Begin with 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.
While today’s passage may be the second half of the chapter, I do encourage you to at least read verses 1-14 to fully grasp the “for this reason” that Paul refers to in verse 15!
One of my favorite parts of this passage is seeing how all of God’s perfect plan of redemption (redeeming us back to Him through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross) was orchestrated “in accordance” with His will — meaning, the plan for Jesus to be the perfect and only sacrifice was not Plan B, C, or D. We can think that the perfect plan was for man to never sin and we screwed that up and never got ourselves back together, so God *had* to send Jesus. Nope. Actually, the mystery of God’s love that Paul talks about is that Jesus was the plan all along. It was hidden, unknown for generations until the perfect time. God was orchestrating the entire plan as a rescue mission knowing man was never going to get it right. Instead, He began implementing His perfect plan of rescue — a love mission. Sending Himself to rescue and redeem.
And for THAT reason, for all God did to rescue and redeem His people back to Himself, Paul gives praise and offers thanks back to God.
YOU have been chosen as part of God’s perfect plan — chosen not as just someone to fill space or pack Heaven but chosen as an heir to all God’s inheritance. There’s enough to go around, we aren’t competing for inheritance money, no, in fact, this is what Paul is telling us about the riches of our inheritance. The measure of God’s love and the measure of His goodness is unlimited. We are His chosen people, heirs to the throne, partakers in the grace, and recipients of the riches. We are daughters and sons with full access to the family tree and the royal riches.
What is His, is ours: His riches are your riches / His righteousness is your righteousness / Where He is, you are / What He has, you have.
Part of our inheritance that we have full access to NOW is the power of the Holy Spirit. His power is now your power. The same power that raised Jesus from the grave is alive in you! Don’t be scared of it! Use it for the good work God has prepared in advance for you to do. Use it for sharing His truths with others. Tap into it when you are believing God for miracles in your life. As the Kingdom of God advances on this Earth, He is using US — His people — to do it, but we aren’t expected to do it in our own power. We have been given HIS power!
Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.
Reflection:
- Thank God for accepting Jesus’ death on the cross as punishment for YOUR sin and thank Him for crediting Jesus’ righteousness as yours.
- Thank God for revealing the mystery of His will to us through Jesus Christ, and for ultimately choosing His own son as the way for redemption.
- Ask God to help you embrace the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, to not be scared of it, or resist it.
- Thank God for the hope of Jesus Christ, the riches of His inheritance, and His power that is alive in you!
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Family Devo: Praying For You
By: Anna Beth Scott
When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model.
Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset
Head
Paul wrote the book of Ephesians while he was in prison. He’d heard about the faith of the church of Ephesus and how they loved the saints. He wrote this letter to encourage them. He says he never stops giving thanks for them. He goes into detail about how he prays for them asking God to give them “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.” Verse 18-19 says,
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength."
Followers of Christ could have felt defeated and been discouraged during this time. There was heavy persecution going on and one of the main leaders of the faith was in prison for preaching about Jesus. However, the church of Ephesus was faithful. They believed in God and loved each other. I love that Paul goes into detail in his letter with his prayer for them. He could have just said, “I’m praying for you!” or given the little prayer hands emoji (just kidding). Instead, he tells them exactly what he’s praying for, which gives them a prayer they can use for themselves because his prayer is rooted in the power and love of God.
In verses 20 through 23, Paul explains more about the power of God in Christ. God showed His power by raising Christ from the dead and placing him at God’s right hand in the heavens. God put Christ as lord of everything and head of the church. He says the church is Christ’s body.
What does this scripture tell us about God? What does it tell about us?
Heart
Did you know that you can ask God for wisdom and understanding of Him? Every aspect of our lives would benefit if we had more wisdom and understanding of God. We can also ask that our hearts be enlightened or made aware of who God is and His love for us. Hearts enlightened can understand the hope of Christ’s calling, the amazing things He gives believers, and the immeasurable greatness of His power toward believers. All of these things are pointing to the power of Christ. Life is hard. We need the power of Christ. Our strength alone is not enough. We will never be enough. We were never meant to be enough. When we put our faith in Christ, He makes us enough. God wants us to have wisdom and understanding of Him. He wants our hearts to be enlightened. We have to want it though. He doesn’t force it on us.
Are you ready to ask God to enlighten your heart?
Hands
Write out Ephesians 1:17-19, replacing the pronouns (you, your) with your name so that it’s a prayer for yourself. Say it out loud to God. Then replace the pronouns (you, your) with someone else’s name. It could be a family member, a friend, an acquaintance, or even an enemy. Pray this for yourself and someone else every day for a week and see what happens. It may help you make an important decision. It may help you have more peace and joy throughout your day. It may change eternity for whoever you choose to pray for.
Prayer: I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give (insert name) the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of (insert name) heart may be enlightened so that (insert name) may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength. In Jesus’s name, Amen.