Head Knowledge, Heart Knowledge

The Bulletin, 3/24/25

In Ephesians 1:15-19, Paul penned a beautiful prayer for the spiritual wellbeing of his audience. He prayed for them to have wisdom and knowledge, but then he also prayed that the “eyes of their heart” might be enlightened.

Obviously, hearts don’t have eyes. This figure of speech makes a powerful point, though. Wisdom and knowledge are necessary, but it’s also important to grasp Gospel truths with our hearts. We can say “it’s good to be a Christian” because we know that is factually true. But it’s important that we also say it from a sense of feeling that truth deep down.

And, the next words in Paul’s prayer remind us of what our hearts should see: the hope of His calling, the riches of His glory in His inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power. Knowing the value of those things is what leads someone to become a Christian. Feeling the value of them is what keeps us growing as Christians.

In this letter, Paul used a format that’s common in Scripture: basic, meat-and-potatoes theological teaching (Eph. 1-3), followed by application (Eph. 4-6). We have to know about God in our heads and love Him with our hearts, then we can have greater obedience. Too many times we put the cart before the horse and focus on application and obedience before truly grasping who He is and what He’s done for us. Getting our head knowledge and heart knowledge in the right place is the best thing we can do to better execute the things we’re told we must obey.

Pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened all the more. Pray that you wouldn’t just know about God’s blessings in your head, but that you would also truly see and appreciate them with your heart.

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