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The Light
Dr David Wood
MY PRAYER FOR YOU –
PART FIVE
Greetings in the
name of our Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ! As the Apostle Paul writes
to the Churches I also do not cease to give thanks for you and mention you in my
prayers. Although this article is being posted on the first of April it is not
an April’s fool’s article. This article is light for your soul and strength for
your spirit. The Scripture tells us to renew our minds and this is part of that
process.
Romans 12:2 (KJV)
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
As you see from this
verse, the way that we can know the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of
God is by renewing our minds with the Word of God. I believe this is the cry of
every Christian’s heart and certainly the need of our spirit and the will of
God. We are to study to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15). That does
not say, read the Bible to show yourself approved, although that is good. It
does not say listen to sermons and teachings to show yourself approved, although
that also is good and necessary. To be effective sons in the work of the
Kingdom of God we must study and act according to Scripture. The Apostle James
said to not be hearers only but doers of the Word (James 1:22). Now let us get
to our text for this study from Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:15-23
(KJV)
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus,
and love unto all the saints,
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know
what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints,
19
And what is
the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the
working of his mighty power,
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and
set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion,
and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is
to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to
be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
This month I will
center up on verse seventeen. In Biblical Numerology the number seventeen is
the number of victory. This adds to our understanding that this verse is a key
to the victory that Jesus paid for us to have. Paul is praying, speaking to the
Father, and asking Him to give each one at Ephesus “the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of him:” This is my prayer for you as well and I
believe that your lives are changing if you will receive it and say amen (so be
it). You will notice Paul is asking the Father to accomplish this which is
consistent with what Jesus told us in the Gospel of John.
John 16:23 (KJV)
23
And in
that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye
shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
We speak to the Father who is the recipient of the Church in the end
(1Corinthians 15:24). That is when all has been placed under Jesus’ feet by us,
the body of Christ; we will be delivered up to the Father.
1 Corinthians 15:24 (KJV)
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the
kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all
authority and power.
Now don’t get off center here, Jesus is our Savior and will always be our
Savior, the One who restored us to Elohiym (Triune God). We do all in the name
of Jesus and He is our all now and forever more.
Colossians 3:17 (KJV)
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Acts 17:28 (KJV)
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also
of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
The Apostle Paul refers to God the Father as “the Father of glory,” Although it
is a separate study; let me give you a mini teaching on the glory of God. The
glory of God is the manifested goodness of God. The glory is always a visible
manifestation of God. For example if you or someone else is healed or you have
an answer to prayer, that is a visible manifestation of the goodness (glory) of
God. The glory of God is always visible. For example the fire by night and the
cloud by day for the children of Israel in the wilderness was a manifestation of
the glory of God (Exodus 13:21). The tongues as of fire in the upper room on
the day of Pentecost were a manifestation of the glory. On that day the Holy
Spirit and all the holy angels could legally and without restriction enter the
earth and await the words of the sons of God. Perhaps you have seen the glory
cloud in your Church or other location. The glory is also honor, riches and
power. In fact the first time the work glory occurs in Scripture it is
referring to assets (Genesis 31:1). To recap, the glory is the manifested
presence of God, the manifested goodness of God, and riches (physical), honor
(with man and God), and power (in the earth).
In the latter part of this seventeenth verse of Ephesians Chapter One Paul is
asking the Father to give them and us “the spirit of wisdom and revelation” so
that we may have “knowledge of him:” In short the Apostle Paul is asking the
Father that we have the same blessing that the prophet Isaiah spoke of
concerning, at that time, the coming Messiah.
Isaiah 11:2 (KJV)
2 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 and of the fear of the LORD;
What a deal!
There are three levels of knowledge. First is knowledge itself which is basic
information such as most of us have concerning for example an airplane. Than
there is understanding which is a use of knowledge a pilot would have concerning
how to fly airplanes. The highest use of knowledge is wisdom. Wisdom is
clarity of knowledge and understanding used at its highest level. For example a
pilot may have knowledge of airplanes and have the understanding of how to fly
but must exercise wisdom to do so in the best and safest way. For example if
the pilot is not night rated than it would not be wisdom to fly at night even
though he has knowledge of planes and understanding of planes.
The Apostle Paul also speaks of the spirit of revelation. Revelation is a
revealing or disclosure of knowledge that was previously hidden. The root word
for revelation speaks of a taking off of the cover. Something that was covered
is now in full view. Paul is asking that the Holy Spirit Himself teach us to
use all knowledge of God at the very highest level. Remember our place in the
kingdom is not a theoretical construct that is all very interesting to talk
about. No, it is a dynamic process of claiming this earth for the glory of
God.
The Lord bless and keep you until next month, in Jesus name.
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