In the Scripture reading, Paul has given us a sentence that is nine verses long! (Some translations make multiple sentences.) We will only be commenting on six of those verses. In Ephesians 1:15-20, we see that faith in Christ should create love for His people. How do we handle that love? What should be our desire for the saints? This Scripture gives us a lot to think about and do. Our emphasis will be on the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power that has changed us and is still changing us so that we can know Him, love Him, walk with Him, serve Him.

Ephesians 1:15-16 - Dearness & Brotherhood - A Loving Camaraderie with God's People

Meeting Christians / Learning of Christians should cause us to begin a regular cycle of concern, desire, and joyful prayer for them. They are family. Paul reveals this throughout the book of Ephesians. See Ephesians 3:14-21; 6:18-24 cp. Philippians 1:2-11; Colossians 1:2-12; 4:2-4,7-15; Romans 1:9; 12:9-13; 15:30; 16:1-24; I Peter 1:22.

Ephesians 1:17 - Designation & Dependence - To whom do we pray?

• The true God is associated with the Father and His Son. See Matthew 6:9; Ephesians 1:3; 3:14; I Peter 1:3.


• Unless God (Father / Son / Holy Spirit) reveals Himself to us, we cannot know God. We cannot know the truth without Him. See Ephesians 2:1-7; Matthew 11:25-27; 16:13-17; John 5:25 (cp. Ephesians 4:20-21 [KJV, NKJV, NASB); John 6:44-45,63; I Corinthians 2:9-14.


• Our lives completely depend on Him. See Acts 17:28; Psalm 139:1-24; Isaiah 42:5.


• More Scripture: John 1:1,14-17 (cp. Hebrews 1:1-3; Colossians 2:9; II Timothy 2:13); 17:1,3,5; I John 5:20. Study John 14:9-23.

Ephesians 1:17-20 - Defining Spiritual Maturity & Growth - How to pray for the saints

Ephesians 1:17-18a - That God would give them the spirit of wisdom and knowledge - revealing more and more about Himself to them.

Ephesians 1:18b - That they would know the hope of His calling.

Ephesians 1:18c - That they would know the riches & glory of their inheritance, shared with all saints (Acts 20:32; Romans 8:18; Ephesians 1:11,14; Colossians 1:12; 3:24; Hebrews 9:15; I Peter 1:4). Also consider Matthew 20:1-16

Ephesians 1:19-20 - That they would know what power God has given us. It is the same power that God used when He raised Christ from the dead.

• I Peter 1:3-5 - Living Hope / Kept by the power of God


• Romans 6:4-11 - Baptism is a symbolic picture of dying to self and of the resurrection power of Christ giving us a new life (Romans 8:2-4).


• Philippians 3:10 cp. Galatians 2:20 - the power of His resurrection is more fully understood when we follow these steps:
  
  
  • We join in fellowship / partake of His sufferings (self-denial, reproaches, persecutions).
    
    
  • We conform to Christ's death. We assimilate / take on Christ's death by surrendering to God's will ("Not my will, but thine be done." - Luke 22:41-42).
    
    
  • We then are able to experience His resurrection power. His Spirit works in us to mortify fleshly patterns in our life and to find a new joy as we serve Him and serve one another (Philippians 1:20-21; 2:1-18; 3:1,3; 4:4-13). Mortify? - see the next bullet point.
  
  
• Romans 8:8-13 - Resurrection power
  
  The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead resides in the believer (Romans 8:11).
  
  He will not only raise our bodies in the future resurrection, but the Spirit of the Triune God is also presently working in us so that we can please Him (Romans 8:8-9 cp. Romans 8:4-7).
  
  The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is working in us to mortify the deeds of the body / the flesh (Romans 8:13 cp. Colossians 3:1-10). To mortify means to kill something, but it does not imply that you can put it out of existence. You will deal with fleshly patterns and impulses the rest of your physical life (Romans 7:14-25).
  
  Mortification of sinful deeds means that you take the power from something and make it stop operating. A slang expression is to "kill the engine," or "kill the lights." The engine or the lights are not utterly destroyed. They are turned off - made to not operate. So, we are to "kill" the thoughts and deeds of sin that try to operate in our life. This requires seeking the Spirit of God and yielding to Him. It requires His resurrection power enabling us to walk in newness of life (Galatians 5:16; Romans 13:14; 6:4-5,11-13). "Be killing sin. Or it will be killing you." - John Owen
  
  Note: Some people want to get mortification done in a one-time act that is called "entire sanctification" or "the second work of grace." In this lesson space does not allow a long discussion about this subject. Suffice it to say for now that mortification is a daily issue (Hebrews 12:1-14; II Corinthians 10:3-5; Luke 9:23).