Ephesians 1:17-23 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

God manifested his great power by raising Jesus from the dead and seating him at his right hand. We also who were vicariously in the grave with Jesus are now seated in heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS. This is the marvelous message of Ephesians. We have been predestined through God's eternal plan and Christ's finished work at the cross to be children of God. Paul prayed that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order to know this great hope. He didn't pray that we might understand through the physical senses of our eyes, ears, or hands; he prayed that our hearts may know this resurrection power. Bound to this earth, human beings tend to evaluate what is real through what we can see, hear, or touch, but Paul prayed that we might know spiritual reality through the revelation of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. This is divinely revealed knowledge that comes only through prayer and faith in God as we walk in the knowledge that we are no longer bound to this earth as finite beings, but that we who are IN CHRIST are infinitely spiritual because God is infinite and all powerful.

Such an understanding is foolishness to the rational, secular man, for he experiences reality through the limitations of his natural senses. To the unredeemed, faith is not a powerful force but a mythical construct of those too weak to face the world as it is without God's presence or purposes. But God chose the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. He chose the weak and the poor who are strong in faith to receive his acceptance, his power, his eternal dwelling. Man desires to know, to understand the mysteries of the universe, but God says, to find enlightenment, you must believe that I am and that I am a giver of good things. Jesus said, let those who have ears, spiritual ears, hear the Word of the Lord. Jesus spoke the truth and validated his words by miracles that no one else from the beginning of time could perform. But the wicked closed their inner spiritual ears to the truth, and subsequently killed Christ. Yet their sinful deeds ushered in God's plan for humanity because the cross was necessary to ransom mankind from the bondage of sin and death. Through the cross children of God are created to live with him forever.

We IN CHRIST and HE in us. Understanding that God created us to live with him forever is our hope of glory, of eternal life. Each of us need this revelation in our hearts daily. If we wholeheartedly believe this truth, no sin, disappointment, failure, nor trouble will ever overwhelm us or take away our joy. Paul is telling us that we have the riches of his (Christ's) glorious inheritance NOW. We the children of God right now. Since God has manifested his great power by turning hopeless, sinful people into his sons and daughters, we are more than conquerors through Christ who gave himself for us. We have been reborn IN CHRIST, the creator of all things and the giver of life. We have been transformed from the finite to eternal beings with heaven as our destination. The Spirit has brought us from a limited existence of a few years on Earth to eternal life with God. Regardless of your circumstances today, REJOICE and be glad, for your pardon was signed with the precious blood of Jesus, and your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You have a new name written down in glory that only God knows because He knows his children by name. He has not lost track of you; you are not forsaken in your personal abyss. As God's child, REJOICE IN THE LORD. AGAIN I SAY, REJOICE, FOR YOU ARE YOUR BELOVED'S AND HE IS YOURS!