🛡️WEB · Ephesians 1:17
What does Ephesians 1:17 mean?
"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;"
— Ephesians 1:17 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints,
don’t cease 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 to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
Explanation
Ephesians 1:17 comes in the middle of a prayer that Paul offers for the believers in Ephesus. In plain language, Paul is asking God to give these Christians a deeper inner capacity—wisdom and revelation—so that they can truly know God, not just know facts about him. He addresses God in a rich, layered way: as "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ" (acknowledging that even the risen and exalted Jesus relates to the Father as his God) and as "the Father of glory" (emphasizing that glory belongs to God as his very character and possession). The request itself is that this glorious God would grant a spirit—an inward disposition or Spirit-given capacity—for wisdom and revelation, all aimed at the goal of knowing him more fully.
The letter to the Ephesians was written by Paul, most likely while he was imprisoned in Rome, to the church in Ephesus, a congregation he had personally founded and ministered to for an extended time. The letter is often described as circular, meant to be read among churches in the surrounding region of Asia Minor, since it lacks some of the personal specifics found in Paul's other letters. Ephesians chapter 1 opens with a long, exalted blessing praising God for the spiritual blessings believers have received in Christ—election, redemption, adoption, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Verse 17 begins the second major movement of the chapter, where Paul shifts from praise to intercession, praying that his readers would grasp more fully what has already been given to them.
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