious inheritance. Amazingly, we are said to be glorious, but the source of our glory is Christ, who inherits us.
The point for us, when we feel spiritually weak, is for the eyes of our hearts to be opened to see the great value Jesus puts on us as his inheritance.
The third sub-point is one where I know I am lacking. I don’t really comprehend the greatness of his power toward me as a believer. Paul expounds on the tremendous power of God that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him in the heavenlies next t the Father. This is the defeat of death, sin, and disease. This power transforms all of us from sinful creatures deserving of the wrath of God to holy sons of God who will enjoy God’s presence for eternity. I most certainly need to Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God to increase my grasp of this power of the King of the Universe toward me. It is far greater than I have apprehended.
When you are feeling spiritually weak, I encourage you to meditate on Ephesians 1:15-23 and pray this prayer for yourself. As you meditate on this and pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God in these three areas, your life will be transformed. Take the time to ask God exactly what he means by these statements, then listen. Let him guide you into other passages that augment your understanding. I am confident that you will come out the other side no longer spiritually weak but strong in the Lord and the power of his might.
