Ephesians 1: 17. Paul prays:

… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

What images or impressions immediately come to mind when you hear the word “God”? We all have ideas about God, many of which were formed in us as we grew up. But as we grow, those images don’t align with the God that really exists. Central to discovering the Hope that Paul is going to pray for in the next verse, is beholding God in Jesus. Jesus said: If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father. That is what Paul means by the phrase “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Paul also calls God the “Father of glory”. We see the glory of who God is, when we “behold” Jesus. Jesus who heals, forgives, and restores. Jesus who challenges abusive authority and systems. Jesus who drives out darkness by giving himself and dying for us. The reason we can have hope, is because God is who we see when we see Jesus.

“Father of glory” also refers to the promise God made to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory. This healing and renewing glory of God which we see in Jesus, is going to flood the earth. And as we behold Christ, we discover that we are called to partner with Him in this mission. God wants to use you to fill the earth with His glory. That’s why Paul prays for spiritual wisdom, because wisdom is what people need to live life as God intended it to be: for His glory.

And he prays for spiritual revelation and knowledge of who God is. It is the Spirit of God that enables you to behold God in Jesus and align your view of God with Him. One of the reasons Jesus calls people to repent, is to make a radical change in our thinking about God. Bringing our image of God in alignment with who Jesus is, is central to our calling to fill the earth with God’s glory. Of course, we can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul prays and what God has already blessed us with.

When we reflect God’s glory into our world, it will bring hope, because at the root of many people’s hopelessness and despair, there’s an image or idea of God that doesn’t align with Jesus. God wants to save people from false ideas about Him. Knowing God in Jesus inspires hope.

So, we pray with Paul: Thank you, Father that you have made Your glory known in Jesus. Thank you for blessing us with your Spirit in Christ, to help us to behold You in Jesus and to repent of ideas about you that are not aligned with Jesus. Use us to reflect your glory to others and to bring Hope. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

And remember Jesus loves you and so do I.

Pastor Will