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Ephesians 1 · a question people ask

"may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" (1:17). What is this spirit?

In the text

The verse says only that Paul asks "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you" (1:17) this spirit, and that it is "of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" (1:17). The next words are "having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling" (1:18). The chapter says no more of this spirit, and these notes don't say whether it means the Holy Spirit.

The verses

“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”
Ephesians 1:17-18 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1: Head over all things

Ephesians 1 has fullness twice, the same Greek noun both times: "the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ" (1:10), and, in the chapter's last words, "the fullness of him who fills all in all" (1:23).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions