Ephesians 1: 15-23
For this reason
Because of what he just said in the first part of this chapter (yesterday's blog entry).
I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you
And because they believe in Christ Jesus.
And your love for all the saints,
They've demonstrated their faith by their treatment of one another.
Do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
While Paul prays for their needs, he also gives thanks for them; this is an encouragement.
This is what he prays for:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
O that the Father would grant us all His Spirit of wisdom, to understand; and revelation, to perceive what we didn't know before; in the knowledge of Him, both the Father and the Son, and their plan for the Ages and our part in it.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
That God's Light would be in our heart, our emotions, our feelings, our passions.
So that you will know the hope of His calling,
To understand all that God wants to give us and do for us when He calls us to Himself.
What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
All the wealth of all the ages, and all the Source of wealth in Heaven, that our Father will put at our disposal to enjoy and to use in our responsibilities in His Family Business.
And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
The might and strength and power to do His will and carry out His directives, both now and in the World to come.
These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead
The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit that lives in each one of us who believe.
And seated Him at His right hand in the Heavenlies, 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.
Because Jesus humbled Himself to become a Man with a true human nature, and stooped so low as to take on Himself to die the shameful death of a criminal, the death each of us deserves; thereby conquering death to rule over it--God the Father granted Him to have the authority to take full responsibility for all of Mankind, to be our Savior and Redeemer, and also to be our King and our Judge.
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him as Head over the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
So Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty over all creation, having the power and authority to rule and govern and judge every creature, of every age and time.
And, as we the Church are His body, we are His hands and feet to do His work. What He does, He does through His body; just as my brain in my head tells my body what to do, Jesus is our head who directs our activities.
Right now in this World during this Age we are living in, through the days ahead marching into His Glorious Appearing and setting up His Kingdom to rule for a thousand years.
And on through the explosion of this Earth and the implosion of this Universe; and the forming of the New Heaven and New Earth, completely different than this one we know; into sitting on His Throne with Him, ruling and governing His Kingdom in His authority, through all eternity, forever and ever!
O my Father, You are tremendous! Your wisdom and understanding gives order and logic and reason to the chaos. This is Your Love loving Your Creation.
And Your Love has made Mankind, and Redeemed Mankind to the state You originally intended us to be. Father, You want us to want to come to you and love You back, so we have that choice.
So many of us of Mankind have fallen into such depravity that we seem to have no hope, being addicted to the deceptive attitudes and lifestyles that lead to death. Our enemy, the Liar, is hard at work, laboring intensely to keep Mankind out of Your Loving lap and away from everything that is lovely and beautiful and beneficial, keeping us in the dark.
But You sent Your Son to conquer that death, to gain the victory and win the war against the Liar and his minions. And He has accomplished that directive. When He comes again, He will tie up the loose ends, and actually destroy death as He has destroyed all other things that were against us.
And His Kingdom and Peace shall continue to reign and grow and increase throughout all eternity future. And Father, You have granted us, His body, to reign with Him!
This is incredible! This is so much more than I would ever even think of or want. I think that I would just want to be comfortable, not even that wealthy. But Your plan for me, as part of Your Great Plan of the Ages, goes way above the top!
I can't even imagine what all You have in store for me, and for all of us who believe.
O Father, please send workers into Your mission fields. Send out Your Word, that will not return to you empty, without accomplishing Your purposes.
Reach out to all Your little lambs who haven't yet heard of You, let them know of Your Love, and draw them into the safety of the fold, that there will be One Fold and One Shepherd.
And cover the Earth with Your Good News, Father, that every creature would hear and perceive and understand to make a clear and informed choice to accept or reject Your grace and mercy.
That all the lost will be found, and no one will have any excuse, without exception.
And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim in every language that Jesus Christ is Lord over all, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
