Main Idea || We grow as the Holy Spirit makes the truths of the gospel understandable to our minds and beautiful to our hearts. Ephesians 1:15–23 (NLT) 15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,… Def: ADORACTION — adoration leading to action. Everything Paul asks of God is about believers increasingly getting to & enjoy God. 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 1.To know . “There’s a crucial difference between just knowing about God and knowing him as he desires to be known.” ~ Scotty Smith 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 2.To know . 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 3. To know . Pray for more. Pray like Paul. How can we be certain that all these things will happen? 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. All things have been put Jesus’s authority. CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION: 1. Look closely at Paul’s prayer and identify what he asks God to do for the Ephesians. How do his requests compare with prayer requests you typically hear among believers? 2. What do you like best about what Paul asks God to do for the Ephesians? Why do you like it? 3. We need both an experience of Jesus and a theology of Jesus. Which do you have more of? How might you get more of the other, and how would that be good for you? 4. How much do you think of eternal life in terms of quantity (living forever) instead of quality (knowing God)?