Ascension 2024: Gifts from Heaven

Introduction

Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended in heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12). He told His disciples it was better for them if He ascends than to stay on earth (John 16:7). We are blessed on earth because Christ rules from heaven/

The Passage

15For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:15–23

Explanation of the Passage

Paul begins Ephesians with a beautiful doxology praising the triune God. First, Paul praises God for choosing the Church in Christ (vv. 3-6). Second, Paul praises Christ for uniting the Church with Him (vv. 7-12). Third, Paul praises the Holy Spirit for assuring that the Church is united in Christ. Paul peppers with the phrases “in Christ” or “with Christ” throughout the letter. Our union with Christ is a miraculous work of God, which is why Paul prays that the Ephesian church participate in this work. Paul’s prayer for the church comes after His praise of God.

Paul heard that the church has faith in Christ and loves Christ’s people (v.15), which is why Paul never misses a day praying for them (v. 16). He prays three things for the church. First, that God the father give them a spirit of understanding the knowledge of Him (v. 17). Second, that the church sees the hope of God’s calling and the privilege they have as God’s children (v. 18). Third, they see the greatness of God’s power for the benefit of the church (v.19). Essentially, Paul wants the church to take full advantage of being the church.

The church has advantages because God raised Jesus from the dead and sat Him at His right hand in heaven (v. 20). Obviously, God does not have a hand, but He does have honor and glory. Jesus sits in the most honored and glorious spot in heaven (e.g., 1 Kings 2:19). Because Jesus sits at God’s right hand, He sits far above any other throne in heaven or earth, in this age or any age (v. 21). When God did this, He put all things under Jesus’ feet (v. 22) and made Jesus the head of the church who is His body on earth (v. 23).

The reign of Christ in heaven is the basis of life on earth. The ground of heavenly blessings is the seated Christ.

Christ Sits Above Us (1:20-23)

If you wanted to make a big change here in Gray Court, South Carolina, you could spend all of your time trying to change the town of Gray Court itself. Or, if you were elected in the state legislature, you could pass laws that would affect Gray Court. In scripture, we see the earth changes most by what happens in heaven. This is even how we should pray (Matt 6:10). We know those prayers will be answered from heaven because Christ is there, in His seat of authority, making changes down here on earth.

Christ in heaven is our benefit on earth. The letter to Ephesians lays out a number of these benefits for us. Christ made us alive and seated us with Him in heaven (Eph 2:1-7). He gives us jobs to do, which means our work her on earth is heavenly work (Eph 2:8-10). He unites all the peoples of this earth to make the kingdom of heaven (Eph 2:11-22). He gives us courage on earth because we have access into heaven, and He dwells in our hearts (Eph 3:11-19). He gives pastors and teachers to train us into maturity so we can do the work of bringing heaven to earth (Eph 4:1-16). Because Christ is in heaven and gave us His Spirit, we can imitate God here on earth (Eph 5:1). Instead of speaking worldly words, we can speak heavenly words (Eph 4:25-32; 5:15-21). As Christ rules from heaven and blesses His body on earth, Husbands rule their wives to bless them. As the church receives blessing from heaven and applies it on earth, wives should receive the ministry of their husbands (Eph 5:22-33). Even the relationship between parent and child under the Lord’s jurisdiction—it should be a heavenly relationship (Eph 6:1-14).

Christ Shares with Us (1:15-19)

Christ is the head; we are the body. What He has earned in His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension He shares with His people. He prays three things for the church. First, that God the father give them a spirit of understanding the knowledge of Him (v. 17). Second, that the church sees the hope of God’s calling and the privilege they have as God’s children (v. 18). Third, they see the greatness of God’s power for the benefit of the church (v.19).

Let’s look at a couple of this about these gifts. First, these gifts are present gifts (“is” in verse 18 is present tense). Paul isn’t praying for the church to know what will be their future hope, their future inheritance, and God’s future display of power for them. No! He prays they know what IS their present hope, their present riches, and God’s present power. For example, in 2 Kings 6, an enemy army surrounds the city where Elisha is staying hoping to conquer him. Elisha’s servant is scared to death. So, Elisha prays, like Paul does for the church, for his servant to see what’s really going on. After he prays, the Lord opens the servant’s eyes to see heavenly warriors defending them. He then blinded the enemy army. Today, Christians deliberately want to be kept in the dark. They’re like kids who refuse to do their homework today because the teacher goes over the answers tomorrow. But God wants us to know how good His gifts are today.

Secondly, these heavenly gifts are the kinds of gifts we should pray for. Notice, Paul didn’t pray for more gold, deliverance from jail, or political change. He simply prayed for the church to see the value of what they have in Christ. We should pray like this more than we do. Instead of praying “Lord, I pray my son gets a high-paying job,” pray “Lord, please give my son a good job; but let him also work for your glory.” Not only should we pray these gifts for other people, we should want other people to pray these gifts for us. The question all of us should ask ourselves right now is why we don’t want to know these gifts? Are you a Martha and think earthly problems can only be solved with physical labor? Or do you want gifts from this world more than gifts from heaven? If so, I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened.

Conclusion

A young man in high school begins working for his dad’s lawn cutting business. One day he runs over a chain he left from the last mow and ruined the mower. The boy became depressed believing his mistake would end up bankrupting the family business. His dad encouraged him by showing him the money in the business checking account. Christ shares His checking account with us. So, go and do the work of the family business.