“Paul’s ardent desires for Ephesus.”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Ephesians 1: 15-23 (Forward, p. 77) CEV p. 1222

It is interesting, and informative, to be able to eavesdrop on Paul’s prayers for the Christians in Ephesus, as we can via today’s passage. To begin with, he thanks the Father for them, in particular singling out their faith and love as being worthy of mention and praise.

Interestingly, his actual prayer—when he ‘gets’ to it—is entirely about them becoming more aware, more informed, more enlightened:

-that they would receive the Spirit of Christ who will make them wise

and enable them to understand what it means to know God.

-that light will flood their hearts and that they will understand the hope

given to them when God chose them.

-that they will discover the glorious blessings that will be theirs.

-that they will know about God’s great power which He exercises

on our behalf, the same power that He used when He raised Jesus

from death.

-that Christ now rules over all things, whether in heaven and on earth,

and He does so, on behalf of us, His church.

One commentator likened this to opening the bank book of an account that had previously been opened in your name, an account that you weren’t even aware existed, and finding out that there are fabulous riches awaiting you. I think that this is so very apt. But, how easily we forget, or forget to look, or forget to take them seriously.

Forward notes: “And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (verses 22-23).

“Eugene Petersen’s wording in The Message often captures my heart’s attention. Today’s verses read: ‘At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.’

“With the church experiencing diminishing membership, a loss of influence, and negative perceptions, it’s easy to feel that the church has become somewhat peripheral to today’s world. Imagine how things change, though, if we realize that instead of the church, it is the world that is on the periphery! When we see the church as the center, the way Christ speaks and acts in the world, filling everything with the presence of Jesus, our perception shifts. Now, perhaps, we can see our weekly worship and the work we do within our congregations and in the world as central to everything.”

Moving Forward: “Do you act as though church is on the periphery of the world? How can you change your perspective?”