What Paul thinks you need, Christian

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things 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.

via Passage: Eph 1.15-23 (ESV Bible Online).

When we’re underpaid, or in the midst of a horrible crises with our spouses, or subject to taskmasters at home or at school, or sick, or tired, or beaten down by something else, it is really hard to believe the Gospel–that God has raised us up in Jesus and that we rule the universe at God’s right hand–that we’ve been exalted above “above all rule and authority and power and dominion” because we are the fullness of him who fills all things and under whose feet all things have been subdued.

Paul expects that to be a problem.  He thinks that he needs to pray regularly that you really believe what you have and what has happened in history.  This is a pretty generic letter revealing, I think, Paul’s standard prayer concern.

So if you’re struggling with the discrepancy, know that the Spirit is working.  But if you’re not, you need to ask if your expectations are low.  Claiming the world has been made new, and that it is now ruled by the exalted Human, is supposed to make us wonder about the discrepancy between what we see and what the Gospel tells us.  Paul said he never stopped praying that believers would be given better “eyes” to see the truth.

3 thoughts on “What Paul thinks you need, Christian

  1. Theodore A. jones

    “It is NOT those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who OBEY the law who will be declared righteous.” Rom. 2:13 You really need to find out which law Paul is talking about.

    Reply

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