A Prayer for Converts
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
I want you to allow me to divide up this prayer for you, so that you may be able to get a bird's-eye view of it all at once.
1. We have two things said about God. He is called, in verse seventeen, "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ" and also, "The Father of Glory."
2. We have a twofold statement about the Holy Spirit. He is called, "The Spirit of Wisdom," and He is also called, "The Spirit of * * Revelation in the knowledge of Him."
3. We have a threefold statement concerning what God wants us to know, as follows: (1) "What is the hope of His calling." (2) "The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." (3) "The exceeding greatness of His power."
4. We have a fourfold statement about the resurrection and ascension of Christ. These all revolve around what God wrought in Christ when, (1) He raised Him from the dead. (2) He set Him at His own right hand. (3) He put all things under His feet. (4) He gave Him to be Head to the Church.
5. We have a fivefold statement relative to Christ's exaltation. (1) He was raised far above all principality. (2) He was raised far above all power. (3) He was raised far above all might. (4) He was raised far above all dominion. (5) He was raised far above every name that is named, both in this age and in the age to come.
With this outline before us, you will be ready to grant that Paul's prayer for converts was based upon a wonderful statement of truth. There is first of all a twofold statement concerning God; then a twofold statement concerning the Spirit; then a threefold statement, then a fourfold, and finally, a fivefold statement.
It is of interest to notice how the Apostle prayed all of this in behalf of young converts. One would have supposed that he was praying for matured saints.
In verse fifteen we read: "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers."
Paul's prayer began the moment he heard the news of their salvation, and continued, steadfastly, from time to time.
Paul did not pray that the converts might be kept from stumbling and falling into the snare of Satan. He did not pray that they might be active in the Lord's work, and that they might accomplish great things for God. His prayer was different. The supreme plea which Paul brought before God was that the saints at Ephesus, who had been saved by faith, might now obtain a new and large vision of Christ Jesus in His ascended and seated power.
After all, is this not the chief thing? We need a vision of Christ more than anything else. When we have that vision before us, we will not only be kept from the power and dominion of sin, but we will, also, be lifted to new heights in service, and to enlarged possibilities in holy living.
There are so many people who pray down in the lower strata of the air. They pray for the temporals; they pray for physical strength, and for power in accomplishment. We believe that a study of Paul's prayer for the Ephesians will lift us up into a higher realm in our own prayer life. May God grant that this may be so.
I. PAUL'S PRAYER DISCLOSES A TWOFOLD NAMING OF GOD (Ephesians 1:17, f.c)
1. Paul said, "I pray * * that the GOD of our Lord Jesus Christ." We wonder why Paul said, "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ" instead of the "Father" of our Lord Jesus Christ? Perhaps, a few Scriptural suggestions will explain this to us.
There were three things concerning Jesus Christ which are about to be presented to the Ephesians. The first thing had to do with His resurrection. The second thing had to do with His ascension. The third thing had to do with His seat at the right hand of God.
Concerning the first thing: Who was it that brought the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead? Hebrews 13:20 puts it this way, "Now the GOD of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus." The word "Father" is not used.
Who was it that exalted Christ in His ascension? Philippians 2:9 says, "God also hath highly exalted Him." Another Scripture says, "God hath made that same Jesus, * * Lord and Christ." Again the word "Father" is not used.
Who was it that placed Christ at the right hand? At Pentecost Peter told us, "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted." Still the word is God, and not Father.
When we read, therefore, of "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ," in our key-text, the word "God" and not "Father" is used, because that which is about to be said of Him has to do directly with us. In Paul's prayer it is God, who has wrought, toward us, in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is evidently giving us a renewed vision of God, in His attitude toward us, through the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a God of all grace, and a God of mercy, and a God of love, as He moves in our behalf in His marvelous work of redemption, in Christ Jesus.
2. Paul said, "I pray that * * the FATHER of Glory." There are two renditions in different versions of the Scriptures. One reads, "The Father of Glory," and the other reads, "The glory of the Father." A similar translation is given concerning the Gospel of Christ. Some versions read, "The glorious Gospel," while other versions read, "The Gospel of Glory."
God is the Glorious Father, because He is the Father of Glory. If He were not all-glorious in His character, He could not be the Father of the glory unto which we have been called. George Washington was "the father of his country," but our God is "the Father of Glory."
II. PAUL'S PRAYER DISCLOSES A TWOFOLD NAMING OF THE SPIRIT (Ephesians 1:17, l.c.)
As Paul prayed, he realized the utter inability of the saints at Ephesus, in their own wisdom and power, to comprehend the wonderful things which God had wrought toward them in Christ Jesus. He knew that the natural mind could not embrace such marvelous spiritual conceptions.
It was for this cause that Paul prayed that God might grant to His saints, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
The Holy Spirit once said to the saints, "The anointing which ye have received of Him * * teacheth you of all things." The Lord Jesus, likewise, laid great emphasis on the fact that, "When the Comforter is come," "He shall teach you all things."
When young people sit down with an open Bible before them, they need to tarry for a moment, in prayer, asking God the Holy Spirit, to shine upon the pages of Divine revelation. It is impossible not only for the young, but also for the old; not only for the ignorant, but also for the wise, to understand intellectually the things of God, and the things pertaining to Christ.
It is because the mind of man cannot grasp the things which are of God, that so many well educated, and fully equipped men of mind, utterly wander in a labyrinth of doubt and of perplexity, when they seek to know and to explain the Word of God.
III. PAUL'S PRAYER DISCLOSES THREE THINGS WHICH GOD WANTS US TO KNOW: FIRST, HE WANTS US TO KNOW THE HOPE OF HIS CALLING (Ephesians 1:18, f.c)
1. Paul's personal yearnings. We all remember how Paul said, concerning himself, "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
The Apostle Paul did not pray for others what he did not desire for himself. His one ambition was to know the hope of His calling, and to press toward it. That wonderful longing became the predominant ambition of Paul's being. He wanted to know Christ, and the fellowship of His suffering, and the power of His resurrection, being conformed unto His death, that he might attain unto the prize of the high calling of God, which is the goal desired of the ones who attain the out-resurrection.
2. Paul's desire for others. There was nothing selfish in Paul's make-up. That which was the consuming passion of his own soul, was also his passion and desire for others. He wanted to attain the prize of the high calling, but he wanted us also to attain. He could say of himself, "I therefore so run" that I "may obtain." He could also say to others, "So run that ye may obtain."
The Book of Hebrews reminds the saints that they are partakers of a Heavenly calling. It is for this cause that throughout the Book saints are urged to hold fast "the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end."
Let us, however, not seek to selfishly know the hope of His calling, and to attain unto its prize, but let us unite with Paul in endeavoring to consider others, encouraging and exhorting them, that they too may know the hope of His calling, and so much the more, as we see the day approaching.
IV. PAUL'S PRAYER DISCLOSES: SECONDLY, HE WANTS US TO KNOW THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF HIS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS (Ephesians 1:18, l.c)
1. The usual thought is our inheritance in Him. We delight in talking and in thinking about our riches in Christ Jesus. We know that we are the heirs of God, and the joint-heirs with Christ. We know that if we suffer, we shall reign with Him. We know something of what God has said relative to the City that cometh down from God out of Heaven. All of this is ours, in Christ Jesus.
2. The supreme thought is Christ's inheritance in us. It is a wonderful thing when the truth of our value to God grips us For our part, we are not so sure but that we need to give more weight to what we are to Him. He has said, "They shall be Mine, * * in that day when I make up My jewels." It is when our Lord sees those who have been saved through His Blood, that His soul will be satisfied. He has loved us with an everlasting love.
It is the inspiration of this thought, "what we are to Him," that stirs us up to larger attempts, and to a closer walk with God. If He loves us with so great a love, if we are His jewels, if we are His joy, if He sold all that He had in order that He might obtain us, we certainly should bestir ourselves to please Him.
Oh, what a joy it should be to us to know that God is counting on us! We are the riches of the glory of His inheritance.
V. PAUL'S PRAYER DISCLOSES: THIRDLY, HE WANTS US TO KNOW WHAT IS THE EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF HIS POWER (Ephesians 1:19)
1. Our verse suggests the high peak of the power of God. There are many things which show forth the power of God, His creation tells of His power. The least thing in that creation discloses unparalleled power. There is God's power in the wind, in the waves of the sea. Even light is stored with power.
We stood once at Niagara Falls, and heard the roar of her power. Afterward, we went down into a great powerhouse. The building was prepared to harness but a very small degree of the energy of the rushing waters, and yet, it produced power enough to light the cities of Niagara and of Buffalo, to run their streetcars, and many of their factories.
What, then, is the exceeding greatness of God's power? It is a power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead; when He set Him at His own right hand in the Heavenlies; and when He set Him far above all principalities and powers. This will be developed in this study. Let us notice that this "exceeding power" of God, this "exceeding greatness of His power," was manifested toward us. Therefore,
2. Our verse suggests the power of God toward us. How it humbles us when we consider what God hath wrought in our behalf!
When we behold the Babe born, and lying in a manger, it was all for us.
When we behold Christ dwelling in Nazareth, subject to His parents, it was all for us.
When we behold Christ moving among the people, healing, and helping, teaching and talking of God, it was all for us.
When we behold Christ in the Garden at the trial, at the whipping post, on the Cross, buried, it was all for us.
When we behold the Christ raised from the dead, ascending through the clouds, seated at the Father's right hand, it was all for us.
How can we ever cease to praise Him! God opened up every channel of His power, every avenue of His strength, when He wrought in Christ our full redemption,
VI. PAUL'S PRAYER DISCLOSES A FOURFOLD STATEMENT CONCERNING THE POWER OF GOD (Ephesians 1:20-23)
1. The power displayed in the resurrection of Christ. Jesus Christ said: "I have power to lay it (My life) down, and I have power to take it again." This power was His, because He was God. Another Scripture says, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus."
The power of the resurrection is magnified, in that it was toward us. This suggests that Christ's resurrection includes our resurrection. Indeed the time is coming when all who are in their graves shall hear His voice and come forth.
2. The power of God displayed in the ascension of Christ. We read in our verse of the exceeding greatness of God's power, when He set Christ at His own right hand. Few of us, perhaps, have ever realized the power of the ascension. We know that gravity holds us to the earth. We know also, that, to ascend up into the skies we must have power to overcome that gravity. This is accomplished in a small way by the airship.
There is, however, another need of power in the ascension of Christ. The" Lord Jesus went up through principalities and powers, because as we shall see in a moment He went up far above them.
The twenty-fourth Psalm gives a vivid picture of the ascension. When the angelic hosts asked, "Who is this King of Glory?" The response is given, "The Lord mighty in battle. * * He is the King of Glory."
3. The power displayed in the putting of all things under the feet of Christ. Seldom do we think of the mighty power of Satan and of Satan's hordes. We know that the archangel Michael durst not bring against Satan a railing accusation. Satan is the one who has weakened the nations, and has made the world as a wilderness. It is he who has led men captive at His will.
In the earth life of Christ Satan even sought to swerve the Son of God from His integrity.
What then is the depths of the meaning of the word, "The exceeding greatness of His power" when He set Christ far above all principality, and all power, and all might, and all dominion, both in this age and in the age to come? The mind fails to grasp the power of God so displayed.
4. The power displayed in giving Christ to be head over all things to His Church. There is but one voice which has authority in the Church, and that is the voice of Christ. Once more the mind seeks to grasp the power of the ascended Lord. We see the saints of all ages, who have composed the Church. Some of them are in Heaven, some are on earth; all are bending the knee before the Son of God as they worship His Name, Even now we can hear them in their glad acclaim as they are saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."
AN ILLUSTRATION
The mighty power of God is toward us. However, that power is made real to us only who believe. Let no one imagine that the blessings of Heaven, as manifested toward us in Christ Jesus, will be his unless he is willing to receive the Lord Jesus as his Saviour.
Some one has said: "While standing one day on the platform of the Aberdeen Station of the North-British Railway, I observed a carriage with a board on it, intimating that it ran all the way from Aberdeen to London. The doors of it were open. A few individuals looked for this particular carriage, and on seeing "London" on it, they threw in their traveling rugs, entered, and, seating themselves, prepared for the journey.
"Having furnished themselves with tickets, and satisfied themselves that they were in the right carriage, they felt the utmost confidence, nor did I observe any one of them coming out of the carriage, and running about in a state of excitement, calling to those around them, 'Am I right? am I right?'
"Nor did I see any one refusing to enter, because the carriage provided for only a limited number to proceed by that train. There might be 80,000 inhabitants in and around Aberdeen; but still there was not one who talked of it as absurd to provide accommodation for only about twenty persons, for practically it was found to be perfectly sufficient The carriage is for the whole city and neighbor-hood, but carries only such of the inhabitants as come and seat themselves in it from day to day, "God has made provision of a similar kind. He has provided a train of grace to carry this lost world's inhabitants to Heaven; but only for as many as are willing to avail themselves of the gracious provision.
"All who will may come, and, through justification by faith alone, may seat themselves in a carriage marked, 'From Guilt to Glory.' Whenever you hear the free and general offer of salvation, you need not stand revolving the question in your own mind, 'Is it for me?' for just as the railway companies carry all who comply with their printed regulations irrespective of moral character, so if you come to the station of grace at the advertized time, which is 'now' (2 Corinthians 6:2) you will find the train of salvation ready; and the only regulation to be complied with by you, is that you consent to let the Lord Jesus Christ charge Himself with paying for your seat, which cannot surely be anything but an easy and desirable arrangement, seeing you have no means of paying for yourself,