The eyes of your heart
Ephesians 1:18 - a prayer for the Christians in Ephesus to grow spiritually and become enlightened in the knowledge of Christ as Savior
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”
Ephesians 1:18 NIV
Today’s verse from Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians begins with a very strange prayer — “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”. AI-generated images like the one above notwithstanding, hearts don’t have literal eyes! So what is Paul alluding to here?
19th-century English theologian Henry Alford explained the phrase this way:
“The word ‘heart’ in Scripture signifies the very core and centre of life, where the intelligence has its post of observation, where the stores of experience are laid up, and the thoughts have their fountain.”1
Although we 21st-century know-it-alls see the human heart as a muscle that pumps blood throughout our bodies, we also imbue it with many non-medical attributes. We “feel” with our hearts, we are “heartsick” when someone we know is hurting physically or emotionally, and we love someone “with all our heart”. Paul is praying that the people of Ephesus will be enlightened by God to all that He has done for them, and understand the gift of Jesus in the very core of their being.
David Guzik from Enduring Word said this about Paul’s wording here:
Paul used a great expression when he speaks of the eyes of your heart (heart is more literal than understanding). Too many Christian hearts have no eyes (places where they gain real knowledge and understanding), and too many Christian eyes have no heart — God wants both to be combined in us.
That makes it a bit easier to understand what Paul says next, “that you may know the hope to which he has called you.” For believers, this hope is a promised “future of resurrection, eternal life, freedom from sin, perfected justification, and glorious elevation above the angels themselves.” (Guzik)
Paul follows the first part of this verse with another statement that could be a bit confusing — “the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.” Most believers feel that they have an inheritance from God, but Paul says that God has an inheritance in His holy people. What does that mean?
Once again from Guzik,
Paul wanted the Ephesians to understand that they are so precious to God that He considered them His own inheritance.
and
Knowing our spiritual poverty, we wonder how God can find any inheritance in the saints. Yet God can make riches out of poor men and women because He invests so much in them. He has invested riches of love, riches of wisdom, riches of suffering, riches of glory. These things accrue to a rich inheritance in the saints.
Wow! Paul ends the verse by citing “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Paul wants Christians to know that they serve a God who uses His power for our benefit. Charles Spurgeon says of this power:
“The very same power which raised Christ is waiting to raise the drunkard from his drunkenness, to raise the thief from his dishonesty, to raise the Pharisee from his self-righteousness, to raise the Sadducee from his unbelief.”2
This prayer of Paul’s ends here; a prayer for the Christians in Ephesus to grow spiritually and become enlightened in the knowledge of Christ as Savior. In our time, it’s equally important for us to pray for these things for ourselves and for others.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I pray that myself and others may continue to increase in our understanding of the gospel of grace, and in our confident hope in Christ Jesus our Lord. May we be worthy of the riches of the glorious inheritance awaiting all who trust in Jesus as our Savior. Thank You, Father. AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author
Alford, Henry "The Epistles of St. Paul - The Epistle to the Ephesians: The New Testament for English Readers, Volume 2, Part 1" (London: Rivingtons, 1869)
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)