NOTES for Еф 1:1-14
The apostle Paul says that the Lord has not merely bestowed His grace upon us, but has lavished it on us, and he connects this grace with wisdom and understanding. The first and simplest conclusion from this verse is that by grace each of us has been given both understanding and wisdom, in quantities exceeding our boldest expectations. Let us go further, then, and try to understand what exactly has been given to us and what we are to do with it. Wisdom is knowledge of the “eternal questions”: questions of life and death, the relationship between God and man—in short, everything about which one might like to say, “I am a simple person; I do not need any of this.” For some reason, God decided to reveal knowledge of Himself to each of us, and not merely reveal it, but lavish it upon us—that is, give us more than we would like! Understanding is a fairly practical concept: it is knowing how one ought to act in a particular situation. It is precisely what people tenderly attached to their own education and wisdom so often disavow: “I deal with lofty matters; let others think about all that trivia.” And to them the Lord offers understanding, everyday common sense—again, more than they would like! He gives fullness to everyone and asks only one thing of us: to receive it and use it for His glory.