Jewel #5: God-Colored Glasses

(1:18-19)

As Paul continues his prayer for the church, he tells them that he is praying for their spiritual insight, in other words, that they be able to see the world from God’s perspective.  The literal rendering is vivid, “the eyes of your heart being enlightened.” God wants us to be able to see with our heart and know:

​​​a)​The hope of His calling (eternal life)

​​​b)​The riches of His inheritance (future blessings)

c)​The immeasurable greatness of His power

The first two of these things are about our future as Christians.  God Himself has guaranteed our future in heaven.  The new life we receive upon becoming a Christian will continue forever in heaven.  The phrase “His inheritance” is ambiguous.  In one sense, we will receive an inheritance as children of God.  In another sense, we are the inheritance belonging to God.  Both are true.

The third perspective primarily relates to the present.  We need to know the ability we have at our disposal to live the Christian life now.

God’s power is described with the biggest words possible: uperballon megeqos.  It is out of this world, belonging to another sphere.  Some options are: incredible (NLT), incomparable (NIV), exceeding (KJV), surpassing (NASB95), and immeasurable (CSB).

Paul used four powerful terms to convey God’s greatness: dunamews (power), energeian (working), kratous (might), and iscous (strength).

Illustration:   William Randolph Hearst controlled the largest media empire the world had seen.  He was famous for collecting the most exquisite and expensive art he could find.  After reading about some highly prized works of art, he commissioned an assistant to track them down and purchase them no matter the cost.  After months of research the assistant located the pieces – in Hearst’s own warehouse!  He didn’t know what he had.

Sometimes we forget the awesome power we have. The source of all power in the universe is here to help us in our daily lives. To maintain God’s perspective, we must keep our future in focus and take the long view. This will help us when circumstances turn against us. We must also remember the treasure we have in Christ.