Knowing God As He Is Revealed in His Word...Ephesians 1:15-17

This lesson is about knowing God more intimately, knowing God very well, knowing God deeply and knowing God truly as He has revealed Himself in His Word. For every Christ follower, there is a real sense that we already have come to know God. Jesus said, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3). However, there's another sense in which we need to know God more than we do. This is a good point to shout "Praise God forevermore!" In the letter to the church at Philippi, Paul explained that he had not yet attained to knowing Christ as he ought, but he pressed on toward that mark. He said, "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Phil 3:10). In verse 12 Paul says, "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on..." The interesting thing about Paul's words is that he wrote them after 25 years as a Christ follower! Now imagine, if that was true about apostle Paul, what about us? How much more is it true of us? The reason for Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23 is that he wants the Christ follower to know God more intimately. In verses 3-14, Paul has told us that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He shares with us that these blessings are being chosen by the Father (1:4-6); redeemed by the Son, who has also shown us the Father's eternal purpose (1:7-12); and, sealed by the precious Spirit of God (1:13-14). Now Paul writes (1:15), and continues on to tell those Christ followers how he prayed for them. The reasonable connection is, "Because God has blessed us with a wealth of spiritual blessings, I pray that He'd give you a more intimate knowledge of Him." We should pray this same prayer for each other as well as our own selves. We should be asking the Lord to give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in knowing Him! Christianity is a personal relationship with the living God through Christ. Personal relationships do not function on autopilot! It takes deliberate effort! It's not hard to grow distant in this relationship. The prophet Hosea said it best with these words "So let us know, Let us press on to know the Lord" (Hosea 6:3). Your move. Be encouraged!