Today you should read: Ephesians 1:15-23
Yesterday we read about the great “spiritual blessing” that we have in Jesus in that God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:3-4, ESV). You could spend weeks going through every phrase Paul uses in verses 3-11, trying to understand what Paul is saying Jesus has done for us.
Today, we read that Paul is thanking the Lord for the members of the Church in Ephesus because they have “strong faith in the Lord Jesus” and a “love for God’s people everywhere” (Ephesians 1:15). Within their Christian community, these believers are obeying the Great Commandment to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). These are believers who are doing the Christian life the right way.
Even though these believers are obeying the Lord, they have not arrived. Paul still prays for them “constantly” asking God to give them wisdom, so they might “grow in [the] knowledge of God,” “understand the confident hope” given to them, and that they would “understand the incredible greatness of God’s power” for the believer.
What a prayer for the Church! It is also my prayer that we would grow in knowledge of God, understand our hope in Jesus, and comprehend the great power of God – a power that raised Christ from the dead and we have access to.
What would it look like if our church, being obedient in loving God and loving others, grew to know God more and trust in him while accessing the same power that raised Christ from the dead? Would you as a church member share the Gospel more confidently, trusting that God has the power through the Gospel to save them? Would you read your Bible more, not in drudgery, but as a way to know God better? Would your prayers be so bold to ask God to use us to reach Lexington, Central Kentucky, and the World for his glory?
“God has put all things under the authority of Christ” (Ephesians 1:22, emphasis added), so we must be confident in our hope in Jesus, growing in our relationship with Jesus, and fervent in sharing our faith. The Gospel is the “power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16, ESV). We must live as a Church that trusts in the power and authority of Jesus. The Great Commission doesn’t start with “Go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19), but it starts with Jesus declaring “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18, ESV). We have access to the power of God, but it all starts with prayer.
Ask yourself today:
Do I pray like someone who has access to the power of God?
Am I being obedient by loving God and loving my neighbor?
Do I believe that “all things” are “under the authority of Christ?”
By: Lucas Taylor — West Campus Pastoral Ministry Apprentice
JumpstartCPC.com 
Do I want to read and pray as much as I want to get on Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, etc….Am I showing how much I love God, or are those just words?
Great Reminder and Challenge !!!!
Thanks, Lucas
Powerful passage and commentary Lucas! Thank you! We’re doing a series on God in November, and these verse are swimming around in my head as I prepare.
What an encouraging Word this morning! It really pumped me up to live bold and confident in the Lord today, to not be ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16). Thank you God for such powerful reminders.
I hadn’t noticed this before, but, not only do we have an inheritance through Christ, we are His inheritance. “…his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.”
Something to thing about.