1:15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your
love toward all the saints, and for this reason
1:16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you
in my prayers.
1:17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as
you come to know him,
1:18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you
may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the
riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,
1:19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for
us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
1:20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
places,
1:21 far above all rule and authority and power and
dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age
but also in the age to come.
1:22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made
him the head over all things for the church,
1:23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in
all.
Manzel, just thinking of the scripture's way of stretching us from
one dimensional thinking--eye's and heart's don't necessarily seem
congruent( of course, neither do "eyes" and potatoes!) I may be
delving into the "change of vantage point" brought about by the
Ascension (Barth)... not sure where I'm going with it, but we do
have expressions that seem misplaced because they are dealing with
complex matters. For instance, we speak of "light years", not really
to measure time, but the great distance between earth and distant
stars, galexies. You can see I'm off your subject so I can merely
thank you for giving me a little jump start! Peter in CA
I am also celebrating Ascension Sunday and using Acts 1 and
Ephesians 1 together. I love the way the disciples are staring into
the sky, trying to catch a last glimpse of Jesus. But suddenly
they're asked, "Why are you gazing into the clouds?" Do we spent too
much time in church and in our lives gazing off into the blue,
overlooking the needs and ways Jesus is leading us down here on
earth?
But then there's Paul's prayer in Ephesians, trying to describe the
indescribable--God's great love for us thru Jesus and the power
available to us thru him. Sometimes all we CAN see is the mess that
needs cleaning up around us and we get discouraged or burn out,
thinking we can never possibly accomplish all we should.
Most of us go to one or both extremes and need the bablance the 2
scriptures give each other.
And I like the fact that the Ascension of Jesus in Acts is just the
beginning of the exciting story of the early church. Kind of like
those famous first 4 chords of Beethoven's 5th--da da da DUM! Those
four chords set the tone for the whole symphony. You can hear echoes
of them all thru it as the symphony grows from that simple
beginning. How is the theme of Christ being lived out, echoed,
developed in our own lives and in his body, the Church?
Rebecca in MD
I am amazed considering v. 19-21, and the power of God working among
us, and within us. I will be preaching at the smaller of the two
churches on my charge this week, and they need to here of God's
Resurrection power at work in their world, in their lives, and in
their church. We often feel that because it is a small church,
nothing much can be done - against which I have preached before. To
know that the amazing power of God is present, and that God cares
enough for all of us to place our pioneer in the faith "above all
rule and authority and power and dominion" needs to be proclaimed
with enthusiasm.
What we need to understand this Paul prays for in v. 17, "a spirit
of wisdom and revelation", and that we come to know Christ, and in
the enlightemnent of that knowledge understand all that Christ has
called us to be. And in that, we also find Paul's statement about
hope, which is what a good many of us need more than anything else.
Just a few random thoughts!
Rev.Rick in So.Ga.
See faith, love and hope tied together in this passage as in ! Cor
13. This letter starts in thanks to God for Jesus, and now thanks to
this particular church, or was it a circular letter for all of the
churches for their faith active in love. And isn't that what Christ
basis judgement on? Not on if we see our good works, but our the
eyes of our hearts see him around us in others, and the creation,
still God with us. Clay in Valley, NE
verse 20 clearly shows Paul's understanding between God and Christ.
Yesterday I drove by a "Christian" radio station which had huge
letters attached to the tower spellin out "Jesus is God". Wouldn't
Paul be offended at this statement? Isn''t this contrary to what
Jesus taught, when called "good master" he said why do you call me
good, there one who should be called good...
Am I alone in feeling alarmed? Doesn't it seem that a whole religion
contrary to Jesus teachings is being formed in Jesus name?
