We're continuing in our series in Paul's epistle to the Ephesians. So, we come this morning to Ephesians chapter 1, verses 15 through 23. If you would take your bulletin or your bulletin insert and place it in your Bible at that mark, Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, and open your Bibles to our Old Testament complementary passage. That is Isaiah chapter 11, verses 1 through 5. With your Bible open to Isaiah chapter 11, in honor of God's Word, please stand. Isaiah chapter 11, beginning in verse 1, hear God's Word. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge in the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear. But with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins." Thus far in the reading of God's Word, please turn to Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 1, beginning in verse 15, reading through the end of the chapter. continuing in the reading of God's Word. For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet, and gave him his head over all things to the church. which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Thus far in the reading of God's Word, let us pray. Father, as we have read, we now come to the preaching and to the hearing of Your Word. We pray that You would open our eyes, open our hearts, grant that we may be conformed, be brought to life be changed, that we may be strengthened for our walk in this pilgrim journey. In Christ's name, Amen. Please be seated. This past week USA Today, the nation's newspaper, ran an editorial. Some of you may have seen it, many of you may not have. The editorial was written by the head of the religion department at Skidmore College. The head of the religion department at Skidmore College called out the OPC, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and, you'll be excited to know, called out your pastor by name. Professor Stange, I hope I'm pronouncing her name correctly, I mean no disrespect, it's S-T-A-N-G-E, I'm assuming it's Stange. Professor Stange has an article in which she argues that the reason that Beau Bergdahl wandered off his post and was captured by the Taliban is that the Orthodox Presbyterian Church created, in the way that we raise our young people, created an environment that basically was psychological abuse, that he cracked. He couldn't live up to the expectations, and so, therefore, he wandered off base. Professor Stange closes her article with these words. We, as a society, have too frequently failed to take religion seriously as a source of evil as well as good. Now, I appreciate that she wrote that article. I appreciate that that article was published. I appreciate that God in his mercy gives to you and to me an opportunity every now and then to see what the Christian faith looks like from the outside. Because Professor Stange has clearly laid out on the table exactly what she believes Christianity produces. exactly what she believed Christianity is. And if her presuppositions are correct, then she's right. You and I are following and practicing something that is evil. And God gives to you, and he gives to me every now and then, the blessing of finding our feet firmly planted right in Ephesians. All the times that you think, how is this relevant to my life? All the times that you think, now the world doesn't really see us that badly. All the times that you think, we're not that countercultural. Every once in a while, you get an opportunity to say, What does a non-believer, an intelligent, articulate non-believer think when they look at you and your faith commitment? And Professor Stange says, it's evil. Beloved, there is a stark reality between the world and the church. And the moment that you and I forget that, we lose our seasoning. We lose our ability to impact the world, to be salt and light in the world. And so I'm thankful for that article. It's a little weird to get called out by name in the USA today. But I'm thankful for that article because it's a reminder to me as I enter into Ephesians chapter 1 and Paul's prayer for the church. It's a reminder to me that I stand right there with them. It's a reminder to you that you stand with those faiths in Ephesus. That you stand right there with people who are surrounded by not just a different point of view, but an extremely hostile point of view. And so, how do we respond? What do we say to a world which looks at the Christian faith and says, this ought to have a surgeon general's warning label placed over it? This ought to be viewed as damaging to young minds. This is dangerous stuff. This is, in fact, evil. How do we respond? How do we live? Well, Paul would say to you, the first that you need to know is that God speaks grace to you, and peace The second thing that you need to know is that God grounds you in a hope that is sure because of His sovereign choice, His powerful hand from the foundation of the earth calling you out by name and into His salvation. And, I think Paul would go further and say, based on the fact that you are living out the fruit of God's sovereign election in your life, based on the fact that this is demonstrated in faith, hope, and love, let's give thanks. In other words, I think Paul's answer to you would be Ephesians chapter 1, and that which we have been looking at over the past couple of weeks. God's sovereignty, lived out in faith, hope, and love, leads to Paul's prayer of thanksgiving. We'll look at Paul's prayer of thanksgiving, well, I should look at it over the next two weeks. larger two-point outline, this week we'll be looking at what it is that we need from God in verses 17 through 19. Next week, Lord willing, we'll be looking at what it is that we have from God. What we need this week, next week what we have. But as we look at what it is that we need, we look at Paul's prayer request in verses 17 through 19 of Ephesians chapter 1 His prayer is that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and a revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who according to the working of his great might." What is it that you need? What is it that Paul prays that you will have? What is it that he prays that God will do for you? Well, the first thing that I want us to notice is the way in which Paul prays. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of glory. Why does Paul use that word glory? It's not the first time he's used it in this chapter and it's not the last time that he'll use it in the chapter. He uses it in verse 6 where you and I are predestined for adoption through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace. He uses it again in verse 12 so that we who were the first to open Christ might be to the praise of his glory. He uses it here in verse 17. I'm sorry, he uses it in verse 14. The Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. He uses it here in verse 17, and we use it again in our passage in verse 18. What is it that God is glorious? What is it? What does it mean? Think of the vision that Isaiah had in Isaiah chapter 6. The vision of God high and lifted up. And the train of His robe filled the temple. The glory of God. is the way in which all of the universe falls down before him, unable to look at his beauty. As Moses comes down from Mount Sinai, with his face shining so brightly, that he has to put a veil over it. The people can't even look at Moses' face, simply because it reflects the glory of God. Beloved Paul says, that glorious God is spoken of by you and by me in terms of daddy, father, the father of glory. What is it that you and I need when we consider the way in which the world is set against us? We need a reminder that our Daddy is this One who is glorious. This One who is God. But Paul also goes on in this prayer the Father of glory, He prays that He may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation. As you and I are encouraged in the knowledge that our relationship, our personal relationship is with this one glory cloud settled over the people of Israel, then you and I are also encouraged that He will give to us His very Spirit. And that Spirit, remember the Isaiah 11 passage, the Anointed One, the Messiah, will be placed upon Him a Spirit of revelation, a Spirit of wisdom and knowledge. Now, we've been looking at Proverbs over the past months, and we've seen Lady Wisdom there in the Proverbs. This very practical way in which wisdom guides our steps. But the wisdom we have also seen must always be understood through Christ Jesus. Through this one who is wisdom. And so here in Ephesians, Paul is praying that you and I may know this Father of Glory, may receive from him a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him." In other words, as we see the connection in Isaiah chapter 11 between the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and Jesus Christ upon whom is placed the spirit of revelation, as we see Paul refer to the Father of Glory, and as we see reference to the Spirit here. Paul is praying nothing less. than that you and I would be caught up into the entire Godhead. That you and I would be caught up into the entire purpose of God in our lives. How do you respond to someone who looks at what you believe, who looks at who you are, and says, that is an evil that needs to be eradicated. That's dangerous. Beloved, be caught up in who God is. That's Paul's prayer to people standing in Ephesus. That's Paul's prayer. And he prays, notice, that you and I will have a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. That we may have the eyes of our hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope. I want to look at these three petitions very quickly of Paul's prayer, what it is that you and I need. The first is, we need the hope. The second is, we need the riches of his inheritance. And the third is, that we may know the immeasurable greatness of his power. So, the riches, the hope, the riches, and the power. These three things that Paul prays for you and for me. Now, the hope itself, we've already dealt with. That is spelled out in verses 3-14. That is the hope that Paul references when in him you also believed when you heard the word of truth. the gospel of your salvation and believed in him and were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance. This hope that you and I have is sealed in God's eternal plan from before the foundation of the earth. And Paul has already opened this up for us. But beloved, that's not what you and I need. You and I need to know it. And when Paul says that you may know, he is not saying that you may rattle off a list of things that you have learned. He's using very clearly Old Testament language. Remember what happened when so-and-so knew so-and-so? What's the next weird word that pops up? They begat. Knowledge. Knowing. in the Old Testament context is that most intimate knowledge, that most detailed relationship. And that's why Paul says in 1 Corinthians, we saw in the reading of the law, you and I are not to be messing around with this, because this is an intimate knowledge, an intimate relationship. And Paul says, that's my prayer for you, that you may have that intimate knowledge. of the hope that God has healed for you. We'll come back to this in a moment, because we're going to come back to Professor Stange in a moment. But this is an important distinction. Christianity is predicated upon a historic fact. Beloved, it is experienced in your life. And you cannot separate the two and still call it Christianity. You cannot call it experience without knowledge and say this is Christianity. You cannot call it knowledge without experience and say this is Christianity. And Paul says, I want you to know this hope of the resurrection. Secondly, Paul says, I pray that you may know the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. What riches, what wealth, what blessings does Paul want you to receive? Now, that's a pretty common question. That's a pretty common issue among Christian church today. What blessings do you want? Well, some years ago, I happened to watch a televangelist who was Literally, and you think this is an exaggeration, it's not. That's why my wife won't let me watch televangelists anymore. He was marching up and down the stage, and he was inviting people to come and throw money on the stage, and he was kicking through it like he was kicking through leaves in the yard, and he was inviting the congregation to join him in the chants as he kicked through the money of claiming to God their wealth, their riches, that God was going to shower upon them And so he marches up and down the stage getting everybody to chant with him, give me my money. Give me my money. Now, that's horrible. And so my wife said, Phil, you need to turn that off. And I was like, it's research. Didn't count. But we would look at that and say it's over the top, and yet, how many of us? would say to God, what are you doing in my life? Why are you doing this to me? We may not say, give me my money. We will most certainly say, do not give me this illness. Do not give me this discomfort. Do not give me. And yet, the riches, the blessing, the inheritance that Paul says He wants you and me to know are the riches that God has already bestowed upon you. He doesn't pray for anything new here, but he rather prays that you may know the riches of the inheritance, that you may know that which you already have. It's not that you may receive the riches. But rather, notice verse 18, that you may have the eyes of your hearts enlightened to know the hope to which he has called you, and what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. Beloved, you and I don't need more than what God has already given to us, because he's given to us everything. What you and I need over and over and over and over is to be opened up. To be drawn in into the perfection that He has accomplished for us in Christ. As Paul will say in Romans, if these things be true, then what can stand against you? How? And he who delivered up his own son, not also can you. We need our eyes opened. The eyes of our hearts opened into a growing apprehension, a growing embracing of that fullness. And the fullness of that wealth is the riches of whose inheritance? His glorious inheritance. Pause on that for a moment. It's not your inheritance. It's not the riches of your glorious inheritance. It's the riches of His. In other words, beloved, you and I, if you are in Christ, are God's treasures. You belong to Him, for Christ has redeemed you. And you are the treasure, you are the inheritance of the Son of God Himself. And that's what you and I need to grow up into, is to have our eyes opened towards. The third thing that Paul requests for us is that we may know, verse 19, what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. Now, this power is going to be opened up more later, and so we're going to open this up more when we see what it is that we have, not just what we are being asked for, but what it is that we have. But this power is seen most narrowly, in its most focused manner, Paul says here in verse 19, the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heavenly places." The power of God is most clearly displayed in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. As I said, we're going to open this up later, more fully next week. But let's pause there for just a moment. When we say that God has raised Christ from the dead and has seated him at his right hand in heavenly places, just pause. Because, beloved, this sounds so common in a Christian context that you don't consider, just for a moment, how bizarre this sounds to Professor Stange. This sounds dangerously kooky. This is the kind of stuff, weird fantasy stuff, that breaks a young man's brain and sends him running off to the Taliban. Fine, talk about the resurrection. Fine, talk about the ascension. But my goodness, talk about it, you know, like, Christ is raised from the dead whenever you realize your true potential and you love other people, as Christ gave an example. And Christ is seated in heavenly places because we're all seated in heavenly places. He's a good example. But literally, that's nuts. That's not only crazy, that's dangerous. And crazy and dangerous added together equals evil. Beloved, this is the point at which the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ is the point at which our worldviews absolutely collide. This is where you either believe this or you don't. It's either truth or it's not. This historic fact of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ is a line in the that we see in conflict in something like the editorial that was written. Again, I appreciate Professor Stange's viewpoint. I appreciate the fact that she articulated it so well. Because, it's a reminder we live in a different world. And the dividing line of that world is the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. This isn't new to us, and it's certainly not new to this week's editorial of the USA Today, and I'm thankful that the gospel doesn't depend on me writing a snappy response, because I didn't. My session will be glad to know. A great Christian, writing in 1923, J. Gresham Machen, wrote these words. Modern liberalism has lost sight of the two great presuppositions of the Christian message, the living God and the fact of sin. Christianity depends not upon a complex of ideas, but the narration of an event. Without that event, the world is altogether dark. and humanity is lost under the guilt of sin. The power of God is displayed in a historic event. There's a stark either-or message to the Bible. There is a historic fact that you either believe, submit to, and come to life in Christ, or you deny and reject. Now, Professor Stange, in the middle of her article, says this, the OPC sees the world in stark either-or terms. This is Calvinism on steroids. You are saved and bound for heaven, or you are a sinner treading a one-way path to the fiery pit of hell. And it is stark either or terms. Again, I appreciate that Professor Stange very clearly presented the worldview. Now, some things I'd quibble with. I don't think it's Calvinism on steroids. I think it's just what Paul's saying here, folks. I don't think Calvin invented a thing in the world. And I certainly don't think we're going beyond Calvin. If anything, it's the Bible on steroids. If anything, it's just what Paul is saying. That Christ Jesus is raised from the dead. That he is seated at the right hand of God. That he gave himself as a sacrifice for your sin. And that in him you have life. In him alone. It is kind of stark, either or. Now Professor Stange didn't mention anywhere in there the invitation of the gospel. Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest. Cling to me with all that you are and know the assurance of that hope of the inheritance. You be Christ's treasured possession. You his Beloved, that's what you and I need. That's what Paul gives. As his petition, your need, whether you're standing 2,000 years ago in a little city in the Mediterranean called Ephesus, or whether you're sitting today in a little city called Spurling in Virginia, what you and I need is to draw into God's perfect and eternal purpose, in Christ, by His Holy Spirit, to know that hope, to know the riches of His inheritance, and to know the power of His working in us. When you and I know that, then beloved, you have a firm foundation. You have a foundation that will carry you through that you can offer to others as the message of the gospel to a world that has no foundation at all. To a world that is on the other side of the stark either or dividing line. To a world to which Christ calls sweetly, come to me, all who are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Let's pray. Mighty God and gracious Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the hope, for the riches, for the great power that we know for you have made us alive to Christ. Grandfather, that we may take this message of the gospel, may take it to every relationship, every aspect of our lives, and live it, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.