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High-Stepping in Heavenly Places

Let’s Make A DealLesson Three

In the beginning of the first chapter of the book of Ephesians, Paul set forth the amazing andunlimited blessings that are the guaranteed inheritance of every child of God. In the remainder of this most profound chapter, Paul recorded his prayer for the saints at Ephesus and for all believers throughout the ages. Paul prayed we would fully grasp our privileges as children of God and live up to our potential in Christ.

I. Prayer of Thanksgiving-Ephesians 1:15-16

Prayer is, without a doubt, one of the great unknowns of the faith. Many Christians believe theycan cut some sort of a deal with God through prayer. Or somehow make a deal with God toconfirm His will to fit their agenda. Prayer is a two-way communion between the child of Godand the Heavenly Father. The common components of prayer are praise, thanksgiving,confession, supplication, intercession. While we are certainly privileged to pray and evencommanded to pray, we cannot unravel the cloak of mystery that shrouds this powerful Christiandiscipline with our painfully limited minds. We have experienced answered prayer. We know prayer works, but how it operates is incomprehensible this side of heaven! Sadly, rather than being our first line of defense, prayer is often our last resort. Too much prayer time is spent begging God for what is already ours in Christ. The problem is not the lack of blessings or resources. God has granted us what we need (II Pet. 1:3). Our position in Christ and thesubsequent riches of our inheritance are stunning-impossible for our finite minds to grasp. The problem is our lack of insight and wisdom to appropriate what has been bestowed on us in ChristJesus.Paul opened his prayer with thanksgiving. Every parent appreciates a grateful child! Paul did notcease to give thanks for all the saints. Seriously?

All of them?!?!

Some believers are simplyeasier to love than others are. Some hold different doctrinal positions on non-essentials of thefaith and are committed to radically defending them, even to the point of divisiveness. Somehave personality traits and temperaments that clash with ours. Some have cultural differences areat odds with our limited experience. Some are legalistic and attempt to aggressively press their convictions on us. How could Paul rejoice in all the saints? He recognized them as blood-boughtmembers of the family of faith. He saw each as a divine work in progress.

II. Prayer for Wisdom-Eph. 1:17

Paul prayed for

a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him

(See Jam. 1:5-8).Having written about the glorious nature of Christ (Eph. 1:3-14), Paul prays we would

EphesiansFall 2009

High-Stepping in Heavenly Places

understand what he just said about Christ.We must seek to know Christ – not just for salvation, but for sanctification as well. We mustknow WHO WE ARE in Christ (blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, sealed,saved, sanctified-just to name a few), but we must also know WHO HE IS in us.Knowing who are in Christ without understanding the role His indwelling Spirit plays toempower and enable us to live out His life in us, leads to frustration and failure at best andlegalism (obedience to manmade religious rules and rituals in the vain effort of making the outer behavior comply with religious rules ) at worst (See Col. 2:20-23). In order to understand how towalk by faith and appropriate our heavenly position in Christ we must have wisdom and divinerevelation. The Word of God instructs us. The Spirit of God enlightens and enables us.

III. Prayer for Power-Ephesians 1: 18-23

According to Ephesians 1:16, Paul did

not cease

giving thanks for (the saints), while making mention

of them in his prayers. Paul lived a in a holy communion of with the Father. Prayer wasmerely one of the outgrowths of his walk of faith. He prayed generally for a spirit of wisdom andof revelation in the knowledge of Him (Eph. 1:17). And he prayed specifically (Eph. 1:18-19).Paul rarely prayed for the things that consume the majority of our prayers – health issues,financial needs, job situations, family problems. Paul’s prayers for God’s people centered arounda growing knowledge of Jesus Christ. Paul prayed

that the eyes of (our) heart many beenlightened

(Eph. 1:18) so that we will experientially know three things.

a. the hope of His calling

-This calling goes beyond God’s calling of us for salvation. This is thefulfillment of His divine purpose in our lives. We have become the objects of God’s attention andaffection. He has a plan for us to fulfill.

b. the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints

-God considers us to be Hisinheritance! What we get in Christ defies description. What He gets in us transcendscomprehension. To our finite minds, God gets a poor bargain (See 2 Cor. 8:9). But evidently, Herecognizes something in us worth saving and using! The only explanation is His great love withwhich He loved us (Eph. 2:4).

c. the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe

-All the power of the godheadis directed toward us. By

the strength of His might

God

raised (Christ) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places

(Eph. 1:19-20). The same power that raised Christfrom the dead is in us through the indwelling person of the Holy Spirit.God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at His right hand. The Lord Jesus is enthronedfar above

all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named

(Eph.1:21). We, believers in Christ who are saved by His mercy and grace, are

raised . . . up with Himand seated . . . with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus

(Eph. 2:6).Christ in us allows us to do some

High-Stepping in Heavenly Places