Ephesians 1: 18-19
: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, :19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Paul, like usual, is carrying the same thought through several verses and it is important to know that he is still speaking of the knowledge of Christ. The beginning of verse 18 serves as an illustration of what learning more about Christ does for our understanding. It's like we walk into a dark room and because the lack of light we can't see what is in the room around us and as the light grows brighter we can then begin to see shapes and forms until the light grows so bright that we see ever detail of the contents of the room. This is what happens to the eyes of our understanding as we grow in the knowledge of Christ. The less you know about Him the darker your understanding will be, you'll be stumbling about and tripping over every wind of doctrine but as we grow in the knowledge of our Lord, our understanding becomes brighter and brighter until we see the details of the Gospel, the details of the price that was paid for our redemption, the details of a Love so strong that one would leave heaven, live a life of poverty and shame that ended in the most cruel death the world has ever known, the death of Christ, you see the details of the Resurrection that confirms and assures us of the power of Christ over death, hell and the grave. The Word of God is often referred to as a light, it is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, it is a light, a light that lightens the eyes of our understanding. Don't stumble about in the dark when it comes to the things of God. Open up the scripture, turn on the lights and take a look around at the treasures that surround you. We have at our disposal the unsearchable riches of Christ. Imagine a child of a rich man who frets day and night to pay his debts and sustain his life, he paces back and forth in a dark room stumbling over what he knows not, If he would only turn on the light he would see that it is piles of gold on which he stumbles. Dear fretting christian, your father by means of His son, has provided you the unsearchable riches of Christ, open up His word, turn on the lights and you'll find countless promises, mercy everlasting, riches of Grace, joy unspeakable and full of Glory!! If you will open up His Word you can find strength for the weak, admonishment for the proud, joy for the downtrodden, what ever the need may be you will find fulfillment in His Word. Paul mentions 3 things in particular that He want the Ephesians believers to see as he eyes of their understanding begin to become enlightened.
1. The hope of His calling
2. The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints
3. The exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe.
We will save these three for another day.
According to the riches of His Grace!!