Verses to review today: Ephesians 1:5-16 (repeat 3x, 3x a day)
New Verses: Ephesians 1:17-18

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 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, (ESV)

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, (KJV)

Greek: 17 ἵνα ὁ θεὸς τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ πατὴρ τῆς δόξης, δώῃ ὑμῖν πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως ἐν ἐπιγνώσει αὐτοῦ, 18 πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας [ὑμῶν] εἰς τὸ εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς τίς ἐστιν ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς κλήσεως αὐτοῦ, τίς ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τῆς κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις,

Transliterated Greek: 17 hina ho theos tou kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou, ho patēr tēs doxēs, dōē hymin pneuma sophias kai apokalypseōs en epignōsei autou, 18 pephōtismenous tous ophthalmous tēs kardias [hymōn] eis to eidenai hymas tis estin hē elpis tēs klēseōs autou, tis ho ploutos tēs doxēs tēs klēronomias autou en tois hagiois,

Literal Word for Word Translation: 17 in order that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 having been given light to the eyes of your heart so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

Vocab: δώῃ, dōē, he might give; σοφίας, sophias, of wisdom; ἀποκαλύψεως, apokalypseōs, of revelation (uncovering / revealing); ἐπιγνώσει, epignōsei, to recognition / knowledge ; πεφωτισμένους, pephōtismenous, having been given light; ὀφθαλμοὺς, ophthalmous, eyes; καρδίας, kardias, of heart; εἰδέναι, eidenai, to have make known; ἐλπὶς, elpis, hope; κλήσεως, klēseōs, of calling; πλοῦτος, ploutos, riches/wealth; κληρονομίας, klēronomias, of inheritance.

Commentary: The reason Paul makes it his duty to remember to pray for the Ephesians is so that they may have wisdom of those things that are hidden to non-believers about God, the Father. James 1:5 mentions for believers to ask God for wisdom to their situations (the trials James’ readers were going through) and that God will not withhold providing it. The only reason any believer would not have wisdom is because they have not sought it. That wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit, but if we keep our spiritual eyes shut to it, we won’t see it. Verse 18 speaks to that. Our heart is the source of who we really are. Prior to having the Spirit, our hearts are wicked and deceitful, fooling us on all matters. But after the Spirit, the heart is made new with a new focus – one on Christ rather than on sin (Col 3:1-2). This wisdom and revealing of knowledge comes from our hearts being enlightened (see 1 John 2:8-11). With such understanding, we have full grasp of the hope and the inheritance that we have.

Unfortunately, many think that just because they have the Holy Spirit they have an infinite reservoir of knowledge about the things of God. What they have is an infinite fountain of water from which to draw. It takes listening to the Spirit to get the knowledge and wisdom. Most don’t do that. Why do you think there are arguments between people who supposedly have the same Spirit illuminating their minds? For the most part is because saints are still affected by their sinful tendencies. Those tendencies have to be crucified daily. But those that think they are cleaned once and never are concerned with regard to sin’s effect in their lives unfortunately let the sin reign supreme. The sin of a true believer will not impact their salvation, but it does impact how they live their lives and the harmony of their relationships. For many, the Spirit may wonder why He is even there if no one is going to listen to Him. One of the first things to understand is that there is growth in the Spirit. We aren’t perfect in Christ day one of our salvation except in the sense of the promise that we will be. It takes study of the Word, much prayer, humility, and being around mature believers to gain wisdom. One person can acquire wisdom from the Spirit on his own, but he also can make mistakes. A dozen believers listening to the Spirit and interacting with one another (one reason for being in fellowship) have a better chance of nullifying the effects of sin on their discernment. Years of maturity on matters of discernment will reduce the frequency and seriousness of mistakes over time, but that maturity also needs to be kept sharp by being used to help guide others along who are growing in the faith. And no one stops growing. We may even not stop growing in heaven. Thus, we never stop praying, as Paul demonstrates by his example, for others for their growth in Christ.

One thing to remember, as is what James is teaching in his epistle, is that much wisdom comes from our trials. We have no reason to ask God for wisdom in a situation if we are not in a situation. Thus, we are to count it all joy, believe it or not, when we meet trials of many kinds. For we should know that the testing of our faith develops perseverance (steadfastness). And perseverance having its full effects will make us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)