What All Christians Need to Know

The church declares the glory of God (Ephesians 3:20-21)!

God the Father has chosen and predestined us according to His sovereign plan. We are redeemed and claimed according to Christ and His sacrifice for us. Those in Christ are part of His bride. By the Spirit’s work, we are sealed until the day of redemption. All of this is to the praise of His glorious grace.

While in this age of distractions, busy, preoccupied, and often interrupted, Ephesians 1:15-23 teaches us how believers need to think. Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians to be thinking about what they should know.

Your Walk with Christ Encourages Others (Ephesians 1:15-16)

As Christians, we need to know that our walk with Christ encourages others.

Acts 20:17-24 records the time of Paul’s ministry to the Ephesians, discipling and training them from house to house and seeing their obedience. Paul expresses to the Ephesian elders that he will unlikely see the Ephesians again face to face.

Paul later writes this letter to the Ephesians from a prison in Rome. He has heard good news about these believers for it has been reported to him how they are living, their faith in the Lord Jesus, and their love for all the saints. This causes Paul to give thanks to God.

These Ephesian Christians demonstrate genuine faith in their perseverance in belief and their love for one another. Paul hears of this and is greatly encouraged by these spiritual children walking in the truth.

The testimony and obedience of the Ephesians are an encouragement to Paul in times of difficulty. Having been imprisoned for over two years, Paul writes of his thankfulness for the Ephesians. Though limited by circumstances, he can write and pray. Paul reaches out to the Ephesians from his prison cell, thanking them and praising God for their faithfulness.

The obedience of the Ephesians encourages Paul just as our obedience encourages others.

Your Position in Christ Is Glorious (Ephesians 1:17-23)

As Christians, we need to know that our position in Christ is glorious. Paul prays for the spiritual eyes of the Ephesians to be opened to God’s wisdom and knowledge, to what they already enjoy in Christ.

Firstly, Paul wants them to know "what is the hope of His calling," a glorious position and future in Christ.

Secondly, Paul wants them to know "what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." The Ephesians and all the church are God’s inheritance described as "riches." Paul wants them to know about the riches of being God’s inheritance. God values the church.

Thirdly, Paul wants them to know "the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe." Ephesians 1:19-23 describes the glorious nature and reality of this power. This is power to salvation and eternal life for us who believe, as well as the power to obey and live rightly.

This power that raised Christ from the dead and established Him as ruler over all is available to each of us. Paul wants the Ephesians and us to know about the greatness of God’s power towards us as Christians for our position in Christ is glorious.

Paul sets an example for us in how he prays for the Ephesian Christians. Our prayers for one another are often imbalanced with emphasis on the material and little attention to the spiritual.

May our prayer lives go beyond health needs, safety, and successful employment (Ephesians 3:14-19). May we also be praying for the spiritual vitality of our sisters and brothers in Christ so that the way they think and what they prioritize would change. So that God choosing us, predestining us to adoption, redeeming us, claiming us, and sealing us with His Spirit would all matter so much as to capture our attention daily.

In Ephesians 1, God wants us to give glory to Him for the church and who He has made us to be. May we take time to consider how we think, and then take time to pray for our sisters and brothers in Christ, how they think about these things and how they value who they are in Christ.

Application Points

• What do you do when you get discouraged, overwhelmed by the things of this life? Consider giving thanks to God for someone who has been a blessing to you and then communicating your thankfulness to that person as well.
• What are you struggling with? Who are you looking to for help? Your problems may seem insurmountable because you are not first taking time to consider the power that is already yours in Christ.

Tools for Further Study

Cross References to Explore

Acts 20

A Hymn to Encourage: "Not I, But Christ"

by Albert B. Simpson and Ada A. Whiddington (Public Domain)

Not I, but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted;
Not I, but Christ, be seen, be known, be heard;
Not I, but Christ, in every look and action,
Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word.

O to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
O to be lost in Thee,
O that it might be no more I,
But Christ, that lives in me.

Not I, but Christ, to gently soothe in sorrow,
Not I, but Christ, to wipe the falling tear;
Not I, but Christ, to lift the weary burden,
Not I, but Christ, to hush away all fear.