Ephesians 1:17
17 That [hina] the God [theos] of our [hemon] Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] Christ, [Christos] the Father [pater] of
glory, [doxa] may give [didomi] unto you [humin] the spirit
[pneuma] of wisdom [sophia] and [kai] revelation [apokalupsis] in [en] the knowledge [epignosis] of him: [autos]KJV-Interlinear
17 that
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit
of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. NASB
The God, is a reference
to God the Father, the one of whom Satan wanted to be like the Most High.
God that Father is the
highest authority in all of existence. It
is to Him that all religions seek to attain attention or equality or recognition. And this is sought through arrogance.
However, the Father along
with the Son and the Spirit designed a plan by which arrogance could be
defeated, and that plan was that no one could approach the Father except
through the Son.
The term Son, implies a
lesser authority, and arrogance does not want to recognize something lesser,
but presumes that it can go around the Son and directly to the Father. Not so.
If you have read the
first couple of studies in the Psalms, then you already know that the Son, is a
title, and not a physical family relationship within the Godhead.
So, the very first thing
that Paul wishes for you, is that you understand the Father, and the Son and
the respective roles of the two in the spiritual realm, and thus the divine
plan.
All things spiritual must
flow through the Son. That is the
purpose and plan of salvation and the spiritual life. Both are deserving of glory. This arrangement requires humility and
defeats arrogance.
Next Paul desires, from
within his prayer, from the prior verse, that you receive the spirit of wisdom.
Spirit, ‘pneuma,’ and
wisdom, ‘sophia,’ when combined refer to the breath or breathing, inhale and
exhale of knowledge. This wisdom is a functional
knowledge, a higher plane of knowledge that is operational within your thinking
brain. It is not worldly academics or
intellect, but knowledge and understanding of the spiritual realm that far
exceeds everything in this physical world.
And the revelation of
Him, namely Jesus Christ who is the living word, but also represented by the
written word, or the scriptures. The
Bible is the revelation, or revealing of God, of Christ, of doctrine, of all
things spiritual.
In knowledge, ‘epignosis,’
and this word is the real focal point of this verse.
There are two kinds of
knowledge. The first is referred to as ‘gnosis.’ The second reference to knowledge is referred
to as ‘epignosis.’ The difference between the two is the degree of possession
that you have of knowledge.
‘Gnosis,’ is the
knowledge of awareness of facts. ‘Epignosis,’
is the mastery of that knowledge.
Suppose you are learning a
new language, one in which you have no former knowledge. You learn some words, perhaps even to count
to ten, but you do not have a level of knowledge of that language such that you
could engage in even a simple conversation.
That is limited knowledge. It has limited use. That is ‘gnosis.’
But once you have learned
a language, have had several years of daily use, then you have more of a
mastery of that language. You can read, and write, and have conversations, and
watch movies and so forth. Your whole
life is centered around that language and you know so much that you don’t
really give your knowledge much thought.
You take your knowledge for granted, or it goes without saying. That is a mastery, or ‘epignosis.’
So, your knowledge of the
Father, and of the Lord, and of the scriptures, when they are limited to ‘gnosis,’
have little if any value to you. But,
when your knowledge of the scriptures and all things spiritual have been
studied and learned and understood and used daily over a longer period of time,
then you begin to have a mastery of that knowledge. You have wisdom, spiritual wisdom that is not
only useful, but beneficial spiritually, for you.
So, Pauls prayer is for
you to learn such that you become a master of your own knowledge, and thoughts
and therefore of your own destiny. For
doctrine is a destiny in and of itself. This
sets the stage for your entire life now, in this world, and in eternity when
you get there.
This is the key to your
whole purpose of being here.
Remember that if a prayer
is Gods will, then He will hear it and it will be granted. But God never forces
anything onto you. Paul prayed, but the
prayer is a potential because it depends on your compliance with Gods
plan.
Will you study and learn
and grow, and therefore have a guaranteed success in your spiritual life? Or will you disregard Gods plan and purpose
and go your own way, and guarantee your own failure?
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