Ephesians 1:15

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

We have come to a new section. It has been one sentence in the Greek running from verse 3 to 24, if you can believe it. It is the longest sentence in the epistles, in the Greek original. 

And this is the beginning of a new section, a prayer section. All that theological knowledge drove Paul to prayer, not to boasting about his knowledge, not to arguing about his knowledge, not to measuring himself with others based on his knowledge, but to prayer.

All that knowledge dump seems overwhelming, all that eternal potentiality. But he did not just say, "Rejoice because you have all those things," which is good; he prayed.

Prayer means there is a gap between the spiritual reality and your lived experience. He did not say, "Don't worry, everything is going to be all right," he prayed for them. And this seems to suggest they should be able to pray the same prayer for themselves and others.

Faith v. Believe

This church, according to the focus verse, has faith in the Lord Jesus and love for all the saints, and Paul has heard about it. 

Someone may ask, what is the difference between "faith" and "believe?" Let's examine the difference in the context of what we have been reading. 

Paul mentioned "believe" in verse 13.

And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, 

So hearing and believing happened at points in time. And it may not be the same time, as we have explored.

And when Jesus told the parable of the sower, He said that some people believe but do not endure.

Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in a time of testing fall away. (Luke 8:13)

It is that endurance that is the test of true faith, in my opinion. For Paul to hear of the Ephesians' faith in the Lord Jesus means that we have left the realm of mere belief.

I am not just trying to split hairs.

When Paul said “the righteous by faith will live” (something enduring) (Romans 1:17); and "For by grace you are saved through faith (the salvation that is the act of God, with all genuineness), and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8), it's the same thing.

And we don't have to look further than the life of Jesus to see the elevation of the concept of faith. 

There are some people who believe in Jesus, but he said that was not enough.

While he was saying these things, many people believed in him.
Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:30)

That verse shows the difference between belief and faith. Faith has an enduring quality. 

For example, it's like belief is necessary for faith, but belief may not be accompanied by faith, which the bible says is the gift of God. 

To believe you need to be informed (Romans 10:14-15). And people may have all sorts of reactions to the information, including joy, like in the parable of the sower, but it is at the point of enduring that the rubber meets the road.

Being informed is not enough for faith. Again, belief is vital for faith, and it is attached to hearing. Faith - the gift of God - is linked to a change of heart.

I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies and I will give them tender hearts, so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:19)

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

Love for all the saints 

Love for the saints, in Paul's mind, is strong proof of faith in the Lord Jesus. It is not just liking the saints, but having a deep sense of connection with people who are not your natural family members. And it is love for all the saints. 

And that is the prayer of Jesus being answered: He prayed for oneness among the believers.

that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. (John 17:21)

And what better glue for oneness than love, right?

Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 )

So in the focus verse, Paul mentioned love and went on to other things, but in the Corinthians passage above, he dwelt on it for a bit.

We should not assume that we know what love is. The debunked concept of love languages may lead us to think that love is mechanical.

And someone can game the system.

• Attention: Someone will shout when you seem to require more time than they have allocated to you; (impatience)
• Touch: They may say I do not want to be touched. (self-serving, resentful, cannot bear all things)
• Gift: They buy you the cheapest thing, so they can say they are doing the love language, but it is a poisoned asp, if you ask me. (self-serving)
• Affirmation: They attack you verbally in one context and claim to be doing words of affirmation in another. I call it gaming the system. (easily angered)
• Acts of Service: Then you feign perpetual illness. (Can bear nothing)

Those things are not love; in my opinion, they are someone's attempt to sell a book.

Love is not a switch you turn on and off; it is not a tool to deploy; it is not a weapon to get what you want.

It is not a means to your self-defined end. It is not a gimmick to get what you want. It is deeper than that. If God is love, then we can be sure that the corruption of sin would be felt most in that department, don't you think?

Hence, the need to pay particular attention to what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Rejecting Money-For-Blessings Schemes in the Church

Rejecting Money-For-Blessings Schemes in the ChurchAre you tired of the spiritual pressure to “sow a seed” for divine favor? Have you been left disillusioned by doctrines that portray God as a cosmic merchant who must be paid before He will bless you?This book, Rejecting Money-For-Blessings Schemes in the Church, offers a critical and deeply scriptural examination of modern financial doctrines that have crept into the church. It meticulously dismantles the notion that giving is a transaction meant to control God or “activate” a miracle.In this essential work, you will: Reclaim the True Picture of God: Understand God as the generous Father who gives to all—even the unrighteous—and whose nature is to give freely, not to withhold until a price is paid. Discover Biblical Giving: Uncover the true foundation for Christian giving, which begins with acknowledging that “everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours” (1 Chronicles 29:14). Expose Misinterpretation: Systematically refute the false application of biblical parables, such as the Sower, and historical accounts, like the widow of Zarephath, to money-for-blessing schemes. Embrace a Cheerful Heart: Be released from the compulsion and fear-based giving tactics and learn to give “just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Reaffirm Christ’s Supremacy: Solidify your belief that “Christ who is your life” (Colossians 3:4), not material wealth, is the center of your devotion. This is a vital resource for anyone who has felt exploited, confused, or burdened by financial demands in a spiritual context. Return to the pure, unadulterated devotion to Christ, where the access to every good gift is secured by His blood, not your money. Reclaim the joy of true giving as an act of worship, not a down payment on a blessing.