A Verse
Ephesians 1:15-16
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.
A Comment
Paul thanks God for the faith that the Ephesians have in Christ and the love that they have demonstrated to other believers, the saints of Christ. As the planter of the church in Ephesus, Paul was grateful to see these disciples continuing in the faith. For the faith had not come easy in Ephesus. When Paul began his lengthy ministry there, it was in the context of an idolatrous culture. One of the major foci of economic and religious attention was the Temple of Artemis, which was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Silversmiths earned their livelihood from making and selling “silver shrines of Artemis,” but when the gospel arrived in Ephesus, the nice comfortable, idolatrous culture was turned upside down. As people responded to the gospel of Christ, the local economy was hurt, and religious attention turned away from the Temple of Artemis, and the powerbrokers in the community did not like it.
So, they began to instigate riots and protests against Paul and his followers, but Paul did not stop preaching the gospel nor did his disciples cease to follow Christ. For this reason, Paul thanked God for sustaining the church in Ephesus in its faith for Christ and its love for the saints. He knew that this was God’s work in the church, and therefore, God deserved Paul’s thanksgiving.
In like manner, God is the sustainer of our faith in hard times and difficult circumstances. He is worthy of praise for strengthening our faith in Him.
A Prayer
O’ LORD, thank You for sustaining us. You not only begin the good work within us, but You bring it to completion. We give You glory. For You are good to us. Sustain us today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Blessing
May God sustain you in all circumstances by His mighty hand, which is never too short to save.
Thanking God for Faith