In the summer of 1990, after several months of testing the waters of high tech, I plunged in and officially joined the computer age. With the help of a friend I purchased an IBM PC-compatible XT computer and an Epson LQ-510 printer. Compared to the lightning speed of the newer generations of 286, 386, 486 and now 586 DX computers, my XT moves like a tortoise in January, but it does the job nevertheless.
I use my computer primarily for word processing, a high tech term for typing. The software that I use for word processing is supposedly very powerful. I say "supposedly" because of the 541 pages in the manual that came with it, I have read about 70 pages. Of the nearly two dozen programs contained in my software package I know one: the word processor. And of the dozen or so applications contained within the word processing program I know one: how to type. I have read just enough to get me going but not enough to fully understand all that the software and thus the computer can do. The only way I am going to discover the full power of my computer and its software is by becoming more familiar with what it can do.
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If we apply the same analogy to the Ephesians, we can begin to understand the content of Paul's prayer for them in
verses 15-23. His prayer is motivated by their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints. He has heard about their faith in the Lord Jesus; they have the computer. He has also heard about their love for all the saints; they are using the software.
Yet they just don't know how powerful both of them really are. There sits this powerful machine, loaded with all sorts of information and capabilities, but much of it goes unused simply because they have not fully familiarized themselves with all it can do. They have confessed a saving faith in Jesus Christ; that's good. They have also demonstrated a vibrant love for one another; that, too, is very good. But if they are to get a real handle on God's power, they must deepen their faith and broaden their love.
Underlying Paul's prayer is his conviction that the more we learn about God's character, the more we will discover about His power on our behalf. The more we discover about God' s power on our behalf, the more we are able to get a handle on it.
To get a handle on God's power, we must familiarize ourselves with
I. The Responsibility of Privilege (
1:17)
Before the creation of the world, God chose us in Christ. He knows us. He knows how we are made, what makes us tick, what makes us do the things we do. He knows us better than we know ourselves and still He chose to adopt us as His children through Christ. Our election by God is a privilege. At the same time, that privilege implies a responsibility. God knows us, but how well do we know Him? An even better question would be, how well do we want to know Him?