Sermon Notes
Becoming Who We Are: Our Desperate Prayer Needs
Ephesians 1:15-23
In the 1970s, just after I had finished my undergrad degree at Wheaton College, I moved to Germany to do mission work as a soloist in German-speaking Europe. When I went, I couldn’t speak any German at all. But, after only three months of living there, the leadership of the team I served with came to me and said, “Greg, we’ve confirmed plans for you to do your first concert in Germany. It will be an outdoor concert in a soccer field on the outskirts of Hulben.” I remember saying, “What?! I can’t do that. The people won’t understand a word of my terrible German.” But, my colleagues only said to me, “This is what God has called you to Germany to do. So, it’s time to begin. Know that we will be praying for you!”
So, against my own feelings that I wasn’t ready for this, I worked hard and got ready with our music team. But, more than anything, I prayed. And, even though I still think that this concert could not have been very good, and my German had to have been atrocious, God used what happened that day. People came to faith in Jesus that day, people who have remained active in their walks with the Lord.
As I was preparing to do this sermon today, I thought of that day so long ago. The passage we come to today is a prayer that Paul prayed over 2,000 years ago for a church located in the megacity of Ephesus. Last week, we saw that it had been God’s eternal plan to draw together a family from people groups as diverse and divided as Jew and Gentile were in the 1st C and to place gatherings of that united family in places like Ephesus. As a part of God’s mission to unite all things in this world under the Lordship of Jesus, local churches are to be the places in which people live lives of unity and thereby give witness in this world.
So, this call to live together in unity as witnesses to God in Ephesus was God’s call upon that church. But, as we read through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we see that it was hard for them to live in unity. That’s why we have called this sermon series, “Becoming Who We Are.” We’re going through the Book of Ephesians passage by passage to see 1) what God’s Word says to us as a church family about what God has called us to be – and 2) how God is at work in us so that we will become what he says we are in Christ. Today, we see that, just as I felt in Germany that I desperately needed prayer to fulfill God’s call upon me, we need prayer again and again in this world as we grow to become what God says we are.
This prayer in 1:15-23 is one Paul prayed for a church he founded -- and then served for 2-3 years. So, he knew the people there very well. And, he knew how challenging it was to be faithful to God’s call, especially for them to live lives united in Christ across the ethnic barriers that existed in the church. He may have thought, “How will this church ever be one? Only God has the power to make that happen. So, I’d better pray.” And, that’s what we read in Eph 1:15-23, i.e., Pastor Paul praying for a church he loved, a church that needed prayer.
I’m sure that the people in the Ephesian Church had many needs. Indeed, Paul himself was in prison at the time. So, I’m sure there were times when Paul prayed that God would meet the physical and material needs people have each day. But, in his first prayer, he prayed knowing that what his church people most needed was not something related to their material or political circumstances. He knew there are things that take priority over temporary things – as important as they are. In Eph 1:15-23, Paul prayed they would experience things that cannot be taken away – no matter what happens in our businesses, schools, families, etc. Paul’s prayer is a plea that, in the face of whatever may take place in this world, God’s children will know God better, and in doing so, know God’s presence, hope, love and power in ever-deepening ways.
Who Is in This Family? For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people… (1:15).
As this prayer was read earlier in the service, did you notice that the Apostle Paul first spoke about “you” in vv. 15-18 and only began praying about “us all” in vv.19-23? Who is the “you” and who is the “us”? In case you missed last week, the early church was first made up of Jewish people who had placed their faith in Jesus. They were people like the Apostle Paul was. So, these very first Christians had grown up with the Scriptures. They knew what God had revealed about himself in God’s Word. But, God’s eternal plan was to bring people from every people group into his family – including those who before coming to faith in Jesus had not heard much about the God of the Bible. And, when Paul wrote Ephesians, this was happening in their church.
So, in last week’s text, in 1:11-12, Paul spoke of Jewish Jesus-followers as being “we who were the first to hope in Christ.” Then, in 1:13-14, Paul spoke of the newer Gentile believers as “you were also included in Christ when you heard the gospel and believed.” Today, in 1:15, he mentioned the two things that should be true of both groups, indeed, of all who say they are Christians. He said, “I have heard about…
- “Your faith in the Lord Jesus”, and
- “Your love for all God’s people.”
So, faith in Jesus comes first. Notice that the Bible states specifically the faith that saves us is faith in the Lord Jesus. So, do you believe that it’s only because of Jesus that you have a relationship with God the Father? That’s the first evidence of being in the family.
But that first step of faith always leads to our lives changing. And, the clearest evidence that Christ is in your life and that you are in his unexpected family is a growing love for “all God’s people.” And, “all” means the “all” whom God adopts into his family through faith in Christ – Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, young and old, male and female, people from every people group… Do not miss it here: When you genuinely place your faith in Jesus, you will begin to grow in your love for all God’s people. Is that happening in your life?
So, with both Jewish and non-Jewish believers being in the one church family, Paul began his prayer by praying for the new Gentile believers. As I read this prayer, I envision Pastor Paul beginning his prayer by praying for people who have just been saved and baptized – and then broadening his prayer to include everyone.
What Did Paul Pray? What Should We Be Praying for Our Family Members? I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better (1:17).
So, the main thing Paul prayed is that his church people will learn to know God better. I’m quite sure that this was his prayer for the entire church, including his fellow Jewish believers. But, he prayed this specifically for the new Gentile believers. I think of them as being like the many people now coming into our own city from other religious backgrounds – or no religious background at all. They walk into a church like LAC that has people who have grown up reading the Bible, hearing the Bible stories and listening to teaching about God. People new to a church often don’t know at first about things like -- that God has made himself known as the one God and Father over all, as both holy and loving, as both just and forgiving, etc. So, Paul prayed for the new believers, “I pray that God will work so that you will know him better.”
Paul’s illustration of adoption in 1:3-14 is a good way to illustrate why Paul prays for this. So, imagine a 12-year-old child who has been in an orphanage her whole life. She feels this life without a family is her lot in life and that things will never change. Then, she hears about a wonderful and loving couple who has visited the orphanage and wants to adopt a child. She is sure they won’t want her. But then, shockingly, she is told that this wonderful couple saw her, loved her and has already done everything necessary to bring her into their family. What does the little girl do? Does she ask, “What is the extent of the family’s personal assets?” Or, “what are their political leanings?” No, I imagine her running into the arms of her new parents with joy and thankfulness. This is what it’s like for so many of us when we first hear the good news that God loves us and wants to adopt us into his family.
But… early on, the little girl doesn’t know much about her new parents, does she? She enters into the family and begins the process of knowing them better. This “getting to know” one another is, of course, a process. Sometimes, the parents tell their new child about the family. Sometimes, the girl simply learns about them as she lives with her new family. Do you see my point? As it relates to our eternal family, Paul tells the Gentile believers, “My first prayer for you is that you will learn to know God better.”
The word Paul used in this text for knowing God (epignosis) speaks of growing to learn what God has said about himself. Notice that Paul said that they needed both “a Spirit of wisdom and revelation” to know God better. By that, I think he is teaching about the work of the Holy Spirit to teach us, especially as we read or hear what God has revealed about himself in his Word. Paul prayed they would learn about God is such a way that their relationship with him may deepen. He wanted them to grow in their knowledge of God and His Word – in ways that the Spirit made it all alive to them. I pray the same for you. Please know that.
It often happens like this: When you come alive to God through faith in Jesus, you experience that God’s Word comes alive to you too. Many of you have told me this, i.e., that when God does a new work in your heart, reading God’s Word and listening to sermons faithful to God’s Word speak in ever-new-ways to you.
So, that’s where Paul began his prayer. He was convinced – and I am convinced – that the better we know God, the more loving, gracious, powerful, holy, and majestic we will see him to be. We’ll trust him more. Because of that, I pray this prayer for you too – that here in our church through the worship and teaching of the word in your daily lives that you will know God better – and thereby learn to love and trust him more.
Then, in the rest of the prayer, Paul speaks of three truths we should know better about God:
- The hope to which God has called his children (1:18a). I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…
Notice how Paul began this part of the prayer – “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…” “Eyes of your heart” is a very Rabbi-like phrase that talks about seeing realities that our physical eyes cannot see. What Paul prayed for is that we who come alive to God through faith in Jesus may see realities and truths that goes beyond just the normal things we see with our physical eyes in our empirical world.
I remind you that, in this statement in v. 18, Paul again was praying for new Gentile believers, i.e., believers who had never heard that God has promised to work in all things to bring about his good, i.e., to make all things in our lives and in this world right. This is the great hope spelled out in many Old Testament prophecies. These new believers needed to know of the hope that we always have when our faith is in the God of the Bible.
So, let’s go back to the illustration of the adopted child. What if, after she goes home, she discovers that she has been adopted by the most respected, most influential, and wealthiest family in town. One day, the new parents say, “We believe in you, Girl! We know you have some physical scars from your past. We know you have some emotional ones too. But, don’t give up on yourself because we are not going to give up on you. We’ve adopted you into our family and will use all we are and have to make sure you become all you can possibly become.” Would that renew your hope about your future?
With that in mind, what if it’s God who says this to you? What if God promises to use all he has and is until you and I are holy and blameless in his sight. That’s exactly what God does say. He won’t give up on you. Be assured of this: It’s not just new believers who need to be reminded of this hope. Right? When difficulties come: when your business is failing, when your family is struggling, when your friendships are fragmenting – indeed, anytime you continue to see how weak and fallible you are – I pray that the eyes of your heart may be opened to see the hope that comes only because it is God who has called you and promises never to forsake you.
- To know God’s rich inheritance in us (1:18b). I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know… the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people…
The Jewish believers in the church in Ephesus had often heard this teaching that Israel was God’s inheritance. God had said that to them for centuries. But, the new believers had never heard that. Of course, people’s inheritance is something that we value greatly. It's something we have invested in our whole lives. I’m learning the importance of that more and more as I get older. We hit a point in our lives in which we say to ourselves, “Times is going by quickly! I have more years behind me than I have ahead of me. What should I invest the rest of my life in?”
Even though God doesn’t say, “I only have a certain amount of time left so I want to do the most important things with my life” – still, this is the image that stands behind this idea of inheritance. In Eph 1:4, before the creation of time, God considered what would be the most important thing to do in creation. The Bible says God chose to do something that would declare to all the universe his love, grace, holiness, power, i.e., his glory. What God chose to do was to call together a family made up of every people group, language and nation – an unlikely family of people whose lives lived in unity would declare his glory to the universe. Look again at v. 18, “I pray that… you may know… the riches in his glorious inheritance in God’s holy people! When God asked what was worth investing in, he declared it was a family of people like we find assembled at the Lake Avenue Church. It was a costly investment for God, i.e., the death of his Son, and it was for us!
Paul prays here specifically that these newer Gentile believers might know that they too were a part of that inheritance. In other words, he prayed that they would learn that they too belonged fully in God’s family. I imagine that the Gentiles sometimes felt that they didn’t really belong even though they had trusted Jesus.
Pastor Jeanine Smith helped me understand the enormous encouragement this is when we know that we belong fully to a family. This is the story she told me: “When one of my children was struggling with a serious medical issue, my brother, who is a doctor, did some research about her condition and some networking. He found a fellow co-worker, another doctor, whose child had the same issue and said that this doctor was willing to spend time preparing me and my husband on our next steps to care for our child. So, my brother texted me that he had found a doctor who would be willing to meet with her. Then, he closed his text message with this: ‘This doctor could be a good resource for us.’ Of course, what people typically write is ‘this doctor could be a good resource for you.’ But instead he said, ‘us’ and in so doing, he communicated that we were in this problem together.”
I pray that you will experience that kind of belonging here at LAC. One of the main points of the Book of Ephesians is that God brings us into a church family so that we are together his inheritance. Together, we belong to the family. Together, we experience God’s presence and God’s hope. I am praying that our fall series in Ephesians will be one in which we together experience that we are God’s rich inheritance.
- To know God’s power at work within and among us (1:19-23). I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know… his incomparably great power for us who believe.
In v. 19, the Apostle Paul specifically changes from praying for the new believers to praying for the entire church family. The prayer he excitedly breaks out into (for that’s what he does) comes from the question, “Can our Father do all this?” We know our own lives. Can God actually forgive us all and make us holy and blameless? Can he work in our lives life so that past failures do not continue on as present and future failures? Can he do that with a whole church of imperfect people like we have at LAC and bring us into complete unity in Christ? Does God have the power to accomplish what he calls his eternal plan? He can!
Just look at the four different words about God’s ability that Paul used in v. 19:
* Power -- “Dunamis” = Raw energy or strength
* Working – “Energeia” = An inward propulsion of power
* Mighty – “Kratos” = Ability to conquer anything
* Strength – “Ischus” = Physical and demonstrable force
It’s as if he’s saying to us in v. 19, “I want you to have no doubt! God will finish his work in us – and he surely has the power to do so!” And then, Paul drives home the truth by telling us of the power that comes to the church through Jesus. We can almost hear the congregation shouting out questions as he prays in vv.20-23:
Question: Does God have the power to overcome the things I deal with?
Answer: The greatest enemy this world can throw at you is death – and the power to overcome death is available to you through faith in the resurrected Lord Jesus (V. 20a)!
Question: But that happened so long ago. Is that power still available to us?
Answer: Jesus did not rise from the dead and then go into retirement. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father and is advocating for us (v. 20b)!
Question: But what about the devil, the world’s unjust systems and my own human sinfulness?
Answer: God seated Jesus far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, both now and forever.
Question: But how can I be sure this power is available to me?
Answer: Because you and I are the people of God through faith in Jesus. God’s incomparably great power is for us who believe (v. 19).
Like for the new believers in Ephesus, it still takes a while to grasp the scope and beauty of what God makes available to us when we trust Jesus. But, as your Sr. Pastor, I want you to know this: I pray for you. I pray you’ll know God better. I pray you’ll know the certain hope that is his calling, i.e., God will finish in you what he’s begun. I pray you’ll know the riches of being his inheritance, i.e., God says you belong! You’re a part of the family. And I pray you will know the incomparably great power available to all who believe. I pray these things so that you and I together will be who we are, a highly unexpected family that brings glory to God!
Chinese Study Notes
成為我們的所是：我們迫切的禱告需要
以弗所 1:15-23
十九世紀七十年代，我在惠頓大學完成了我的本科學業後，便作為一名樂器獨奏的宣教士隻身去到德國。剛去的時候，我一點兒德語都不會。三個月後的一天，我們樂團的領隊跟我說，“格瑞，我們已經決定，你要在德國開第一場演奏會了。演出地點是位於胡爾本郊外的戶外足球場。”我記得我當時的回應是：“什麼！我可不行。我這麼糟糕的德文沒人聽得懂。”可我的同事們卻說，“這就是神呼召你來德國做的事，該開始做了！記得，我們都會為你禱告的！”
於是，在違背自己的意願且沒有準備的情況下，我還是盡力和團隊合練做準備。比一切更重要的是，我認真禱告起來。之後，儘管我還是認為那場音樂會實在不怎麼樣，我的德語也是差勁之極，神還是使用了那天所發生的一切，看見人決志相信耶穌，並且跟隨主至今。
我在準備今天的這篇講章時，想到了許久之前的這一幕。我們今天讀到的經文是保羅在兩千年前為以弗所教會的禱告。上周我們看到，神永恆計畫就是要將一世紀南轅北轍的兩個群體---猶太人和外邦人，組成一個合一的家庭，放在像以弗所這樣的地方教會。要知道，將世上的萬事萬物連于元首基督是神宣教計畫的一部分，而地方教會就是人們活出合一生活、向世界做見證的地方。
神呼召以弗所教會就是要他們以合一的生活見證神。然而，當我們讀完保羅的以弗所書信後發現，活出合一生活對他們而言是很難的。因此我為這個系列的講道取名為“成為我們的所是”。我們逐節誦讀以弗所書信後會發現：1.神借他對教會大家庭說的話，告訴我們他對我們的呼召；2.神在我們中間工作，使我們成為他要我們在基督裡成為的樣式。我們今天的光景正像我當年在德國時感受到的那樣，迫切需要藉著禱告成全他在我們身上的呼召；我們需要恒切禱告才能成為神要我們成為的樣子。
一章15-23節是保羅為他所建立、所服事了2-3年的一間教會的禱告，應該說他對那裡的人非常瞭解。他知道要在那裡對主忠心有多難，尤其是要在充滿種族隔閡的教會活出合一的生活。他也許會想，“這間教會怎麼可能合一？只有神能使合一發生。我還是先禱告吧。”因此我們就讀到1：15-23 的禱告，這是保羅牧師為他所親愛的、有迫切需要的教會的禱告。
我相信以弗所教會一定有許多需要，事實上，保羅自己還身陷囹圄，也許我們以為保羅會切切禱告，求主滿足人們每天身體和物質上的需要；但他的第一個禱告卻在祈求神讓教會的人們認識到，他們最大的需要不是物質的需要，也不是政治的境遇。因為保羅知道某些東西比那些暫時的東西更優先、更重要。保羅在以弗所書1：15-23中所祈求的正是那些更重要的事，即無論在生意場，在學校、家庭中發生什麼都不能被奪去的東西。保羅所祈求的是，無論這個世界發生什麼，神的兒女都能更認識他，並且能前所未有地、更深地知道他的同在、盼望、愛以及能力。
家中有誰？因 此 ， 我 既 聽 見 你 們 信 從 主 耶 穌 ， 親 愛 眾 聖 徒。。。（1：15）。
禮拜開始讀這段經文時，你有沒有發覺到，使徒保羅在15-18節中提到“你們”之後馬上就在19-23節改為“我們”了？那麼誰是“你們”，誰又是“我們”呢？如果你上周沒來的話，讓我提示一下，初期教會最早都是由信耶穌的猶太人組成，正如使徒保羅這樣的人。這些元老級的基督徒們是讀著舊約曾聖經長大，他們當然知道神是藉著他的話啟示自己的。但要知道，神的永恆計畫是從萬民萬族中召人來進入他的大家庭，也包括那些之前沒聽過聖經的信徒。保羅當時寫以弗所書信時，正是面對教會這樣的光景。
上周的經文在1：11-12 節提到跟從耶穌的猶太人時，說“我 們 這 首 先 在 基 督 裡 有 盼 望 的 人”；接著在1：13-14節保羅提到外邦新信徒時，說“你 們 既 聽 見 真 理 的 道 ， 就 是 那 叫 你 們 得 救 的 福 音 ， 也 信 了 基 督。”今天的1：15提到的兩件事就是對這兩種人，也是對所有基督徒都適用的。保羅說：
- “你們信從主耶穌”，和
- “親愛眾聖徒”
信耶穌是第一步。這裡的經文特別指出，拯救我們的信心就是對耶穌的信心。請問，你相信只有通過耶穌才可以和天父神建立關係嗎？這是成為這個家庭成員的第一個憑據。
這信仰的第一步總會帶來生命的改變。當基督進入你的生命後，能證明你是神家庭一員的最清楚的憑據就是你會愛“眾聖徒”。“眾”指神接納的所有因信基督進入神家中的人，包括猶太人和外邦人，窮人和富人，年輕人和老年人，男人和女人，萬族萬民的人。。。請記住這一點：當你真誠相信耶穌後，你便開始在愛中成長，愛所有屬神的人。你的生命是這樣的嗎？
在由猶太信徒和非猶太信徒組成的教會大家庭中，保羅先為外邦新信徒祈求。我們在讀這段經文時看到，保羅牧師開始是為那些剛得救受洗的人禱告，但最終他的代禱人群延伸至所有人。
保羅禱告了什麼？我們應該如何為我們的家庭成員禱告？願我們主耶穌基督的神——榮耀的父，賜給你們智慧和啟示的靈，使你們能真正地認識他 (1:17).
保羅為他的教會成員所求的要點是真正認識神。這也是他為整個教會，包括為猶太信徒，但更是為外邦新信徒的祈求。這些人就像今天來到洛杉磯的人們，有不同的宗教背景或乾脆什麼都不信。他們來到像我們這樣的教會，看到了我們這些在讀經、聽道中長大的信徒；他們對教會陌生，不知道神已經顯明自己是三位一體的真神，有聖潔和愛，公義和赦免等等。在此，保羅就為這樣的新人禱告，求神賜智慧和啟示的靈，使他們能真正地認識他。
保羅在1：3-14節對揀選的闡述讓我們能更好理解他為什麼如此祈求。試想一個12歲的孤兒，她知道自己的一生都不會有家，而且這事實不會改變。突然有一天，她聽到一對有愛心的夫婦來孤兒院領養一個小孩！她正不知道會不會是自己，卻驚喜地被告知他們看中了她、並愛她，且辦好了手續就要帶她回家。她會怎樣做呢？她會問：“你們家有多少財產”或“你們有什麼政治傾向？”不，她只會帶著喜樂和感激的淚投入新父母的懷抱！這就是我們第一次聽說神愛我們並揀選我們進入他家的情形。
但此時，小女孩對她的新父母還瞭解不多；她進入家門後才開始真正認識他們。這種互相認識是一個過程。有時，父母會給她講講新家，有時需要她邊生活邊瞭解。你們看到了嗎？這與我們的永生有關聯，保羅告訴外邦信徒：“我為你們首要禱告的是真正認識神”。
保羅在這裡提到的認識神，是指在成長過程中認識神對自己的啟示，需要“智慧與啟示的靈”説明好真正認識他。事實上，保羅在教導我們聖靈的工作，當我們學習聆聽神的話語時，聖靈會幫助我們。保羅的禱告是要我們如此認識神，深入與神的關係，在神的知識和神的話語上成長---聖靈會讓我們鮮活地經歷這一切。請注意，這也是我為你們的禱告。
我們常常看見，當你藉著信耶穌在神面前有一個活潑的生命，神的話語對你也是活潑的。許多人都對我說過，當神在他心中開始新工作時，藉著讀經聽道，神信實的話語對他是歷久常新的。
保羅就是如此開始他的禱告，他深信，我也深信，我們越認識神，就越會看見神更多的愛、恩典、能力、聖潔和威嚴。我們也會更多信靠他。因此，我也用這個禱告為你們祈求---在教會，藉著你們日常的敬拜、學習，使你們更好地認識神---從而更愛主、信靠主。
在接下來的禱告中，保羅談到我們當真正認識神的三個理由。
- 神所呼召的兒女的 盼望(1:18a). 我也求神照亮你們心中的眼睛，使你們知道：屬他召喚的盼望到底是什麼…
注意保羅是怎樣開始這部分禱告的—“我也求神照亮你們心中的眼睛…”這裡，“心中的眼睛”是猶太拉比用語，談論肉身眼睛看不見真相。保羅所禱告的是我們這些藉著信耶穌活潑來到神面前的人必看見真理，超越經驗主義世界裡肉眼所看見的事物。
我要提醒的是，在18節，保羅再次為外邦新信徒禱告，因為他們尚未知道神應許了讓萬事相輔相成，叫我們在世的生活合乎他的旨意。舊約的先知們說出了這偉大的盼望，而這些新信徒則需要瞭解。當我們的信仰基於神和聖經，我們就常常有這樣的盼望。
讓我們回到領養孩子的描述。試想，她後來發現她的新家是城中最尊貴、有影響和富有的家庭；而有一天，養父母說：“孩子，我們相信你！我們知道你有過去的陰影，甚至有情感傷害，但不要放棄自己，因為我們不會放棄你。我們把你領養到我們家，就要用我們的一切來確保你成為你可能成為的人！”這話能否更新你對未來的盼望呢？
進一步，要是神這樣對你說呢？神就是要用他的一切確保我們成為在他眼中聖潔無瑕疵的人。這正是神所說的，他絕不放棄你。請相信不僅僅是新信徒需要這樣的提醒，不是嗎？當困難來臨，你生意失敗，家庭變故，友情破裂，軟弱跌倒時，我祈求神開你的心眼看到，盼望只在於那呼召你、應許你、絕不拋棄你的神！
- 認識神在我們身上的豐富繼業(1:18b). 我也求神照亮你們心中的眼睛，使你們知道：屬他召喚的盼望到底是什麼；在聖徒中間，他繼業榮耀的豐盛到底是什麼…
以弗所教會的猶太信徒都知道以色列是神的基業。神在幾百年來一直這樣告訴他們。但新信徒從未聽過。人所繼承的繼業是我們所看重的，我們一生都為此奮鬥。我越老就越知道其重要性，我常自問的一點就是：時光飛逝，我剩下的年歲比起已過的年歲越來越少，我當如何投資我的餘生？
就算保羅沒有說：“我剩下的時間不多，我想做我生命中最重要的事”，但這就是他用“繼業”的背後原因。1：4節說，在創世以前，神就想到了創造中最重要的事。聖經告訴我們，神選擇要在全宇宙宣揚他的愛、恩典、聖潔、能力和榮耀。神選擇要做的就是從萬國萬民萬族中召聚一個家---一個由不同成員組成的合一的家，向全宇宙宣揚他的榮耀。再看18節：“我禱告…使你們知道…在聖徒中間，他繼業榮耀的豐盛到底是什麼!”當問到什麼是最好的投資？神會說那將是一個召聚來的大家庭，就像我們教會一樣。對神來說，這是最昂貴的投資：他投入了他的兒子，並為我們死了！
保羅在此特別禱告，要外邦新信徒知道自己也是神繼業的一部分。換句話說，他禱告要他們知道自己也是神家中的一部分。我可以想像，儘管那些外邦信徒信了主，但有時也會感到自己並非真屬於神的家。
珍妮牧師幫我理解我們完全屬於一個家庭的含義。她給我講一個故事：“我的一個孩子一直受病痛折磨。我有一個哥哥是醫生，為此做了許多研究，後來發現他一個醫生同事的孩子也有同樣的疾病。而那個同事願意花時間和我們談論如何照顧我們的孩子。我哥哥發短信說，這醫生是我們的一個好資源。通常人們會寫‘這醫生是你們的一個好資源’，但他說‘我們’，意思是我們一起面對這個問題。”
我禱告你在我們教會也有這樣的歸屬感。以弗所書的一個重點就是神將我們帶到教會大家庭，共同承受他的基業，我們一起屬於這個家庭，一起經歷神的同在和屬靈盼望。我正禱告我們秋天的系列將側重在我們一起經歷我們是神的豐盛基業。
- 認識神在我們之中和我們裡面的工作 (1:19-23) 我也求神照亮你們心中的眼睛，使你們知道…在我們這些相信之人的身上，照著他力量的權能作為，他能力的無限偉大到底是什麼。
在19節，使徒保羅從特別為新信徒禱告轉到為全教會禱告。他透過一個問題引起話題：“我們的父神都能做麼？”我們知道自己的新生命，但神真能完全赦免我們並使我們成為聖潔、沒有瑕疵麼？他真能在我們生命中工作，讓我們現在和將來不會重蹈覆轍麼？他能否使不完全的人組成的教會---比如我們的教會---在基督裡合一麼? 神有能力成就他所說的永恆計畫麼？答案是，他能！
只要看看保羅在19節使用的有關神能力的四個不同的詞：
* 能力=本性能量與力量
* 作為=來自內部的推動力
* 權能=征服一切的能力
* 力量=所彰顯的能力
他在19節像是對我們說：“不要懷疑！神必要完成在我們身上的工作，他有實實在在的能力去成就！”保羅一語中的告訴我們說，教會的力量是來自耶穌。當他在20-23節禱告時，我好像聽得見信徒心中的提問：
問: 神有能力勝過我正對付的一切事嗎？
答: 這世界能對付你的最大敵人是死亡---但藉著信死裡復活的主耶穌，你就擁有勝過死亡的能力 ( 20a)!
問: 但這發生在很久以前，仍然對我們有效麼？
答: 耶穌不是從死裡復活後退休了，他正坐在父神的右邊為我們代求(20b)!
問: 但還有魔鬼呢 還有不公義以及我們人性的罪啊！
答: 神立耶穌在一切權柄、能力、統治之上 ，從今到永遠！
問: 我如何確信我有這樣的能力?
答: 因為你我都是信耶穌的神的兒女，神無比的力量就是為著那些信的人。 (19節).
正如以弗所的新信徒，我們需要花時間去認識：當我們信耶穌時，神應許的是多麼美好和廣闊！但作為你們的主任牧師，我請你們知道，我為你們禱告，禱告你們可以真正認識他；禱告你們可以認識他呼召的盼望，就是他要在你身上創始成終；我禱告你們認識到他繼業的豐盛，神說你有份其中，你是他家中的一部分；我禱告你們認識到他無比的能力是為著所有信的人！我這樣禱告是為著你我一起都能成為神要我們成為的人，是為著我們充滿盼望的大家庭可以歸榮耀給神！
榮耀歸給神，
Greg Waybright 博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright