To Know Christ Better
Ephesians 1:15-19
Text: “...that you may know him better.” (v17)
I have more than 200 Facebook friends which is quite moderate to some people I know who have over 600! I would like to say "I know them all”! Actually, I know some things about all of them, some of which I know only because it’s written in their profiles. I am familiar with all of them to some degree or another but when I consider that a friend is someone to whom I have an attachment by feelings or affection or personal regard, some people on my Facebook are not actually friends but are more like acquaintances. When I chat with my daughters, parents or siblings, my conversations and interaction with them is quite different than chatting with someone I am acquainted with.
If I spent time chatting to some of those acquaintances they could become friends as far as I allow myself to get to know them and become more familiar with who they are, their lives and situations, families and so on.
In the text, Paul is concerned that we get to know Jesus better, that we move past an association with him that may be more like our relationship to acquaintances on Facebook. What a great New Year’s focus 5 days in!
Why is it important to know Jesus better? Why isn't the measure of my present knowledge of Jesus enough? (I.e. Christmas and Easter stories). Because so much of what I know may only be informational rather than relational. As a result the extent to which I know Jesus has a direct impact on how I understand life; how I understand my purpose in the world and how I respond to the circumstances I face every day.
Pick up the account in verse 15 – “For this reason…
What reason? Specifically, the fact that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ provides Salvation. Paul highlights this message with particular emphasis on key elements of salvation in verses 1-14 such as "he chose us" in verse 4, "he predestined" us in verse 5, or "you were marked in him with a seal" in verse 13.
For this reason, Paul prays for the Spirit (God’s Spirit, not a spirit or the spirit of our human ingenuity) of wisdom and revelation. Purpose: “to know Christ better.”
When Paul says he prayers that we will know Christ better he is wanting us to
1. KNOW THE HOPE JESUS OFFERS
- “Know the hope to which he has called you” (verse 18). That hope is Romans 8:28, “All things work together for the good of those who are the called, according to his purpose.” Facing life with confidence that God has a Master-plan in motion significantly impacts how we work through what comes to us.
Margaret Somerville, Ethicist for McGill University said, “Hope is the oxygen of the human spirit; without it our spirit dies.” Case in point:
Millionaire Eugene Land was to provide a motivational message to 59 sixth-graders in East Harlem. The predominantly Black and Puerto Rican children didn't look his way. Scrapping his speech he said to them, “Stay in school and I’ll help pay for your college tuition for every one of you”. At that moment their lives changed. One student said, “I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling.” Almost 90% of the students went on to graduate from high school. The power of hope changes outlook!
Greatest inspiration of hope to us is celebrated every Christmas. Jill Carittini (RZM): “God became one of us, not to erase every shadow or to undo the difficulties of humanity, but to be with us in the midst of it, to transform our spectrum of darkness.” – Inspires hope!
The HOPE of our calling (verse 18) is not material riches or long life or winning the lottery. It is not bound in this time and space at all! Our hope is the knowledge that all of this reality points to another reality. Hebrews 11: 13, “All these people (Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham) were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” Friends, this is the hope of our calling – life is not about now – it’s about what is to come! To know that hope, that all things work together for my good, that my hope points to something more than this, is only realised as far as I know Jesus because it finds its purpose in him.
When Paul says he prayers that we will know Christ better he is wanting us to
2. KNOW THE RICHES WE HAVE IN CHRIST
I can't remember how many phone calls we received at our home encouraging us to “take a survey and you will be the winner of a cruise in the Bahamas”. Or scam emails trying to get account information. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) news story of Dec 16, 2013 explored the concern that while there is very little, if any, scientific to support that most vitamin supplements actually provide what we think they do for our health benefits, it is still a multi-billion dollar industry. Lottery industries have millions of dollars waiting to be won. Everyone is out to make money; everyone wants to be rich.
We are told we can be rich! But the riches spoken of here are not material. It is that of verse 7, the “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with (here it is) the riches of God’s grace!” Grace is the richest riches we can have – and we have it because we believed on Jesus Christ as our Saviour and life-giver! Some would say such language is merely our means of soothing our poverty-stricken condition, an attempt to make us feel good about ourselves. If we know the hope we have in Christ, this is not rhetoric. We know we are truly rich.
How do you suppose your outlook tomorrow and the next day and the day after that, might be affected if every day you behaved knowing – and believing – you’re rich; that you have the richest treasure there can ever be possessed? You see, we are that rich. Problem is, too many of us don’t know it. As a result we tend to be in pursuit of something more, something else when in fact we have the greatest riches available.
We've been chosen we’re told in verse 11! For what purpose? To be in conformity to God’s will! It doesn't get any better than that! That’s rich!
- Early disciples learned this – when society was clutching for more they were selling everything they had and giving it away. A new awareness of riches not of this world had gripped their hearts!
When Paul says he prayers that we will know Christ better he is wanting us to
3. KNOW GOD’S POWER EXTENDED TO US
- World is power hungry. Movies, political battles; spiritual battle – Isaiah 14:12 speaks of the morning star, the “son of the dawn” being cast down to the earth. His consumed heart with God’s Seat destroyed him.
- The power extended to us is not that kind of power. It is power in the sense of Colossians 1:29 where Paul speaks of “struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” The power extended to us is God’s energy unleashed in us to enable us to witness to His working in our lives. (Stories of people saying, “If God can save me he can save anyone” or “If God can use me, he can definitely use you.” The lesson: recognizes a power at work that is not the result of human ingenuity or ability; some things are only possible because God is at work.
- Life has a way of sapping our energy. Some so badly they can’t get out of bed to face the world and their life’s challenges. They need ‘power’ that is not based on favourable circumstances like a better boss, more money or better health. Our hope in such times requires something higher and His energy needs to be unleashed in us; it is POWER.
WRAP
What a great New Year’s Resolution … to know Christ better!
To know His hope – surrendered lives have their purpose in Christ
His riches – the forgiveness of sin is at rich as it gets
His power – energy at work in us
