that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Have you ever looked and looked for something without success, only to have someone else find it right away? The item was in plain sight, but somehow you couldn’t see it. This happened to me a lot as a child. Let’s say Mom would ask me to fetch the sugar. No matter how long I looked, my search was fruitless. But as soon as Mom entered the kitchen, she found it!
If we don’t always see clearly with our physical eyes, how much more so when it comes to spiritual truth! This is why Paul prayed so fervently for the Ephesian believers. His prayer focused on their ability to see and understand in the spiritual realm. But what exactly? Paul lists three areas affected by their “enlightenment,” that is, their capacity to perceive and comprehend.
He starts by talking about hope. More precisely, Paul wants the Ephesians to know exactly what they can hope for. I need to point out that the Bible uses the word “hope” differently than we usually do. It doesn’t refer to an uncertain situation, as when we say, “I hope I pass the exam.” In the biblical sense, the word describes an assurance of something, even if it hasn’t happened yet or we don’t see it. It is the certainty that something is true or will happen in the future.
What kind of hope can the Ephesians know? Paul doesn’t specify, but the Bible is full of reasons to hope. This hope comes from God and touches every area of life: salvation, strength, guidance, divine help, joy, and more. Believers have much to hope for, but sometimes they need help seeing it.
The second point Paul makes is, frankly, hard to grasp because of the way it’s written (Paul has a knack for that, doesn’t he?). Let me try to clarify. In earlier verses, we learned that believers are God’s own inheritance. Paul wants the Ephesians to understand that their belonging to God brings him a wealth (“riches”) of honor or good repute (“glory”). In other words, God is glorified in his children, not just a little, but a lot! Paul wants them to know that God isn’t embarrassed or ashamed of them. Instead, they bring him an abundance of glory.
Third, Paul prays that the believers know the greatness of God’s power available to them. The present tense indicates that this power is available now, not just sometime in the future. The word “exceeding” implies that it is beyond measure, or more than enough. Paul uses four different words with the general meaning of “power,” each emphasizing a different aspect: natural ability, power being exercised, visible strength, and inherent might.
Paul goes on to give an example of this power in action: the resurrection of Christ! Frankly, I can’t think of another event in history that required more power than when Jesus rose from the dead (other than the creation of the universe).
The Greek verb translated “wrought” comes from the same word family that gives us our English word “energy.” It means “to exert strength, to be at work or operative.” In other words, God’s power was at work when Jesus was resurrected. That same power is available to those who believe in Him. I know it sounds too good to be true, and I’m sure Paul would agree. That is why he’s praying so fervently for the Ephesians to grasp this important concept.
I don’t think the believers in Ephesus are the only ones who have a hard time seeing and understanding the three truths listed in this passage. If Paul needed to pray for open eyes to see, then so do we!