🛡️WEB · Ephesians 1:18
What does Ephesians 1:18 mean?
"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,"
— Ephesians 1:18 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
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,
far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
Explanation
Ephesians 1:18 comes from a prayer that the apostle Paul offers on behalf of the believers in Ephesus. In plain language, Paul is asking God to open the inner eyes of his readers—their hearts, understood in the ancient sense as the center of understanding, will, and perception, not merely emotion—so that they can truly grasp three things: the hope to which God has called them, the richness of the glorious inheritance God has prepared, and, as the following verse continues, the greatness of God's power at work in those who believe. The image of "eyes of the heart" being "enlightened" suggests that spiritual truth is not primarily grasped through ordinary reasoning or physical sight, but requires an inward illumination that only God can give.
Paul wrote Ephesians while imprisoned, likely in Rome, to a church he had founded and knew well, though the letter may have circulated among several congregations in the region of Asia Minor. The letter as a whole addresses the identity and unity of the church, especially the coming together of Jews and Gentiles into one body through Christ. Chapter 1 opens with a long, exuberant blessing praising God for the spiritual blessings believers have received in Christ—election, adoption, redemption, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Verses 15-23 shift into intercessory prayer: having heard of the Ephesians' faith and love, Paul prays that they would not just possess these blessings intellectually but would perceive and appreciate them with growing spiritual insight.
Theologically, this verse highlights that knowing
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