Heard of Your Faith in Jesus Ephesians 1:15

Paul the apostle shared concerning the blessings bestowed upon the Ephesian believers by the Lord which included “earnest of” their “inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory”. In chapter one and verse fifteen of his letter, Paul referred to how he heard of the Ephesians' “faith in the Lord Jesus” and their “love unto all the saints” where we read:

Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

The verse begins, “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus,...” Paul began with the word, “Wherefore” which means “through, by reason of, on account of and the ground or reason by which something is or is not done” “I also” which refers to Paul, “after I heard” or “was endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf, attended to and considered” “of your faith” which means “the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ” “in the Lord” which means “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding, master and the title given to God the Messiah” “Jesus” whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Messiah and Son of God”. Paul began this new section of his letter by referring to when he heard of the Ephesians “faith” in Jesus.

The verse goes on to say, “...and love unto all the saints,...” Paul continued, “and love” or “affection, good will, benevolence and unconditional love” “unto all” which means “each, every, any, the whole, everyone of” “the saints” which refers to “most holy, sacred, pure, morally blameless or religious and ceremonially consecrated” people. Not only did Paul hear of the “faith” of the Ephesians, he also heard of their “unconditional love” toward fellow believers.

When we think through these words of Paul, we find he is beginning a new section for blessing the Ephesian church members. The Ephesian church members had a reputation for two major aspects that are found within Christians. First, they have “faith in Jesus Christ”, and secondly they have “love” for “all the saints”. Our question must be, “do we”? Do we really “trust in, rely upon and cling to” Jesus Christ, and do we really “love” “all” the other “saints”? May we be inspired by Paul's words, and use the Ephesians' example to have “faith” and “love” as they did.

Next time Paul shares how he gave “thanks” and “prayed” for the Ephesians, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.