Series in Ephesians
April 26, 2026
Havasu Christian Church
Ephesians 1:13-23
“Paul was praying for the Ephesians!”
INTRO: The Apostle Paul seems to have been a pretty intense guy! Whatever he did, he did it with his whole heart!
He loved the Christians in Ephesus! Last week, we saw all the blessings that God had given to the Ephesian Church. Paul sounds absolutely ecstatic about this! He is TRULY on their side!
In the passage this week, Paul continues to tell them some more good news! But then he goes on to tell them that he is praying for them!
He could have stopped there, but as usual, Paul just keeps going! He tells them, in great detail, how great Jesus is!
Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,
16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
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.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
- Christians are Sealed by the Holy Spirit!
- What a Blessing!
- To think, that the Spirit of God would want to live inside of me… or you for that matter is simply amazing!
- WHY does He do this?
- The Holy Spirit is given as a pledge of our inheritance.
- A pledge… something given to assure that the promise you made is for real.
If you are buying a house and you make an offer, you pay “earnest money.” It proves that you are earnest in your intention to buy the house!
- The Holy Spirit is a constant reminder of the promises God has made to us!
- Our inheritance
- We spoke about this a bit last week.
- What belongs to God, belongs to us!
- We will be with Him for eternity, finding out what that means.
- Our redemption as God’s own possession!
- WE BELONG!
- Not to a club
- Not to a team
- Not to a sewing circle
- WE BELONG TO GOD!
- God (the Trinity) wanted us so bad that part of God, Jesus, would come to earth and live as one of us.
- God (the Trinity) wanted us so much that Jesus was allowed to die for us!
- God (the Trinity) loves us so much that the Holy Spirit lives in us!
- Paul tells the Ephesian Church that he is constantly thankful for them!
- He keeps thanking God for them in his prayers.
- We pray for people around here… A LOT!
- Every Worship Service, Various Bible studies, Prayer chain, Men’s Wednesday prayer group, every time we get together, every time we eat together. WE PRAY A LOT!
- But how often do we thank God for someone?
- Maybe our spouse.
- Maybe someone in Church who is an example to us.
- Maybe another body of believers who are doing something amazing.
- Maybe Missionaries that we know and support.
- Perhaps we should choose someone today and pray a prayer of thanks for them all week!
- He is also praying and asking for God to give them some things.
- Paul asks God to give them Wisdom
- From collinsdictionary.com: “Wisdom is the ability to use your experience and knowledge in order to make sensible decisions or judgments.”
- Different from smart. Wisdom is knowing how to use the information you have.
- Paul askes God to give them Revelation in the Knowledge about God.
- He is asking God to reveal knowledge to them about Himself.
- Some things we can know about God by just looking out the window.
- God is a creator.
- God is Creative! (not the same thing.)
- God loves beauty.
- God values things working in harmony.
- There are other things that looking at the World God created doesn’t teach us.
- It doesn’t teach us about Jesus.
- It doesn’t teach us about many of aspects of how we should live.
- We have the Bible to reference… These people may have only had this letter so far.
- They needed some special knowledge.
- He prays that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”
- He is asking God to make sure they know “the hope of their calling.”
- He wants them to understand just how great an inheritance God is giving His saints.
- are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
- Paul wants these folks to know how amazing it is that God has called them to be His own.
- He wants them to understand how great God’s power is
- He wants them to understand this great power is working in their lives.
- Paul wants the Ephesians to understand God, who has unlimited power, is working with His strength in their lives!
- Paul goes on to explain how great Jesus really is! (This power comes to us because of Him and His resurrection!)
- God raised Him!
- Jesus was absolutely, positively dead!
- But God brought Him back to life, to live forever!
- God has seated Him!
- He is at the Father’s right hand.
- He isn’t going anywhere until He comes for us!
- God has made Him the TOTAL AUTHORITY!
- Not just now, FOREVER!
God has “put all things in subjection under His feet!
- God has made Jesus the head of the Church!
- We are His Body!
- He fills us and directs us!
- As the head, He controls us!
- Just like a human body, His control is for our benefit!
- Imagine how it would feel for your body to be moving and for you to have absolutely no control over what it does.
- That must be how Jesus feels when He tries to direct us, and we ignore Him!
- If we belong to Him, we will willingly put ourselves under His authority!
Conclusion: What should I take home with me today?
- Everything we just studied, applies to us, just like it did for the Ephesian church.
- As Christians, we are SEALED by the Holy Spirit, living in us.
- As Christians, we should be reminded that we belong to God! Now and forever!
- The Holy Spirit is the Pledge that reminds us.
- As Christians, we should be thankful for the Faithful Christians around us!
- Let them know.
- As Christians, we should Pray for the people in our lives!
- For God to give them wisdom.
- For God to help them know more.
- As Christians, we should never forget the Power of Jesus, and what He did for us!
- As Christians, we should always do our best to live under Christ’s authority!
