A Prayer of Paul’s – A Meditation on Ephesians 1:15-23 (Pt 2)

“I…do not cease giving thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

Paul’s prayers are always oriented towards the God of our Lord Jesus.  This may go without saying but Paul was completely unapologetic as to whom he addressed his prayers.  His prayers were clearly directed to one God and no one else.  There was no mistaking who Paul called upon in prayer.  He says it in slightly different ways at times, but his focus was undeterred.  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3), “blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:3) and “we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you” (Col 1:3).  And there are many other times when Paul simply refers to Him as “the Father” (I Cor 8:6; Gal 1:1; Eph 2:18; 3:14; 5:20; 6:23; Phil 2:11; Col 1:12 to name a few).

Paul’s prayers were always directed towards Him, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul did not direct His prayers to “God” in general terms, nor to a “higher power”, nor to the “man upstairs”.  Paul was clear that the One to whom he made his petitions was the God of Jesus Christ.  He prayed to Him alone.

In a day when it is politically incorrect to mention the name Jesus, to claim allegiance to Him, the name God has actually flourished.  It is still acceptable to call upon God. It is still acceptable to pray to God in a public setting.  Many in our society call upon some god in the course of their life and worship, thus they have not yet completely abolished Him from the public arena.  However to call upon God in general is a very different thing than to call upon the God and Father of the Lord Jesus.  Jesus Himself divides, thus anyone associated with Him also brings division.  Biblically, Jesus came to glorify (to honor and exalt) His God and Father.  And His God and Father is the same God to whom all of the prophets from the Old and New Testaments refer.

He is the Alpha, the Creator God of Genesis 1:1 “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  And He is the Omega, the final Judge and King over the new heavens and earth which He will create in Revelation 22.  He is the self existent One, the “I am” of Exodus 3:14.  He is the God who sees and provides of Genesis 22:14.  He is the Savior of Isaiah 43:11.  He is the One from whom no one can deliver in Isaiah 43:13).  And He alone is the one true God of Deuteronomy 4:39; Isaiah 45:6-7.

All that Paul prays in this section is directed to this One.  Praying to or in the name of any god save the God and Father of the Lord Jesus will fall upon deaf ears.  Praying to the True and Living God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus will always yield great reward.  Later in the book of Ephesians 3:20-21, Paul will end his second prayer with this brief doxology “now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”  These verses mark the central theme of the book which is the glory of God in the church.  But they also highlight the believers confidence in prayer to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, namely God’s passion for His glory.

Without rehashing what so many other more learned men have already declared concerning the glory of God, it is clear from the very first chapter of Ephesians that the work of God in the church is a work that He does “for the praise of the glory of His grace.”  The chief end of God is to bring glory to Himself and He must do so (it is not arrogant for Him to do so) because He is in fact the most perfect in every way, the most glorious, the most high.  And by virtue of His perfections, He must perfectly value all things.  Thus He must perfectly value His perfection above all other things and must see to it that His perfections are exalted above all.  Thus again, in all of His doings, even in His work in the church – which is for our good – He aims to bring about His glory knowing that our good glorifies Him.  And if we pray to Him, that we grow in Him, to be like Him and love Him (which in essence is what Paul prays here in chapter 1) then we know that He will indeed answer for the end of those things are hearts and mouths more adequately equipped to proclaim His excellencies!

May the LORD, the One True and Living God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, grant you joy and confidence as you pray without ceasing to Him alone, trusting Him to answer for our good and His glory.  May He grant you boldness to proclaim His excellencies without apology, to call upon the name of the LORD, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus for all to know to whom you pray.

¹⁰ But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.¹¹ Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”¹² It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.  (Jer. 10:10-12)

⁶ Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.⁷ Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.  (Ps. 20:6-7)

² “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD is His name, ³ ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ (Jer. 33:2-3)

“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered…” (Joel 2:32)

Blessed be…

Words mean something. This word, “blessed”, at the beginning of the book of Ephesians is particularly important. In it, in a sense, the whole scope of the book of Ephesians is summed up. In this simple word, the complexity and simplicity of the character of God is explained. In it the whole duty of man is related.

I know Greek, though I am not a Greek scholar. What I am about to say may be more carefully explained and expounded upon by a better, more learned student. Nevertheless, the basic meaning of this word that Paul uses in the first chapter of Ephesians to describe God means to be “well spoken of”. It is the word from which we derive our English word “eulogy.” A eulogy is typically given during a funeral, by a close family member or friend. The intent of the eulogy is to speak positively and encouragingly of the one who is deceased for the benefit of those who hear. Now the word in the Greek is not necessarily related to a funeral so we must not read that meaning back into the text as it was used by Paul. It is simply a term that English speakers have borrowed from the Greek and tends to have its common usage at funerals.

Now, Paul ascribes this term to God. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God is the blessed One. He embodies what it means to be one who is well spoken of. In other words there is nothing for which God could be accused. There is nothing of which God could be criticized. There is nothing for which God could be slandered. Everything about God, His person and His work, is worthy to be spoken well of, is worthy to be praised. In fact, Paul says in another place that He is the “eternally blessed God,” the one who is “blessed forever.” The essence of the character of God, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He is eternally blessed. He is eternally worthy of praise.

i mentioned also that the whole book of Ephesians is summed up in this one word, blessed. If God is eternally blessed, eternally worthy of praise, worthy of words that affirm the greatness of His worth, His value; then it would stand to reason that those who are His, as described in the book of Ephesians, His church, His called out ones, His elect, His adopted sons and daughters, it would stand to reason that they above all other people would praise Him. Certainly He deserves praise from all people, this is in fact the whole duty of man. But particularly those in whose lives He has worked in a special way to save and sanctify in His Son, these ought to always have a word of praise for Him on their lips. It really should not matter what is happening around them, what is going on in their lives, how much they like or dislike their circumstances; they should always see and savor the value and goodness of the eternally blessed God. He has in fact so worked in their lives for this purpose, “for the praise of His glory.”

God is the eternally blessed One. You do not need to be blessed to bless the Lord at all times. He is blessed whether we are blessed or not. He deserves our praise. He does not need our praise, but He is worthy of our praise at all times. “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth!” Psalm 34:1. Does that describe you? Do you see and can you savor the blessedness of the true and living God no matter what?

Those who fail to see His goodness have not tasted the kindness of the Lord. They do not know Him, who can only praise Him when they receive from His hands.