Love First Love: That We Would Know the Fullness of Christ / Ephesians 1:15-23

From Praise to Intercession: The Pathway to Intimacy

The opening chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians begins with an ecstatic doxology celebrating the sovereign work of the Triune God in redemption. In a breathtaking cascade of praise, the apostle recounts the spiritual blessings bestowed upon believers in the heavenly realms: they are chosen before the foundation of the world, redeemed and forgiven through the blood of Christ, adopted as sons and daughters into the divine household, and sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of their eternal inheritance.

Ephesians 1:3-14 (NASB)

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, [that is], the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation– having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of [God’s own] possession, to the praise of His glory.

Yet, having established the unassailable reality of these blessings, the apostle does not leave the doctrine in the realm of abstract theology. Instead, he shifts from adoration to intercession. In one of the most profound prayers recorded in Scripture, Paul petitions God on behalf of the church that believers might experientially inhabit, understand, and walk in the fullness of what has already been secured for them in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:15-16 (NASB)

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which [exists] among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention [of you] in my prayers;

The Soil of Gospel Transformation

Paul’s prayer is anchored in genuine thanksgiving for the transformative work already evident among the Ephesian believers. The historical context of the Ephesian church illustrates the magnitude of this transformation. Ephesus was a city steeped in the occult, magic arts, and pagan idolatry centered around the massive temple of Artemis. When the gospel pierced this spiritual darkness, the repentance was radical and public. Believers willingly burned their costly sorcery scrolls and abandoned the trade of false idols, reshaping the spiritual and economic landscape of the city.

Acts 19:18-20 (NASB)

Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and [began] burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

Having heard of their steadfast faith in Christ and their active love for all the saints, Paul continually offers thanks to God. Yet, genuine conversion is not the destination; it is the starting point. For those rescued out of profound darkness, Paul recognizes that their ongoing survival and spiritual maturation require a deep, progressive illumination of the God who redeemed them.

The Nature of Divine Knowledge: Wisdom and Revelation

The core petition of Paul’s prayer is that the Father of glory would grant believers a “spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.” This petition establishes the foundational priority of the Christian life: every practical outworking of faith—whether in community, marriage, family, or vocation—flows directly from an authentic knowledge of God.

Ephesians 1:17 (NASB)

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 knowledge is neither purely intellectual nor merely emotive. Academic knowledge alone often amounts to static data—doctrinal frameworks detached from personal communion with the living God. Conversely, an entirely experiential or emotional pursuit easily devolves into subjective sensationalism without theological anchoring. Paul instead prays for a knowledge characterized by both wisdom and revelation.

Wisdom represents the practical, time-tested application of truth in everyday life. It is the experiential knowledge acquired as a believer walks with Christ through seasons of trial and blessing, learning to trust His character. Revelation, however, ensures that this experiential walk is rooted in God’s objective self-disclosure. Humanity is not left to speculate about the divine nature through philosophical guesswork. God has definitively revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ and through the inspired Scriptures. True Christian knowledge unites objective divine revelation with subjective, yielded obedience.

The Illumination of the Heart

Paul summarizes this transformative knowledge as the enlightenment of the “eyes of your heart.” In biblical anthropology, the heart represents the seat of the intellect, will, and affections. To have the eyes of the heart opened means to perceive spiritual reality with such clarity that one’s core desires and choices are radically reoriented toward God.

Ephesians 1:18 (NASB)

[I pray that] the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

When the spiritual sight of the believer is restored, the apostle indicates that it yields three vital realities: a secure hope, a profound understanding of identity, and an experience of resurrection power.

1. The Certainty of the Hope of His Calling

Worldly hope is inherently fragile, characterized by uncertainty and wishful thinking. In contrast, biblical hope is the absolute certainty of future realities grounded in the unshakeable character of God. The “hope of His calling” encompasses both the present reality of salvation and the future consummation of God’s redemptive plan. It is the assurance that the God who began a good work will bring it to completion, culminating in the ultimate restoration of all creation.

Revelation 21:1-5 (NASB)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer [any] sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be [any] death; there will no longer be [any] mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’

When believers comprehend this eternal hope, their attachments to temporal and fleeting idols are severed. Rather than seeking ultimate identity or satisfaction in carnal achievements, social validation, or material possessions, the Christian lives with an eternal perspective that sustains faith through earthly suffering.

2. The Riches of His Inheritance in the Saints

While Scripture frequently speaks of the believer’s inheritance in God, Paul here introduces an astonishing inversion: he prays that believers would know “what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” The astonishing theological truth is that the redeemed church is God’s own inheritance.

Psalms 33:12 (NASB)

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.

Throughout the Old Testament, the covenant people of God are described as His treasured possession. In the New Covenant, the church is the prized reward given to the Son for His redemptive suffering. Believers do not derive their value from human performance, appearance, or societal status. Every human being possesses inherent dignity as an image-bearer of God, but the believer possesses a heightened, redemptive value as one bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Deuteronomy 26:18-19 (NASB)

‘The LORD has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the LORD your God, as He has spoken.’

To know that the church is Christ’s treasured inheritance frees the believer from the desperate pursuit of worldly affirmation. Self-worth is no longer tethered to shifting cultural metrics but is permanently secured in the cross of Christ.

3. The Surpassing Greatness of Resurrection Power

Finally, Paul prays that believers would grasp “the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” The apostle does not refer to a generic divine energy, but specifically to the historic, triumphant power that God exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 1:19-20 (NASB)

and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. [These are] in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly [places],

This same resurrection power is not merely an external force to be observed; it is the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit actively at work within the believer. The Spirit who brought life out of the tomb of Christ is the very Spirit who gives life to those previously dead in trespasses and sins.

Romans 8:11 (NASB)

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

This divine power breaks the dominion of sin, enables holy living, and empowers gospel witness. It is an authority far superior to any demonic dominion, cultural ideology, or earthly power, both in the present age and in the age to come.

Romans 6:4-11 (NASB)

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [in the likeness] of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with [Him], in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

The Cosmic Body of Christ

The culmination of God’s sovereign power is seen in His exaltation of Christ as the supreme head over all creation, specifically for the sake of the church. Among all earthly institutions—governments, academic centers, and cultural organizations—God has ordained the local and universal church to be the primary vehicle for displaying His manifold wisdom and reconciling grace to the world.

Ephesians 1:21-23 (NASB)

far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

The church is designated as Christ’s body, “the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” As Christ’s representative presence on earth, empowered by the Spirit and anchored in divine revelation, the church is sent into the world to proclaim the gospel, push back spiritual darkness, and embody the reign of God.

1 John 4:4 (NASB)

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Conclusion

Ephesians 1:15-23 stands as a timeless call to move beyond superficial religion into profound, experiential intimacy with the Triune God. Paul’s prayer dismantles both dry intellectualism and untethered emotionalism, calling the church to an enlightened understanding rooted in biblical revelation and lived out in faithful wisdom. When the eyes of the heart are opened, believers no longer walk in spiritual poverty; they live anchored in an unshakeable hope, confident in their worth as God’s treasured possession, and animated by the very power that conquered the grave.