Ephesians: The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
Ephesians 1:15-17 - We have an abundance of blessings if only we knew where to look and how to ask. We also have a template for how we pray for other saints.
“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
Ephesians 1:15-17 NASB1995
Paul is very grateful for the saints at Ephesus. He has heard about their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints. He has them in his prayers so that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
Verses 15-17 are actually part of another long run-on sentence in Greek. Fortunately, there was a logical break at the end of verse 17, but the full passage is from verse 15 through verse 23 (also to the end of Ephesians 1). This is a prayer for those Gentiles and Jews of the faith at Ephesus and their love for each other. The late John MacArthur is quoted in Precept Austin describing this love for all the saints (the first mark of salvation is obviously faith):
A second mark of genuine salvation is love for all the saints, and because of such love Paul offers thanks for the Ephesian believers. Christian love is indiscriminate; it does not pick and choose which believers it will love. Christ loves all believers, and they are precious to Him. By definition, therefore, Christian love extends to all Christians. To the extent that it does not, it is less than Christian.
Paul calls for believers to be “maintaining the same love” (Phil. 2:2+), which is to love all believers the same. Sometimes we hear Christians say, “I love him in the Lord,” which seems to imply that they have no personal affection for nor commitment to the needs of the individual. They extend a certain spiritualized kind of love only because the other person is a fellow believer. But that is not genuine love. To truly love a person in the Lord is to love him as the Lord loves him—genuinely and sacrificially....
Important as it is, sound theology is no substitute for love. Without love the best doctrine is like “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1+). True salvation goes from the head and heart of the believer out to other believers and out to the world to touch unbelievers in Christ’s name. True salvation produces true love, and true love does “not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18+). Always in the New Testament true spiritual love is defined as an attitude of selfless sacrifice that results in generous acts of kindness done to others. It is far more than a feeling, an attraction or emotion. When the Lord had washed the feet of the proud and self-seeking disciples, He told them that what He had done for them was the example of how they were to love each other (John 13:34) (Ephesians MacArthur New Testament Commentary)
Do you feel this way about your fellow Christians? I think many people get caught up in secondary matters, like the type of worship music they’re hearing or the liturgy (or lack thereof) or looking at how people are dressed or baptism policies, instead of just loving fellow Christians as saints, worthy of selfless sacrifice and generous acts of kindness. This selfless humility bleeds over into how we also treat non-believers and offers them a light that they will want to understand. This means being ecumenical in your love. Here’s the dictionary definition of ecumenical; I’m focusing on on the 2nd definition:
Of worldwide scope or applicability; universal.
Of or relating to the worldwide Christian church.
Concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions.
Concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions.
“ecumenical activities”
Of worldwide scope or applicability.
“universal experience”
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition •
Doctrinal differences do make a difference (no pun intended), but these differences also led to this situation displayed in my favorite spaghetti chart, from truthforsaints.com:
We had to laugh driving through some southern states last year at how many First Baptist churches were just across the street from 2nd Baptist (or Primitive Baptist or 3rd Baptist or 4th Reformed Baptist) churches. I’m not picking on Baptists, by the way, just using this as an example. Differences of secondary importance to the believers likely led to those divisions or perhaps it was simply pride. However, if a group of Christians are in error or are misleading others, we should, in love and humility, point them back to Scripture and truth. Be like Paul! He never hesitated to correct those who were straying from doctrine but he also lavished love on believers.
Paul prays that the Father of glory would give these saints the spirit of wisdom and revelation in their knowledge of Him. I thought this commentary by John MacArthur (again) really hit the nail on the head, as quoted in Precept Austin:
In essence Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be spared from frantically searching for what was already theirs, but rather would see that the great God who is their God is the source of all they need and has it ready for them if they are open to receive it. Such a receptive attitude requires that God Himself give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him...
Yet today many Christians spend a great deal of time and effort vainly looking for blessings already available to them. They pray for God’s light, although He has already supplied light in abundance through His Word. Their need is to follow the light they already have. They pray for strength, although His Word tells them they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them (Phil. 4:13). They pray for more love, although Paul says that God’s own love is already poured out within their hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). They pray for more grace, although the Lord says the grace He has already given is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9). They pray for peace, although the Lord has given them His own peace, “which surpasses all comprehension” (Phil. 4:7).
It is expected that we pray for such blessings if the tone of the prayer is one of seeking the grace to appropriate what is already given, rather than one of pleading for something we think is scarcely available or is reluctantly shared by God. The Christian’s primary need is for wisdom and obedience to appropriate the abundance of blessings the Lord has already given. Our problem is not lack of blessings, but lack of insight and wisdom to understand and use them properly and faithfully. (Ephesians MacArthur New Testament Commentary).
This was superb! Many Christians pray for things that they already have as blessings in abundance, if only they had wisdom and insight. When our prayers are full of what sounds like neediness (or even whining about circumstances), then we lack wisdom and insight into the gifts that are already there in plain sight in Scripture.
I’ll share one more story about the believe’s prayer life and attitude. This was from Joanie Yoder and is quoted in Precept Austin (Yoder was with Daily Bread ministries in Canada and passed in 2004); the prayer at the end is from Precept Austin:
In 1892, John Hyde boarded a ship in New York harbor and set out for India. His goal was to proclaim the gospel to people who had not heard about Jesus. During the next 20 years he earned the nickname “Praying Hyde” because he often spent hours and even many days in prayer for the salvation of nonbelievers and the revival of Christ’s followers.
On one occasion, Hyde was upset about the spiritual coldness of a pastor, so he began to pray, “O Father, you know how cold—” But it was as if a finger stopped his lips from uttering the man’s name.
Hyde was horrified when he realized that he had judged the man harshly. He confessed his critical spirit and then determined not to focus on the shortcomings of others but to see them as individuals whom God loves. Hyde asked the Lord to show him things that were “of good report” (Philippians 4:8) in the pastor’s life, and he praised God for the man’s virtues. Hyde learned later that during this exact time the pastor’s spiritual life was revitalized.
Let’s not be faultfinders—even in prayer. We can follow Paul’s example of focusing on what God has done and what He can do in the lives of others (Ephesians 1:17, 18, 19, 20, 21). Instead of praying against people, let’s pray for them. —Joanie Yoder
Prayer - Father, give me the wisdom to know how to pray for others—with kindness, not criticism; with love, not anger; with grace, not judgment.
Be a grace-giver,
not a faultfinder
My next devotional examines Ephesians 1:18-19 - The riches of His glory.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I will pray the words of the prayer from Precept Austin: Father, give me the wisdom to know how to pray for others - with kindness, not criticism; with love, not anger; with grace, not judgment.
Citations and Credits:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.
Precept Austin was accessed on 03/27/2025 to review commentary for Ephesians 1:15-17. Within the Precept Austin commentary was a link to the John MacArthur study of Ephesians, which is found at this resource: MacArthur, J. F. (2011). The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set of 31 Volumes. United States: Moody Publishers.
Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. Enduring Word commentary was not used in this devotional.