Grow in What You Know: A Study of Ephesians 1:15-23
Picture standing on the shoulder of a freeway, tire blown, flight about to leave, and a customer service line that will not send help. That is exactly where our pastor found himself on a recent trip — stuck, frustrated, and running (literally) to find a way forward. Nobody likes being stuck physically. But the deeper truth is that nobody likes being stuck spiritually either.
Continuing our verse-by-verse series through Ephesians, Grace for You, this message closes out chapter one by walking through Ephesians 1:15-23. The big idea is simple but life-changing: God does not want you to stay stuck spiritually. He wants you to grow in what you know. It is entirely possible to be 40 years old physically and 4 years old spiritually — to become an adult in body while remaining an infant in faith. One of God's greatest goals for your life is that you keep growing into the person He created you to be.
1. God Wants You to Truly Know Him
Paul opens with thanksgiving and prayer for the Ephesians, and the heart of his prayer is startling in its simplicity:
"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." (Ephesians 1:15-17)
Notice the assumption underneath that prayer: God is knowable. Maybe you have wondered how you can know a God you have never seen or touched — a God who sometimes feels hidden or far away. Here is the good news: God is not playing hide-and-seek with you. We are the ones who wandered off in our sin; He is the One seeking and saving the lost.
God has made Himself known in two unmistakable ways. First, through Jesus. Earlier in the chapter Paul says God "made known to us the mystery of his will" (Ephesians 1:9). Like an author writing himself into his own story, God entered human history in Christ, revealing Himself as a God of grace, truth, and power — welcoming outcasts, speaking with unfiltered authority, healing the broken, and defeating death by rising again. Second, through creation. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge" (Psalm 19:1-2). A garden points to a gardener; a building points to a builder; the staggering complexity of the universe points to a Creator.
But knowing God is not merely intellectual — it is experiential. You can quote a thousand verses and still not know Jesus. He does not want head knowledge only; He wants heart knowledge. The question is not whether God knows you — He knows everything about you. The question is whether you know Him.
2. Everyone Needs Growth, But Only God Causes It
What is remarkable about Paul's prayer is that the Ephesians were already a healthy church — full of faith and genuine love. Yet Paul still prayed for them to know God better. That tells us two things.
You always have room to grow
None of us are finished projects. On this side of eternity, growth is never a destination; it is a step you take every day. The moment you think you have God figured out, you discover there is more of His love, grace, mercy, and truth to know. Even our pastor confessed a season of stagnation this year — a quiet pride that whispered, "I already know this." The Holy Spirit's reply was gentle but clear: you still have much to learn. Humility shields you from apathy; pride pulls you away from growth. Stay low, and God will grow you over time.
Growth only comes from God
Paul does not thank God that the Ephesians are strong in their own effort. He asks God to grant them "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation." Interestingly, Paul never prays for their circumstances to change — he prays for their character to change, that they would draw closer to Christ. What if your prayers shifted from "God, fix my problems" to "God, change my heart and reveal more of Yourself to me"? Jesus assures us this is a prayer the Father loves to answer: "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13). Before you open your Bible, before a hard conversation, before a big decision — ask the Spirit for wisdom. You have a part to play, but apart from Him your efforts amount to nothing.
3. Grow in Hope and in Power
"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." (Ephesians 1:18-19)
Every Christian has equal access to the same hope and power, yet not every Christian experiences it. Why? Because the eyes of the heart have not yet been enlightened. Imagine a debit card with a five-million-dollar limit that you believe holds only five thousand. The wealth is there; you simply are not accessing it. So ask God to open the eyes of your heart.
Your hope rests on your inheritance in heaven — a confident expectation of a better future. Because of Christ, even the worst things can be redeemed for good, and death itself becomes a doorway rather than a dead end. Suffering is not the end of your story; it is one chapter in a story that ends in eternal joy.
Your power flows from God's presence. The same resurrection power that raised Jesus and seated Him "far above all rule and authority" (Ephesians 1:20-21) now lives in you. And here is the beautiful part: that power is not against you — it is for you. You are not stepping into the ring alone against a heavyweight champion; the Champion Himself stands beside you, fighting for you. That means you no longer have to walk in defeat over addiction, anxiety, or fear.
A Takeaway to Carry This Week
God loves you exactly where you are — but He loves you far too much to leave you there. So ask yourself honestly: Do you know Him? And if you do, how well do you know Him? The ball is not in His court; He has already made Himself known. The move is ours. This week, before you read, before you decide, before you worry — pray, "God, open the eyes of my heart. Grow me in what I know."
If you are anywhere in Livermore or across the Tri-Valley and you are longing to get unstuck spiritually, we would love to grow alongside you. Come as you are.