A few weeks ago, we looked at the first part of Ephesians chapter one, and today we are reading the rest of the chapter.  In the first part, Paul reminds his readers—and that includes us—of our incredible blessings in Christ Jesus. 

          We have this amazing God who chose us before the world was even created to be his own children.  He loves us so much that he gave his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins, so that we might be completely forgiven.  He chose us to be a people of hope—a people who know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has a plan for us that goes beyond this life into all eternity.

          Listen to this letter from Paul as if he has just written it to us, here at Queen Anne Baptist Church, because this is the Word of God, and it is a living word for us today.  Paul tells us in this letter of his prayer for us, and this prayer tells us God’s desire for us, even today.

          This letter is addressed to the church at Ephesus, but it probably was a circular letter that went on to other churches as well.  So we are, in a sense, just one more church in a long succession of churches that has received this letter. 

          We Americans tend to be individualists, and that is often a good thing.  But when it comes to the church, we are a part of the entire body of Christ, and it is to that entire body that this letter is addressed.  It is excellent to read the Bible as an individual, and certainly the message is very personal to each one of us.  But we also need to practice hearing the message as the community that is the church.  So we receive this message in community.

          When the letters in the New Testament were received by the churches, they were read out loud, and the people gathered to hear the message, just as we are gathered here today to hear the Word of God, once again.

          Ephesians 1:15-23:

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷I 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. ¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²²And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

          What an incredible prayer this is!  Paul prays that God would give us—you and me and all of us collectively—the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we might know God better.  Through the Holy Spirit, we can grow closer to God, so we can truly know him—not just as individuals, but as a church.  What a great invitation that is!

          Our English language poses a problem for translators in that our word “you” does not distinguish between the singular and plural form of “you.”  If I am speaking with one person and I refer to them as “you,” they know I mean “you” singular.  But if I speak to all of you and address the group as “you,” you know I am using the word in the plural sense.  But when you read a passage in the Bible, and it uses the word “you,” how can you tell whether the word is meant to be singular or plural?  We desperately need a word like we have in the South, “you-all.”  But up here in the North, we don’t have it.  So when you are reading the Bible, and you read the word “you,” stop and think about the fact that it might better be translated “you-all.”  And that is particularly true in the epistles, which were letters written, not to individuals, but to the church.

          Paul writes this beautiful line:  “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

          I love the concept of the eyes of our hearts being enlightened.  Of course we know that our hearts don’t have literal eyes.  Although around Valentines Day, you will often see little pictures of hearts with smiley faces that have eyes. 

          What is the heart of our church?  Paul prays that the eyes of our heart—that is, our collective heart—may be enlightened in three ways.

          First, that we may know the hope to which he has called us.  We know when we talk about our hope, that we are reminded of the promise we have of eternal life in heaven with God.  And isn’t it wonderful that we have that hope, not just as individuals, but for all of us? 

          Our hope is our final goal; our purpose.  If we know where we are headed, we can move in the right direction.  Have you ever rowed a small rowboat?  The kind where you sit backwards and row, so that your destination is behind you? 

          It’s not easy, and if you don’t know what you are doing, your boat will meander all over the place.  The only way to keep your boat going in the right direction is to set your sight on some landmark, and keep aiming for that mark.

          Our goal is to be our hope in Christ Jesus—eternal life.  That means the very most important thing in the heart of our church is that wonderful hope of eternal life.  And part of having that goal as our hope is our desire to proclaim the good news of that hope to our community.

          Some of you might ask, then why don’t we just move our service out onto the lawn and get a huge sound system and blast the gospel to our neighbors?  Well, we could.  There are times and places where this is an appropriate way to witness of our hope.  Here in this neighborhood, I’m not convinced it would achieve what we want.  So we need to look for other ways of communicating the message so people will listen. 

          The second way Paul prays that the eyes of our heart may be enlightened is that we may know the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.  Who are the saints?  Well, look around you.  You who believe in Jesus Christ are the saints, and you all are God’s glorious inheritance. 

          I think what Paul is saying here is that he wants the eyes of our hearts to be opened to who we as a church are in Christ Jesus.  That person sitting next to you or in front of you or behind you might not look to you like a glorious inheritance.  But that is exactly what God sees.  His glorious inheritance!  Imagine if we could see one another with God’s eyes! 

          We look at one another and see very ordinary folks, some we like and some who annoy us.  Imagine if we could look at one another with God’s eyes, and see his beloved children—the ones Jesus died for and the ones for whom he is preparing a place in heaven where they will praise him for all eternity!

          Maybe you are thinking to yourself, “If she thinks that person sitting in the next row is a saint, she is really naïve.”  Or, “If she thinks I’m a saint, she’s really got it all wrong.”

          But it’s not about us—it’s about God.  Who and what we are is not always obvious.  Our status as saints—or holy ones—is based, not on our goodness, but on the work of Jesus on the cross.  Our sins are totally and completely forgiven because Jesus died for us.  And because of that, we can stand before God pure and holy.  I John 3:2-3 says “…we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”

          So Paul prays that when we look at one another, we will see with the eyes of our hearts that these dear friends among us who trust in Jesus are the saints, God’s glorious inheritance.

          The third thing Paul wants us to see with the eyes of our hearts is “his incomparably great power for us who believe.”  If a stranger were to walk into our church this morning, he or she would see a small group of people who probably don’t look all that impressive.  And to be honest, most of us, when we come to church see the same thing.  We see it in ourselves and in one another—we’re ordinary folks, and we generally don’t see ourselves as very powerful at all.

          Paul wants us, when we look around this room with the eyes of our hearts, to see God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe.”

          “That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

          Do you see what we really have here today?  With our human eyes, we see that we are a bunch of Clark Kents sitting around very quietly and meekly, and God says the truth is that because of God’s power, we are all more powerful than Superman!  He wants us to have the eyes of our hearts opened so we can see who we are and what God wants to do in our midst.

          We are God’s church, and the head of the church is Jesus Christ.  Paul’s prayer for us is that the eyes of our hearts would be opened to who we are in Christ Jesus and what power we have, not in our own strength, but in God.

          As your pastor, I am praying that the eyes of my heart might be opened to who we are as a church.  But it can’t just be me—I am committed to leading, but I can’t do it alone.  Jesus calls us to be a church together.  Remember what I said about you-all?  This message is to you-all.  Not just me; not just some of you, but all of us.  We are the church together, and we must live and love and grow together as the eyes of our hearts are opened to the truth.

          God gives each of us gifts that can be used in the church, to help us build one another up.  As we look at the saints sitting around us, we need to think of ways we can encourage one another to take off the Clark Kent suit and start being Superman.  No, I don’t expect any of you to be faster than a speeding bullet or able to leap tall buildings in a single leap.  But I know that God wants to do much more in and through each one of us. 

          The littlest things are often the most valuable.  None of us is incapable of speaking a word of kindness, and yet we all know how much power a word of kindness can have in our own lives.  Think carefully about how you use your words when you speak to one another.  Do you use your words to build one another up?  Or do your words have a negative message that belittles people and discourages them?  The words you speak are powerful—either to build up or to tear down.

          God also gives us gifts to use out in the community, as a witness.   Last Sunday, two women in our congregation told us little incidents they had experienced in this neighborhood.  Kathleen told us about taking a fall on the concrete, and having three women come quickly to help her and to make sure she was all right.  Esther told about a woman who helped her in the grocery store.

          Ask yourself this.  What have you done lately to someone in this community to express the love of Jesus in a practical way?  Maybe you can’t think of a single thing you can do or say.  Here’s my suggestion.  Why don’t you begin by praying about it?  Ask God to give you some opportunity to be helpful or kind to just one person in this neighborhood.

          And remember this.  It’s not about you.  Your goal is not to draw attention to yourself as the hero who looks good.  It is about the other person.  So your goal is to do something that makes them feel loved or safe or simply good about themselves.  And let me warn you about something.  I know a bit about how God works, at least with me.  So I can tell you from experience that if you pray for such an opportunity, God will give it to you when you are least ready.  God always gives me these opportunities when I am busy or tired or just plain feeling cranky.  Somehow I think it’s a test, and often I fail.  But I am trying to learn, and I invite you-all to learn with me.

          Remember, God is faithful, and as we pray, he will open the eyes of our hearts.

Prayer:

          Almighty God, I pray for this group of saints gathered here today that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know you better. I pray also that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which you have called us, the riches of your glorious inheritance in the saints, and your incomparably great power for us who believe.  Amen