Wednesday, July 22, 2020
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, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 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. Ephesians 1:18-21
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, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 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. Ephesians 1:18-21
Eyes to See – Hope, Riches, and Power
Is your vision cloudy? Funny how everyone thought 2020 was going to be the year of clear vision! Not much has been real clear this year and I don’t know about you, but if I look to the world, clarity has definitely escaped me. That is always the way it is with the world. Satan seeks to confuse us and take away our hope. He works hard to make us believe that we have no inheritance and that we are weak and far out of the reach of our God’s great power.
Is your vision cloudy? Funny how everyone thought 2020 was going to be the year of clear vision! Not much has been real clear this year and I don’t know about you, but if I look to the world, clarity has definitely escaped me. That is always the way it is with the world. Satan seeks to confuse us and take away our hope. He works hard to make us believe that we have no inheritance and that we are weak and far out of the reach of our God’s great power.
There is only one place we can look to have clear vision. Paul
is writing to the church in Ephesus and instead of praying for them to have riches, comfort, or health, he prays for them to have knowledge. He prays for them
to have clear vision. God will give us clear vision, direction, and guide our
every step. But He will also open our eyes to hope, a rich inheritance, and the
immeasurable greatness of His power.
That you may know what is the hope to which he
has called you…
We cannot live without hope. It is almost as vital to sustaining human life as air and water are. Without hope, we cease to fight to live, and we all know this life is a battle. But where do find hope in a world full of falsehood? Where we choose to find hope decides if we strive or if we thrive. If we put our hope in our circumstances, we will be striving in our own power to fulfill our own hopes. And that never ends well. If we put our hope in the world, we will literally see them disintegrate with the lies the world offers. The world is temporary and everything of the world will eventually fade away. If we put our hope in people, we will be disappointed. Even well-meaning people who love us will fail us simply because they are human. But God calls us to hope. When we hear His word and believe in Him, He calls us to hope. The knowledge we have of God - what we know about Him to be true because His Word tells us - is the hope that will never fail us.
We cannot live without hope. It is almost as vital to sustaining human life as air and water are. Without hope, we cease to fight to live, and we all know this life is a battle. But where do find hope in a world full of falsehood? Where we choose to find hope decides if we strive or if we thrive. If we put our hope in our circumstances, we will be striving in our own power to fulfill our own hopes. And that never ends well. If we put our hope in the world, we will literally see them disintegrate with the lies the world offers. The world is temporary and everything of the world will eventually fade away. If we put our hope in people, we will be disappointed. Even well-meaning people who love us will fail us simply because they are human. But God calls us to hope. When we hear His word and believe in Him, He calls us to hope. The knowledge we have of God - what we know about Him to be true because His Word tells us - is the hope that will never fail us.
What are the riches of his glorious inheritance
in the saints…
The inheritance that Paul is speaking of here is our inheritance as God’s children. We have done absolutely nothing to deserve it, but a gracious Father, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, has adopted us and we are His heirs. So, we have eternal inheritance and we also have glorious riches here on earth as well. Our inheritance is not just for later. It is for now too. We are to live in that inheritance, as children of the King. Whatever happens in this life, whatever trials come our way, we know we have an inheritance that cannot be taken from us. It is the hope of this future glorious inheritance that helps us keep a kingdom perspective on all we go through in this life.
The inheritance that Paul is speaking of here is our inheritance as God’s children. We have done absolutely nothing to deserve it, but a gracious Father, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, has adopted us and we are His heirs. So, we have eternal inheritance and we also have glorious riches here on earth as well. Our inheritance is not just for later. It is for now too. We are to live in that inheritance, as children of the King. Whatever happens in this life, whatever trials come our way, we know we have an inheritance that cannot be taken from us. It is the hope of this future glorious inheritance that helps us keep a kingdom perspective on all we go through in this life.
What is the immeasurable greatness of his power
toward us who believe…
To get through this life, Paul knew that we would need to know what power is ours because we are believers. God’s power is working in us NOW. We have to know this - that He is at work in us with a power that cannot fail. We also need to know that we have this power to call on and to help us in all things. We cannot do this in our own power. We cannot do enough good things to save ourselves, the power that rose Jesus from the grave does that for us. That power puts our sin to death. That same power – that defeated death forever – is ours in Christ Jesus.
To get through this life, Paul knew that we would need to know what power is ours because we are believers. God’s power is working in us NOW. We have to know this - that He is at work in us with a power that cannot fail. We also need to know that we have this power to call on and to help us in all things. We cannot do this in our own power. We cannot do enough good things to save ourselves, the power that rose Jesus from the grave does that for us. That power puts our sin to death. That same power – that defeated death forever – is ours in Christ Jesus.
Pray that your eyes would be open to the knowledge of the
hope you have, the riches of His glorious inheritance, and the immeasurable
greatness of His power that are yours because you are His child.
Open my eyes, that I
may behold wondrous things out of your law. Psalm 119:18
