Canonical revelation has ceased. Vision and prophet have been sealed with the coming of Christ, and his apostles have recorded for us a divine account of Christ and his revelation concerning his church so that we have a clear and fully sufficient tesetimony of God, his Christ, his Salvation, and his will for his people. This revelation has been given to us by and through the Spirit of God

But there is such thing as a spirit (small s) of revelation that we may still benefit from today. In fact, it is absolutely necessary for our growth in godliness and happiness on our journey with the Lord.

Ephesians 1:15-22 is likely Paul’s second longest sentence in the Bible. The ones immediately preceding in your Bible, from 1:3 to 1:14 are actually one ultralong sentence in the original autograph, broken into a few English sentences by translators who elected to have mercy on us readers. (comma, comma, comma, comma, comma, period, PHEW!) While many laud the riches and beauty of those first chapters in Ephesians, vs.15-22 are noteworthy in their own right both for content and for length!

Today as I was meditating on this section I was drawn to notice the spirit of wisdom and revelation Paul is praying the Father would grant the believers in Ephesus. Parsing the english a bit, here are some points we can distill from this monster of a sentence!

  1. The spirit has two elements. wisdom is the first, and revelation is the second, however it is qualified and we need to include that to grasp it’s full meaning. So not a spirit of wisdom and revelation, but, a spirit of WISDOM and REVELATION IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM. if we expand the ‘him’ based on the referent prior, the spirit paul prays for is a spirit of WISDOM and REVELATION IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE FATHER OF GLORY and/or the spirit of WISDOM and REVELATION IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHIST.
  2. The spirit of knowledge and revelation in the knowledge of the Father of glory is the equivalent to having the eyes of our hearts enlightened. If you meditate on what that experience would be like, to have the eyes of your heart enlightened, then you’ll get a small fortaste of what Paul is praying for here. It is gladness of heart from seeing and knowing God by faith.
  3. There are THREE reasons Paul hopes for this spirit for his people.
    • They would KNOW THE HOPE to which they have been called
    • They would KNOW THEIR INHERITANCE and how rich it is
    • They would KNOW THE POWER OF GOD toward them and how great it is.

If I am lacking in any of these areas, the key is receiving the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knoweldge of the Father of glory. And receiving that is dependent on the will or God, that he will give it. And Paul’s expectation is that God will do so in response to his fervent prayer.

So then, let us pray! Father of Glory, we ask in Christ’s name and for his sake that you would give out of the abundance of your mercy and grace the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of your excellence. Fill your people with this spirit, both young and old, men and women, near and far, that we would lay comprehend the hope, the inheritance, and the power which you show toward us your beloved children. Make us to see what we have not yet seen of you! We believe and proclaim that there is yet more of you to know and more of us to be brought into that glorious and life giving knowledge – Do so we pray for our good and for the sake of your name in your world. Amen.