A lot of believers only pray when they have no other option. Oh, they may have some routine prayers that they pray – like at meal times, or on a Sunday – but when it comes to actually seeking God with desperation, they only do that when they have exhausted all of their human wisdom, when they have worked through every possible strategy, and they are at the end of their rope – they close their eyes, throw it deep, and hope something good happens. But this is a mistake. Why? It’s because the whole Christian life is supposed to be one of desperation. A lack of desperation shows that we don’t think much of God’s ability, and we think a whole lot of our own. Instead, we should remember how great God is when we come to him, and we should remember how much we need him.
In Eph 2:11-22, Paul describes a hostile rivalry that was deep and complex, between Jew and Gentile. Gentiles were non-Jews. The word is “ethna” in v 11 (non-Jewish ethnicities). It was religious. Gentiles didn’t know the God of Israel. It was cultural. Jews had all of the rituals, feasts, and ceremonies that distinguished them from the nations. It was racial. The Jews could boast of “having the blood of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob flowing their veins.” Yet, through Christ, these two enemies have become friends. (Paul says this unity proclaims the mystery of the universe [3:10]).
Verse 1 begins with “And You.” Who is he talking to? The Gentiles. Then he says in verse 3a, “all of us” and then “like the rest of mankind…” (3b). Paul covers everyone with these phrases. Paul is not about to describe some degrading segment of society, or some cannibalistic tribe somewhere. He’s talking about everyone. This is the biblical diagnosis of our sinful nature. Paul draws our attention to the depth of depravity, in order to magnify the mercy and grace of God in saving us; like a black back drop to a diamond, and he does so with two of the sweetest words in the Bible… “But God.” This is our biography. God’s gracious initiative and sovereign action stands in wonderful contrast to verses 1-3.
Today we are going to learn some important truths about prayer, with an emphasis on praying for knowledge and understanding. We need the Spirit’s help to grasp the greatness of God, the supremacy of Christ, the rich benefits of the gospel. What this means is that we are entirely dependent on Christ as a church. What makes us something significant – indeed glorious – is our relationship to Jesus. He fills the church with his presence.
This is a long (202 words), complex, and glorious sentence (one sentence in Greek) that oozes with God-centered worship. This is relevant for a variety of reason. Here’s one reason it is important: you were made for praise. And we must have the right object of worship.Humanity has never had a problem praising something or someone. In regard to functional idols (money, sex, work, etc), we like to take good things in creation (food, work, relationships, sex) and substitute them for Creator, turning those good things into god things, thereby committing idolatry.This is no small matter. Romans 1 says that this failure to worship God is at the heart of sin. Your sin problem is fundamentally a worship problem, and our hearts will only be satisfied when we begin praising Triune God. Since God the Father has chosen us, God the Son has redeemed us, God the Spirit has assured us. Let’s worship the Triune God. We were made for praise.
