How Does God Open Our Eyes?
Dearly beloved of God, the Father wants the eyes of our understanding enlightened since we have been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ and born of God's spirit.
The moment we were saved from Adam’s condemnation, we were sealed with the promised holy spirit. The spirit is the down payment of that salvation, and it is a token of our inheritance until Christ returns to redeem us on the day of redemption.
This is Ephesians 1:15-18 from the Working Translation, A Journey Through the Acts and Epistles, by Rev. Walter Cummins. The Heavenly Father instructed Paul to write:
“15⌄Wherefore, ever since I heard of your believing in the Lord Jesus and your love to all the holy [sanctified] ones,
16⌄I do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention in my prayers
17⌄ 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 [acknowledgment] of Him.
18⌄In other words, that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you know what is the hope of His calling, what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the ly [sanctified] ones,
In his footnotes, Rev. Cummins states:
1:17 revelation: The word is in the genitive case in Greek, and therefore both “wisdom” and “revelation” are describing the spirit: “the spirit of wisdom and of revelation” or “the spirit, that is to say, the revealed wisdom.
1:17 knowledge: Greek: epignōsis = knowledge, acknowledgment. The usual word for knowledge is gnosis. With the prefix epi, it includes the idea of recognition or acknowledgment of the thing known.
1:18: understanding: According to all critical Greek texts, it should read “heart.”
Our Father wants us to have the eyes of our heart enlightened so that we might know things regarding His calling, glory, and power. How are we to know these things? He gave us this revealed wisdom by His spirit as it is recorded in the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians 3:1-6, Working Translation
1⌄For this reason, I Paul am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you, the Gentiles.
2⌄ If in fact you have heard about the administration of the grace of God that was given to me for you
3⌄ (namely that by revelation the mystery was made known to me even as I briefly wrote previously),
4⌄ then you are able by reading to grasp my understanding in the mystery pertaining to the Christ.
5⌄ In other generations, it was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy [sanctified] apostles and prophets by the Spirit,
6⌄ namely, that the Gentiles should be joint heirs and joint members of the same body and joint partakers of the promise [what was promised] in Christ Jesus by the gospel.
Working Translation Footnote:
3:5 Spirit: Greek: pneuma = spirit. Used here to refer to God, Who is the Holy Spirit, as the Originator of information that He communicates.
Again we learn that God communicates His purposes in Christ to us by the information He communicated by His spirit to the Apostle Paul, information that we can now read for ourselves, understand, and believe. Believing comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I thank God for the revelation of His Word and Will to us in writing.
You can read the Working Translation online at: https://thebible.org/gt/index. You can order a copy of Rev. Cummins work at: Www.continuinginthescriptures.com
I encourage you to check these out, they have been invaluable to me in my study and understanding of the Scriptures.
May our Heavenly Father continue to open the eyes of our understanding through the revelation He has communicated to us in His Word by His spirit. He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm in Christ. In Christ we are His dearly beloved and we are highly favored children.
He made these things available in Christ and now we can know them! Rejoice forevermore.