Graduate 190: Advent & Ephesians, Day 17
"...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."
Over the next couple days, we'll look at what Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians. In light of the abundant blessings that God has conferred on His people in Christ, what does Paul ask for on behalf of the Ephesias? First, he asks and prays that they would receive "a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of [God]."
'Spirit,' here, may refer to a quality of mind or soul, or it may refer to the Holy Spirit, Himself. In either case, Paul recognizes that the wisdom and revelation of which he speaks comes only by the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Francis Foulkes is helpful on this point: "Such wisdom and revelation, moreover, come, not simply as such higher intelligence is given from God, but by the knowledge of him, the personal knowledge of God himself, which in the Bible always connotes the experience of life in union and fellowship with him (see on 4:13). Paul put the prayer for wisdom first because to him the gospel was so wonderful that it was impossible for people to see the glory of it unless they were taught by God, and also because he knew that the knowledge of God was life itself (cf. Jn. 17:3; Phil. 3:10)." (Foulkes, 68-69)
The close connection between knowledge of God and life in union and fellowship with God is absolutely essential. Many Christians run into problems because they have only an intellectual or heady knowledge of God. But because they don't have the personal experience and because they don't enjoy the personal interaction and fellowship, that knowledge does them very little good. But the knowledge that comes from union and fellowship with God is nothing less than life itself.
What do we mean by that? What does Jesus mean when he says, "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent"? (John 17:3) To understand this passage, we need to understand that "life" is about more than mere existence. When we speak of 'life' in a purely biological or medical sense, we contrast 'being alive' only with 'being dead'. But there is a more important sense in which we speak of life that is relevant to this passage. So, for instance, you might hear someone say something like, "You haven't lived until you've tried my grandma's apple pie." Or, "You haven't lived until you've seen the Grand Canyon." When a person says that, he is not suggesting that prior to trying his grandma's apple pie, you have not been biologically alive. He is not saying something so absurd as that you have not existed until the moment you tried his grandma's apple pie. He is saying something different. His statement presupposes the possibility of being alive without living--that is, of being alive (biologically) without living (in a more existential sense). When speaking of a person who spends all his time sitting in front of the TV and eating junk food and never leaves his home or has meaningful human interaction--we might say something like, "He's not really living." When we say that, we don't mean, "He's not actually biologically alive." Of course he is. What we are saying is that he is lacking something that is crucial for enjoying a full, robust human life.
This naturally leads us to ask the question, What is required for a flourishing human life? Obviously more than mere biological life and existence is required for a robust human life. After all, human beings share mere biological life with animals and plants and fungi. Relationships would seem to be an important part of fully human life; the exercise of one's intellectual and rational faculties would seem to be important. Perhaps significant forms of self-expression as in art or music. But we need to be careful because there are many 'ordinary' people who are unable to enjoy all of these activities. Depending on how we define human life it will end up being the case that some human beings are not enjoying human life. What is essential to full, flourishing human life, then? Jesus says, "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." Jesus says that true, full life comes in relationship with God and with Jesus. Andyone who enjoys that relationship has the full life. In fact, anyone who enjoys that relationship participates in the same kind of life that Jesus and God the Father enjoy. What higher calling or opportunity could there be?
Consider, then, the import and significance of Paul's prayer. He asks 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". This is no small prayer. And God is eager to answer.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
Over the next couple days, we'll look at what Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians. In light of the abundant blessings that God has conferred on His people in Christ, what does Paul ask for on behalf of the Ephesias? First, he asks and prays that they would receive "a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of [God]."
'Spirit,' here, may refer to a quality of mind or soul, or it may refer to the Holy Spirit, Himself. In either case, Paul recognizes that the wisdom and revelation of which he speaks comes only by the ministration of the Holy Spirit. Francis Foulkes is helpful on this point: "Such wisdom and revelation, moreover, come, not simply as such higher intelligence is given from God, but by the knowledge of him, the personal knowledge of God himself, which in the Bible always connotes the experience of life in union and fellowship with him (see on 4:13). Paul put the prayer for wisdom first because to him the gospel was so wonderful that it was impossible for people to see the glory of it unless they were taught by God, and also because he knew that the knowledge of God was life itself (cf. Jn. 17:3; Phil. 3:10)." (Foulkes, 68-69)
The close connection between knowledge of God and life in union and fellowship with God is absolutely essential. Many Christians run into problems because they have only an intellectual or heady knowledge of God. But because they don't have the personal experience and because they don't enjoy the personal interaction and fellowship, that knowledge does them very little good. But the knowledge that comes from union and fellowship with God is nothing less than life itself.
What do we mean by that? What does Jesus mean when he says, "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent"? (John 17:3) To understand this passage, we need to understand that "life" is about more than mere existence. When we speak of 'life' in a purely biological or medical sense, we contrast 'being alive' only with 'being dead'. But there is a more important sense in which we speak of life that is relevant to this passage. So, for instance, you might hear someone say something like, "You haven't lived until you've tried my grandma's apple pie." Or, "You haven't lived until you've seen the Grand Canyon." When a person says that, he is not suggesting that prior to trying his grandma's apple pie, you have not been biologically alive. He is not saying something so absurd as that you have not existed until the moment you tried his grandma's apple pie. He is saying something different. His statement presupposes the possibility of being alive without living--that is, of being alive (biologically) without living (in a more existential sense). When speaking of a person who spends all his time sitting in front of the TV and eating junk food and never leaves his home or has meaningful human interaction--we might say something like, "He's not really living." When we say that, we don't mean, "He's not actually biologically alive." Of course he is. What we are saying is that he is lacking something that is crucial for enjoying a full, robust human life.
This naturally leads us to ask the question, What is required for a flourishing human life? Obviously more than mere biological life and existence is required for a robust human life. After all, human beings share mere biological life with animals and plants and fungi. Relationships would seem to be an important part of fully human life; the exercise of one's intellectual and rational faculties would seem to be important. Perhaps significant forms of self-expression as in art or music. But we need to be careful because there are many 'ordinary' people who are unable to enjoy all of these activities. Depending on how we define human life it will end up being the case that some human beings are not enjoying human life. What is essential to full, flourishing human life, then? Jesus says, "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." Jesus says that true, full life comes in relationship with God and with Jesus. Andyone who enjoys that relationship has the full life. In fact, anyone who enjoys that relationship participates in the same kind of life that Jesus and God the Father enjoy. What higher calling or opportunity could there be?
Consider, then, the import and significance of Paul's prayer. He asks 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". This is no small prayer. And God is eager to answer.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 6:47 PM
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