That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Ephesians 1:17
Something was blocking the light from coming in the window. Because it was outside, I could not tell what it was, only that by blocking the light, it had caused the room to be darkened. So I went over to the window and opened the curtain. There stood my grandson, grinning mischievously at me. I had no idea it was him there, until pulling that curtain open revealed what was in the window. We have the same thought in our text today, in the meaning behind the word ‘revelation’.
The Greek word that is translated ‘revelation’ in our text is ‘apokalupsis’. It means something that has been veiled or hidden for a long time and then suddenly, almost instantaneously, becomes clear and visible to the mind or eye. Just like pulling the curtain open and seeing what is there. That’s what happened in a spectacular way when at the moment when we were saved. The great truths of God’s salvation were revealed to us in a truly remarkable way. We found the Bible to be a totally different book, overflowing with precious things that were hidden from us before. We had an appreciation of the things of God that we could not have imagined in our unconverted days. But God has even more revelations to unfold for us. Today’s text is Paul’s prayer that we would receive wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.
It’s not every day that we receive new revelations from God. But it is only by reading the Scriptures every day that we receive such revelations. In His Word, God grants us our prayers in unfolding precious things that our souls need concerning His direction and supply. These revelations are great moments in our spiritual life, events that startle us into worship and action. Sometimes these revelations open up to us the direction God wants us to take. Sometimes these revelations clear up confusion we have concerning truths in the Word. And sometimes, these revelations open our understanding concerning God Himself, as our text says ‘the knowledge of Him’. And God truly wants us to know, and He promises us that He will reveal: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him’ – James 1:5.
If you have never experienced the revelation of God to you, it is only because you have never asked Him to. -Jim MacIntosh