Ephesians 1:3-14 is an inspiring anthem of praise which leads to an inspiring raison dˈêtre for prayer in 1:15-23.
Paul wrote this letter while “in chains,” imprisoned in Caesarea or Rome (6:20). While imprisoned he received information in letters and from visitors about the churches he planted across the Mediterranean. We know from Ephesians 6:21, 22 that one of Paul’s companions, Tychicus, though not a prisoner, was with Paul providing for his needs. He is mentioned five times in the New Testament, with the first reference being in Acts 20:4 as one of a group of seven who worked with Paul. Three were from Macedonia (northern Greece), two were from Derbe or Lystra (southeastern modern Turkey), and two from the Ephesian region. The last two, Tychicus and Trophimus, were from towns near Ephesus that had been evangelized during Paul’s ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19). The other references of Tychicus are found in Colossians 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:12; Titus 3:12; and our passage in Ephesians 6:21.[1]
It is likely it was from Tychicus that in Ephesians 1:15 Paul wrote the “after I heard” reports about the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the Ephesian church. It was those encouraging reports that Paul wrote that he did “not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” (1:16). There is something deeply personal in these verses that we must not overlook. Paul was not writing abstract theological letters; rather, he was responding to people that he personally knew. His thanksgiving prayers to God was because he had confidence that his labor, and God’s purposes, were not in vain. Though facing challenges within and without, the Ephesians were remaining faithful to the gospel message of Jesus Christ that Paul had consistently and faithfully given them.
If we can open our ears to hear Paul’s voice as we read these verses, we are listening to the heart of a missionary pastor to the flock over which God has entrusted to his care. Pastoral care has numerous dimensions, but spiritually, nothing has changed in how pastoral leaders are to care for God’s sheep.[2] I cannot emphasize strongly enough that Paul personally knew the congregants in Ephesus and in most of the other churches established in Asia Minor. Imagine Paul praying for them, in his mind seeing their faces, hearing their voices, knowing their livelihood and personal situations! Paul’s prayer for them is based on the positive report of faith and love they continue to have. The prayer is based on testimony, initiated in thanksgiving, and moves forward to Holy Spirit inspired specific purposes that Paul believes Jesus is desiring among them in Asia Minor.
Ephesians 1:17 is the first purpose in a series that are part of Paul’s prayer for the Christians in the Ephesus area. Read it aloud here, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. . ..”
As observed in the previous blog, Trinitarian thought regarding the nature of the One True God is evident in Paul’s understanding of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.[3] The Heavenly Father is called “the Father of glory.” Throughout the Bible the word “glory” is used in relation to God as Lord, Father.[4] What do we mean by the word “glory” in reference to God?
The primary word for “glory” in the Old Testament is the Hebrew kabod which has the sense of weight, heavy, thus implying honor, gravitas.[5] The Apostle Paul used this meaning in his phrase in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “for our light affliction, which id but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” The Hebrew kabod denotes something stable, eternal, unshakeable. God’s glory from an Old Testament perspective is about God’s steady, weighty, faithfulness.
The primary word for “glory” in the New Testament is doxa. It’s about radiance, light, revelation, and brightness. In other words, the ability to see and be seen.
C.S. Lewis, in a 1941 sermon titled “The Weight of Glory,” preached that, “the promise of glory . . . becomes relevant to our deep desire. For glory meant good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgement, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.”[6] To use the Biblical language about glory, Lewis described a certainty with God that one day will be clearly open for us to experience.
The “Father of glory” is thus about eternal certainty and illumination being manifest in the human experience. Paul prayed that the Ephesians, and we, will receive as gifts “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:17). The “spirit” is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Fifteen times in the Bible the Holy Spirit and wisdom are connected: Exodus 28:3; 31:3; 35:31; Deuteronomy 34:9; Isaiah 11:2; Daniel 5:11, 14; Luke 1:17; 2:40; Acts 6:3, 10; 1 Corinthians 2:4, 13; 12:8; Ephesians 1:17.
Paul understood the Greek and Jewish views on wisdom, sophia in Greek. In 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 Paul contrasted Greek wisdom with that wisdom which is from God. Paul’s understanding of wisdom included his knowledge of Proverbs 8 and 9. To illustrate, by connecting Proverbs 8:2 to 1 Corinthians 2 and the preaching of the Cross, the Proverbs passage is prophetic about the Cross, “She (wisdom) takes her stand on the top of the high hill, beside the way, where the paths meet.” The “high hill” is where Jesus was “lifted up” (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32). The reference to “the way” reminds us of an early name given to Jesus’ followers (Way, Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). The “paths meet” there at the Cross, the path of judgement, condemnation, and the path of eternal life.
The word “revelation” is the Greek apokalupsis and is used thirteen times in the New Testament, including its only reference in Revelation 1:1 concerning the revealing of Jesus Christ in the last days. Paul used this word in Romans 2:5; 16:25; 1 Corinthians 1:7; 14:6, 26; Galatians 1:12; 2:2; Ephesians 1:17; 3:3. The Apostle Peter used it in 1 Peter 1:7, 13. The word means to reveal something that has been hidden. We shall see the importance of this word throughout Ephesians as Paul will describe God’s “mystery” as revealed in Jesus Christ.[7]
The “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” operating in our lives has a specific function: the Holy Spirit guides us to greater knowledge of God. That greater knowledge comes through the revelation of Who Jesus Christ is as the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world. If the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” is a charismatic gift in Paul’s thought, its purpose is to edify, encourage, and equip the body of Christ in relation to the Personhood and Purposes of God (1 Corinthians 12-14).[8]
Marcus Barth wrote of the purpose of wisdom and revelation, they “show the wise man how to live. It is characteristic that knowledge cannot exist without growth and expansion. A knower remains a learner, and knowledge will always seek to give others a share in its contents. Therefore ‘wisdom, revelation, enlightenment,’ when they are given to man, do anything but make him passive. They activate the man who was formerly blind – not only blacked-out mentally and walking in darkness (Ephesians 4:17, 18), but darkness itself, as the keen formulation of Ephesians 5:8a asserts. Now he is made ‘light in the Lord’ (Ephesians 5:8b).”[9]
As we shall see in the continuing study of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1, and throughout this letter, each section is like a building established on firm foundations able to reach greater heights. Ephesians is a letter arising over the landscape of darkness bringing forth greater perspective of an eternal horizon that is present and coming.
[1] I find it interesting that in Titus 3:13 Paul mentioned a lawyer named Zenas. In this only reference, Zenas is mentioned with Apollos. Titus, part of Paul’s missionary team, was in Crete doing follow up ministry for the church. Apparently Zenas and Apollos were there with him when Paul wrote to send them on their way regarding their next mission. We know that Paul used legal means to protect himself as a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37-40; 22:28) and having a Christian lawyer, Zenas, as part of his larger team, is a reasonable step on Paul’s part.
[2] For example, read The Book of Pastoral Care by Saint Gregory the Great (540-604 A.D.), and the pastoral books by the late Eugene Peterson. I intentionally used the phrase “missionary pastor” as that is the core of what it means to pastor a local congregation. The “pastor” is more than a caretaker of the flock. The pastor is also a missionary with the flock as an outpost of the kingdom of God in that community. As a missionary looks for the lost and looks for ways for the gospel message to intersect with the prevailing culture, so also local pastors have eyes that look at the concerns of the sheep in the pews, and eyes on the future sheep outside the building.
[3] https://iphc.org/gso/2025/02/04/the-holy-spirit-of-promise-ephesians-113-14/
[4] “Glory of God” used in 17 verses; “glory of the Lord” 37 verses; “glory of Christ” twice; “father of glory” only Ephesians 1:17. These uses are found in the New King James.
[5] Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1968) 457-459.
[6] C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1949) 11. This sermon was preached in the Church of St. Mary, the Virgin, Oxford, England on June 8, 1941, and first published in November 1941.
[7] This was already seen in Ephesians 1:9. Further references to mystery are found in Ephesians 3:3, 4, 9; 5:32; 6:19.
[8] I believe the Spirit of wisdom and revelation is a charismatic gift of the Spirit given to all in Christ who are willing to receive what the Lord has for them.
[9] Marcus Barth, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1-3, The Anchor Bible (Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1974) 163. Italics are from Barth.
