(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What is spiritual insight?
Intro:
Good morning, afternoon, evening, wherever you happen to be at the moment. Today we get into the book of Ephesians, and at the end of our time today we’ll spend a very brief moment making sure we’re clear on our focus question — What is spiritual insight?
NEW TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
Passage: Ephesians 1
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 23
Words: ~447
OLD TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
Passage: Zechariah 9-11
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 46
Words: ~1159
Wisdom SEGMENT:
Passage: Proverbs 11:10-18
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 9
Words: ~143
The bottom line:
I’d love to spend a long time talking about spiritual insight, but today we heard Paul describe it in terms of the “eyes of your heart.” It would be tempting, but incorrect, to assume that to mean feelings or somehow knowing stuff without thinking, though. Instead, it’s likely that it refers to fullness or totality…it’s not merely head knowledge, nor is it devoid of head knowledge.
Sometimes it’s useful to understand something by way of contrast (and fair warning, I’m not going to cite chapter and verse here to support my argument). But I think it’s consistent with all of Scripture, and what Paul’s saying in Ephesians, that spiritual sight is only found in believers by the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who are not filled with the HS can understand words, of course, but are minus true knowledge of God, self, and others. This, of course, means that they don’t (can’t!) experience the guidance and power and joy that believers experience.
This is Jesus’ mission, of course…to offer you the free gift of grace that moves you from death to life, from darkness to light. Inherently this is not only knowing God, but yourself and your own sin, the beauty of Jesus as Savior and the hope of eternity.
One of those truths we see significantly in Ephesians is of Christ as head…and over the next few days in Ephesians, we’ll explore what it means that Jesus is head and cornerstone and, as we heard today, how God put everything in subjection to Him.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Walter Russell, “Galatians,” in CSB Apologetics Study Bible, ed. Ted Cabal (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1463.
(2) David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 497.