Ephesians 1:15-23

Welcome to episode 174 of Grasp the Bible.  In this episode, we continue our study in the Book of Ephesians, covering chapter 1:15-23.  Today, we will cover: 

• The Occasion for the Prayer (v. 15) 
• The Thanksgiving and Prayer (vv. 16-19) 
• A Description of the Magnitude of God’s Power (vv. 20-23) 

Key takeaways: 

• Our faith is both a saving faith (we have salvation in Jesus Christ) and a practical faith (we believe that Jesus enables us to live out what he has planned for us. 
• Knowing Christ is one of the New Testament’s ways of describing saving faith.  The questions which must be asked are: Do we really know Christ? Are we in him? Is he in us? Does he know us?  Is there an intimate exchange between him and us? 
• The Spirit who came upon the Messiah is the same Spirit who now rests upon his people and provides knowledge, wisdom, and power. 
• As an earthly king values treasuries full of silver and gold, God values His people as His wealth and honor. 
• Christ can impart to the church all of the empowering resources it needs to resist the attacks of powers and to engage in the mission of filling the world that God has called it to. 
• The church is filled with power and grace from its exalted Lord, who, in turn, extends his reign throughout heaven and earth through the church. 

Quotable: 

• The great need of any church, whether it is healthy or not, is knowing Christ —a better, deeper, fuller knowledge of Christ. 

Application: 

• Paul calls the Ephesians to love ALL believers.  As Jonathan Swift once said, “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”  Our surface Christianity arms us with what we think are proper prejudices and a rationale for criticizing those who fall short, keeping them at arm’s length. 
• Do we delight at hearing of the faith and love of others? Do we rejoice in others’ spiritual attainments? Especially revealing, do we praise God when this is happening in places we are not present? Other churches? Other organizations? 
• We don’t need more truth or better truth (which is impossible!). We simply need our spiritual eyes opened to the truths that surround us. 

Connect with us: 

Web site:  https://springbaptist.org 

Facebook:   

https://www.facebook.com/SBCKleinCampus (Klein Campus) 

https://www.facebook.com/SpringBaptist (Spring Campus) 

Need us to pray for you?  Submit your prayer request to https://springbaptist.org/prayer/ 

If you haven’t already done so, please leave us a rating and review in your podcast provider.