Weekly Devotional: May 6, 2026
GOD’S WORD
Ephesians 1:15-23
"For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way."
DEVOTIONAL BY
This eight-week series will be excerpts from the late Lt. Colonel Allen Satterlee's book “Heavenly Places Revealed"
“EYES OF YOUR HEART”
Clearer Vision
Not too long ago my doctor said it was time to have two cataracts removed. They had been slowly forming for a few years and now had reached the point where they were definitely interfering with my sight. I followed the preferred procedure, which is to remove the cataract from one eye and then a week later from the other. I was amazed to see the difference. Several times I closed the eye with the cataract, then opened it. In my right eye, everything was clear but in my left eye there was a dingy yellow tint on everything. The change had come so gradually over the years that I did not realize how my vision had been affected. But now, I was able to see clearly again.
In addressing the young church in Ephesus, Paul prayed that "the eyes of your heart may be enlightened." It wasn't until the gospel gave them sight that they could begin to realize how blind they had become. And when sight came, they saw things beyond anything they could have imagined.
Seeing What Was Unseen
They saw hope, not some wishy-washy wistful sentiment that is born of fairy tales. Rather, when the Bible speaks of hope, it means solid certainty that something is coming; it will happen as surely as the sun will declare the arrival of a new day. As Merida has said, "Our salvation is marked by massive hope."
They found power. Paul made it clear. This is "incomparably great power." It is the power that finds that even if He whispers, galaxies must obediently form from nothing. It is the power that made weightless dust become bone and sinew as it rose to become someone who was in the image of God. It was the power that shone when an Egyptian ruler who fancied himself a god met the fugitive shepherd named Moses. He would bow after being crushed, his nation blasted into submission. It is the power that left an Assyrian army gathered at the gates of Jerusalem, trying to gather what survivors it could as it limped back home. But most remarkably, it was the power that stood when Satan thought he had finally won. Instead, he found himself plowed aside by a resurrected Savior. Had Satan gathered all his demonic forces outside the tomb and used their combined strength to push against the stone, and in many ways that is exactly what he attempted—he would have found the stone slingshotted into irrelevance as the mighty Son of God reasserted His claim on the earth He created.
Heavenly Realms
So complete was this victory that no corner of the vast universe, no place in the world of spirits or angels was off limits to His rule. Nor could even the epochs of time pass or the unfolding of future ages find a moment that He did not occupy and control. How did Paul say it? God "seated Him as His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him head over everything." (1:21-22).
In saying that God placed all things under His feet, Paul employed an expression that was used of the winner of a duel, who underscores his dominance by placing his foot on the neck of his fallen enemy after throwing him to the ground!
More than proclaiming Christ's absolute power and victory, Paul told us that for we who are His followers, there is a very important reason that touches us in it. It is "for the church" (1:23). We are His Body, an image repeated elsewhere in the New Testament. Hoehner remarks, "One good reason to use the human body as an analogy is that it conveys the idea of an organic unity that is animated by the head... the members of the body of Christ are bound to each other and are related to Christ as our Redeemer, sustainer, and head."
And this Church, so despised and ridiculed, attacked and undermined, is "the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way” (1:23). Look around, people. The Church is the fullness of Christ. It should encourage us, humble us, frighten us, and challenge us. God's purpose in this world will be done through His Church, the Body of believers who have found their life in Him. There is no OTHER plan, because as far as God is concerned, there is no BETTER plan!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- How would you describe Christian hope to an unbeliever?
- The author has written about some ways that God has displayed His power. What other ways can you think of?
- In what ways does the Church function as the Body of Christ?