What Does It Mean to Make Known the Multifaceted Wisdom of God?

8 June, 20247 June, 2024Marissa

A couple weeks ago, my father-in-law gave a sermon about the spiritual origins or influences behind conflicts we face. Of course, he went to the verse that’s very familiar to anyone studying spiritual warfare: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens” (Eph. 6:12, NET). We look at this verse quite a bit in my Study Guide: Armor of God.

In this sermon, though, he also looked at other places in Ephesians where Paul uses the words “rulers” and “powers,” which are also translated “principalities” and “authorities.” I hadn’t realized that this was a theme in the letter, and one of the verses in particular caught my eye for further study.

The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 3:10, NET

That’s the sort of verse it’s easy to read over, but if you stop and think about what Paul’s saying it’s mind-blowing. There’s something happening in the church that supposed to disclose “the multifaceted wisdom of God” to “the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” That’s a staggering thing to think about. I’ve never thought of myself as being part of showing God’s manifold, multifaceted, many-sided wisdom to powers in the heavens.

Image of a girl standing in church reading the Bible overlaid with text from Eph. 3:10-11, TLV version: "The purpose is that through Messiah’s community the multi-faceted wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, which is in keeping with the eternal purpose that He carried out in Messiah Yeshua our Lord." — Image by José Roberto Roquel from Lightstock

What Are the Rulers and Authorities?

You all know by now that I’m a word nerd, so let’s start with some definitions. The Greek word translated “principalities” or “rulers” is arche (G746). There’s a variety of meanings, including beginning, origin, person that commences something, or the active cause. For example, Jesus is described as the arche of creation (Rev. 3:14). The word also means the “first place, principality, rule, or magistracy,” and that’s the sense in which it may be used “of angels and demons” (Thayer’s Dictionary). If that seems like a confusing variety of meanings, just think of how we use “first” in English. If we say someone is “first,” context determines if they arrived first, did something first, or are first in importance.

The Greek word for “powers” or “authorities” is exousia (G1849). This refers to the power to do something, like make choices, do “as one pleases,” exercise authority, rule or govern, and make others submit (Thayer’s Definition). It “combine[s] the two ideas of right and might” (Zodhiates). It refers to having the power/might to accomplish something and the right/authority to go ahead and choose whether to use that power. There are levels of authority. For example, Jesus was given all exousia in heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18). There are other powers, but Jesus is over all of them. That’s the first thing Paul establishes regarding the topic of principalities and powers in Ephesians.

he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realmsfar above every 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. And God put all things under Christ’s feet, and gave him to the church as head over all things. Now the church is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1:20-23, NET (italics mark an allusion to Ps 8:6)

That’s the first thing we need to understand about rulers and authorities, both earthly and heavenly. They’re all subservient to Jesus; He is “far above” even the most powerful of them. He’s the one heading the church, which is the whole group of called-out people that make up His body. We used to live “according to this world’s present path, according to the ruler (archo, derived from arche) of the domain (exousia) of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2, NET). But God called us out from under that authority and placed us into His son’s body for a purpose.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,even though we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved!—and he raised us up together with him and seated us together with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.
Ephesians 2:4-10, NET

If you read last week’s post, you might remember that God sometimes takes action on behalf of His people to prove His holiness. Even if His people aren’t representing Him as holy, He still acts with respect for His own name and moves to prove Himself holy in the eyes of those watching. That includes His own people, those of other nations, and the spiritual principalities and powers that we’re talking about today.

Image of a man reading the Bible overlaid with text from Colossians 1:9-10, NET version: "For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects—bearing fruit in every good deed,
growing in the knowledge of God" — Image by Anggie from Lightstock

God’s Great Wisdom

In spiritual terms, all those who respond to God’s call and enter a committed covenant relationship with Him become citizens of His kingdom, and those who aren’t yet in covenant with Him belong to other nations. This is the case regardless of your ethnic background or physical citizenship. In many of Paul’s letters, he addresses this topic in relation to Jews (historically part of God’s covenant people) and Gentiles (all other nations).

When reading this, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ (which was not disclosed to people in former generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit), namely, that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the exercise of his power.To me—less than the least of all the saints—this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ and to enlighten everyone about God’s secret plan—the mystery that has been hidden for ages in God who has created all things. The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access to God by way of Christ’s faithfulness.
Ephesians 3:4-12, NET

Paul describes the way God works with people in the New Covenant as “the mystery of Christ,” “the unfathomable riches of Christ,” and “God’s secret plan.” It’s an incredible thing that God is still working with a specific group of people, just like He was in the Old Testament. It’s even more amazing that who’s in that group today has nothing to do with your physical heritage. It’s about God choosing you and you choosing to follow Him. It was God’s plan from the beginning to bring human beings into His family, and now that Jesus came in the flesh, died for our sins, and inaugurated the New Covenant the plan is clearer than ever before.

With that incredible fact established, Paul then says “the purpose” of enlightening others about this plan “is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers (arche) and the authorities (exousia) in the heavenly realms.” The word translated “multifaceted” is polupoikilos (G4182). In the New Testament, it only appears in this particular verse. It means “much variegated, marked with a variety of colors,” such as in “cloth or a painting” (Thayer). It can also mean “manifold, multifarious, greatly diversified, [and] abounding in variety” (Zodhiates). God’s wisdom isn’t one-dimensional or limited. It’s also not like human thought patterns.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    and your ways are not my ways,” says Yahweh.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways,
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9, WEB

Living With the Wisdom of God

Image of people sitting in church services overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Our lives, and the church that we're all a part of, ought to demonstrate the wisdom of God’s plan." — Image by Brown Bag Photography from Lightstock

A few years ago, I did a series of blog posts on James’s definition for “the wisdom that is from above.” He said that this wisdom “is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (Jas. 3:17, WEB). This is a description of God’s multifaceted wisdom, though likely not a full description.

Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways!
Romans 11:33, NET

We’re never going to understand everything about God, but we’re called to study Him and get to know Him better anyway. We can grow toward perfect understanding and imitation of Him, though we know we won’t completely achieve being “like Him” until after Jesus’s return and our transformation (1 Cor. 15:50-53; 1 John 3:1-3). His wisdom is incredibly complex, but we have the opportunity to witness His wisdom, to be examples of how He wisely interacts with humanity, and even to learn how to use His wisdom in our own lives (1 Cor. 2).

I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, will give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him,—since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened—so that you can know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength
Ephesians 1:16-19, NET

This is one of Paul’s prayers for the church; it’s very similar to another in Colossians 1:9-12. One of Paul’s priorities when praying for God’s people was that God would continue to give wisdom, revelation, and knowledge to them. God’s wisdom growing in us is connected with understanding His calling and the inheritance He offers us as His people. We’re participating in the great mystery, the incredible plan of God whereby He brings human beings into His spiritual family. The way that He works in us–and the way we respond to His work in us–show the rulers and authorities how wise God is. Our lives, and the church that we’re all a part of, ought to demonstrate that God’s way works. He really can do what He says.

Featured image by Pearl from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “One Day” by Cochren & Co.

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If Your Myers-Briggs® Type Was a Superhero, What Superpower Would You Have?

17 November, 202017 November, 2020Marissa

Sometimes, I really enjoy writing and reading fun, silly posts like “Here’s the Greek God or Goddess You’d Be, Based On Your Personality Type” or “Your Not-At-All-Confusing Guide To Finding Out If An INFJ Agrees With You.” Today’s post falls into that category. Don’t take it too seriously, but it’s fun to think about (and I don’t know about you, but I could use some not-too-serious things to think about right now).

Last week, I suggested, “Which superpower would you like to have? Which one do you think you’d actually have based on your personality?” as an expressivist journaling prompt. This post is an extension of that. Assuming that if you developed a superpower it would be based off your personality, what sort of power might each of the different Myers-Briggs® types have?

ENFJ – Shapeshifting

Like other FJ types, ENFJs are good at blending into just about any social situation. Once they’ve got a feel for how a group works, they can perfectly mimic the people around them or turn themselves into the sort of person they need to be in order to fit in or lead. Shapeshifting or mimicry seems like the sort of superpower that could grow out of that personality trait.

INFJ – Mind Reading

INFJs already have people half-convinced we can read minds, so this choice shouldn’t come as a surprise. I’ve always thought that if I were to have super powers, it would be something like mind reading or mood-sensing (though water manipulation and telekinesis are actually on the top of my wish-list). INFJs are usually really good at picking up on patterns in other people’s behaviors and guessing what they’re thinking, and in many ways superpowered mindreading is a natural extension of that talent.

ENFP – Persuasion

ENFPs are already charming people who are great at convincing others to see and do things their way. I decided to call it persuasion instead of mind control because I suspect a superpowered ENFP would tend to manipulate more than outright control other people. I could easily see an ENFP superhero using their ability to deescalate fights and turn final showdowns into dance offs or philosophy discussions.

INFP – Invisibility

INFPs can often feel as if they’re overlooked and misunderstood. Literally fading out of sight with an invisibility superpower would let them turn something that may feel like an annoying feature of their personality into an asset. Like many introverts, INFPs aren’t all that interested in being in the limelight. Being able to help people without drawing too much attention to themselves or having to face supervillains head-on seems like a very INFP way to superhero.

ENTJ – Telekinesis

ENTJs are often efficient, innovative, and forward thinking types who like to control the world around them. They’re also good at holding several different ideas and perspectives at once, and juggling a wide array of responsibilities. The ability to move objects with their minds might not be a direct extension of a personality trait but I suspect ENTJs would find telekinesis very useful.

INTJ – Future Predicting

Like INFJs, INTJs are really good at picking up on patterns. They’re usually more focused on patterns that have to do with facts and data rather than people, though, and that makes them good at planning for the future. A superpowered version of this talent could give them the ability to actually predict the future with an impressive degree of accuracy.

ENTP – Reality Warping

ENTPs are often the sorts of people who come up with new, innovative ideas that change the way the world works. For a superpower, I think this talent could expand into the ability to warp and shape reality itself. It also seems a good fit for the charming side that many ENTPs have, which can persuade you to see things they way they want you to.

INTP – Teleportation

INTPs aren’t a type that likes to waste time (at least by their own definition of wasted time). They often prefer to spend their time thinking rather than doing, and when they do choose to act they don’t enjoy delays like the necessity to travel getting in the way. Teleportation gives them an instant ability to jump wherever they need to be, accelerating their ability to put innovative ideas into action and also ensuring they’re never stuck in a situation they don’t want to be.

ESFJ – Healing

ESFJs are often kind, gentle people who are deeply invested in helping others. Many go into helping professions or spend a good amount of their time helping the people around them find comfort and healing. Though I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first-pick superpower for every ESFJ, I can’t think of an ESFJ who wouldn’t want the ability to touch people and make them well.

ISFJ – Force Shields

ISFJs are the quintessential guardian type. Even without superpowers they’re often out there protecting people or working tirelessly to keep their loved ones safe and happy. Force shields that they can use to defend themselves and others seems a great fit for an ISFJ superpower.

ESFP – Probability Manipulation

I saw a post somewhere (probably Pinterest) pointing out what an under-appreciated superpower this is and I’ve been thinking about that ever since. How powerful would it be to actually be able to change the chances of something happening? ESFPs are a type that responds quickly to changes in the external world, and with this personality type they’d be able to manipulate how likely those changes are to occur.

ISFP – Animal Communication

Many ISFPs describe themselves as comfortable around animals. They’re the kind of introvert who you might find talking to a cat or dog at a party instead of hanging out with people. Turn that into a superpower, and you’ve got someone who can actually understand what the animals are saying when they talk with them.

ESTJ – Super Speed

Like so many other TJ types, ESTJs place a high value on efficiency. They like to get things done right, and to do so as quickly as possible. For ESTJs who don’t like to slow down, super speed seems to me like a perfect superpower.

ISTJ – Time Manipulation

ISTJs are often the sort of people who are extremely skilled at time management. They’re punctual, efficient, and are good at helping improve how others use their time. A superpower that lets them manipulate and control time seems like it could easily grow out of this personality trait.

ESTP — Flight

Like other SP types, ESTPs are often very physical sorts of people who respond quickly to the real-world. I wanted to give someone on this list flight (one of the most classic superpowers ever), and it seemed a good fit for ESTPs to give them a power that adds another dimension to the physical space they can work with.

ISTP – Accelerated Healing

ISTPs are already the type that makes the best action hero, so I think it makes sense to give them a superpower that lets them keep doing what they already do more efficiently. Just think what an ISTP could do if they didn’t have to worry about injuries taking weeks or months to heal.

Your Turn

What Superpower Would Your Myers-Briggs® Type Have? | LikeAnAnchor.com — Image by yabadene belkacem from Pixabay

Which superpower would you like to have? Do you think I picked a good one for your personality type?

Featured image by alan9187 from Pixabay

Replacing Anxiety With Power, Love, and A Sound Mind

22 December, 201821 December, 2018Marissa

There’s a verse that I’ve found myself praying when I struggle with anxiety, which has been pretty often for the past couple weeks. It comes from Paul’s second letter to Timothy in which he assured the young man that “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7, KJV).

I don’t want to speak for everyone’s anxiety, but for me at least I do feel like it’s often tied to a lack or imbalance of the three things mentioned here. I’m scared when I feel I have no power or others have too much power. My anxiety spikes when I’m not felling loved and looked out for, as well as when I spend too much time turned in on myself instead of actively loving others. And my mind seems unsound or undisciplined when it spins elaborate worst-case scenarios to worry about, or tells me things like “you’re broken and worthless.”

This verse says that I don’t have to stay stuck there. When we have God’s spirit in us, we have access to a part of Him that can replace fear with power, love, and sound mindedness.

Power

There are a few different Greek words that could be translated “power.” The one here is dunamis. Like other words that come from duna it carries “the meaning of being able, capable.” Specifically, dunamis speaks of inherent strength and power (Zodhiates’ and Thayre’s dictionaries, entry on G1411).

We see this power demonstrated when Jesus performed miracles. “All the multitude sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all” (Luke 6:19, WEB). When we’re given God’s holy spirit, this same sort of power that resides in God is put inside of us (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8). The power doesn’t belong to us (Acts 3:12; 2 Cor. 4:7), but it is available to us.

My Cousin Philip: Examining Perspectives In Daphne Du Maurier’s Novel My Cousin Rachel

2 April, 201829 March, 2018Marissa

I should never have stayed here. Nay, I should never have left Italy.

If my cousin Philip had not been so like Ambros perhaps I could have left. To see his face — that beloved, tormenting face — staring into my eyes once more was more than I could leave. More than I could resist when he asked me to stay. Or I should say ordered me. They were orders, though I turned a blind eye to it then because I wanted him. Or perhaps not him, but Ambros back in my life. I know not.

My Cousin Philip: Examining Perspectives In Daphne Du Maurier's Novel My Cousin Rachel | marissabaker.wordpress.com — *My Cousin Rachel* (2017)

I’m in such fear. It was a foolish thing on both our parts, the midnight of his birthday. He knows too little of the world to realize what I gave him was nothing more than a thank you. A birthday gift that would mean more than that stupid little pearl cravat pin. And yes, I wanted it too. A younger, more devoted Ambros to worship me once again if only for a moment.

And how could I have known that he meant marriage by his comment about lacking warmth and comfort? Or that he thought I’d agreed to be his when he took me into those primroses? Or that he would get so drunk he’d announce our engagement to his godfather and poor Louise at dinner?

I still feel the pressure of his hands at my throat. Those big, powerful hands of a man who works on his farm every day and stands a head taller than me. Stronger than the ones Ambros once put around my neck. My cousin Philip could have snapped my neck, though he wouldn’t have had to. The slightest squeeze more and I’d not have been able to draw the thinnest breath.

Should I feel guilty for bringing Mary Pascoe into this house? Surely his fury won’t touch her, too. The worst he’d do is throw her out of the house. While me … I know not what he’d do were we alone now. Would he wrap his hands around my throat again and expect me to make myself his? Would he force me and afterward tell me I liked it and must marry him?

His fantasy is as complete as the paranoia that claimed Ambrose. I half-believe in his mind we’re already married. That he thinks I’m so sure to agree it’s as if I’ve done so already. That his ridiculous present of his entire fortune will surely convince me to stay.

I must get away. I have the means to do so now, though God knows it’s not why I came here. I simply wanted to see the home Ambros talked about. The symbol of what could have been before he turned on me. The idea of our marriage rather than the reality of it. The allowance my cousin Philip gave me was more than enough. More than I expected or even hoped. To have him honor the will Ambros never signed …

Did he think he’d bought me?

Will he let me leave?

This is quite a bit different than my usual review for books I’m reading on my Classics Club Book list. But I think Daphne Du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel (1951) is the sort of novel that invites you to look at it from different perspectives. The fact that you’re trapped inside Philip Ashley’s mind for the entire novel leaves you guessing at what the other characters are really thinking. He’s an unreliable narrator and he’s hopelessly naive, especially when it come to women, so the motives he assigns to Rachel are likely untrue. But if he’s wrong about her, then what is right? Everything we know of her is filtered through Philip. We don’t know her true motive or any of her thoughts. We can only guess, as I’m doing in my little retelling from Rachel’s point of view (which overlaps Chapter 23 of the original novel).

I watched the 2017 film adaptation of My Cousin Rachel before reading the book. I suspected I would still enjoy the book after seeing the movie, but knew if I read the book first there was a good chance I’d spend the film grumpy about how they’d adapted it. It turned out to be a very faithful adaptation, though.

*Spoiler Warning* The only major changes were made at the end. The film provides less evidence of Rachel’s alleged guilt, pointing viewers towards the idea that she was not poisoning Philip. And it also has Philip sending her to ride along a dangerous path rather than choosing not to warn her about a dangerous bridge in the garden. The film pushes you toward believing he intended her to die where the book leaves it a little more ambiguous. But then again, Philip’s the one telling the story. Of course he’d make himself look as good as possible.

Philip wants us second-guessing his cousin Rachel. But I suspect Du Maurier wants us to look at Philip just as closely. Because even though we’re getting his perspective on things and he’s certainly not putting any blame on himself, there are things about being in his mind that make me as scared of him as I think Rachel is.

Repeatedly, Philip says he wants to isolate Rachel from everyone but him. And that’s before he starts becoming overtly controlling. And when he puts his hands around her throat, it’s not in the heat of anger. He presents it as a calculated decision to add fear to the list of reasons she should marry him. Later, he barely contains his fury and indignation when (after he’s given her all his property and she still hasn’t married him) she states that she can and will invite whoever she likes to stay with them because the house belongs to her and she doesn’t feel safe alone with him.

So instead of just asking, “Did Rachel poison Ambros and/or Philip?” I think we need to ask whether such an act could be considered self-defense. Abuse does not justify murder, but even if Rachel killed someone she may not be the evil and/or misguided character that Philip (who describes himself as feeling a strange compassion for her once he makes up his mind about her guilt) makes her out to be. It might have been more of an act of desperation and fear than calculating malice.

But that’s assuming she’s guilty at all. And there’s no clear evidence that she is. Laburnum (the plant Philip settles on as the murder weapon) isn’t even all that poisonous. The most common symptoms are nausea and vomiting, and that’s after eating several seeds. “Higher doses can produce intense sleepiness, convulsive possibly tetanic movements, coma, slight frothing at the mouth and unequally dilated pupils. … [However] the MAFF publication ‘Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man’, says that all stories about laburnum causing serious poisoning and death are untraceable” (The Poison Garden).

Perhaps Du Maurier believed her chosen poison really was deadly based on the rumors that have made it one of the most feared garden plants. But perhaps she did her research and knew that Philip was jumping to unjustifiable conclusions. Maybe she would have known, as Rachel surly did with her expertise in herb lore and gardening, that most gardens are home to far more reliably deadly plants (like foxglove and oleander). Perhaps Du Maurier meant for her readers to realize that a brain tumor (for Ambros) and a relapse of meningitis (for Philip) are the most logical explanations for symptoms both men attribute to “Rachel, my torment.”

There’s an argument to be made that Philip isn’t really concerned about whether or not Rachel poisoned Ambros at all. He decides her guilt based on whether or not she “conforms to his desires and whims” (from “My Cousin Rachel (2017) and Male Entitlement“). After all, he already possesses everything else that belonged to Ambros. Why not Rachel as well?

The question of whether or not Rachel poisoned Ambros consumes Philip only until their first meeting. After that he’s quite certain she’s innocent until she makes it clear she won’t marry him. All his worry about whether or not she’s guilty of murder covers the fact that his inability to deal with rejection brings out a desire to posses and control her. He and Ambros call Rachel “my torment” because she brings out the ugliest side of their natures and they blame her for their darkness rather than looking to the true culprits. Themselves.

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Giving Yourself Permission to Take Up Space

25 September, 201730 August, 2018Marissa

I’m 5 feet 6 inches tall (about 168 cm for my readers on the metric system). When I was a teenager I decided that was about 3 inches too tall for some reason ostensibly connected with Joe Hardy (yes, the fictional character. I know — I needed more real friends). That’s not the only reason I do things to make myself look smaller, but it’s one of the stranger ones. In general, though, being taller than other people simply makes me feel awkward. And even though I’ve explored that feeling before in a creative non-fiction class in college, I really wasn’t sure why.

Recently, I’ve been asked why I use body language that makes me look small. That question made me take another look at why I’m doing what I do. I hunch my shoulders. I sit in corners of sofas. I cross my arms and legs or ankles. Or I have my hands together nervously fiddling with my fingers. Part of this is unconscious but I’m often aware of it as well. I know I make myself smaller and sometimes I do it on purpose, especially if I feel nervous or threatened. I suppose I’m saying with my body language, “Don’t notice me. Don’t hurt me.” And this sort of thing has become instinctive for me.

Giving Yourself Permission to Take Up Space | marissabaker.wordpress.com — Photo credit: “Shy” by Karel Macalik, CC BY via Flickr

One of my more vivid childhood memories is of being enrolled in a summer school program and hiding under the playground equipment from the other kids. My experiences there played a large role in why my parents chose to homeschool. In some ways, that scared little girl is still part of me and hiding is still my default move. But, as someone recently reminded me, fear isn’t a good way to live your life. I feel like it’s time for a change. Read more →

Asking The Father To Work In And Complete Us

7 January, 201723 January, 2017Marissa

Prayers are how we talk to God and, if we’re listening, one way He talks with us. The Bible contains several example prayers that can give us a guide, including many we don’t often think of. I’ve noticed that Paul tells people he’s writing epistles to that he’s praying for them, but before last week’s post I hadn’t thought much about using those as model prayers. In that post, we talked about the first prayer Paul records for the Ephesians. In this post, we’ll talk about the second.

To give some context, Paul has been talking about his role in preaching “the unsearchable riches of Christ” and ministering to the Gentiles. These riches include the fact that the Father now offers salvation to all men. Because of His work through our Lord Jesus Christ, we can boldly access God’s wisdom and revealed mysteries. With that discussion in place, Paul writes,

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named (Eph. 3:14-15, KJV)

Last week, in examining Paul’s earlier prayer in Ephesians, we looked at the work God is doing in us through Christ and the monumental importance of Jesus’ role. But in focusing on Jesus, we must never forget where it all starts. The Father directs Christ’s work, leads the family of which He made Jesus the Head (Eph. 1:22), and is directly involved with the work being done. Asking the Father to work in believers is the focus of this prayer. Read more →