Telling Our Stories: Ephesus – Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation
Acts 19:1-12; Ephesians 1:15-23
May 24, 2026
As we gather at this table on the birthday of the Church,
we realize that we are a part of something so much larger than ourselves.
At this table, we participate in God’s eternal purposes for all of humankind –
God’s purposes in Jesus Christ of reconciling the world to God and to one another,
God’s purposes of the unity and redemption of humanity in Jesus Christ,
God’s purposes of healing and salvation for all who have lived with division and fear.
Today, we remember the origins of the church in the ancient city of Ephesus.
As we explore the cultural context, several exciting stories, and two heartfelt prayers,
perhaps we will begin to feel more of a connection to our ancient forebears in faith.
The Apostle Paul lived and worked in Ephesus making tents for 2 ½-3 years.
Ephesus was the capital city of its Asian Province, a port city, a center of commerce.
A central aspect of the culture of Ephesus was the grand Temple of Artemis.
Artemis was worshiped as a patron and protector of children.
She was believed to send good health and illness upon women and children.
A goddess of nature and animals and vegetation, the grand Temple built in her honor
featured an impressive statue of Artemis and became known
as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
People travelled from all over the Mediterranean to visit the Temple
and to buy silver trinkets, images of the beautiful goddess and her Temple.
When the Temple was completed, there were some 127 columns that were sixty feet high.
Today, the great temple is entirely gone, but there are still other ancient ruins
to see in Ephesus. Dudley Larus and Sydney just visited Ephesus week before last.
They were told that the location of these arches was where the Apostle Paul would preach.
Hear the Word of God from Acts 19:1-12
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the inland regions
and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them,
‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’
They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’…
On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them,
and they spoke in tongues and prophesied— altogether there were about twelve of them.
He entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly,
and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God.
When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation,
he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks,
heard the word of the Lord. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick,
their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
While the Church was being established in Ephesus,
several unusual and exciting events occurred that the physician and author Luke
determined should be included in his two volume writings, Luke and Acts of the Apostles.
Luke was one of those who accompanied Paul, at least on some of his missionary journeys.
We can imagine Paul’s other traveling companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, urging Luke on:
Oh, you’ve got to tell them about the silversmith riot. You can’t leave that out!
And the sons of Sceva! You must tell them that story!
And remember when the elders from Ephesus met Paul at Miletus?
So, Luke, determining what to include and what to leave out from Paul’s time in Ephesus
sought to write an orderly account of what transpired there.
The first story is about the seven sons of a Jewish high priest who were casting out demons
using the name of the Lord Jesus.
The sons of the priest would cry out to an afflicted person,
‘I command you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.’
But one particular evil spirit replied to them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’
Then this man with an evil spirit leapt upon the seven sons of the high priest
and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.
This event led to many Ephesians becoming believers in Jesus, and a number of those,
who practised magic, collected their expensive books of magic and burned them publicly.
About the same time, a big disturbance among the artisans broke out concerning Paul.
A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis,
gathered together with other silver artisans and talked about how Paul’s preaching
was hurting their business. Paul had drawn away a considerable number of people,
saying that gods made with hands are not gods at all.
Thus, Demetrius claimed that the temple of the great goddess Artemis was being scorned,
and that all of Asia and the world would stop coming to Ephesus to see the great temple.
The artisans were enraged. They rushed together with many people to the theatre,
dragging with them Paul’s travelling companions, Gaius and Aristarchus.
The entire assembly was in confusion, and many kept shouting,
‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’
The town clerk, after more than two hours of rioting, was finally able to quiet the crowd.
He told Demetrius and the artisans that if they have a complaint against anyone,
the courts are open, and they should bring any charges there against them.
When the rioting silversmiths calmed down, the town clerk dismissed the assembly.
The third story of Ephesus relates to Paul’s loving relationship with the Ephesian elders.
Some years after Paul had left Ephesus and started churches in other locations,
Paul began to make his way back to Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost.
On his way, he sent word to the elders of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus. From Acts 20:
From Miletus, Paul sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him.
When they came to him (from some 50 miles away), he said to them: (edited from Acts 20)
‘I lived among you for nearly three years, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears
and endured many trials that came from the Jews of the synagogue.
I proclaimed the message and taught you publicly from house to house,
testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
And now, on my way to Jerusalem, I do not know what will happen to me there,
though I am aware that none of you will ever see me again…
When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed sincerely.
There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him,
grieving because he had said that they would never see him again.
Unlike Luke’s writing in Acts, In Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus,
we don’t find exciting stories. Instead, we find many encouragements and heartfelt prayers.
I wonder if the prayer we find in Ephesians 1 is similar to the prayer that Paul prayed
with those elders at Miletus as he was on his way to Jerusalem.
Hear Paul’s prayer from Ephesians 1:15-23.
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints,
and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him,
so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know
what is the hope to which he has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe,
according to the working of his great power.
God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead
and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet
and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills all in all.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
In his prayer, Paul gave thanks to God for his friends from Ephesus.
He prays that they may have a spirit of wisdom, considered “a priceless treasure,
better than gold or silver.” (Proverbs16) For Paul, wisdom can lead to a righteous life,
protection, and a future filled with hope.
And Paul prays that they would have a spirit of revelation, which would mean
that they would be open to receiving information from beyond themselves,
beyond their own minds or learning or experience, from the Holy Spirit at work among them.
Paul prays for the Ephesians, that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened,
so that they would come to know the hope to which God has called us,
the riches of God’s glorious inheritance among the saints,
and the power of God for those who believe.
Hope would provide strength and perseverance in whatever troubles we might face.
The riches of God’s glorious inheritance refers to the life hereafter, no doubt,
but also refers to an appreciation of life here and now,
among the saints of God here on earth.
The power of God for those who believe is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead,
the power that was available to those Ephesians, the power still available to the Church today.
Consider this: at this table, we too gather with our elders in prayer.
At this table, we too thank God for each other, for saints like JoAnn Murphey,
and for the faith that we have shared across the years.
At this table, we too are a part of something so much larger than ourselves.
Like those elders from Ephesus so long ago,
we too participate in God’s eternal purposes for all of humankind –
God’s purposes in Jesus Christ of reconciling the world to God and to one another,
God’s purposes of the unity and redemption of humanity in Jesus Christ,
God’s purposes of healing and salvation for all who have lived with division and fear.
As we prepare to gather at the Table, I will close with another of Paul’s heartfelt prayers.
This prayer is from Ephesians 3:14-21,
a prayer that I always share with our newly elected elders during their training.
Paul prays: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.
I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened
in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints,
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more
than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, to all generations, for ever and ever.
Amen and Amen.
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, Georgia
