[English Sermon 영어 설교]
Sunday, April 27, 2025 - Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn
Let Me Know More ( Ephesians 1:15-19)
2025. 4. 27. 주일예배 설교- 에베소서 강해 6
본문: 에베소서 1:15-19
제목: 더 알게 하소서
설교자: 손진국 목사
This is the sixth series in the study of Ephesians.
Our church streams Sunday worship services live on YouTube. Watching other churches' videos, I noticed that they often play a short clip before the live stream starts. This is called an intro, so yesterday morning, I took the time to create an intro video for our church. Please take a look at the live worship video later to see how it turned out. Since it’s my first time, I’m also very curious.
How did I manage to create that intro video? As you might guess, I learned from YouTube—my nickname for YouTube is "Teacher YouTube."
When I immigrated alone as a single person in early 1995, I brought one CD with me: "100 Selections of Korean Cooking." Even when I worked in Korea and lived alone in Ulsan, I used to cook, so I figured I would need it to make Korean food or cook for guests abroad. However, I no longer have that CD. Nowadays, everything can be found on YouTube.
People are passionate about learning what they need for life in this world. As children, they relentlessly ask their parents questions to learn what they want to know. When they grow older, they attend school to acquire worldly knowledge. Graduating from school does not end learning. At work, they continue to learn, and they seek knowledge about hobbies, sports, politics, finance, and health—constantly learning.
Reflecting on today's passage, I wondered about us Christians. I realized we should strive harder to learn than anyone else. And what we need to learn is of a much higher dimension and is essential for actual life. It is not just about the material world but about the eternal spiritual world. It is crucial for living a life of true value and practicing our faith correctly.
Remember, worldly knowledge cannot sustain a life of faith. We are people who live by faith and spiritual beings; therefore, we must know spiritual matters.
Paul’s concern for the church of Ephesus appears in today’s passage. Though they believed in Jesus, Paul says there are still things they must know.
First, Paul expresses his gratitude for the good news about the church of Ephesus. [Verses 15-16] For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
The Ephesian believers had faith and love for other saints. Therefore, Paul always gave thanks to God for them in his prayers, remembering their faith and love. I hope our church becomes such a community—living by faith in the Lord upward and living in love with one another outwardly. What a beautiful community that would be!
Nevertheless, Paul says there are still things the Ephesian believers must know as they live their faith. Through today's message, I hope all of us at Hope of Heaven Baptist Church will strive to learn what more we must know in our life of faith and pray for the grace to know it.
1. Let Me Know God More
[Verse 17] I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
How well do you know God? Paul is praying that the Ephesian believers may know God. Does this mean they did not know God? Certainly not. Paul had stayed in Ephesus for three years during his third missionary journey, teaching them, so they must have known about God.
However, the knowledge Paul speaks of is not based on human wisdom and knowledge. Human wisdom and knowledge have limits when it comes to knowing God. What is the only way for us creatures to know the Creator? It is when God reveals Himself to us. This is called revelation.
Thus, Paul prays that the glorious Father would give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Without God's wisdom and revelation, we cannot know Him. The word “know” here comes from the Greek word "epignosis," a compound of "epi" (meaning "upon" or "above") and "gnosis" (knowledge). This signifies knowledge that comes from above—from heaven. It is not knowledge attainable by earthly wisdom or understanding.
Sometimes, as we attend church for a long time, we feel as if we know God well because we frequently hear about Him and His name becomes familiar. But in reality, there are many times we do not truly know Him.
What is needed to know God better and more deeply? It is the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Human senses are very limited.
Can we see ultraviolet or infrared light? No. Can we hear radio waves? No, even though they exist. Can we hear the sound of the Earth rotating? No, even though the Earth spins at about 1,670 km/h. If something is not seen or heard, people often think it doesn't exist. But that is not true.
Then, can we know the spiritual God with human knowledge and senses? No, we cannot.
The only way is if God sends the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, and through Him, we come to know God.
[1 Corinthians 2:10] these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
[1 Corinthians 2:11] For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
Without receiving the Spirit of God, we cannot know God. Dear beloved saints, have you received the Holy Spirit? Those who believe in Jesus and accept Him as their God receive the Holy Spirit. But do not be satisfied with just having received the Holy Spirit. The Bible urges us to desire and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
[Ephesians 5:18] Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Think about the meaning of "be filled with the Spirit." It means it is something that is given by God. Then, is being filled with the Holy Spirit automatic? No. When commanded to be filled, it means we must be prepared to receive and accept it when God gives it. Who must do this? We must. In other words, we must eagerly desire and seek to be filled with the Spirit, and when God grants it, we must accept it. There is something that God must do—giving—and something that we must do—receiving.
[Luke 11:13] If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
Thus, what Paul is praying for the believers in Ephesus is that God would grant them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they would know Him better.
The prophet Hosea also cried out to the Israelites: [Hosea 6:3] Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.
Why does he cry out like this? The Israelites did not perish because they lacked power, wealth, or allies. They perished because they lacked the knowledge of God.
[Hosea 4:6] my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
Dear beloved saints, what do we need in these last days? It is to know God. We must know God more than we do now. We must strive to know Him. Thus, I bless you all to receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and become God's people who can comprehend even the deep things of God. May your spiritual senses awaken, and may you respond sensitively to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, know God more, and live according to His will.
[Application] Am I striving to know God more? Have I made wrong decisions because I did not know God?
2. Let Us Know the Hope of His Calling
[Verse 18] I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.
There is a reason for every calling. When I am in a room, my children call me. Depending on the tone when they call, I can usually tell why they are calling. If they call out urgently in a high tone, it usually means they saw a bug. If they call softly, it’s usually to ask for a favor or a ride. If they call with a normal tone, it usually means it’s time to eat.
However, sometimes my wife calls me, and when I ask why she called, she says, "No reason." Then I become curious. Did she really call for no reason? Maybe she was about to say something but thought, "Never mind, it’s not important," and just left it at that. There is always a reason.
Is it a coincidence that we are gathered here today to worship? Is it a coincidence that you came to believe in Jesus? No, it is because God called you that you came to believe in Jesus and are now here worshiping Him. Believe this.
God's calling has a reason and a purpose. How can we know this? What does verse 18 say?
It says, “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened to know the hope of His calling.”
We come to know the reason for God's calling when God enlightens the eyes of our heart.
Otherwise, we live our lives without even knowing the true reason for our existence. Some live their lives wasting it by following the wrong reasons and purposes.
What needs to be enlightened? The eyes of the heart. The opposite is the eyes of the flesh.
People live with a fleshly perspective. Their eyes are wide open to worldly success and achievements. Thus, even though God has called us to fulfill His hope, we often ignore His calling and live pursuing our own hopes.
The believers in Ephesus were also used to living by the desires of the flesh. The city of Ephesus was an important and wealthy trade city in the Roman Empire. There was the Temple of Artemis. Because of the material abundance, people lived seeing the prosperity of the world every day. Their eyes were opened to the physical world, the eyes of greed, living for what looked good, what was magnificent, for comfort and pleasure.
Is it not the same today? What do we see every day? What do we feel and chase after daily?
Where do we place our hope?
The Apostle Paul wanted the believers in Ephesus to live with their eyes of the heart enlightened, to live according to the hope of God’s calling. He wanted them to live according to the purpose for which God had called them.
There is a saying, “like a frog in a well.” A frog that lives only in a well thinks the sky it sees from there is all there is. It thinks the well is the whole world and believes it is the greatest.
It doesn't know the bigger, wonderful world outside.
Likewise, those who do not know the hope of God's calling live like frogs in a well, not knowing the vast and amazing world God has prepared.
Looking again at verse 18, [Verse 18] I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.
What does the second part say? It speaks of "the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people." What does this mean? It means that in calling us to be saints, God has prepared an inheritance for us. The saints have an inheritance to receive, and we are called to know how glorious and abundant that inheritance is. God called us because He desires to give us a glorious, overflowing inheritance of heaven — an inheritance that cannot be compared with anything of this world.
Can you not feel Paul's overflowing heart as he writes this? Paul probably remembered the days when he lived zealously for what he could see with his physical eyes. On the way to Damascus, intending to arrest Christians, he saw a great light from heaven and became physically blind. At that time, he heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Those around him saw the light but did not hear the voice. ([Acts 22:9] My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.) What does this mean? When his physical eyes became blind, his spiritual ears were opened. He could no longer see anything physically, but after Ananias, the disciple, prayed for him, something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see again — his eyes of faith were opened, his spiritual eyes were enlightened. Through this, he realized the hope of God’s calling. He learned that he was not called to persecute the church but to testify of Jesus Christ, and above all, to become the apostle to the Gentiles. Whereas before he mistakenly thought his own will was God's will, now he lived by the hope of God's calling. He was no longer a frog in a well but came out and saw the vast world.
This earth is like a well. The spiritual world is unimaginably greater and more wonderful.
God has called us into that world. He called us to give us the eternal inheritance of heaven, and He calls us to live on this earth with that hope.
Those whose hearts are enlightened to know the hope of God’s calling do not think that where they are now is by coincidence. They realize they are in their place because God called them there. Thus, they ask what God's will is for them in that place, what hope He wants to accomplish through them, and they devote themselves to that hope.
I pray that every believer here today may experience the grace of having the eyes of your heart brightly enlightened. May your spiritual eyes be opened to know the hope of God's calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance, leading to a life of amazing transformation, in the name of the Lord.
[Application] What is the hope of God's calling for me? How am I responding to that calling?
3. Let Us Know More of God’s Power
[Verse 19] And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength.
Paul says he prays for us to know how great the power is that God has given to us. We believe that God is all-powerful. However, many think that this power has little to do with their personal lives. Today's verse tells us that God's great power is at work for us.
What is this great power? It is the power of the cross and the power of the resurrection. The power of the cross is the power of the forgiveness of sins, and the power of the resurrection is the power that overcomes the authority of death.
What is the greatest power on this earth? It is the power of sin and death, which humans cannot overcome.
But Jesus came in human form and overcame these powers. When we realize that this power is at work in our lives, what happens? We lay down the greatest burdens of life. We gain true freedom.
[Romans 8:1-2] Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Believe that God’s power, which set us free from sin and death, is at work in our lives even now. As much as we know this, we will enjoy the joy, peace, and freedom of heaven.
Even today, Satan works to tempt us into sin and accuses us. When that happens, declare by the name of Christ, the power that sets us free:
“In the name of Jesus Christ, I command all evil spirits that tempt us with the things of this world to depart.” “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command all evil spirits that tempt and accuse us with sin to be bound and depart from my life, my family, and our church.”
Declare by faith: "I am free in the Lord!"
Today, let us be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Let us open the eyes of our faith wide, know God more deeply, declare the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance, and the greatness of His power, and live as believers fulfilling God's will on this earth.
[Application] Am I enjoying freedom and peace in the Lord? What is the evidence of God's power transforming my life?
하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.
Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.