For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him…..
Ephesians 1.15-17
Paul rejoiced in the standing of the members of the church in Ephesus, which as we have seen over recent days, came from God who had blessed them in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places v.2 This blessing led to their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love towards all the saints. So he thanked God for them and prayed that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him…..
These verses should challenge us for a number of reasons, and should cause us to examine ourselves.
I encourage all of us today to ask the following questions..
Am I living in such a way that other believers give thanks for me?
Am I giving thanks to God for my fellow believers because of their love for each other and for me?
Am I growing in wisdom and knowledge of God?
Am I praying for my fellow believers that they might grow in wisdom and knowledge of God?
I know I fail in these areas and if we are honest we would all, almost certainly, say the same for it is true that however long we have been believers we are each still ‘a work in progress’. The question is, how does that work progress? Is it not, to a considerable extent, as we work together in the ways outlined above?
Of course we are individuals but we are also members of a larger body and we grow as we interact together, encourage one another and pray biblically for each other.
There are further challenges as the second half of Ephesians 1 continues and we will reflect further on them, for our blessing, over the next few days.