Praying for Enlightenment

This section follows the same structural pattern that the author established earlier in the epistle. He began with a great hymn of thanksgiving for all of the spiritual blessings that God provided in Christ (1:3–14) and followed this by a prayer for his readers to understand their hope and inheritance in the Lord (1:15–20). In 2:1–3:13, the author provides a lengthy exposition on the believer’s position in Christ (2:1–10), the incorporation of Jews and Gentiles into one body, the church (2:11–22), and Paul’s personal role in revealing God’s eternal and secret plan (3:1–13); this, too, is followed by a prayer that the readers will understand the magnitude of God’s plan and be filled with the perfect fullness of God (3:14–19). An appropriate benediction closes the ma…