We’re continuing our walk through Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church. He’s writing to a church that exemplifies the mature walk of faith and love. Now the apostle wants them to progress further in their experience with the Lord.
The rest of chapter one is a view of the good things that come with maturity in the spirit. It should spur us on to seek the Lord with all of our heart.
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.
Ephesians 1:17 NIV
The first thing that Paul wants for this church is a spirit of wisdom and revelation that comes as they seek to know God more intimately. Wisdom is the ability to take the knowledge you have and apply it to your situation.
Revelation is even deeper. That word literally means to take the cover off. There are things in society or in people’s lives that are covered up. The Holy Spirit wants to reveal them to us. But we must be mature enough to handle this knowledge.
This also includes the plans that God has for you. God wants to show us what we need to prepare for in our ministries. He always wants to reveal what’s ahead for His people.
We need to realize that in order to see this requires intimacy with the Father.
However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV
The revelation talked about here is not for those who simply live for themselves with no thought to the spirit walk. God reveals His plan to those who, through their daily walk with Christ, are seeking the mind of the Holy Spirit. They’re the ones who see God’s plan for their lives.
Prayer in the spirit is the gateway to this revelation knowledge. The power of the Holy Spirit takes us beyond our own human understanding.
“No eye has seen” – You can read the Bible from cover to cover and not see everything God has prepared for your life. “No ear has heard” – You can listen to every sermon, prophet, and apostle yet still not hear all God has for you. “No mind has conceived” – You cannot brainstorm, imagine, or even dream up everything that’s your portion in the will of God. BUT…God has revealed it by His SPIRIT.
He then goes on to explain that the spirit can investigate everything, even the deep things of God. I believe that Paul is talking about your own human spirit. Your spirit can search out all things.
You may think Google is good. The Bible tells you that your spirit is the greatest search engine ever created. I know that Paul was given an enormous amount of revelation. He wrote most of the New Testament under the direction of the Holy Spirit. How did he receive all of that? By spending time in the spirit.
Here Paul tells us the secret of this supernatural revelation. It can only be received in the spirit. He makes it clear that your flesh (eyes and ears) cannot grasp it. Neither can your soul (mind) come up with it. It has to be a work of your spirit.
If this is true, then you must know how to use your spirit in order to access this information. It only comes in a life that knows how to interact on the spiritual level. This means that you must know how to pray in the spirit in order receive the revelation that’s referenced by this verse.
Your body and soul can never search out the deeper things of God, it will only be accomplished by your spirit working in conjunction with the Holy Spirit. We need to strive for this level of intimacy in our generation.
Question: How deep is your prayer life in the spirit?
© 2023 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 