Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was for the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened (Eph 1:18). We need to see with spiritual eyes in order to grasp spiritual truth – ‘so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people and his incomparably great power for us who believe.’ (Eph 1:18-19)
Spiritual truth can’t be seen naturally. We need eyes of faith. Faith shows us that Christ is at the centre of everything, that His death and resurrection are game-changers that have transformed history. In the Message version, we are reminded of God’s sovereignty, that God is ‘in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments‘, that ‘he is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything.’ We are reminded of the central role in God’s plans: ‘the church, you see, is not peripheral to the world, the world is peripheral to the church.’ When we see these things, we begin to grasp our new identity in Christ and a new purpose in serving Him.
How we need our spiritual eyes to be opened!