In the Knowledge of Him

Introduction: Paul's Prayer for the Ephesians and the Gift of the Spirit

0:03 As we continue our studies in the second major paragraph in the first chapter, this tremendous prayer of the Apostle for the Ephesian believers whom he has not seen for some five years, and yet concerning whom he has an increased measure of love and affection, a love and affection which moved him, not merely to write some theological concepts on a piece of papyrus and send it to them, but to pray for them and to be able to record something of the great passion of his heart in that prayer. The prayer, of course, begins with verse 15. I shall read the first few verses, briefly review what we thus far studied, and then move into the heart of our study for this morning. For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. Thus far we have seen, first of all, the factors which moved Paul to pray with renewed energy. Verse 15,

1:28 For this cause, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus, which is among you, and the love which ye show to all the saints, it was the report of their continuing in grace that stirred up Paul to continue and also to increase in his prayers on their behalf. God uses these human factors in the spiritual disciplines of prayer and godly concern. I trust, as we've had an illustration of it this morning, that where perhaps we've grown a bit careless, in our prayers for Jim and Ruth, that Jim's report, having heard of their continued faith and love and zeal and service, we shall be stirred up to pray with greater fervency. Then we looked at the essential characteristics of the prayer of the apostle. It had a proper object. He prayed to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, the Father who is characterized by glory, the outshining of the perfection, the perfections of the living God, that God who must never be thought of apart from the revelation of himself in Jesus Christ.

2:42 That was the object of his prayer. It had a proper object. And then another essential characteristic was its constant attendant. I cease not to give thanks for you.

2:54 He mingled praise with all of his praying. And as I've oft repeated, I shall repeat again, to pray without praise is no good, Christian duty. We are with everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to make our request made known unto God. And then the principal concerns of his prayer are taken up, beginning with verse 17, and continuing down to the end of the chapter.

3:25 And we've seen that the focus now of his prayer is for this special gift and working of the Holy Spirit in illumination, to the end that the Ephesians may have an experiential knowledge of three distinct things, the hope of his calling, the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of his power. Having then had that broad overview, we are now directing our attention to verse 17, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of him. The gift for which Paul prays is this further working of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of the Ephesians, particularly as the spirit of wisdom and revelation. And so last week we identified this gift as the Holy Spirit. We saw the function of this gift, his function as the imparter of wisdom, as the author of revelation, and from it we learned the absolute necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit in Christian growth. The primary focus of the work of the Spirit in Christian growth is as the spirit of wisdom, revelation.

4:48 It has to do with the understanding, with the mind. And we saw the primary means by which that assistance of the Spirit is to be realized. It is prayer. If ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

The Sphere of the Gift: 'In the Knowledge of Him'

5:09 Now our review is done. We move to the heart of our study for this morning, the little phrase, in the knowledge of Him. And we're going to approach it from this standpoint. Having looked at the gift for which Paul prayed, the spirit of wisdom and revelation, we now consider the sphere in which that gift is operative, namely, the knowledge of God.

5:36 And to think our way through this very pregnant phrase, we'll consider, first of all, the meaning of the words. What do the words in the knowledge of Him mean? Having done that, I will attempt in the next place to show the tremendous importance and meaning of the phrase in the knowledge of Him. And then, thirdly, as time permits, I wish to make some very personal, practical applications of this phrase and the concept it conveys in the context of Paul's prayer.

Meaning of the Words: 'In' and 'Knowledge'

6:11 Now, when Paul said, I pray to the God of the Lord Jesus, the Father of glory, that He would give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, what did those words mean when Paul penned them? And we're going to look at them one by one. You say, well, this is very simplistic. This is a little lesson in the meanings of words and grammar.

6:32 Yes, and that's how we understand the Word of God. We start with the words in which God speaks to us. And the little word, in, who would ever think that you'd have a point of your sermon on the word, in? But it's necessary.

6:44 I want you to think this morning of a big circle up here on a blackboard. Big circle. Everything outside the circle is white. Everything inside the circle is black.

6:55 Then I want to picture a big arrow moving across. See, we have a magnet behind the blackboard. And we have a metal arrow. And I want you to picture...

7:02 I want you to picture the arrow moving across from this edge of the blackboard until it approaches this edge of the circle. Then it actually touches that edge of the circle. And then it penetrates right through to the center of the circle. Now you have a circle, all black, outside all white.

7:18 And you have this arrow that passes through the edge of the circle into the heart of it. We may now say that the arrow is within the sphere of the circle. It is now within the element of the black, the circle. And it's in that sense that the Apostle Paul uses the word here.

7:37 He prays that this gift of the Spirit as the Spirit of wisdom and revelation may be given within the sphere of the knowledge of God. Suppose your mother said to you kids tomorrow afternoon, she clapped her hands or rang a bell or banged on a dishpan or however she gets your attention or just plain bellered out as she may do. And she said, All right, everyone, come into the kitchen for warm muffins and jam. Now what she's saying is this, that warm muffins and jam are available.

8:10 But they are available only within the sphere of the confines of the kitchen. So if you sit out in the living room or out in the backyard, you get no muffins with, warm muffins with jam on them. What she's saying is, if you're going to have this wonderful thing I've provided, you've got to get in the sphere in which the provision is dispensed. Now that's exactly the thought of the Apostle here.

8:32 He says, I pray that God may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation. And in what sphere is that gift given and in what sphere is it operative? He says, only within the kitchen, only within the sphere of the knowledge of God. And that's the sense in which he uses the little word in.

8:50 Now what about the word knowledge? Well, there are two main words used for knowledge in the New Testament. One is the more general word that can, in some instances, include, real what we would call heart knowledge. Sometimes it means only head knowledge, the mere acquaintance with certain facts.

9:09 Other times it means a warm attachment to those facts. But the other word, and the word Paul uses here, is a word which always means something more than just facts in the head. It's the word which means full knowledge, a knowledge that is true and accurate and thorough. It's the word, the word used in a passage such as Romans 3.20.

9:36 And I quote that because it should be somewhat fresh in our minds from our reading last week where Paul says, by the law cometh the full knowledge of sin. In chapter 1 and 2 he clearly indicated that men who've never seen the scriptures have some knowledge of sin because they show the work of the law written on their hearts. There is the light of creation and of conscience. But now he says, through the law, when those ten words of Moses are spelled out and laid upon the conscience, men then come to not some dim, indistinct, general view of sin, but they come to a full knowledge of sin.

10:17 They see sin as criminal offense against God their Creator. They see sin as that which is not merely external acts, but goes down to the very disposition of the heart. It's the word used in, that context, and in several others in the New Testament. Now I say, that's the word Paul uses here.

10:38 So follow his line of thought. The gift for which he prays, the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Where is it to be operative? Within the sphere of a certain kind of full knowledge.

10:51 A certain kind of experiential knowledge. That is, a knowledge that is impossible apart from a work of the Holy Spirit upon the human spirit. A knowledge that takes in the whole man. Now, what is the focus of that knowledge?

Meaning of the Words: 'Him' (God the Father)

11:09 Our text says, in the knowledge of him. Now, to whom does the him refer? Well, look back. Look back.

11:19 And I'm amazed how little grammar is being taught in our public schools. They do better in our Christian schools. But I'm utterly amazed that people, college students, who don't know the basic elements of grammar. I heard a radio announcement this morning with a beautiful voice and his grammar was poor.

11:37 He was using plural subjects and then, I mean, singular subjects and plural pronouns later on in the sentence. And it's inexcusable in a radio announcer. But anyway, here in the passage, when you find an indefinite pronoun of him, you look to see what is the nearest proper noun. See what its antecedent is.

11:59 What comes before. Well, notice the subject. I cease not to pray to whom. Verse 17.

12:05 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. The nearest personal pronoun is the Father of glory. And not only do we realize the him refers to God because of what precedes God the Father, but look what follows. May give unto you this spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling.

12:36 The him in verse 17 is the same as the his of verse 18. And throughout the entire New Testament, effectual calling, calling out of darkness into light is always attributed to the Father. It is the Father who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Corinthians 1.9 Who has called us into the fellowship of his Son. So the him then refers particularly to God the Father. So then the sphere in which this gift is operative is the sphere of the full experiential knowledge of the Father. But now remember, since he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is not the Father divorced from Christ.

13:28 Since the Father can only be known in Christ, for Jesus said, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. John said, No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. We must never think of the primacy of the knowledge of the Father as something distinct from or separated from the knowledge of the Son.

13:52 No, no. You cannot know the Father but by the Son, but the end to which the Son came was to reveal the Father. I am the way, the truth and the light. No man cometh to the Father but by me, but all who come by me come unto the Father.

14:09 So that this emphasis in Ephesians, and I've been striking at it again and again because it strikes at us in the text again and again, is that the divine pattern is the primacy of the Father as it were the fountainhead of redemption coming to us from the Father through the Son by the Spirit and as the Son of God. And as the Spirit is operative in our hearts, we by the Spirit approaching unto the Father through the Son. Now then, put it all together and what do you have? Paul says, I'm praying that a gift of the Spirit will be given to you, a gracious working of the Spirit will be your portion in which wisdom and knowledge, wisdom and revelation shall be granted within this one distinct circle, the circle of the heart knowledge of God the Father. Now then, if that's true,

The Nature of Spirit-Empowered Knowledge: Beyond Subjectivism and Mere Rationalism

15:10 you and I are to grow in grace as the Spirit works in us, not in terms of subjective impulses of emotion and non-rational experience.

15:24 No, no, he says, I pray that He would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation where? In the knowledge of Him. That's the sphere in which the Spirit operates for your growth as the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. You do not do as some would advise us, forget all your theology and jettison all your ideas.

15:45 That's the mere importation of rationalism and philosophy upon the simplicity of the gospel. Go off and find a log somewhere and look up into the heavens and just let your mind go blank and just hope you feel the warmth of the presence of Jesus. Just open your heart to the Spirit. No, no, no, no.

16:05 Paul says, yes, you've been sealed by the Spirit. I know that you're indwelt by the Spirit, but I pray that the Spirit will be given in ever-increasing measures, but as the Spirit of wisdom and revelation who operates within this sphere, the knowledge of God, as opposed to mere subjective impulses of emotion. But on the other hand, the sphere is not the sphere of the calculating, detached, functions of the mind and human reason apart from the exercises of the heart. He says, I pray that this Spirit should be given within the sphere of the full knowledge of God that takes in not only the head, but the will, the affections, the whole being, so that Christian growth does not come simply by filling the mind with facts and by rearranging the mental furniture with regard to God and His truth. And if you and I are to know the Spirit's ministry to us in our Christian growth as the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, we must know it as the Ephesians had to know it within the sphere of the experimental heart knowledge of the living God revealed in Jesus Christ. So much for the meaning of the words. Now let's begin to consider the importance and meaning of this concept, the knowledge, of God.

The Tremendous Importance of the Knowledge of God

17:32 What does it mean? And I told my wife yesterday, or it was Friday when I was working on the text, I said, I'm absolutely amazed how when I begin my preparation, thinking, oh well, that's just a little phrase, we'll get over that, and I really was anxious to get on this phrase, having the eyes of your heart enlightened. What a great theme. Showing the whole concept that by nature these Ephesians were in darkness, as he says in chapter 4, and what it means for the heart, the eyes of the heart to be enlightened, and I thought that in the knowledge of him would just be a little stepping stone to get into that.

18:06 But you know, when you begin to take your concordance and start looking up all the references to the knowledge of God, you realize that as Paul often does, he just slips out almost offhand, as though it were incidental, one of the most profound concepts in all of Holy Scripture. And what I want to do for the next few minutes is just to show you the tremendous importance of this circle that we've been describing as the knowledge of God. First of all, the Bible says that the great common denominator of all unregenerate men is this, that they know not God. In Galatians 4 and verse 8, the apostle says, how be it at that time not knowing God. He said, now there are probably many things that you differed in as unregenerate men. Some of you may have been profligates, you may have abandoned yourselves to the flesh, to the world, and to the devil. Some of you may have been very religious, you may have been this or that, but one thing you all had in common, you knew not God.

19:10 That's the common denominator of all unregenerate men, they know not God. Every child, every adult, and anything in between here today who is unregenerate, who's never been born of the Spirit of God, with absolute certainty I can say you know not God. That's the state of every unregenerate man. You know many facts about him, I trust, there are many things that you know about him, that you know concerning him, but you do not know him in the biblical sense.

19:40 That's why when our Lord gives a description of that in which eternal life consists, how does he do it? John 17. He says in verse 2, the Father had given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as were given to him, and then he describes what is the essence of that life. In what does that life consist?

20:01 The life that, that Jesus Christ gives by virtue of his mediatorial authority. Look at it. Verse 3. And this is life eternal, that they should know thee, the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.

20:20 The common denominator of all unregenerate men is they know not God. The common denominator of all men who have been given the gift of life is they know God. That life which he has given consists of essentially in being brought to the knowledge of God.

20:37 That's what it means to be a Christian, to have eternal life, to know God. Hence Paul describes the conversion of the Galatians in those very terms. As we move on from the verse quoted a moment ago, Galatians 4.8, how does he describe their transference out of a state of nature into a state of grace?

20:57 Galatians 4.9. But now that ye have come to know God, that's a synonym for being saved, for being converted, for becoming a child of God is to know him. Then Peter gives us one of the most sweeping concepts of the importance of this circle we're describing this morning, this sphere of the knowledge of God in 2 Peter chapter 1.

21:24 That's all I'm attempting to do at this juncture is to show that it's worth your while to penetrate into this particular phrase of Holy Scripture. 2 Peter chapter 1. 1, verse 2. Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

21:41 Oh, isn't that what you long for as a believer? Grace to be multiplied? Peace to be multiplied? Well, in what sphere are grace and peace multiplied to believers?

21:52 Here it is. In the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness by what means? Through the knowledge of him that called you. There it is.

22:11 All of the blessings that are yours become mediated through the knowledge of him that called you. Grace and peace are multiplied. Where? In the knowledge of him.

22:20 Is this some kind of peripheral thing? Is this just making a mountain out of a mold hill that I'd spend a whole morning's exposition on that one little phrase in the knowledge of him? No. It's forced upon me by the magnitude of this concept as found in Holy Scripture.

22:36 And I've only given you a sampling. I've tried to take some of the key text. You read through the book of Colossians in his prayer in chapter 1. He repeats it again.

22:44 They may be filled with the knowledge of his will. To what end? What sphere will they grow? He says the knowledge of him.

22:50 Colossians 3 speaks of the new man created unto knowledge. And we find it again and again in the Scriptures. And speaking to some of you who perhaps sit here this morning with the attitude, well, to me that's a lot to do about nothing. You may not think it important to try to understand what it means to know God.

23:10 But you know God takes very seriously whether or not you know him. Because the Scripture says in 2 Thessalonians 1 in verse 8 that Jesus Christ will come in flaming fire taking vengeance on all those that know not God.

23:32 What do you need to bring upon your head the wrath and anger of a coming Christ? Just live ignorant of the knowledge of God. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God. Now do you see the importance of this concept?

23:58 The common denominator of all unregenerate people, they know not God. In what does eternal life consist in being brought to the knowledge of God? By what means are the, the great purposes of God realized in the believer in the sphere of the knowledge of God? Hence the tremendous importance for us to try to get to the heart of what this really means.

Essential Ingredients of the Knowledge of God: Mind, Heart, and Will

24:21 May I suggest this morning that the essential ingredients of this knowledge of God are the following. One,

24:31 this knowledge of God, the sphere in which the Spirit is to be operative as the spirit of wisdom and revelation consist in, the mind's exposure to and reception of all that is revealed to us about God. How does a person know God? Well, he knows God as his mind is exposed to and receives what is revealed about God. Look at the context of Ephesians chapter 1.

25:07 He is called the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's, that's a statement about his being and also about his activity.

25:19 Excuse me, he is called the Father who is characterized by glory, the outshining of his perfections. That's something God's revealing about who he is. God is spirit and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. God is light.

25:37 What are these statements but feeble attempts to tell us what God is like? Now to know God means that your mind is exposed to what the Bible says about him and it receives that to which it is exposed. Not only what's revealed about him in himself but what's revealed about him in his dealings with men particularly in the person of his son. Hence in this particular passage Paul says that you may know what is the hope of his calling.

26:09 That's his work. The Father of glory is not only the Father of glory he's the calling Father of glory who lays hold of sinners and brings them out of darkness into marvelous light. He says if you would know God you must know him not only in terms of what he is in himself the Father of glory but what he is in his dealings with sinners. He said I want you to know what is the hope of his calling.

26:32 In knowing that you know something more of him. Therefore to know God experientially religiously saving me sanctifying me it all begins with exposure to and reception of all that's revealed about him in his holy word. Hence our Lord Jesus in John 17 and verse 6 when describing his own people who know him to whom he has given eternal life says I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world thine they were thou gavest them to me they have kept thy word I've manifested thy name that is thy character who you are I've revealed it I've revealed it in my person in what I am in what I've done and in what I've said and they've received it.

27:29 Now do you see why indifference to the word of God written in the so-called interest of knowing God is absolutely fatal? Those who say the way we know God is to let the mind go blank and just find that lie on somewhere and sit and think it's bad enough when pagan people do this assuming the human mind can rise to the knowledge of God but when in the name of the work of the Spirit men are told look thinking is the thing that gets you into trouble what we need is to have our hearts just rush out in pure devotion to God and don't get stumbled with your head getting in the way let your heart come into direct fusion with God by the Spirit no no no no the knowledge of God begins with the mind's exposure to and reception of what is revealed about God and that exposure and reception is not to be passive for you remember I trust in our exposition of Proverbs we came in chapter 2 to these very vivid words my son if thou wilt receive my words and lay up my commandments with thee so as to incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thy heart to understanding if thou cry after discernment if thou lift up thy voice for understanding if thou seeker his silver search for his for hid treasure then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord

28:58 and find what the knowledge of God to whom does the knowledge of God come it comes to that one who realizes if I'm to know God in a biblical sense I've got to take the words of God seriously seriously and not just in a passive sense come to church with a teachable spirit but I must come with an active spirit of inquiry a spirit of inquiry that cost me something so Paul's prayer for the Holy Spirit to be given was not that he might be given to put a premium on laziness and I've met so many people who have this idea well if only the Lord would send his spirit in increasing measures why when I'd open my Bible for my devotions truths would just leap off the page like jumping jacks uh leap around the table that's what they would of course nobody like that's here I'm just talking about people I've met in other places nobody like that's here the idea of the Lord would just send his spirit when I come to church instead of having to battle weariness and drowsiness and distraction I'd just be so caught up as it were like Paul somewhere between earth and heaven whether in the body or not and I'd hear great things no no my friend that's a totally unrealistic view of the Holy Scripture and how God deals with us the Holy Ghost is not given to put a premium on laziness but to make effectual and fruitful all of your sanctified efforts to know God to know him as you search for the word

30:26 as you hunt for the truth as for his treasure so when Paul says this is the sphere in which this gift of the spirit as the spirit of wisdom and revelation will be operative it was not to negate the word written or to make men passive before that word not in any sense of biblical thought whatever but in the second place it not only involves the mind's exposure to and reception of what is revealed about God but the knowledge of God involves the heart's response to that revelation in faith and in love it involves the heart's response to that revelation in faith and love I turn back to John 17 because this is an excellent commentary on the Bible on what it means to know God verse 8 back up to verse 7 now they know that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are from thee and the words which thou gavest me I have given unto them and they have received them and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee and they believed that thou didst send me you see the progression I've given them words words which tell them something about you Father words which tell them that you sent me that I came from you that I am here

31:56 as your appointed Messiah and what have they done with those words not merely been exposed to them and received them as it were into the understanding but they have believed and laid hold of the import of those words they believe that I've come from you that I am the Messiah of God and so I say to know God means not only the exposure of the mind to what's revealed about him but the trust of the heart Psalm 9-10 they that know thy name the revelation of what you are will put their trust in thee to know God in a biblical sense is to trust him what is revealed about him draws forth the response of confidence to whom else can we go thou hast the words of eternal life that's why Daniel could say in Daniel 11-32 they that know their God shall be strong and do exploits and how are exploits done this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith what's the most graphic description of the exploits of the people of God in past ages Hebrews 11 and how are those exploits done by faith so Daniel the prophet says they that know their God shall be strong and do exploits why because they have laid hold in faith of the revelation made of him but it's not only a heart's response of faith but it's always

33:25 the heart's response of love 1 John 4 7 and 8 beloved love is of God and everyone who loveth knoweth God and is begotten of God he that loveth not knoweth not God the context is referring primarily to love to man but the principle is true with reference to love to God John says the true knowledge of God professed or confessed alongside of a life devoid of love he said is a moral impossibility he that loveth not knoweth not God and if that's true with the lesser object my fellow man how much more true with the greater object God himself it's impossible to know God biblically and not to love him impossible the knowledge of God biblically always means that the revelation of God has come and been received the heart has responded in faith and in love but thirdly it also involves the will's response to that revelation in loving obedience 1 John 2 3 and 4 hereby do we know that we what know him if we keep his commandments he that saith I know him I know God and keep him keepeth not his commandments is a what liar the truth is not in him you see what he's saying he's saying

34:53 just as it's morally impossible for the knowledge of God to exist alongside of a loveless heart he says it's impossible for the knowledge of God to exist alongside of a life that is indifferent to the commandments of God impossible hereby do we not only know him if we keep his commandments why because the knowledge of God always in the middle of the world involves not just the revelation about him being received the heart responding in love and faith but the will being submissive in loving trustful obedience tie together John 10 14 and John 10 27 and you see the same principle enunciated by our Lord John 10 in verse 14 I am the good shepherd and I know mine own and mine own know me my sheep he says know me and my sheep now verse 27 my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me is there any true sheep of Christ that doesn't know him of course not is it possible to know him and not follow him of course not now follow closely Jesus is not talking about specific instances shortly after uttering these words in a very brief period of time Peter denies him and he sins I'm fully aware

36:20 of the Bible teaching of the imperfection of the saints if it weren't in the Bible I'd have to believe it because I have to live with myself our Lord is talking about the overall pattern and principles of a life and he's saying my sheep follow me why because they know me and to know me is to love me and to love me is to obey me so then if someone asks you what's it mean to know God you have every biblical word to say it means at least three things it means that you've been exposed to and have received what's revealed about him it means in the second place that your heart has responded to that revelation in faith and love and it means in the third place that your will has responded and is responding in loving obedience so you see the knowledge of God does not bypass the intellect but it doesn't stop there either follow closely the knowledge of God as a biblical concept takes in all the faculties of the mind but only follow closely now as an avenue to the heart and to the will and to the whole man that's the function of your mind to be exercised fervently and diligently in the scriptures in the ministry of the word to think hard and long and to bring all

Avoiding Extremes: Mind and Heart in Balance

37:49 of your faculties of understanding to the scriptures yes we're to love the Lord our God with the whole mind but oh it comes when people think that the truth of God comes merely to terminate upon our noggins God's concerned with renewing men unto knowledge after the image of him that created him God's goal is ethical and moral and spiritual not intellectual the blight that rests upon many souls the the spirit of wisdom and revelation but the spirit of excitement and of power and of thrills and of ecstasies they want to bypass the mind and have direct experience in God by the spirit of wisdom apart from that sphere that Paul lays out the knowledge of God on the other hand you've got those who say oh that's the problem people get all excited and carried away and they don't use their heads what we need is a rational Christianity

39:12 and so they're all the time readjusting their mental furniture reshuffling the file draws of the mind and they move from being Arminians to being Calvinists to being hyper-Calvinists high Calvinists low Calvinists and then on into some other this and some other that in their whole lives are spent in what dabbling in ideas when the purpose of God dear ones is that his image the image of his son might be more and more worked in us and what's the means that he uses the knowledge of himself the mind comes into full play you can't study Ephesians 1 and leave your mind at home in the drawer you've got to bring it with you you've got to bring it with you there are times when I've just felt like crying out Lord you didn't give me a big enough one to grapple with Ephesians 1 more than once this week I've been tempted to shut up Ephesians 1 and pray for something else you spend some hours wrestling with a concept the knowledge of God it's mind-blowing no no we've got to employ all the faculties of the mind but beloved to what end to the end that when you go back this afternoon and sit at that table you'll be a more Christ-like father a more Christ-like husband a more Christ-like son and daughter and then when you go out into that place of business this week you will more and more

Application: The Way of Growth and Indicator of Growth

40:40 embody the likeness of Christ in all the details of your living in the school in your social activities that's the whole end and oh that this phrase that has been lost by our generation might be resurrected because the reality is there that man knows God I shall never forget when I was an early Christian I heard that phrase used and someone said that man knows God and I knew instinctively what they meant I couldn't have analyzed it as I've done this morning but I knew what they meant that man's got some understanding about God that I don't have but not only understanding his life is warm and fragrant with the reality of that understanding believed and loved and worked out in practice so where does this leave us well I know it leaves me with the time gone and I don't have time to press home the application as I'd like but let me close by just stating a couple of principles quickly if this is the only sphere within which the spirit is given as the spirit of wisdom and revelation dear child of God two things this becomes a pointer to the way of growth the pointer to the way of growth do you want the spirit to be given to you in increasing measures as the spirit of wisdom and revelation then settle it that you're going to press on in the knowledge of God

42:09 you're going to think hard about what God's revealed about himself and his ways in scripture and by his grace you're going to receive all that he says you're going to believe all that he says you're going to pray that he give you love to all that he says and you're going to cry to him for grace to obey all that he says that's a pointer to the way of growth and the sooner you get over the itch for looking for shortcuts to growth that bypass the hard exercises of the mind that then lead to the even more difficult exercises of the heart when once your mind sees the truth and then you see the demands it starts making upon you all true dealings with God's truth in the head lead to dealings with God's truth in the heart and in the life and that's where the rub comes that's why people love unapplied preaching because it encourages them to believe that God's truth stops with their noggins that when it starts getting down there and touching what the hands do and don't do and what the hands give and don't give and where the feet go and don't go and what the mind thinks that's where the rub comes but that's what it means to know God that's the pointer in the direction of growth secondly this principle is a good indicator of the measure of our growth if the spirit is working in us as the spirit of wisdom and revelation how will I know it ah my judgment will be more accurate and solid as the weeks and months go by I'll know with greater certainty what God is like and what God has done for me in Christ my affections

43:39 will be more warm and more fixed they may not flash quite as high but they'll glow with a deeper more intense glow in the light of what I've come to know my will will be more resolute and determined to obey it's an indicator of the measure of growth and my closing word is to the unsaved amongst us you could care less perhaps whether you know God but as I indicated earlier God takes the matter seriously why is he so angry with those who do not know him because in his grace he's revealed himself in his word and in his son and he sets the knowledge of himself before you and Christ is freely and fully preached and God commands you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you refuse to know God you'd rather go on with an intimate acquaintance with the lust of your own heart and the ambitions of your own carnal nature oh dear one may the words ring in your heart when you leave this place in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God what a frightening state to be in but oh the bliss of being within that circle where we've come to know him initially and our process or the process of sanctification goes on as within that sphere we increasingly grow in the knowledge of God may the Lord

45:08 be pleased to answer Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in our lives as together we pray for ourselves and for one another that the Father of glory may give unto us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him oh that that principle will ever be kept before us so that we'll never grow lazy in our heads or ever feel satisfied simply because our heads have sweat we must come prepared to think labor in the mind do business with God in our hearts and by his grace implement in our lives let us pray