Together We Thrive
In the Glorious Inheritance of His Holy People
By Beth Bruns, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:18-23
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, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 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. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way
What do your eyes tend to notice as you participate in fellowship? All too often, I most notice our human failings and even our differences. But then I was pleasantly startled by Paul’s prayer here for my eyes to be opened and focused on our collective reasons to celebrate - divine hope, riches, and power.
This encouragement from Paul to the Ephesians (and to us) brings clarity to the idea of “Together We Thrive.” This passage underscores the powerful blessings received in community that far outstrip the power of any individual. This is such a compelling thought and yet, sometimes our differences are more apparent than our common purpose or our common beauty as a church. Unity can be hard to hold on to. We can be bothered by ‘that sister’ or ‘that preaching’ or ‘that weakness that is so apparent’ in our church fellowship. We can embrace a consumerism that there are better churches or better fellowships out there instead of our imperfect body of believers that we worship with every week. Sometimes, the eyes of our hearts are not as enlightened as they could be about the glorious inheritance that we all have. If we could only see more clearly, we could thrive more majestically with each other in God’s church. Paul encourages clearer vision for three things to support thriving:
- Hope from our calling. This is a hope that comes from the gospel of Jesus, salvation, and the good news that we are meant to share broadly and widely with a lost world.
- The riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. The church is glorious. And it is our inheritance.
- His incomparably great power for us who believe. This is the power that raised Jesus from the dead and works in our lives as we thrive together.
Living in our church community is a blessing. It propagates hope, a thriving inheritance together, with the power of the resurrection.
Reflection Questions
- How do you see His body, your fellowship, as the fullness of God?
- How open are the eyes of your heart in terms of knowing, really knowing, the three things that Paul refers to; hope of our calling, riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his great power? How might you grow the eyes of your heart?
About the Author: Beth Bruns currently leads the Blue Ridge Church of Christ alongside her husband, Phil. She became a Christian in Cincinnati, OH in 1986 as a campus student. She worked and retired as an engineer in R&D prior to going in the ministry in 2021 in Charlottesville, VA. She loves being in the ministry with the time and freedom that early retirement brings. She has a deep love for her husband and for her four amazing daughters who are spread across the east coast and midwest.
7 Comments
Mar 4, 2024, 8:10:09 PM
Judy montemayor - Thank u
Mar 4, 2024, 6:02:11 PM
Mary Ellen Abarca - Thank you Beth for this great lesson, a reminder for me to open my spiritual eyes to see how wonderful it is to be a part of the body of Christ, be a part of His church, God's family; where I need to focus on the hope of our salvation from the gospel of Jesus, our spiritual riches of love, grace, forgiveness, joy & encouragement in our fellowship and the incredible power for us who believe.
Mar 4, 2024, 7:44:51 AM
Nej Nollen - Hi Beth, thank you so much for this wonderful message. Whenever there's a meeting of the body, it excites me esp during worship, it feels like the song leaders are angels singing, feels like a congregation in heaven.It is always great to be with the family of believers, being united in praising God. I'm always filled with love and in awe of God whenever I'm with the disciples.
Mar 3, 2024, 10:13:12 PM
Susan Amistad - Thanks for the awesome lessons
Mar 3, 2024, 10:08:49 PM
Susan Amistad - Great lessons, thank you
Mar 3, 2024, 8:10:27 PM
Violy Guy - Thank you for reminding me about the passage how the eyes of my heart encourage to see disciples faith change their life. Some used to serve their talents given by God. Smiles that shows victory during their over the week battle in prayer to survive in chaos of life. Faith for the speaker to deliver his sermon that change the hearts of the listeners. And I was encourage going home after the fellowship that i feel a new strength of hope for the coming week to have the fullness of God!
Mar 3, 2024, 7:57:17 PM
Sunshine Dimacali - awesome massage to open the eyes of my heart