Is Enlightenment a Biblical Concept?
When you hear the word “enlightenment” what do you think of? The first thing that comes to my mind is someone meditating and trying to find inner peace or self-realization. This is probably most in-line with the Buddhist concept of awakening.
Another thing that comes to mind is the Age of Enlightenment. This was an intellectual and philosophical movement that swept Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was also called the “Age of Reason,” because it was focused on the pursuit of knowledge primarily through reason and sense-experience. A key thrust of this movement was pushing back against faith and religion.
In light of that, it’s understandable that I generally don’t think of “enlightenment” as a biblical concept. However, in Ephesians 1:16-20, we see that Paul prays for the Ephesians to have enlightenment.
Far from being focused on self-realization or intellectualism, Paul speaks of true enlightenment as comprehending the spiritual realities of a believer’s blessings in Christ. In Paul, we see a model for how we should be praying for ourselves and for fellow believers.
A Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
Eph 1:16
The spiritual fruit displayed by the Ephesian believers caused Paul to praise God and give thanks for them without ceasing. Beyond just thanking God for these believers, Paul has some requests on their behalf. He says:
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
Eph 1:17
He prays that God would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation. When Paul is praying for them to have a spirit of wisdom, what kind of wisdom is he talking about? Reason? Self-knowledge? No—he’s praying that they have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ.
Comprehending Our Blessings in Christ
Paul is praying that the Ephesians would be able to fully comprehend all of the blessings they have in Christ. Paul’s reason for praying for this is rather astounding. The blessings believers have in Christ are so magnificent and so abundant that they are hard for us to truly fathom.
If you think about large sums of money, that may give us a bit of insight into the difficulty that comes from trying to grasp the concept of something massive. I can easily picture what $20 in cash looks like. I’ve had $20 bills in my hands many times. I can picture what $1,000 would look like—ten $100 bills. Understanding what $1 million would look like in cash is where I start to hit a limit—that’s kind of hard for me to accurately visualize.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the value of the goods and services produced in the United States. The GDP produced by the US in 2022 was estimated to be 25.46 trillion dollars. I have no concept of what that looks like in piles of $100 bills. Would that fill a house? A school gym? I have no way of fully grasping that.
Yet, that massive amount of money is paltry stacked next to our blessings in Christ. You can understand why Paul is praying for God to help the Ephesians start to fathom the immeasurable blessings they possess in Christ. We need supernatural help to even begin to understand the vastness of these blessings.
True Enlightenment
How does Paul talk about the Ephesians gaining an understanding of these blessings in Christ?
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,
Eph 1:18
Paul paints a striking picture of the heart having “eyes.” That definitely seems strange—an internal organ having other body parts. That’s like saying, “open the ears of your spleen” or “open the mouth of your lungs.” However, when you understand how the Bible speaks about the heart and the eyes, it actually makes sense.
The Bible speaks of the heart as representative of your inner person. It encompasses your will, thoughts, and emotions. It’s who you truly are on the inside. Since our eyes help us see, the usage of eyes or seeing can be synonymous with observing or understanding. When something is enlightened, it is illuminated or more clearly seen.
Basically, what Paul is praying for is that the Ephesians would have a more complete understanding in their inner person of the blessings they have in Christ. He wants them to have a deeper, clearer, more accurate understanding of all they possess in Jesus from the inside out. He’s praying that their “spiritual eyesight” would improve.
Have you ever had LASIK before? I’ve never had this procedure, but I know several friends who have. They say it’s the closest thing to a miracle they’ve experienced. Their vision went from being very poor to being excellent due to this procedure. Things that were blurry could now be crystal clear. Paul was praying that the Ephesians would have spiritual LASIK in their hearts. He wanted them to have increased clarity seeing everything that they have in Christ.
Hope in Christ
Paul goes on in verse 18:
that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
By praying that they would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation and having the eyes of their hearts enlightened, he wants them to fully know the hope they have in Christ.
When scripture uses the word “hope” it speaks of a fixed reality that will come to pass. It’s expressing confidence in something. Hope is usually anchored in a promise of God (see Heb 6:19-20). Paul wants us to have hope in the salvation that we have been called to in Christ. Earlier in Ephesians, Paul tells believers that we were predestined to salvation from before the beginning of time. (Eph 1:4.) Just as our calling to faith in Christ was determined before the beginning of time, God has a fixed plan for our sanctification and glorification that has already been determined. We can hope in the reality of the promises of God. He also wants us to understand:
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:18
While we have everything we need now for life and godliness, there is a future aspect of our salvation that will be fulfilled in God’s eternal kingdom:
- Life with Christ forever
- Seeing God face to face
- No sin, pain, or suffering for eternity
- A perfect, eternal body
- The new heaven and new earth
Our inheritance in Christ is “rich” and “glorious.” Paul wants us to be looking forward to that great future inheritance with expectant hope (Phil 3:20-21).
God’s Power at Work in Us
Paul also prays that they would understand:
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
Eph 1:19
In this short section, Paul uses four Greek words for power:
- Power (“dunamis”) – great force (where we get the word “dynamite”)
- Working (“energeia”) – superhuman energizing force
- Strength (“kratos”) – great dominion or power
- Might (“ischus”) – endowed ability or strength
God’s dynamic, superhuman, dominating strength and power towards us can’t be measured. He’s at work in our lives with his incalculable might (Phil 1:6; 2:13).
The same power that God used to create the universe with a word is working inside us. Beyond that, it’s the same power:
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:20
This is truly stunning—the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him in a position of honor and authority at the right hand of God is at work in our lives.
Christians Should Pray for Enlightenment
As surprising as it may seem, we see from Ephesians 1:16-20 that enlightenment is actually a biblical concept. As believers, we should pray that God would help us comprehend the immense blessings we have in Christ. We should pray for a deeper understanding of our fixed hope in Jesus, the incalculable inheritance that awaits us, and the infinite power of God at work in our lives.
Paul provided an excellent model for how we should be praying for true spiritual enlightenment. We should be praying this for ourselves, but also for our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Having a greater understanding of all that we have in Christ should lead us to greater joy and to a deeper worship of God.
