EPHESIANS 1:15-17: “Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.” NLT
OBSERVATION: There is an old song written by Composer Burt Bacharach entitled – “What The World Needs Now Is Love.” The last stanza and the chorus are,
Lord, we don’t need another meadow
There are cornfields and wheat fields enough to grow
There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine
Oh listen, lord, if you want to know
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some oh, but just for every, every, everyone.
The Apostle Paul would disagree with this statement. Though the sentiment of this song gives one a warm feeling, it really does not help move forward the condition of man. In the 1960s people dropped out and turned on using drugs to escape the world and experience love. Yet, this love did not last. The same hippies that tuned out are the ones responsible for the loveless world we now live in.
Paul identifies two things that are more important than love. Why are they more important than love? It is because only when we have these two things are we able to discover what true love really is. Love is not an emotion or an experience.
Love is a person!
- “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8 NLT
So what are the two things Paul prays for that are essential to discovering true love?
They are spiritual wisdom and insight!
Spiritual wisdom is not taught at a University, it is not resident in the writings of man, it is the gift of God given through His Word. Spiritual wisdom is the ability to see life from God’s creative perspective. It is to be introduced to the nature of God. It is essential to discovering true love – for God is love! Only when we see God for who He is will we be able to understand the true nature of love.
Insight is also translated revelation. Spiritual wisdom and insight go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. They are the work of the Holy Spirit in our life. Spiritual insight is the gift of discovering the depth of wisdom in God’s Word. It is the unveiling of God’s very nature in our spirit through His written Word. It is the gift of spiritual sight that enables us to see into the spiritual realm, the eternal nature of life.
When we place our faith in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts. He begins to lead us and guide us in the truth and begins a life-long journey of spiritual wisdom and insight into the truth of God’s Word. The destination of this journey is not mere knowledge.
It is the knowledge of God Himself!
- “I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.”
It is only when we grow in our knowledge of God that we also grow in love. In fact, our love apart from God will always be misguided and focused on selfish things. We only discover the essence of love when we see God’s plan and His ultimate sacrifice. It is when we receive the revelation of Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, that we enter into the full understanding of God’s love.
- “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 NLT
The world does not need “more love.” The world needs a revelation of the love that God has already shown. It is only when we understand God’s love, when we are transformed by His love, that we can freely love one another.
- “We love because He first loved us.” I John 4:19. NLT
I love that old Burt Bacharach song, especially when I hear Dionne Warwick singing it (I date myself). Yet, what I need this morning more than anything is spiritual wisdom and insight.
Lord, open my eyes to see and know You so that I can enter into Your love!
In Jesus Name!
