Illumination

Paul prayed that the Holy Spirit might give us wisdom and revelation so that we would better understand God’s plan and live accordingly. The Father of glory has revealed his mystery—his plan to unite all things in Christ. So here Paul prays that our eyes would be opened to this previously undisclosed reality. God will illuminate our minds by his Spirit to grasp his revelation. Left to ourselves, we invent ridiculous things that serve to glorify ourselves only. We need the Spirit to open our eyes to God’s truth, warm our hearts to love that truth, and empower us to live in line with the truth that God alone is worthy to be praised.

Let us, then, with the humble gratitude that ought to mark unworthy sinners, seek to see with the eyes of our heart the reality of God’s purposes to give his children grace and glory. This reality that Ephesians speaks of is so certain that we can bank our lives on it. Those who are in Christ cannot help but see the reality that Christ has inaugurated. What’s at stake is the difference between theory and experience. Paul’s prayer for us is essentially that we would see reality and live in accordance with it.

Gloria Furman is the author of Alive in Him and several other books. She lives with her family in Dubai. Content taken from Alive in Him: How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything by Gloria Furman, ©2017. Scripture quotations within these excerpts are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.