Powering Forward

(Ephesians 1:15-23) Every year most of us watch the Superbowl some of us for the game and some of us for the commercials, right? During Superbowl 37, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, leaving him stranded on a desert island for years. Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand, after he has been rescued. When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, "Thank you." But curious about whats in the package that he has been protecting for years, he says, "If I may ask, what was in that package after all?" She opens it and says, "Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite phone, a global positioning device, a fishing rod, a water purifier, and some seeds." All those years trying to survive! If only he had known!

Okay, but how does that relate to the book of Ephesians? How? Well, its a near perfect illustration of the way many if not most of us live our Christians lives. We live like we are bereft, when all the time an unbelievable reservoir of resources is right at our fingertips right there within arms reach and we live as though they didnt even exist. That condition is the burden of Pauls prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23. This is another long sentence not quite as long as the 202 word extravaganza that is verses 1-14, but a 169 word marathon itself.

As he dictated from his prison home in Rome, Paul got all excited about the blessings in Christ that he describes in 1-14, but he had hardly finished before he realized the importance of believers actually utilizing what they have at hand, so he was off on another tangent this time a fervent and earnest prayer that the Ephesian believers, and by extension us, be powering forward in our Christian existence, not just living on the laurels of our initial faith and living like the rest of the world like Christ didnt exist or matter.
1

That is the connection between the first part of Ephesians 1 and the second. Some Christians keep praying for what they already have in the way of spiritual blessings. Others become complacent, thinking they already have it all, not realizing that they are not fully experiencing it. They have little or no appetite to know or experience their Christian privileges. One commentator says [Stott] Both these groups must be declared unbalanced. They have created a polarization which Scripture will not tolerate. What Paul does in Ephesians 1, and therefore encourages us to copy, is both to keep praising God that in Christ all spiritual blessings are ours and to keep praying that we may know the fullness of what he has given us You see, our tendency is to hear about the great blessings that are ours in verses 1-14 and go away thinking, great got that down. No you dont! None of us do. What I tried so inadequately to describe there is wealth which has no bottom, which we must continually be working to experience. Its rather like this. Suppose someone gave you a gift that amounted to $1,000,000. Even by todays standards, thats still a lot of money. But its not so much that you couldnt understand very well how much it is as you look at it spread out in front of you and it is not so much that you couldnt quite easily experience the joy of spending it. You could have a very nice time going on-line and checking in catalogs and checking out stores to decide what you wanted to do with this $1,000,000. Its nice; its great, but it is understandable, you can experience it and eventually you wouldnt have too much problems spending it all. But now suppose that somehow you inherited $1,000,000,000,000. Whole different story, isnt it? You wouldnt even begin to be able to comprehend it. You could experience it, but only in manageable chunks, and you certainly could never spend it all. It is too much. It would be unfathomable. You could spend a million dollars every day of your life and not even come close to spending it all. You say, give me the problem and let me see what I can do with it! Thats exactly the point! In spiritual terms, youve got it. The pile is absolutely bottomless. There is no possibility that you could ever begin to experience all that God has for you. But in so many cases, we are not living like it. Because it is unseen, we either forget to remember that its there or we think that weve exhausted it. Thats why Paul prays for these believers. He doesnt pray for them to have better homes or financial success or even
2

safety in the midst of trouble. The burden of his heart is that they Get it. That they know experientially in an ever increasing way the greatness of the treasure trove of spiritual blessings that lie mostly unused all around them. And thats my prayer for us, too, Beloved. There is so much for us to experience together. So our question for the next few weeks is, what did Pauls prayer include to help us connect with the reality of the spiritual blessings that are lying unused around us? I. Praise for the Present

It is both interesting and instructive that Paul does not immediately launch into petitions as he begins His prayer. Rather, he begins with thanksgiving and praise. This is sometimes lost on us, but honest thanksgiving to God is an exercise that we should practice until it becomes second nature and it should certainly be an integral part of our prayer life. Great promises attach to this. Paul says in Philippians 4: 6) do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. This admonition to couch our requests in thanksgiving is not for the Lords benefit. Yes, it is a nice, cordial thing to do, but it is really for our benefit. It sets the right frame of mind for us. If an attitude of thanksgiving for whatever is happening were to be our norm, it would be both a sign of trust and submission to Gods plan in our life. Thats where we want to be, isnt it? And Paul is showing the way here. Now, what does Paul thank God for? Does he thank God for their safety? No. For their success? No. For their kindness to him? No. For healing? No. Im sure he would have been grateful for any of those, but Paul chooses two things two things which are at the heart of Christian experience. He thanks God for their faith and for their love. I want you to know that as your pastor, this is one of the things that I am trying to learn. I am grateful for safety, healing, prosperity, and kindnesses shown, but more and more, I want my prayers for you to reflect the pattern Paul gives us to thank the Lord when we see signs of faith and love in each other. I want to tell you; it almost gives me goosebumps to think of the Lord blessing us in
3

those areas enough that we could really begin to thank Him for those realities in our lives. I believe with all my heart it can happen. I think its also interesting that Paul thanks God. He doesnt thank the people, but he expresses his gratitude to God. This is just another of a multitude of indications in this book that everything of worth comes from God, including the faith and love that was being exhibited in the Ephesians. Now, lets look at these items individually. A. Faith We read beginning in verse 15: 15) For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16) I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. The words your faith is literally the faith among you. Faith is used two ways in Scripture to indicate the act by which we become a believer in the first place and to indicate the life lived on the foundation of Gods word. The general nature of this section indicates that the emphasis is on both. The wording the faith among you -- indicates that this faith was to be found in the church at Ephesus, but in the end saving faith is an individual matter and not everyone had it. No doubt some thought they did, but in truth, they had not confessed their sins to Christ, taken up their cross and followed him as required. When Paul says, the faith among you, he leaves the door open that while faith existed there it was not universal. I attended a luncheon many years ago where the speaker was a man named John Valentine. John was 42 years of age at the time and was a chaplain for the California Angels baseball team. That day he read a paper entitled What Christ means to me. It was a very impressive paper written when John was 17 years of age. In it he talked about Jesus Christ being God in the flesh who died for the sins of the whole world. He talked about his coming again. He talked about how one could become a Christian by believing in this Jesus. But the reason that John Valentine read that paper that day was to illustrate that one could know all the facts and still not be saved, for he never personally accepted Christ as his own savior until he was 38 years of age. So the first question today is, do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? Have you truly invited him into your heart and life?
4

But there is another interesting note in verse 15. Paul says that he had heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus. I think it is very interesting that he does not just say your faith in Jesus, or your faith in Christ or your faith in Christ Jesus. Instead, he emphasizes the lordship of Jesus as the object of belief. It is interesting to me that there are some who claim that you can accept Jesus as Savior now, and make Him Lord later. They are saying in essence that one can legitimately say, I believe Jesus died for my sin, and I want Him to save me, but I do not want Him as Lord (basically as boss, as master). I dont want that. Maybe later, but not now. Some believe you can thus separate the person of Christ in that way, but I must tell you that it is a concept foreign to the New Testament. The New Testament does not separate Jesus as Savior from Jesus as Lord. He is both, or He is neither. I grant you that we do not always obey him perfectly as Lord, but to think that we can accept him initially as Savior with the express idea in mind that we will still make our own decisions and go our own way is ludicrous. Paul says in Romans 10, 9) because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord (not just Savior, but Lord) and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Jesus becomes Savior when He is accepted as Lord. For to this end, Paul explains later in Romans, Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living (14:9). When we receive Him, we receive Him wholly as He is 1 and that is both as Savior and as Lord. You cant take half now and half later. Turn with me to Matthew 16. I want you to see how clearly even Jesus Himself laid this out. Lets begin in verse 21: From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. We can well imagine that this was not a wellreceived message. This was the one that they had come to believe was the Messiah, and in keeping with the theological beliefs of their day, they expected he would throw off the yoke of Rome and set up shop. That was absolutely their belief at this point in time. So, we read on: 22) And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you. Dont you like the wording there? Peter, the big rough-hewn fisherman pulls Jesus aside and basically says, Hey, stop talking about death. Man, thats a negative message and its going to put everyone off. Stick with me and this
5

is never going to happen to you. Never going to happen. Pretty brave, huh? But look at Jesus response: 23) But he turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan! (In other words, you are interfering with the plan of Almighty God, and in so doing you are not protecting me, you are doing the work of Satan himself) You are a hindrance to me. And now, watch this. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. May I say, Peter is in essence trying to have Jesus as Savior, but not Lord. He wants forgiveness and salvation, but it is his plan that Jesus should become emperor, not a sacrifice, and so he rejects for the moment the Lordship of Christ. Now watch the Lords response. 24) Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me (that is, become a believer, a Christian), let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Does that sound like someone who is saying, Accept me as Savior now, and if you want to take me as Lord later as well, that would be great! Do you get that out of that passage? Me neither. Its not there. It is that saving faith that acknowledges Christ as both Savior and Lord that Paul refers to in Ephesians 1:15, and because it was real, that faith was continuing to be lived out in daily lives. Most, if not all, were converts from the cult of Artemis or Diana the goddess of fertility. Their faith was shown not only by their initial decision to become a follower of Christ, but by their daily decision to continue in that faith, to reject the false teaching they had been surrounded in and to even be rejected by their own families if necessary to continue to follow Christ. Faith made a difference! Look with me at the account in Acts 19:23-27: About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24) For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25) These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26) And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27) And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.
6

The Ephesians believed Christ would take care of them through thick and thin. Their faith was not like the man who was attempting to cross the frozen St. Lawrence River in Canada. Unsure whether the ice would hold, the man first tested it by laying one hand on it. Then he got down on his knees and gingerly began making his way across. When he got to the middle of the frozen river trembling with fear, he heard a noise behind him. Looking back, to his horror he saw a team of horses pulling a carriage down the road toward the river. And upon reaching the river they didnt stop, but bolted right onto the ice and past him, while he crouched there on all fours, turning a deep crimson. If only he had known how firm the ice really was that day. The Ephesians knew Christ had saved them and could hold them up, and as a result they were charging straight ahead B. Love Now, the second characteristic for which Paul thanks God their love of their fellow believers. Just think how complementary these two things are. Faith the description of a vertical relationship with God that is working and healthy. Love the description of a horizontal relationship toward others that is working and healthy. There is a connection as we shall see in a moment. But what a wonderful thing to be known as a congregation that loves people especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. I think we have a lot of that here, but I pray that we will get even better. Im praying it becomes an epidemic. The love that is mentioned here is once again . By way of review, this means that it is not that emotional response to someone attractive and interesting on the other side a love that seeks its own, desires to get and finds its source in the object. To the contrary, this is the love that is willing to give, sacrificially, and that does not take into account the attractiveness or interest of the one loved, but loves out of a will to love. Loves regardless of feeling. Performs acts of love always giving rather than getting always actively engaged despite feelings rather than because of feelings. Is that you and me? Now faith and love are practically married in the New Testament. Ive counted at least 20 verses where they are used together and are closely related. And it turns out that there is a vital connection indeed, between faith and love two cardinal marks of a true Christian. Paul says it this way in Galatians 5:6, 6) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
7

uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. The word working is a word were going to see a lot of in Ephesians. It is the Greek word , from which we get energy. It is saying that faith expresses its energy, its dynamic, its reality through love. This means, get this now, this means that love of other Christians is one way to check that you really have faith, for true faith shows itself outwardly, works itself out, by loving others. Faith and love are really inseparable. John says in I John 2: 9) Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10) Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11) But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. It is hard to miss Johns point here. If you think you have faith but are not loving fellow Christians, you are only fooling yourself. Now, remember, he is not talking about being attracted to other believers. He is talking about willingly and sacrificially serving, honoring, respecting, doing for in short, agapeing other believers. That, Beloved, is one test of our faith. Is it genuine or not? Check it out. Are you giving to others, for that is what this kind of love does? I think it is interesting that there is no wiggle room in either one of these passages. John, as usual, is very black and white. You either love your brother and abide in the light (faith), or you hate your brother and walk in darkness (unfaith). Paul says, 15) For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints. Note the word all. Folks, we dont get to pick and choose here. A true sign of genuine faith is that we choose to love all of our brothers and sisters, including those who are unkind, unattractive, unloving, unworthy, and insensitive and uninspiring. Sometimes we hear Christians say, Well, I love him or her in the Lord as though that were some special category. In truth, it is. It basically means there is no personal attraction or affection and consequently no personal commitment to the needs of that individual, but rather a sort of tolerance. But that is not genuine love that is tolerance. Genuine love is looking for ways to serve, willingly, sacrificially and the real test, enthusiastically.
8

Always in the New Testament true spiritual love is defined as an attitude of self-less sacrifice that results in generous acts of kindness done to others. It is far more than a feeling, an attraction or emotion. When the Lord had washed the feet of the proud and selfseeking disciples, He told them that what He had done for them was the example of how they were to love each other. John emphasizes the same truth in I John 3: 16) By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17) But if anyone has the worlds goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does Gods love abide in him? 18) Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. Isnt it sad that Christians are so often better known for their internal squabbles than for their love? It should not be! It will not be, not if our faith is genuine. I saw a picture once. It showed a bunch of unhappy selfish people sitting around a table where there was an abundance of food. However, the only implements were long-handled spoons. Each person had one, but the handles were so long that they could not feed themselves. They could only eat if they fed each other something none were willing to do. The title of the picture Hell. It was more appropriate titled than the artist probably realized, for the sign of true faith is genuine love. In the absence of love, there is the absence of faith. Given Pauls thanks for the Ephesian believers, this is a great time for us to do a checkup. Theres a rather sad sequel to this praise that Paul gives the Ephesians. About 30 or 35 years after Paul writes to them, John wrote the book of Revelation. In it, Jesus himself dictated messages to 7 of the churches that resided in the Asia Minor area, and among those was the church at Ephesus. After commending them for many of their virtues particularly their endurance and their stance against false apostles, he goes on to say this in Revelation 2:4 But [dont you hate the word but?] But I have this against y you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember t therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Do you see there how he relates love with works? But the sad thing is that they had abandoned their love. Interesting again that they abandoned it. Ive often heard it said that the Ephesians lost their first love. Nothing of the sort. As it was an act of the will to exercise it in the first place, it was an act of the will to abandon it. You might easily lose , for that is dependent on an emotional reaction created by the object of love. But you cannot lose . It can only be abandoned. If we have not love for our fellow-believers, we have no one to blame but ourselves, Beloved. Let us
9

choose to love one another. That is the first way we connect with our spiritual blessings, but having faith that expresses itself in love for our fellow believers and then thanking God for the same in others. II. Petition for Progress After Paul has expressed his thanks to God for the faith and love of the Ephesian believers, he begins to petition the Lord on their behalf. His petition is a model for us. I think it is interesting that he is not praying for their business success or their new building project or any other physical manifestation. Rather, he is concerned about the continuing growth of the spiritual lives. And this is particularly interesting because they are already people whom he has just commended for their spiritual lives. These were not people like the Corinthians who had largely returned to their chaotic pre-Christians existence. The Ephesians have been living exemplary lives demonstrating faith and love and yet there is more. There is always more. We can never plumb the depths of our Lords sufficiency. We must never look at ourselves as having arrived. We must never think of ourselves as superior to anyone spiritually. We must maintain a humble spirit in the realization that there is so much more to experience than we have now. It is not a question of getting more from God or more of God. It is always a question of God getting more of me. Now it will be helpful to our own spiritual development to study carefully what exactly Paul does pray for these people who are already doing quite well. As we examine this petition we will look at the Controlling Idea, the Conditions and the Content of his prayer. A. The Controlling Idea The controlling idea of Pauls petition is found in verse 17) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. We will come back to the early items of this verse in a little bit, but the controlling idea the thing that drove Pauls life and drove this prayer is that last request that they might have knowledge of him. If you want to know the essence of the Christian life there it is in a phrase to know Him. The Westminster Shorter Catechism got it exactly right when it included as its first question and answer: What is the chief end of man? Answer: Mans chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That is a marvelous distillation of
10

what all of Scripture is about and you can be sure that our joy or lack thereof will be largely dependent on how well we are living up to this purpose. Paul himself, as we have seen before, remarkably summarizes the goal of his own life as being 10) that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. As it was the goal for his own life, he prayed the same thing for the Ephesians. Dr. James Boice, for many years the pastor of the great Tenth Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia once said this: Some years ago I was in a question-and-answer session following a meeting of the post-college group at Tenth Presbyterian Church, and I was asked, Dr. Boice, what do you think is the greatest lack among evangelical Christians in America today? It was the first time I had been asked that question, but it was asked at a timely moment. I had been doing work on the attributes of God and had this in mind. So although at an earlier period in my ministry I might have said, To be faithful to the teachings of Scripture, to show love for one another, or some such thing, in this case I replied, I think that the greatest need of the evangelical church today is for professing Christians really to know God. My opinion has not changed in the years since. Now before we look at exactly what this means, consider for a moment what Paul did not say. What he did not say was Gnothi Seaton Gnothi Seaton -- the immortal words meaning Know thyself inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in ancient Greece. This phrase, variously attributed to many ancient Greek philosophers, including Thales of Miletus, Pythagoras, Solon of Athens and Socrates, was the capstone of Greek philosophy. In fact, its more than that. It is the apex that can be offered when taking man as the center of the universe, and thus the phrase has endured, not just in ancient times, but as the centerpiece of virtually all modern philosophy and psychology. What is the ultimate goal Know thyself. And, of course, its great corollary Assert Yourself. Selfassertiveness training has become a staple of HR departments in recent years. In stark contrast to that adage is Pauls prayer that the Ephesians might know God. Gnothi Seauton is a dead end street when separated from knowing God if you havent already found that out. The more you now of yourself, the more likely you are to become depressed and joyless, for an honest evaluation of self will show that while you may have high ideals,
11

you have an absolutely persistent inability to live by them. While you may have a sense of adventure, the vastness of the universe caps all your possibilities. While you may value relationships, you value yourself higher. While you may desire peace, you have conflict in your own soul. While you may have love, it is only for the lovely and though you sense that you are made for eternity and desire immortality, you have no way to get there. Old time theologian, E. W. Bullinger said concerning those driven to know themselves: Instead of breathing this life-giving air of heaven, their windows are closed, and their doors are shut, and they are asphyxiated with their own exhalation. They are breathing over again and again their own breath from which all vitality is gone. Know thyself is a dead end street. Now, I am not suggesting that we should not know ourselves intimately. We should. We should know our skills and talents and ability. We should assess them carefully and honestly so that they are neither over-stated nor understated in our minds. We should know our mental capacities, our emotional strengths and weaknesses. And we need to know our heart. We need to know the inherent selfishness there and realize that just pursuing what I want is a dead end street. You see, concentration only, or even mostly, on self leads to living our lives cafeteria style self-service only! Someone has rightly said, One-half of our problems come from wanting our own way. The other half come from getting it! We could end up like the married couple, both 60 years old, who were celebrating their 35th anniversary. During their party, a fairy appeared to congratulate them and grant them each one wish. The wife wanted to travel around the world. The fairy waved her wand and poof -- the wife had tickets in her hand for a world cruise. Next, the fairy asked the husband what he wanted. He said, "I wish I had a wife 30 years younger than me." So the fairy picked up her wand and poof -- the husband was 90 years old. Getting what we want isnt always so great, is it? M. Scott Peck was a well-known American psychiatrist and author. His best known work was The Road Less Traveled. His own life was somewhat tumultuous as he spent many years studying Budhism and Islam. But in 1980 he embraced Christianity which was the bedrock of his work until his death in 2005. In his book, The People of the Lie, Peck tells about a woman named Charlene who initially rejected Christianity on the basis that it would be the death of her. She wanted to live only for her own sake, feeling
12

Christianity would stifle her creativity. Peck uses Charlene as an example of the mental un-health that engulfs a person who has nothing in his or her life more important than the fulfillment of individual needs and wants. He says, "Mental health requires that the human will submit itself to something higher than itself. To function decently in this world we must submit ourselves to some principle that takes precedence over what we want at any given moment." That is why the Bible from cover to cover urges that we get to know Him, because every desire of the human heart is met in Him. What we can never achieve on our own, we can achieve in Him. In Him we have the potential for victory over sins power now and over its presence ultimately. We have the promise of knowledge and adventure that will traverse the universe. We have peace within and, oh, yes, we have eternal life. Youll never find those in yourself, Beloved, but you will find all that and so much more in knowing Him. Theres a big difference between book knowledge and experiential knowledge. When I first started playing golf, I went out and got books by Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan. I very quickly had the basic principles down. But I well remember an early round with my cousin who was patient with me in those early days. After one particularly bad shot, I said, This is the toughest course in the world. He said, How would you know? You havent been on it yet. Pauls point exactly. It is wonderful to know facts about God, but Paul is praying that we will actually experience God. Big difference. Now lets examine what Paul means here. The word Paul uses here for knowledge is the normal Greek word for knowledge, but it is intensified by the addition of the little prefix . He is pressing a concept that goes beyond the mere collection of facts about God. Those are important, and you cant get far in truly knowing God without them, but what Paul is praying for here is a true experiential knowledge of God. Theres a big difference between book knowledge and experiential knowledge. When I first started playing golf, I went out and got books by Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan. Very quickly I had the basic principles firmly in my head. A book knowledge. But I well remember one of the first rounds with my cousin. After an unusually bad shot, I said, This is the toughest course in the world. My cousin said, How would
13

you know? You havent been on it yet. Thats my golf game, folks. Facts about God are great, but Paul is praying that we experience Him. Let me help you look at this in a different manner this morning than you may have ever done before. Do you know why you are a sexual creature? Have you ever wonder about that? You say, for procreation. And, of course, that is correct. But lets face it, God could have found a lot of ways to have children born other than through a sexual relationship, could He not? The truth is that just as with most things in our make-up, it is intended in some way to explain, illustrate, illuminate, enlighten us concerning a relationship with God, and our sexual nature is no different. Have you ever noticed all the times in the Bible when the relationship of husband and wife is used to illustrate the relationship between God and His people? Surely that has not escaped your notice. Some of the language is too graphic for a service like this, but read Ezekiel 16 sometime where the Lord dramatically describes how he watched his bride mature and then took her as his beautiful bride only to have her give herself over to other lovers. God made us sexual beings and then described our rejection of Him in sexual terms so that it could be seen how awful it is to reject him. We can all relate because we know how it feels to be rejected by someone we truly love. God wanted to provide images we could understand to see how precious is a relationship with him and how awful rejection of him. This is one reason that sexual impurity is so very destructive in the eyes of God. It not only destroys earthly relationships, it totally destroys the intended image of a relationship with God that it was intended to foster in the first place. Now, listen to Genesis 4:1 1) Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. What is God saying here that Adam got acquainted with Eve and lo and behold a child came along? Of course not, we are all aware that the word know is used consistently in the OT to speak of the marital relationship. A depth, an intensity, a desire, an intimacy thus attaches to this word that is lost in its English translation. Now turn with me to Hosea 2. I want to show you just one more example that I could multiple many time over. In this passage of Scripture, Israels sin of idolatry is pictured in graphic sexual terms. Why? Because God made us the way we are so that we would specifically get it when He speaks of rejection in this way. We can literally feel the agony of rejection.
14

But now now God says this beginning in verse 14: 14) Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. This speaks of our Lords activity in graciously providing redemption through Christ, so that despite our abject failure and sin and betrayal despite our purposeful rejection of Him, we are wooed back. Oh, what a picture and we get it because of the way He made us. Now skip down to verse 19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20) I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. Do you see it, folks? Just as you desire your husband or wife, just as your treasure that relationship and the joy that it brings, so should be our desire for God. Thats what Paul is praying when he prays that they will know God. Suppose when you got married, you just get to know certain facts about your wife? Would it please you and give you great joy to know that she is 55 tall and that she has blue eyes and dark hair? Would you be satisfied to know that her favorite color is blue and that she makes a great beef stroganoff? And then nothing! No talk, no tasting that stroganoff, no looking into those eyes. Nothing more! Just facts. Would that do it? No, of course, not. You want to live with her, talk to her, experience her, have a relationship with her that reflects the relationship that God wants to have with us. Do you get it? I love a line from a movie Patty and I saw recently. After a romantic day experienced by two people who were just getting to know each other, the girl, upon arriving back at her apartment says to the guy in a moment of spontaneity, Lets get married. He responds, Get married? I barely know you. She says, I know, but you can learn me. Dont you like that? You can learn me. God doesnt want us just to know that He forgives; he wants to forgive you! He doesnt just want us to know that He is all powerful; He wants us to trust him absolutely so that we can see and experience His power. God doesnt just want us to know that He has compassion; He wants us to accept His compassion for us when we go through lifes hardest issues. Yes, the facts are important, but only as they lead us to know Him. Now, one more thing to see the absolute importance of this, I want to show you that knowing God is key to living a holy life, and if that is not happening for you, you may now know God. If you are caught up in a life
15

devoted to bitterness over some past wrong; if you cannot get along at home or work because you are unkind, intolerant, selfish and ornery; if greed keeps you from giving freely to others and the Lord; if your passion finds its outlet in pornography, flirtation or illicit relationships; if you are a dictator in your office, home or church; if your mouth is the channel of unkind words, questionable stories, or routine untruths; if your idea of selfcontrol is to stop just short of murder you may not know God. Peter says in 1: 3) His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him (in other words, you desire godliness, you must know Him) who called us to his own glory and excellence (not ours, you see, but His). So are we to be perfect? Of course, not, but if those characteristics I listed above dominate your life; and if you lack even the desire to see them changed, then you must look deep. Brennan Manning said in an address that I attended at William Jessup University in Spring 2008, We need to know God. The church is divided between those who are really, truly aware of Gods love and those who are unaware. Thats the great distinction among church goers. We truly need to know God because healing our image of God heals ourselves. We behave like the image we have of God. God will get you for that and get you good. If you hear that coming out of your mouth, be careful. It reflects what you think of God. God is a God of holiness, but He is also a God of infinite grace. The worst case scenario is given to us by Christ Himself. 22) On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? 23) And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. 24) Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Folks, we need to build on the rock that is knowing Him so that we never hear those words from Him. That is the central theme of this petition by Paul. Part of connecting the activities of our daily life to the treasure-store of spiritual blessings that lies unused all around us is to know Him. Now, lets look at the conditions for getting there. What does it take to know Him? B. The Conditions
16

Now in this passage of Scripture, Paul points out two conditions that need to be met for the Ephesians to experience the knowledge of God. He prays for both on their behalf. How do we begin to really experience God? 1. Have a spirit of wisdom and revelation In the first instance, he prays according to verse 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. Now the first question is, how should we understand the term spirit? Is it the human spirit? The Holy Spirit? What did Paul have in mind? It is pretty clear that he is not referring to the human spirit. In the first place, every human being already has one, and secondly, this spirit brings revelation a word that speaks of something hidden and in the context means spiritual truth. The human spirit cannot do that. At the same time, Paul cannot be praying that they received the Holy Spirit. Per verse 13 they have already been sealed the promised Spirit. Paul says in Romans 8:9 that anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Therefore, he cannot be praying that God give them the Holy Spirit. Rather Paul is using the term spirit much as we might use it today to speak of someone having a certain attitude or disposition a spirit of thanksgiving or helpfulness. Paul is literally praying that they will be disposed toward, want to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation essentially that they will hunger after and long for wisdom and revelation because that is what will lead them to the knowledge of God. The term revelation is from a root word, , that means to cover, hide or conceal. Then a prefix, , is added that negates the root meaning and thus means to uncover, reveal. This can only refer here to the truths of the gospel as contained in the Word of God. Then the word wisdom might be translated insight. It is that special ability to take raw knowledge and apply it in a meaningful way to life. Paul is praying that they will be constantly learning more about God and applying it to their lives. This corresponds almost exactly to the instruction given in James 1: 22) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Hear it; know it; do it. Thats the pattern Paul is looking for.
17

Remember, at the time Paul was writing this letter, there was no such thing as the New Testament. There was New Testament truth. But the New Testament in written form as we have it today did not exist. So when Paul prays that God may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, he is praying that they will first of all know that truth contained in the revelation that he and other apostles were disseminating, that they will have the wisdom to apply it to life, to experience it, as we discussed last week, and that in that process they will come to know God. We could look at many passages to show that the word translated revelation here means the Word of God, particularly the New Testament truths of which Paul was one of the disseminators. Lets just look at a couple. Paul says right here a little later in Ephesias 3:3-4: how the mystery was made known to me by revelation (there is our word), as I have written briefly. 4) When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ. That mystery as we will see later, was the truth of the New Testament. This is made particularly clear in Galatians 1:11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not mans gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I t taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. So what Paul is praying in essence it that God will give them a spirit, an attitude toward, a longing for the Word of God. This is the starting point. The Holy Spirit can be in our lives, Folks, and be absolutely hamstrung to do anything because the Word of God is His tool. It is what he works with and if it is missing, he is like a craftsman trying to build a house without hammer, saw or nails! This is why the Bible everywhere urges us to know the Word of God. The simple truth is that we cannot have or live a spiritual life without the Word. It just isnt possible. We have largely misplaced this emphasis in our day. I dont know why, but we are wrapped around the axle in churches trying the latest methods, schemes and enticements to get people to come, and then we give them nothing. The circus has come to town, but there is no substance because we are not people of the Word. Listen, heres the good news. The Word of God never goes out of style. We may remove it from our lives and experience and strategy, but in Gods eyes, it never goes out of style. It is always the starting point with God. I dont really care what else we do to attract, entice, evangelize or whatever,
18

we must first and foremost be people of the Word. Are you a person of the Word? Does it grip you and compel you and pull you. Listen to Joshuas instruction in Joshua 1:8, This Book of the Law shall not depart from your m mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. D. L. Moody said, I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible. If a man neglects his Bible, he may pray and ask God to use him in His work, But God cannot make use for there is not much for the Holy Spirit to work with. He was right. No Word: not tools for the Holy Spirit to use. So, are you giving Him tools to work with? David said in Psalm 1:1-2, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2) but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. So do you delight in the Word of God? Do you put yourself under its teaching? Do you spend time in it? Lets face it, if someone came through town and said, Come to the Heritage Market at 12:00 noon. God is going to be giving a personal message. Come and hear what He has to say. Youd be there, wouldnt you? Youd be there. Heres the point In His Word, we have His revelation, we have his Word, we have what He says is sufficient for this time for everything we need. But we ignore it. Why? Thinking we understand it? Thinking we got it? Finding it tedious to understand? I must tell you, folks, Ive been studying it for 50 years and I find it ever new. Always finding things I didnt know before. You say, Yes, but dont you ever find it boring? Difficult to understand? Tough to follow? And I would answer yes to all of those. Yes. There are days when I say, What is that all about Lord? Why did you put that in there? But listen closely now. See, Jesus himself acknowledged that His word would not always be easy. The disciples asked him why he spoke in parables, and he basically said so that those who really want it will get it and those who dont, wont! Thats challenging, is it not. Folks, you have to want this. Listen to Jesus beginning in Matthew 13:13, 13) This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14) Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: You will indeed hear but never understand,
19

and you will indeed see but never perceive. 15) For this peoples heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. 16) But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. You have to want this, Folks. Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 15:16, 16) Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. You have to want this, Folks. Not everyone does. But what joy will come to those who do. You want to know why my whole ministry is dedicated first and foremost to studying, learning, applying and teaching the Word of God in church, in classes, wherever I can This is why. It is the only way to God. As leaders it is our responsibility to make sure opportunity is there for you to hear the Word. As Christian people, it is your responsibility to take advantage of those opportunities and let nothing get in the way. Here should be our attitude toward the Word of God. Its in I Peter 2:2-3, Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation 3) if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Its a command, Beloved. We are commanded to long for the milk of the Word, and the promise is that we will find the Lord to be good! But you have to want it. We have a collie dog. Hes a good dog, but he has a mind of his own, and sometimes he obeys and sometimes not. But there is one thing he knows. He knows when you hold a treat out in front of him and ask him to sit, he cant do it fast enough. And if you ask him to shake, up comes that paw, sometimes before you even ask. Lately, Patty has been having him go through all of that and then lie down on the floor before he gets the food. So, now when you show him his cookie, he sits, raises his paw and is down on his stomach in a flash. Youd swear you were watching a film in speedup mode. It is hysterical. He want it. Do you want it? You want to know just how important this is? Listen to David in Psalm 119:25, My soul clings to the dust (in other words, Im dyin here); give me life according to your word! You have to want it.

20

A lady bought a parakeet and took it home expected to teach it to converse, but it would not say a word, so she finally went back to the store to complain. Oh, we forgot, you need a mirror. Then it looks at itself and begins chirping away. So she bought the mirror, but had no luck. Went back to the store and they said, Oh, we forgot. What you need is this little ladder. It will climb up and down and enjoy itself so much that it begins to talk in spite of itself. So, she bought the ladder, but while the bird enjoyed the ladder, it remained mute. Back again. You need this little swing. It gets so relaxed and feels so safe that it will begin to talk. A few days later, she was back again, this time with the cage in tow and a bird lying dead on the bottom of the cage. Well, what happened? asked the store owner. Did the bird ever talk? Yes, the lady replied, It did. Well, what did it say? It said, doesnt that bird store sell any birdseed? Listen, just as surely as that bird died without food, you will die without the Word. I dont mean that you will lose your salvation if you are truly saved, although one sign of that salvation should be a longing for His Word. But I mean that your spiritual life will be useless, tedious, boring, apart from His Word. But you have to want it. Do you want it? Alfred Hitchcock, who enjoyed food, as you might expect, was put out to find total inadequate quantities served up at a private dinner he attended. Toward the end of the evening the host said, I do hope you will dine with us again soon. By all means, assented Hitchcock. Lets start now. Beloved, lets start now. I promise to give you the very best meal I possible can on Sunday morning with the help, guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, but that is a starvation diet at best. We need spiritual nourishment daily, just like we need food physically. I urge you, be in Bible studies. Join us in some that are offered here or elsewhere, but do something that will get you into Gods Word on a daily basis and give the Holy Spirit time to teach you by thinking about and meditating on what you are reading. Hes a far better teacher than I or any other human could ever be. But we have to want it. And we have to give him time to give us insight. That brings us to the wisdom part of this phrase. Paul prays that God may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. The spirit of wisdom if knowledge put to work. It is what takes us from the realm of mere knowledge to experience. You cant get wisdom unless you first have the revelation and apply yourself to spending time in the Word. Thats the tool. But just as you cant build a house without hammer, saws
21

and nail (the Word), so you cant build it without putting those to use in a meaningful way (thats the wisdom part, the insight). Paul elaborates on this in even more detail in I Corinthians 2: 6) Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7) But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8) None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9) But, as it is written, What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him (now, so many times you hear Christian people and even pastors stop at that point and begin to talk about how wonderful heaven will be when we learn all these things, but, folks read on! This is for NOW!) 10) these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. Heaven will be great and we will learn even more there, but we dont have to wait. There is so much for here and now but you have to want it! The bottom line to all of this is really simple, folks. Whatever we think we know of God; however long we may have been a Christian; however many Bible studies we may have attended; however many conferences we may have attended; however many positions of authority we may have held; however many trials we may have been through there is MORE. There is MORE. And Paul longs for these friends to experience it and to know God in a deeper, more intimate, more trusting manner than they ever have. He wants it to be fresh and new not yesterdays coffee not last weeks leftovers not the building materials of 25 years ago but tomorrows menu. Thats what Paul wants for them. He wants it to be ever new! And it can be, but we must want it, we must pursue it, and in this, we must be led to it by the Holy Spirit. When Dr. Harry A. Ironside living in SoCal as a young man and was preaching in the area, he would sometimes visit a wonderful man of God, Andrew Fraser, who had come from Northern Ireland because of his health. This man had what was called in those days galloping consumption, and he was living his last days in a little tent out back of the home of Dr. Ironsides parents. He had been greatly used of God in teaching the Word. While Dr. Ironside would sit with him, he would open up the Scriptures in such an amazing way that Dr. Ironside one day asked him, Where did you learn that? Well, this man said, I didnt get it by going to seminary
22

because I never went to seminary. I never learned it by going to college. No one particularly taught me. Rather I learned these things on my knees on the mud floor of a little sod cottage in the north of Ireland. There with my open Bible before me, I used to kneel for hours at a time and ask the Spirit of God to reveal Christ to my soul, and open the Word to my heart. He taught me more on my knees on that mud floor that I could ever have learned in all the seminaries and colleges in the world.

I hope its not true, but I fear that many of us may have folded up shop some time ago. We got to a certain point with the Lord and then it began to lose its freshness, its newness, its relevance because somehow, somewhere along the line, someone failed us or someone sinned or we just wore out. Oh, I pray with Paul that God will give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation an appetite that can never be satisfied, an insatiable desire for Him.

2. Have the eyes of our hearts enlightened

So, the first condition of our growing toward God is to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation a longing for Gods Word and Gods Spirit to teach us. The second condition is that we must have open eyes. See Pauls prayer in verse 18: having the eyes of your hearts enlightened.

The term heart used here speaks as it always does in Scripture of the entire inner man. We use it today to speak of emotions, but in the Bible it is all inclusive it is all that we are inside. Paul is saying, Just as you have physical eyes that enable you to relate to the physical world, I want you to have spiritual eyes that help you relate to the spiritual world.

Our eyes are amazing organs, are they not? They see danger coming. When I used to play baseball, my eyes would see the ball coming toward
23

me. They would send a message to my brain Incoming! Duck or catch it! My eyes enable me to maneuver down the road without falling into potholes. Paul is saying, just like your physical eyes help you spot things so that you head toward things that are good and away from things that are harmful and dangerous and destructive, so I want you to have the eyes of your heart opened so that you move in right directions.

Now the grammar here is interesting, though it is not obvious in any English translation of this verse. Paul actually uses a perfect participle here which indicates that the opening of their eyes has already happened. It already happened. What he literally prays is that they will have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, since their eyes had already been opened in the past with continuing results in the present. You say, well, youve complicated that out of any possibility of understanding.

Well, think of it this way. Paul is basically acknowledging that when the Ephesians came to faith in Christ, the eyes of their heart were opened. They were opened. They could never have come to faith had that not been true. And the perfect participle indicates his expectation that there will be continuing good results from that which has already happened. If there are not, it is certainly not Gods fault, for He has opened their eyes. If they choose not to take advantage well, guess whos responsible for that.

Let me illustrate. Turn to II Kings 6. The background to this passage is that Israel is at war with Syria, but every time the king of Syria thinks he has them pinned down, they get away. It is like they have a spy in his own tent tell his every move ahead of time. It is disconcerting to say the least. When he inquires, Why, he is told that it is all the fault of the prophet Elisha who is telling the king of Israel how to proceed on advice from God.

That seems simple enough, so the king of Syria sends not one, not two, not a hundred men, but a whole army to capture this one Israelite. Incredible when you think about it. Reminds me of the old joke from the days of the Six Day War in Israel in 1973 when Israel seemed invincible. The joke was that an army of Egyptians had a single Israeli surrounded in some building
24

or other. So they began to close in, but as they were stealthily moving forward, the scouting party who had been sent ahead suddenly appeared running for all they were worth toward the rear, waving and shouting, Go back! Go back! Its an ambush. There are two of them! Well, same here. They came by night and surrounded Elisha, so we pick up the story when his servant got up the next morning in verse 15 15) When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, Alas, my master! What shall we do? 16) He said, Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 17) Then Elisha prayed and said, O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18) And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, Please strike this people with blindness. So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. Now, look. That servant had been with Elisha. He had seen all the things that God had done. I think he was a believer, but somewhere along the line he had closed the eyes of his heart. He was not seeing by faith! He saw only the circumstances and not the Savior. Only when God opened his eyes did he realize how secure he was. Want to know God, Beloved? Then our spiritual eyes of faith must be seeing Him. We must be looking up at all times. We must be trusting Him in any circumstances. We must have a spirit of wisdom and understanding and we too can know God. We can experience Him in a way we never have before. Those are the conditions. Now lets move to the heart of this passage the specific Content of what Paul wanted these believers to understand. C. The Content Beginning in verse18, Paul lists three specific things that he prayed that the Ephesians would have. Given that he could have prayed for anything from their physical health and well being to their evangelistic zeal, I think it is imperative that we know what these are and see that priority that he has given them. Paul makes three great petitions, each introduced by the word what. Notice that even his petitions are not in any sense selfish, but are
25

aimed entirely at lining up with the purpose of God Great principle for any prayer. 1. The hope to which they are called Look with me at verse 18: 18) having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you (literally the hope of the calling of Him emphasis on Him). Point number 1 he wants the Ephesians, and by extension us, to know that hope to which we have been called. Remember that we wont get this if we do not have a spirit of wisdom and spiritual eyes that are seeking it. So, lets come to this with a true intensity to know, understand and experience what it is that Paul views as such a priority. What is the hope of His calling? No hope outside of Christ There are obviously two key words in our phrase. The first is the word hope. Usually when we hear the word hope it brings to mind something that may or may not happen, but that is not the sense here. Here the word hope refers to that which is certain, but has not yet been realized, thus it is a hope in the sense of anticipation, not doubt. More on that later. The second word that demands out attention is the word called. There are two kinds of calls or callings in Scripture. The first is what we might term a general or universal call. This is the call represented in Jesus words in Matthew 16:24, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. That is a universal call to salvation extended to all people for all time. It is extended universally, though not everyone by any means accepts that call. Then there is a special call, or what the church fathers usually designated an effectual call. The Bible uses the term in this way, for example, in Romans 8:28, 28) And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called (literally, the called ones) according to his purpose. This cannot be speaking of everyone, for all things do not work out together for good to those who do not love God and are not in Christ and therefore not called. Clearly the call in verse 18 is the special or effectual call. This is something definitely reserved for believers. It is not for everyone. When Paul says
26

literally that he wants us to know the hope of the calling of Him he is pointing us directly back to verses 4-6 where he talks about our election and predestination all arranged and accomplished by God before the world ever began. But in the very next chapter Paul notes that these Epheisans had not always had hope. When they were saved by grace through faith (as noted in 2:8-9), they got hope, but their condition previous to that is described in 2:12) remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. I want to assure you this morning, Beloved, that there is a big difference between having hope and having no hope. Its a chasm that is unbridgeable without Christ and it shows now in this life. Paul says in I Thess 4:13) But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. It is entirely possible to be without hope and I want to tell you, it shows. Ive seen no hope. Over the years I have done many funerals for people who know the Lord. I have also done many funerals for people who in all likelihood did not know Jesus. The funeral home that was close to our church was often looking for someone to conduct funerals for people who did not have a church home or pastor and so they often called. When I could, I went. May I say to you that it matters whether you have hope or not. What you might find surprising is that most people will say all the right things about heaven and about God and even sometimes about Jesus, but when the time comes for that final goodbye then it is not the same. Do Christians grieve? Of course, as we should for one who will be away from us for some time, but not with the hopelessness of one who has died without Christ. I have seen people literally have to be physically pulled away from the casket and gravesite of a loved one because they have no hope beyond the grave not really. So challenge number one for us is to be sure that we are in Christ, that we have the hope of his calling, that our life, while it will be anything but perfect basically reflects a commitment to Him. To have the hope of ones calling is to be absolutely secure in the knowledge of belonging to Him. Do you have that assurance? Do you live like that? It is said that the great philosopher, Bertrand Russell was once asked whether he would be prepared to die for his beliefs, he replied, Of
27

course not. After all I may be wrong. That is exactly what Paul is praying will not be the case with the Ephesians. He want them to have no doubt of their calling. Now, lets look at exactly what is the content of this hope that we are to have assurance in. What does this hope consist of? Well, our starting point is the reference back to verses 4 and following where we find that as a result of His calling we have redemption, forgiveness, sealing and all of these other benefits. All of those are part of our hope because we do not have them in their completeness yet. Hope is forward looking But primarily the hope of His calling is forward looking. As you would expect by Pauls use of the word hope, the emphasis is on the future. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells the story of Philip Henry, the father of Matthew Henry the commentator. He and a young lady had fallen in love with each other. She belonged to a higher level of society than he did, and although she had become a Christian and therefore regarded such things differently, her parents saw the disparity in social status as an obstacle to the marriage. This man Philip Henry, they said, where has he come from? To this question the future Mrs. Henry gave the immortal reply, I do not know w where he has come from, but I know where he is going. In Christian circles the worth of a person is determined not by his or her background (we are all only sinners saved by grace) but by where we are going. We are going to Zion. We are going to be like the Lord Jesus Christ in every way. Knowing this gives Christians confidence. It gives us the assurance that we really are Gods children and that his hand is on us, leading us to a certain and blessed destiny. There are many passages in the New Testament that speak of our calling and our hope. They demonstrate the richness of the inheritance we have in Christ. What amazed me as I examined them was how few of them relate to this life. It is not that God has left us bereft at all in our present circumstances, but believe me, our hope, our ultimate reward, the culmination of what we got when we got Christ is not in this life. So, I want to share with you a representative few of the items that constitute the hope of His calling. We will not begin to go through all of them this morning, but I want us to get a flavor of just what we have in store.
28

First, just flip over to Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Spiritjust as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call. I mention this passage not because it speaks so much of what our hope is, but to show you that there is one single hope that binds us together as believers. You do not have your little hope over in your corner and I have mine in my corner. Instead, we are tied together as those who share a wonderful promise. Now, perhaps the broadest definition of the hope of our call is found in I Timothy 6: 12) Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. What is our hope eternal life. A benefit that holds promise both for now and for the future. Many passages of Scripture explain that we have eternal life now. But, of course, its ultimate manifestation is yet to come. There is another wonderful description of our hope found in Galatians 5:5 where Paul says: For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. Now at first glance we tend to kind of just gloss over that, but look at it again folks. Paul says that we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. Thats not a simple thing. Can you even begin to imagine what it will like to be free of sin? Not just the power of sin, but from the very presence of sin, for that is what he is talking about here. In Christ, in this life, we are free from the power of sin. The Bible teaches that we need not sin. But we still have the old sin nature for now. We still have Satan prowling like a roaring lion seeking to devour us seeking to tempt us when least expected in the most unusual, unexpected and unseen ways, -- and, so we sin. Not like we did before Christ. Not like we would if we did not have Christ. But we sin and we long to be free of it, but in this life we never will be. Can you imagine what it will be like when the very presence of sin is gone? Can you even imagine? Ill tell you what it reminds me of. A man went to his doctor and reported, I take a look in the mirror, and I think Im looking at a dead man. My face is thin, my cheeks are hollow, my skin is sallow, and my hair is falling out. What is it? The doctor said, I dont know. But I can tell you one thing your eyesight is perfect. Ever feel that way? Like you can see every flaw in your life every selfish act, every intolerant phrase, every unkind word and every bad attitude. Your eyesight is perfect, (well, actually, even that is messed up in this life) but you just cant always get it right even what you
29

do see. Take heart, Beloved. Part of the hope of His calling is NO SIN. What a day that will be! Now, were going to see a bit more specificity, so hang on to your hat and get your spiritual eyes open to really get this. Try to hear it for the first time. In Titus 2:13, Paul says that we are 13) waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Folks, if that doesnt warm our hearts, the question is, what would it take? Many, many, many years ago, when I was just a small boy in Hutchinson, Kansas the days before I went to work at the age of 5 (okay, okay, so I was a little older than that) I often found myself on hot summer days sitting in front of our little black and white, flickering television set to watch an old daily morning show called, It Could be You. Im sure Im the only one who can remember that old NBC show, but you can imagine the format. At various times throughout that little half hour show, the host would announce a contestant by saying, It could be you, so and so, and they would come up on stage for some skit or opportunity to win a prize or something. But what I remember most and the reason I was so intrigued with that show is that right near the end of the show, the host would announce something like this, Today we have backstage the brother/sister/ mother of someone in our audience, and they have not seen each other in 25 years. We have flown this person here from Someplace, USA to reunite them today. The he would go on to tell how one had been in the service, or they had been separated by some horrible event or whatever before he would finally say, Who will be reunited with their loved one today. It could be you pause for suspense and then a name. Oh, I loved that because then the camera would pan to that person and would show their utter disbelief and then their acceptance and then their joy and by the time they got to the stage, the tears were running. The hugs would begin and what a time it was! Let me ask you, what will it be like when you see Jesus? How real is He to you? How can I picture for you especially those of you who are so young how unbelievably emotional and moving and wonderful it will be to see Him. For He is real you know. He has a body still, you know. He is now and will be even more then be the means by which we see, touch, experience God the Father. We will see for ourselves those nailprints in his hands. We will measure his physical stature against our own. We will marvel at His nearness, His physicality, His greatness, and we will bow down and weep and weep. Beloved, that is our hope.
30

Our 50 or 60 or 70 years of Christian experience seem so long in this life, dont they? Trying to serve Him, to live for Him, to honor Him through good and sometimes very bad doing it all for someone weve never even seen. What will it be like? I can hardly wait. What a milestone that will be, but, good as it is, it is only the beginning. Only the beginning. Whats next? Philippians 3:20-21: But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21) who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Were going to get a new body, folks. Were going to get a new body just like his. A body that can go through walls and is not subject to the laws of nature as we know them. A body that cannot be hurt and will suffer no pain. A body that is perfect in every way no flaws, no limitations, no ugliness, not fat. Well have a new body. Its part of the hope of His calling. Listen to this from I Thessalonians 2:12) we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Were going to be part of his own kingdom and get this, share in his glory. I want to tell you, Im ready. Are you ready? Have you accepted His call on your life? Why was Paul anxious for them to know this? We could go on and on, but I hope that you now have some idea of what the hope of the call of God is. But why was Paul at such pains that they know this? Why was this such an integral part of his prayer for them? Why did he want it to be so real that they could virtually reach out and touch it? I think the answer if twofold. First, I think he prayed for this because he knew how easy it is to lose sight under the pressures, disappointments, suffering and challenges of daily life. Its easy to forget and then its easy to doubt and Paul didnt want them to do either. In Romans 8, Paul reminded his readers that the whole of creation is suffering today under the burden of sin and groans to be free and then he says 23) And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24) For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that
31

is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25) But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. You see what he is saying? It is not easy now, because it is not visible. When I look out I do not see Christ in the flesh; I do not see God ruling; I do not see any possibility of this world ever coming together, and its been 2,000 years since Jesus was here. I can lose faith pretty fast, cant you? And then suffering comes unjust, unfair, unexpected, and in many cases, unfixable. Suffering with its inevitable question where is God in this? Where is joy in this? Where is hope in this? And Peter answers: I Peter 5:10 10) And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. Hang on, Beloved. Its only a little while. God is not surprised. All is according to plan. All is on course. One thousand years from now, one million years from now, it will all seem like such a short time but I know, right now it seems like an eternity. But see what he will do restore, confirm, strengthen and establish. Worth the wait. Christianity doesnt deny the reality of suffering and evil. Remember after Jesus came down the mount of Transfiguration, He told His disciples that He was going up to Jerusalem that He would be executed and that He would triumph over death. Jesus was not the least bit confident that He would be spared suffering. He knew that suffering was necessary. What He was confident of was vindication. Our hope, is not based on the idea that we are going to be free of pain and suffering. Rather, it is based on the conviction that we will triumph over suffering. Do you believe that you, too, will live? Because thats the meaning of Christian hope. Its not a Pollyanna optimism. Its not something that yields to discouragement, defeat, and frustration. One the contrary, Christian hope stands firm and serene, confident even in the face of the gas chamber, even in the face of terminal cancer. However serious we believe Good Friday is, we are confident that Easter Sunday lies ahead of us. And what if we do die? Jesus died, too, and if Jesus died we believe that now He lives and that we shall live, too. You see, life causes us to cruise in good times, and to doubt in bad. Thats why Paul wanted the Ephesians to know the hope His call. The word hope generally raises the specter of uncertainty, but not this hope not
32

this biblical hope. It is a sure thing. It is hope only in the sense that it hasnt happened yet. But sure, it most certainly is. Its like the girl who has her hope chest. And as she grows up she begins to add things to that hope chest that she will need as a wife and mother. She puts keepsakes and things practical as well as sentimental in that chest against the day when she will say, I do and start her own married life. There is a slight bit of uncertainty in that instance, but her hope is not a maybe it will, maybe it wont happen. Its hope against a virtual certainty, and thats exactly like the hope we have in His calling. Do you want Gods promise on that? How about Colossians 1:5? Paul says, we thank God 5) because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Safer than any bank, wouldnt you say? Do you want Gods promise? Here it is from Romans 11:29) For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Irrevocable! You cant get any more sure than that, folks. Paul wants them to know that the hope is sure so that they will not get discouraged and quit due to the persistent hardships of life. The second reason that he wanted them to know the hope of Gods calling was because it is a major factor in our sanctification in our ongoing progress in the Christian life. That HOPE is the thing that causes us to become more like Christ. That hope is the thing that changes us. Paul says in Colossians 1:21-23 21) And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22) he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23) if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. He says in Titus 2:13-14 13) waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14) who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Are you zealous for good works? If not you may be missing out on the hope of His calling. It is that blessed hope that prompts us to change.

33

The famous preacher D.L. Moody told about a Christian woman who was always bright, cheerful, and optimistic, even though she was confined to her room because of illness. She lived in an attic apartment on the fifth floor of an old, rundown building. A friend decided to visit her one day and brought along another woman -- a person of great wealth. Since there was no elevator, the two ladies began the long climb upward. When they reached the second floor, the well-to-do woman commented, "What a dark and filthy place!" Her friend replied, "It's better higher up." When they arrived at the third landing, the remark was made, "Things look even worse here." Again the reply, "It's better higher up." The two women finally reached the attic level, where they found the bedridden lady who loved her Lord. A smile on her face radiated the joy that filled her heart. Although the room was clean and flowers were on the window sill, the wealthy visitor could not get over the stark surroundings in which this woman lived. She blurted out, "It must be very difficult for you to be here like this!" Without a moment's hesitation the shut-in responded, "It's better higher up." She was not looking at temporal things. With the eye of faith fixed on the eternal, she had found the secret of true satisfaction and contentment. Heres the bottom line on the hope of His calling, Beloved. Its found in I John 3. Ive saved the best for last. Just listen to this: 1) See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2) Beloved, we are Gods children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3) And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. No wonder that Paul was anxious that the Ephesians know the hope of His calling. 2. The riches of Gods Inheritance in them The next thing that Paul was very anxious that the Ephesians understand is also in verse 18. 18) having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. Notice the second item. That you may know what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. As seems typical in this first chapter, we have another phrase whose meaning is in question. There are two possible meanings for the phrase his glorious inheritance in the saints. It can mean the glorious inheritance that
34

God is going to bestow on the saints the Ephesians, and many good commentators take it that way. Or it can mean the glorious inheritance of God which is the saints. As it happens, both are true, so one cant go too far wrong, but I believe that here it means that Paul wants them to understand the riches of the glorious inheritance of God which is the saints. His emphasis is on the fact that these very earthy, novice Christians, former worshippers of Diana are now the very inheritance of Almighty God! A literal translation of this passage using the Greek word order is the riches of the glory of the inheritance of Him in the saints. It seems pretty clear that it is in the saints that God has His inheritance and it is a thing of glory to Him. I will grant you that this is a concept which basically defies human perception. How is it possible that the God of all creation, the infinite God who knows no bounds and who lacks nothing has determined that such as the Ephesians, and by extension ourselves, would be His own inheritance? I confess, I simply do not know. I am absolutely dumbfounded myself by the very concept and yet I can tell you this it is absolutely true. The concept of people being in some way the inheritance of God finds its roots in the OT. Let me read a couple of passages. Deuteronomy 4:20 reads: 20) But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. You can see that the Israelites, though they had been over 400 years in captivity in Egypt, were no less a people of Gods inheritance and He therefore brought them out of that iron furnace. Here we see that He takes care of His inheritance. Even though they may be a long time in waiting, it is never over with until He makes His move. We see another aspect of this in Psa 33:12 10) The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11) The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 12) Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! Here the emphasis is on the fact that whatever plans any man may devise, it is only the counsel of the Lord that stands forever, so those who are His heritage are certainly blessed. And no wonder. They are on the inside track to futures that are secure, part of Gods plan, with the possibility of living lives that are worthwhile, productive and of value.

35

Turn with me to Jeremiah 10:14-16 we read: 14) Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. 15) They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. 16) Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name. Please dont miss the implication here. What he is basically saying is that every man exercising his wisdom apart from God is stupid. He is worshipping idols that are worthless and delusion. This is true whether they are the literal gold and silver idols of antiquity or the modern idols of sports, celebrity, money, entertainment, leisure and sex. All are equally worthless; all are a delusion in the end; all will be punished. But those who are Gods inheritance are not like that! They are wise for they worship God. Unfortunately, that is not always true. We do not always live up to the role of our heritage, and even as Christians, we can largely waste our lives in the delusion, loss and worthlessness of those who are without God. I could multiply these passages from the OT many times over, but you get the picture I trust in the OT. Wonderful truths -- but the concept of believers as Gods inheritance reaches a whole new level in the New Testament. Paul wants these believers to understand what are the riches of his [Gods] glorious inheritance in the saints. He is using the words riches and glory, piling one description on top of another to emphasize just how glorious it is to be Gods inheritance. We have heard the term glory so much that the splendor of this word is largely lost on us. But that was not true to Pauls ancient audience. The glory of God was always a much anticipated, but fearful thing to the Jewish people. You will remember that Moses most heartfelt request was to see the face of the Lord, but God told him he could not do that and live. Then God said this in Exod 33:21-24: 21) And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22) and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23) Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. You will recall that while it was days later that Moses came down off the mountain, his face still shown so from this brief encounter with the glory of God that the people were in awe and fear of him and he had to wear a veil the point being that the glory of God is a very special, life-changing thing to encounter. Its a bit more than a ticker-tape parade.
36

You may recall that a few weeks ago we mentioned that Stephen, on the day he was stoned, was allowed the awesome privilege of seeing the glory of God just before he was martyred. You may recall that according to John when he saw the wonderful vision of the new Jerusalem in Revelation 21, he said this: 23) And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. That one gives me goose-bumps, doesnt it you? Folks, the glory of God is something very, very special. And now, because we believers are His inheritance, get this. Get this. You arent even going to believe this, but its in Gods Word. We read in Matthew 13:43 43) Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. What? Did I hear that right? The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of God? What can that mean? Ill tell you what it means, Beloved. It means that we are sharing in the very glory of God. Im going to tell you right now, I dont get that. I cant conceive of it; I cant grasp it; I can barely believe it. I can sort of grasp being there and finding that there is no need for the sun because the glory of God is lighting the whole thing. But to personally be shining like the sun totally beyond me. How bright will you be, given that NOW is the only time you can add treasure in heaven. But hang on to your seat. Were not done. Heres what Paul said in I Thessalonians 2: 11) For you know how, like a father with his children, 12) we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Look at that! Part of our call, that we studied earlier in Ephesians 1 is that we have been called to his kingdom and to glory. Isnt that something? And also notice that in this passage we begin to get an idea why Paul was so anxious for the Ephesians to understand this. To the Thessalonians he was telling them this as an encouragement to walk in a manner worthy of God. I mean, if you are going to shine like the sun well, it ought to influence how you live, dont you think? One more passage. Its in II Thessalonians 1 where Paul is speaking of the day when the Lord Jesus Christ will come to this earth in judgement and he says: 10) when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 11) To this end we always pray for you, that our God may
37

make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12) so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Read this carefully. This one is really staggering. If I read correctly it says that Jesus Christ Himself will, on that day, be glorified in his saints. Dont get this wrong. I dont think it means that Jesus Christ does not have His own glory as God. He does, and He has glory because He has been exalted by the Father as a result of his earthly work on the cross. But in some way that is inexplicable to me, He will also be glorified in his saints. And notice once again, that in Pauls mind this constitutes an incentive for us to be worthy of his calling and to fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith. I guess it should be! At some level, God absolutely revels in the fact that you and I are His very inheritance. What scares me as I studied through all of this is that I came away convinced that God is a lot more excited about this than I ever have been and that strikes a bit of fear in my heart. If God is excited about my being part of His inheritance, I think that fact should absolutely light me up, dont you? And if God thinks that should motivate me to live like a king, I think I should pay attention, dont you? And I believe with all my heart that the more I get this, the more I will live like a king. That is absolutely Pauls intent in his prayer here. He wants them to know who they are so that they will live like who they are. Now is the only time we can add treasure in heaven. A few years ago there was a story about a couple in a national magazine who were expecting their eighth child. Naturally, the other seven frequently discussed the coming event. The three older girls were hoping for a baby girl. The three older boys were hoping for a baby boy. I can relate. By the time there were 9 children in our family, 8 of whom were boys, and mom was about to have twins, we were all rooting hard for at least one to be a boy. Why? So wed have baseball team! Anyway, in this family the vote was split, until the five-year-old, not wanting to be left out, finally piped up and said, Well, I really dont care what it is as long as its wealthy. Wealthy? Oh, we are wealthy indeed, folks. The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints are beyond expression. We are honored beyond all desert, exalted above all measure, privileged beyond any possible expectation and the inheritance of Almighty God! So the question why do we live like paupers? Why do we cling to the pleasures and distractions and
38

wealth and excitement of this world when it is all delusions. Not a single bit of it can last beyond the grave and most of it wont last that long. Yet we live like it was forever. What Paul is doing is urging, as Scripture always does, that we live for eternity. That we place our values where God does. That we live not in the past and not even in the present, but in the future. Yes, live in the future. What a concept, huh? Now is the only time you can send some of that treasure on ahead. Theres a beautiful story in Judges 6 about a young man named Gideon. God was looking for someone to save his people from the Midianites, and he eventually settled on Gideon Gideon the brave, who when told what God wanted to do basically said, Not possible, God has forsaken us if, indeed, He was ever with us. Gideon the brave, who protested that he was from the most insignificant tribe in Israel and couldnt possibly handle such a task. Gideon the brave, who had to put out a fleece, not once, but twice before he was convinced to go. Gideon the brave -who offered a sacrifice to God in the dead of night because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town according to Judges 6:27. Gideon the brave! And yet, when the angel of the Lord first came to Gideon, get what he said to him as recorded in Judges 6: 12) And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor. O mighty man of valor? What is that all about? Mighty man of valor? Who is kidding whom? What is that all about? Ill tell you what that is all about. Thats God looking into Gideons future and seeing the man, who though drastically outnumbered still pared his army from 32,000 down to 300 and sent home those who were fearful and those who were not on constant alert and won one of the most spectacular victories in military history. That was God, back in verse 12, asking Gideon to live in the future. And, Beloved, God is asking the same of us. Live not for what you can get now. Be not deluded by the exciting, sensual, compelling pleasures that this world offers. Live in your future where you are the inheritance of God. Live worthy of him. Live for eternity. All of those Ephesians to whom Paul wrote this went on to live another 30, 40 perhaps even 50 more years. And then this life was over. But guess what? They are still living! They were also part of the inheritance of God and they are still living. But heres the really astonishing thing. Though their live on earth has already been over with for 2,000 years, what they are experiencing today is a direct
39

result of what they did here on earth, for the Lord explains elsewhere that the rewards of a Christian are dependent on what weve done here. Looking back from the perspective of 2,000 years I wonder how many of them are saying, I wish I had lived for God on earth when I had the chance. The good news for us is, we still have the chance to live like the kings and queens that we are. A good man was living at a university when a young man ran up to him with a face of delight and told him that what he had long been wishing for was at length fulfilled. His parents had just given him leave to study law. He ran on a long time and, when at last he came to a stop, the good man asked, "Well, when you get through your course of study, what do you mean to do then?" "Then I shall take my doctor's degree," answered the young man. "And what then?" asked he. "And then," continued the youth, "I shall have a number of difficult, knotty cases to manage; shall catch people's notice by my eloquence, my zeal, my astuteness; and gain a great reputation." "And what then?" repeated the holy man. "And then," pursued the young lawyer, "I shall live comfortably and honorably in wealth and dignity, and shall be able to look forward quietly to a happy old age." "And what then?" "And then," said the youth, "I shall die." Here the holy man again asked, "And what then?" Thereupon the young man made no answer, but cast down his head and went away. The last "And what then?" had pierced his soul, and he could not get clear of it. May I urge you may I pray for us all that the eyes of our heart may be opened to see the riches or Gods inheritance in His saints and may we all purpose to live in the future where what we do for eternity will continue to count while everything done for our ease here will be long gone. Think of it this way -- Now is the only time we can add treasure in heaven.

3.

The greatness of Gods power toward them

The third thing that Paul wanted the Ephesians to see with spiritual eyes was the greatness of Gods power toward them. Verse 19: 19) and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might. Now the first thing to note is that this power is directed. It is aimed right at us. A literal rendering of the middle
40

of that verse would be that his power is what is the immeasurable greatness of his power into us who are believing (present tense). Ever been in the path of a tornado? As I recall, you have! Well, look out folks because what is coming directly toward and into us who are believing as a pattern of life is a power that is unworldly. If youre not experiencing that power, you might well ask if you are truly a believer. Paul says here that an amazing power is aimed dead center right at the heart of those who believe. Now the intensity of Pauls prayer is just not translatable into anything like polished English here. In the space of one small verse he actually uses four separate and distinct words for power! He just cannot pile sufficient ferocity into his description of the power of God. He has run out of words. Look first at the opening: what is the immeasurable greatness of his power. The word immeasurable is in Greek from a word which means to throw and a prefix which means beyond. The word picture that the apostle has created for us is one where everything has gone way beyond expectations. Picture the Olypmic shotput venue. You remember how the throwing circle is carefully cordoned off and if the putter steps outside he is disqualified. Out ahead of him there is a carefully laid out area within which his throw is expected to land. Distances have been measured in advance so that it is a simple matter to mark where the shot lands, measure from the closest standard line and his score is calculated. But now picture a mighty heave. The shot putter has thrown far beyond expectations and exceeded the allotted area by the distance of a football field. Its like Superman stepped up and gave it a toss. That is the picture that the apostle is giving us to begin his description of Gods power. Its greatness is immeasurable, far beyond any expected bounds or reasonable calculation. He is describing something that is absolutely beyond human ability to fathom or calculate. But Paul is just beginning. He goes on to say that this great power (general word for power, , is used here speaking of His capability to act), this great power is according to the working of his great might. Literally, Paul says I want you Ephesians to know what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the powering of his powerful power. I use the over-used word advisedly, but Gods power is awesome thats Pauls message.
41

Quickly, the words used for power here are the already mentioned (from which we get dynamite but in Greek having more the meaning of potential power), (working) (from which we get energy indicating actual working power), (great) , (from which we get words like autocracy and theocracy, indicating power, strength and dominion, like when Caesar overpowered Cleopatra, militarily, that is), and (might) , which denotes inherent strength. The power of Pauls language here is more evident by his use of so many synonyms to make his point than any particular definition, but one commentator summarizes the differences pictorially as follows: By way of illustration, a bulldozer has the ability, capacity and potential of rooting out trees (). By looking at it, one senses its inherent strength () but when its engine roars and it begins to move, its power and mastery become obvious (). However, when it comes to a tree and knocks it over one sees the activity of its power (). . . . It seems that is the more general term and that the other terms support it, as is the case in this passage. Pauls point is all of that power absolutely indescribable potential, inherent and actual power is available toward every believer. Now the $64,000 question. If this tornado-like power this class 5 hurricane-like power, this hydrogen bomb-like power, this immeasurably great power is available toward us, then why, oh why, are we not seeing more results? Why is it not more obvious where God is? And there can only be one answer. Look again at verse 19. Paul wants us to know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe (literally, into us who are believing). Not hard to see the problem area, is it? All this unbelievable pent up and bursting energy is there, just waiting to be unleashed, but it is only toward those who are believing, and if we aint belivin then nothin aint happenin, right? The problem isnt God. The problem is us who hold the key. Were out digging up trees by hand while the bulldozer sits quietly at the side, unasked, unappreciated, unwanted, unused and unbelieved. Weve probably all heard of the guy who was about a brick short of a load. He came into the hardware store with a chain saw that he had purchased earlier and complained that it did not work correctly. The clerk asked him what the problem was. He said, Well, when I bought this saw they told me Id be able to cut down a hundred trees a day easily. Now Ive been trying
42

for a week, but most days Im lucky if I get one tree cut down. So I either want this saw fixed or replaced. The clerk said, Well, let me see if I can find out whats wrong. With that he pulled the cord to start the saw which sprang to life immediately. The man who brought the saw in jumped back and said, Whats that noise? Beloved, the power is there, but we have to turn the key, pull the switch, floor the accelerator. How? By believing. Paul is using here the verb form of the word for faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. But with faith everything is possible. You know I was struck one day this week as I was reading in my personal devotions in Genesis 18. The Lord comes in the form of a man with two companions to visit Abraham and Sarah. Abraham clearly recognizes Him as the Lord because he goes to great lengths to serve a wonderful lunch. During the course of the lunch, the Lord casually says as recorded in verse 10, Oh, by the way, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. (Now, you have to realize that Abraham and Sarah have been waiting for 25 years by this time for the Lord to fulfill this promise but now that it finally comes its too late! Its just too late. Look at verse 11) 11) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years (hes 99 and shes 89 at this time). The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12) So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure? 13) The Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh and say, Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old? 14) Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son. And that, folks, is exactly what happened because of the immeasurable greatness of Gods power. I can hear some of you already saying, Oh, please, Lord, NO. Please. No more children! But thats the power of God, you see. And in this case, he purposely waited until it was too late! Now, Paul is so intent on this idea of power that he goes on at length about it. Logically what follows is just part of this third point of power, but he is so expressive Ive given it its own major point as Paul does all he can to urge us on to believe, to offer proof of what he is saying about power. He illustrates this point in detail, so we want to look at a photo of this mighty, immeasurable power that he is talking about.
43

III.Photo of Power In verses 20-23, Paul expands on the subject of power with a twofold emphasis. First, this is not just power in theory, it has invaded human history. Brother, this tornado has landed. When I was a boy growing up in Kansas, we use to sit around the TV and watch when tornado warnings were present. Im not sure in all the years we were there that we actually ever went to the basement. We always found it kind of exciting. But those of you in Eaton and Windsor a few months ago have seen tornados in a whole different light. Youve seen the darkness preceding the storm. Youve heard the approach sounding like a freight train or a 747 taxiing down the runway. Youve cringed in basements and under floors and porches waiting to see what would be left when the interminable howling was finally over. And Pauls point in verse 20 is, Gods immeasurable power has landed; its been demonstrated; it is most assuredly real. And his second point? That very same power is toward us. There is continuity between what has been and what can be! There is complete continuity between what God has done and what He will do in the life of every believer. Hes the same God. He hasnt changed. So, to understand further, lets take a look at the picture Paul paints of the power of God. A. It is Proven Pauls first point is that it is a proven power. It has been demonstrated in two remarkable ways, and these alone make the whole world answerable to Almighty God, so lets look at those. 1. By the resurrection of Christ Many years ago, I got into a discussion with the son of some friends. He was a very bright young man and was then halfway through his freshman year at UCLA. Like most freshmen at UCLA, Terry knew everything there was to know. Whatever he didnt know before, he had learned in that first semester, and one of the things he had learned was that all religions are, after all, alike. What made us Christians think we were any more right than anyone else. After all, the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists they think they are right just as much as we do. The discussion went on for some time. Finally, I asked Terry, How many of those other religions have an empty tomb? How many of them worship a living God who has lived a human
44

existence, just like us, died, and risen again from the grave? How many? Of course, he had to acknowledge, there were no others. The resurrection of Christ absolutely delineates Christianity from any other faith in the world, and it is the first way in which the power of God that Paul is at such pains to illustrate has been demonstrated in Pauls prayer in Ephesians 1. Look at verse 20: 20) that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. This is another one of those things that we have so grown up with, we just tend to take it for granted. It just does not strike us how very remarkable the resurrection of Christ is. But let me ask, when was the last time you saw someone raised from the dead? You see, the resurrection of Christ was an event that was absolutely unique in history; it was the ultimate display of the power of God, and it is therefore the one event even if there were no other, that renders man responsible before God. No one can say, Youve never acted. For, in fact, He has acted as no one else ever has. The fact is that Gods power has always been on display in His creation. To argue that it all happened by chance violates every other law of science and human perception. But in another sense, the resurrection is the point at which Gods potential power was unleashed in its irrefutable supremacy. Its like Tiger Woods walking up to the first tee. As he lowers his club to measure his distance from the ball, you begin to see evidence of what might be. As you look at his physique, there is no doubt that you are looking at something unique and special. As he brings his club back, you can virtually visualize the energy potential. And yet, up until that point, the ball remains where it is, safe on the tee; the air has not moved, the crowd has not cheered, no one knows for sure that he will connect with that ball and all the world is as it was a minute earlier. Its all potential. But in the next instant as the club comes down and connects with the ball in that instant, everything changes. Potential becomes reality. Possibility becomes actuality. Doubt becomes proof, for now the connection has been made, the air has been split with the power of the blow, the ball is 350 yards down the fairway and Tiger has struck! Beloved, that is exactly what the resurrection is all about in the history of mankind. At the resurrection of Christ, God literally ripped open the gates of sin, hell and death -trashed the most basic law of human existence and experience, namely death, rendered obsolete all the absolutes of evil and proved once and for all that He is Supreme! The fact that we are 2000 years removed from the
45

event does not detract one iota from is reality, its impact or the responsibility that it lays on us. Not one little bit. The resurrection was the hinge upon which the early Christians based their faith. Well over 300 verses are concerned with the subject of Jesus resurrection in the NT. It was the reality that caused the hearts of those disciples on the road to Emmaus to burn within them. Does your heart burn today with the reality of Jesus resurrection? Peter was a swearing, sniffling, wretched coward on the night Jesus was taken prisoner. Seven short weeks later, he found himself on the same streets where he had sought shelter in the darkened corners, now proclaiming boldly the message of the gospel to same crowd now think about this to the same crowd who as a mob had demanded the crucifixion of Christ, even at the expense of having a vicious murderer released among them just 7 weeks before. Can you imagine the scene? Now heres what Peter told them. Listen to him in Acts 2: 22) Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know 23) this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24) God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. The very thing that had changed Peter was the thing he appealed to as proof of his message to these reprobates who had compelled his death. And you remember the reaction. Three thousand of them three thousand at one time believed, were baptized and became followers of the very one they had helped kill. Why? How did this turnaround happen, both to Peter and to these people? Tell you what. You can look at this from any angle you want, but it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that what had happened was that Peter had met, been graciously loved, forgiven and commissioned by the risen, living Christ, whose wounds he had examined, whose hand he had held and whose nature he now understood. Thats what happened to Peter. And those people believed his appeal to the resurrection because they were fully aware that despite every precaution taken by their leaders and the Romans to seal that tomb, it was now sitting out there as empty as air with no possible explanation other than that He was risen in fact, many had probably seen him, and they were desperate Im sure almost frenzied in their urgent need to get His blood off their hands.

46

Proof that God had intervened in human history? Ill tell you it was there that day in Jerusalem, its reality so palatable you could taste it. And to this very day, it reaches into the smallest crevices of the human heart, located in the most obscene and antagonistic of places and refuses to be quenched despite every effort of the enemy to quell it. Gary Thomas, in the October 3, 1994 issue of the Christian Times reported an amazing incident that occurred when Vice President George Bush represented the US at the funeral of Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev in 1982. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband. I hope that her gesture indicate a true faith. Listen few facts in history are as well documented, as faithfully reported or as adamantly resisted as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But when you really examine the facts you almost have to put your brain in the deep freeze to deny it, and thats exactly what God intended. That resurrection is the proof of a power that goes beyond any human experience, and Beloved, it comes your way in every act of faith, in every moment of believing, in every minute of surrender, it is yours. God did one other interesting thing associated with the death of Christ. God had established a principle with his people in Leviticus 23:10 when He instructed this: 10 Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the s sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest This established a principle the principle that the firstfruits of a harvest should be brought to the Lord. Now carry this forward to the time of Christ and of his resurrection. You may recall that another extraordinary thing happened as recorded in Matthew 27:52-53: 52) The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of
47

the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53) and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Isnt that an extraordinary couple of verses, sort of fit in there without any further explanation? We have no idea who these people were or how many. We simply know that here was the fulfillment of the great feast of the first fruits which had been practiced yearly by Israel as described in Leviticus. On the day of resurrection, our Lord thrust His sickle into the cemeteries of earth and drew one sheaf to Himself. Those eternal bodies are there in heaven now, one first handful of all the billions to follow. And as these appeared to many in Jerusalem, they no doubt also had a dramatic impact on the response to Peters message at Pentecost. Is it any wonder that years later Jesus cried to John as He gave the great revelations of the apocalypse, 17) Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18) and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof positive of the power of God in every area of existence and in all the universe. 2. By the Ascension of Christ

Further proof of the power of God the ascension of Christ to the right hand of the Father. Verse 20: 20) that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. In one sense, the resurrection and ascension are part of parcel of each other. But in another sense, they are two distinct events, each of which contributes in its own way to the overall picture. The resurrection proclaims: Jesus Christ lives, and that forever. The ascension proclaims: Jesus Christ reigns, and that forever. Were going to see more if youll please turn with me back to Acts 1. Acts, chapter 1, and hold your place. In the ascension of Christ, we are contemplating a stupendous event. It typically gets little press, being completely overshadowed by the resurrection, but think with me for a moment. I dont know the exact time and moment, but sometime in probably early April of 29 or 30 AD a great, culminating event happened in the life of Jesus. Jesus, who had been born in Bethlehem, escaped early death by living in Egypt for a time. He then returned to Nazareth with his family where he grew up and learned the carpenters trade from his father which he practiced until age 30. He then left home and ministered among the people across Israel for three years, primarily preaching the kingdom of God, but also healing many in demonstration of His claim to be God in the flesh and in proof of his
48

contention that His presence in one sense constituted the kingdom of God. After three years, he went to Jerusalem where he was received with wild acclaim, but less than a week later was crucified after jealous, self-righteous Jewish leaders turned the people against Him. But then, miraculously and against all odds, he reappeared, clearly living in a resurrected body and for another 40 days He stayed among them. Of those 40 days we know very l little except what we read in Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. Beloved, do you see the grace of God in this? His work done, He could have gone away immediately, but He did not. For 40 wonderful, unbelievable, exhilarating, intoxicating, totally breath-taking days, He remained with them. And they knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that He had died and been resurrected. Can you even imagine? He ate with them, talked with them, taught them and you must know that they listened as never before. Oh, to have been there! What must it have been like! He told them not to leave Jerusalem, and then one morning, He said, Lets go out to the Mount of Olives. Scripture says that it was about a Sabbaths journey from Jerusalem 2,000 cubits about to of a mile the maximum they could travel on the Sabbath because of the prohibition against work. They arrived at their destination lets just suppose it was about 10:00 in the morning and they took their seats, no doubt expecting Him to teach some more. Some had their own specific question. Having heard Him speak for the past 40 days about the kingdom of God, they asked him the obvious. Is it now? Is now the time when you will establish your kingdom? We thought you were going to toss the Romans and set up your kingdom before you died. We now see the biblical basis for that, but with that behind us, is it now? The absolute last thing in their minds was what happened next. Look at it with me in Acts 1: 7) He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 9) And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10) And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11) and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into
49

heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. What in the world do you imagine went through the minds of those present at Jesus suddenly began to ascend into heaven. Think of the way they had been whipsawed back and forth over the past several weeks. They had arrived in Jerusalem 7 weeks before to a riotous, triumphal entry into the city, undoubtedly thinking that the establishment of the kingdom was just around the corner. Then with inexplicable suddenness just one week later, the crowd had turned, Jesus had been crucified, and the dream was dead. You talk about a shock to the system. They had just begun to absorb that when suddenly the rumors Jesus had been seen alive. Impossible! But maybe? And wonder of wonders, it turned out to be true. Now, just as they are thinking kingdom once again, what to their wondering eyes appeared than their friend and Lord and Savior was suddenly being taken up into the clouds? I mean, wouldnt you be wondering what is real and what is not by this time? I cant even imagine what was going through these guys minds except, Im sure that first and foremost was the thought well, unexpected though it is, here is proof positive absolutely indisputable evidence that this was God in flesh, and that no power in heaven or earth could ever stand up against Him. Brother, that fact was now firmly and undeniably established. Do you know where the expression the real McCoy originated? It happened in a barroom brawl, when a drunk insisted that the boxer (Norman Selby Kid McCoy, 1873-1940, US welterweight boxer and world champion in 1896), was not who he said he was. McCoy was finally forced to flatten his opponent, who struggled back onto his feet and said, Yep, hes the real McCoy. Poor illustration, but dont you see that the resurrection and the ascension was God demonstrating beyond any doubt His immeasurable power. It wasnt that God had never revealed Himself or His power before. Many miracles attached to the freeing of the Israelites from captivity in Egypt. But Ill tell you what, folks, in the resurrection of Christ, He invaded history in an unmistakable and profound way, and in the ascension, He sealed the deal. It was inauguration day! For on that April 10, 30 AD at 10:00 in the morning earth time or whatever day and time it actually was, Jesus Christ was received back into heaven by His Heavenly Father and there, because of the humiliation and suffering that He had submitted to on earth, in the
50

words of Paul in Philippians 2:9 God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. Just think of the joy that must have accompanied Jesus arrival back in heaven. Just think of that! The ascension of Jesus Christ was absolute, proof positive of the overwhelming nature of the power of God. Not only had He done the impossible in raising Him from the dead, but now He had exalted him, taking him from the dust of Mt. Olivet in one instant to a seat at the very right hand of God the next. And the disciples were witnesses! Now, back again to verse 20: Paul speaks of the greatness of Gods power exhibited when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. Not only is the fact of Jesus ascension important here, but also the fact that He is seated at the right hand of the Father. To be seated at the right hand of someone was a position of special honor and privilege. Angels stand or fall in worship in the presence of the Father. Jesus is seated at his right hand, indicating that He is now sharing all of the Fathers power, glory and majesty. Beloved, God has power over death. He has power over the laws of nature. He has power over sin. His power is immeasurably great and watch out because it is toward us (v. 19). Dont believe it? Look at what he says in the very next chapter, Ephesians 2 and verse 6 that for those who are believers, God has already and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. True we are still living on earth, but folks, we have a foot in a new place. We have a new citizenship. We are spiritually located with Christ in the heavenlies right now! There is no mention of us being seated at the right hand of the Father. That is reserved for Christ. He is one who is exalted and whose name is above every name. Nevertheless, we are there. Question are we taking advantage of that position? Are we by faith living like children of the king? Are we demonstrating our citizenship to those we are around every day? But even that is not the end of it. You need to get this next verse. Its found in Revelation 3:21 and here is what it says: 21) The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Do you get what He is saying? Do you understand the awesome power that is available to you? Do you understand this promise that if you will endure as He did, if you will live in faith and obedience as He did, if you will experience the power of His
51

resurrection and the join the fellowship of suffering as He did, there is awaiting for you a place to sit with Christ on His throne. Beloved, that it totally beyond me, but that is the incentive that should cause us to live extraordinary lives that should cause us to live with eternity, rather than retirement in Florida in view. Youd only get to live in Florida for maybe 10-15 years anyway. Youre going to live in heaven forever!!! So be smart. Invest there! Not saying dont go to Florida if thats where the Lord leads you, but spend your time and resources in the Lords work. Be about the kingdom. B. It is Primary We have seen that Gods power is proven by the resurrection and by the ascension of Jesus Christ. Because of those two things we can never say that God has not shown Himself in human history. Now we see further that Gods power is primary. There is none other like it. He is supreme. Lets begin reading in verse 20 where it says concerning Gods power : 20) that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21) far above all rule and authority and power and dominion (so He has more power and authority than anyone), and above every name that is named (so He has the most exalted name in the universe), not only in this age but also in the one to come (so its not for just this time, but for all time). All four words that are used here can be used of either earthly, physical rulers (especially true of ruler and power), but all four can also be used to speak of angelic or spiritual powers, either good or evil. While I believe that both are in view here, the strong emphasis is on the spiritual nature of these various classes of rulership. Three things suggest this. First, there is the immediate cultural backdrop of Ephesus. As we have mentioned previously it was the center of the worship of Artemis or Diana, whose temple in Ephesus was considered one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Diana was considered by the Romans to be the goddess of the hunt, but the main emphasis in Ephesus was taken from her Asian heritage as related to Cybelene and she was known as the goddess of fertility images of her which have been found show a grotesque female figurine surrounded with breasts from top to bottom.

52

We do not today appreciate how intense and pervasive was the worship of idols in ancient times. And, in Ephesus it was big business for artisans made tiny silver figurines that were sold to tourists and worshippers alike to take home to be worshipped and to be donated to the temple as part of the worship process and to buy the favors of temple prostitutes. Worship of sex and through sex had a great hold on people in Ephesus. Come to think of it, not much has changed, has it? But along with worship of the Artemis cult, Ephesus abounded in magical practices and other Phyrigian mysteries (basically secret religious societies) and astrological beliefs. The common feature in the midst of this religious diversity was that people had an extraordinary fear of hostile spiritual powers. These spiritual powers were often ranked utilizing the very terms that Paul uses here in his prayer and these very terms appear in some of the magical papyri and inscriptions from ancient Ephesus. Thats the first backdrop specific to Ephesus itself, and definitely suggesting that the terms as used in Pauls prayer refer to spiritual powers. The second backdrop concerns what was going on in this Asia Minor area at large at this very time in history. There were many spiritual teachers who were confusing new Christians, especially evidenced in the book of Colossians, by coming along and saying in essence, What youve learned about Christ? Good stuff. Good stuff, but its just the beginning. Youre not experiencing complete victory in your Christian life? Thats because Christ is not enough. You need to have secret knowledge that only we can impart. And to those who subscribed, they taught a convoluted gospel that pictured the gap between God and man as requiring a progression through a series of spirit beings, each a bit more elevated than the other aeons who would like a chain eventually lead one to God. One progressed through that chain by a mish mash of Jewish ceremonialism and asceticism. Christ was represented as the lowest of those spirit beings. And their progressively higher ranks were described in some of the same terms used by Paul in his prayer for the Ephesians. Thats the second backdrop that suggests spirit beings are in view. Finally, there is the fact that the terms used here are used elsewhere in Ephesians (in 2:2; 3:10; 3:17; 3:20; and 6:12) and in every case, they refer to spirit beings. Put these all together and there is little doubt that what Paul praying for these young Gentile believers who were trying to work their way through this milieu of confused thought regarding spiritual forces,
53

reinforced by their own previous beliefs, by ostensible Christian ministers, by unbelieving family members genuinely concerned for their souls and very possibly by their workplace that was threatened by their new belief what Paul was praying was that they would get the simplicity of it all. CHRIST IS SUPREME. In essence Pauls message is, call the other spirit beings by whatever name you want, assign them whatever rank you want, believe them good or bad as you will, in fact, believe them real or imagined as you want it all matters not because Christ is supreme! His power is primary. It supersedes anything else the world has ever seen and it supersedes anything else the world will ever see. He is supreme in this age and He is supreme in the age to come. Whatever you believe about these other beings and however you envision them, it matters not. Christ is supreme. Look at verse 22: And he put all things under his feet. Just in case it wasnt sufficiently covered previously, Paul adds a summary ALL things are subject to him under His feet, at his disposal, in His power, under His control. All things. One could literally translate that phrase And He (God the Father) put every kind of thing (spiritual or physical, animate or inanimate, on earth or in heaven its all inclusive) every kind of thing under His feet. Now, if youre a genius, you have a question at this point, do you not? Yes you do, I know you do. Your question is if everything is under Christs control and His power is absolute, then how do you explain Hitler? How do you explain Genghis Khan? How do you explain Stalin? In fact, forget those guys, how do you explain my boss, my antagonist? Great question and lets look. Gotta be vigilant now. First clue. Look with me at Hebrews 2 beginning at verse 6: It has been testified somewhere, What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7) You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8) putting everything in subjection under his feet. (Thats all a quote from Psalm 8). Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9) But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. . . . First clue? The writer to Hebrews is saying, Jesus exaltation Weve seen that. We know that to be true. So, if we have that verified, realize that the subjection of all things is also a reality; we do not yet see it that way in
54

every instance, but its no less true because God said it. So if it doesnt look like its true, dont necessarily assume that its not. Weve seen Christ glorified; believe me, well see Him reigning as well. This is where faith comes in. Now, lets go another step. Look with me at I Corinthians 15 starting in verse 24: Then comes the end, when he (Christ) delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25) For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (This is referring to the thousand year, mediatorial reign of Christ during which time there will be peace for Satan is bound; it will be rule by a rod of iron, (Rev. 19:5) but the nations will be ruled. After that Satan will be unleashed for a brief time, only to be defeated and vanguished eternally to hell. The Great White Throne judgment will then occur after which death itself will be vanguished. So Paul goes on)
26)

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27) For God has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when it says, all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he (God the Father) is excepted (Paul states the obvious here to make sure there is no misunderstanding. The one exception to Christs rulership is God the Father, the one) who put all things in subjection under him. 28) When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. So, finally, after all is said and done, all rulership is returned to God the Father. Christ, of course, since he is also God, continues to exercise that rulership as well in conjunction with God t he Father, but His mediatorial work, His work as the last Adam, necessary to restore and unite all things, as we saw is Gods ultimate purpose in 1:910 that work is over with and there is no longer a need for Him to in that sense. Now, lets do some summarizing and then draw some conclusions. Clearly at the time of Christs ascension back to heaven, He was given all authority and all-encompassing power and all things have been subjected to Him since that very moment in history. However, there is clearly a sense in which He has not yet wielded that power in the ultimate sense as He will during the Millennium and beyond when He will visibly and finally subject every power, overthrow every rebellion, remove every possibility and thought of resistance and restore paradise. Thats coming but not here yet. So most commentators say something like this. It is such a sure thing that
55

this will happen that God can speak of this as already done. Or Christ even now has all power, but He is just not yet using it. I believe that both of those statements are true but bear with me and listen closely now I believe that the full truth goes one level deeper. The key phrase is that phrase found in Hebrews 2:8 8) . . . Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. Read it carefully, folks. It says that in putting everything in subjection to him a past tense occurrence clearly from both Hebrews as well as Ephesians, He (the Father) left absolutely nothing outside of His control. And yet the writer acknowledges that we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. He does not say that it is not, just that we dont see it. Didnt look like He was in control of Hitler. Didnt look like He was in control of Stalin. Doesnt look like He is in control of your boss. But heres the thing. He is! I dont know any other way to read this. He is. And I dont think it just means that one day He will be control or have things subjected to Him. I believe it means now! I believe that just like Nebuchadnezzar was Gods servant in the OT (Jer. 25:9) though it did not look like it at the time, so Hitler will one day be revealed for what he really was Gods servant to accomplish some purposes not yet clear to us so Stalin will one day be revealed to have been Gods servant as will your boss as will everyone. One day God will absolutely overwhelm and overcome all evil, but in the meantime, he is no less victorious in working through evil to accomplish His purposes. Every single day. Those who want to be their own boss get no benefit, but those who love and trust and believe in Him are blessed. Dont be fooled when it looks like the world has gone amuck. God is in control. He is longsuffering and not willing that any should perish, so he holds time open for now. But make no mistake His is working! The control is absolutely in the hands of the risen and ascended Christ. Patty and I joined Mike and Joy Hungenberg at the annual Pastors appreciation dinner sponsored by the Gideons on Friday evening. It was a powerful evening. Most of you are aware that the Gideons is an organization of laymDuring the course we heard about Greg Owen, a common everyday fellow like all of us from Georgia, was along on a trip to India. One of the first distribution points was at a school in Calcutta, and while the rest of the team went inside the school to talk to the administration, Greg was left outside to guard the wooden cart they had
56

brought along that was loaded with boxes and boxes of New Testaments translated in the local dialect. Greg was told to stay close to the cart for fear that the Bibles might be taken. As it happened, the meeting inside went on for an extraordinarily long period of time, so after waiting beyond reason, Greg finally left the cart for a short period of time to find out what was going on. When he returned a short time later, he was dismayed to see school children all over the place, opening the boxes and helping themselves. Seeing no other recourse, Greg began to hand out Bibles himself to restore some semblance of order. By the time his companions returned, the Bibles were gone, and Greg was standing alone beside his empty, broken cart, and as this was his first assignment, he was feeling a bit of a failure. He began to apologize to his companions, but they quickly broke in, Sorry. Dont be sorry. Weve just been talking to the principal who said we are not allowed to distribute Bibles here! Looks like God has already taken care of it! Listen, folks, God is providentially active in every human endeavor. That would have been true even if they hadnt gotten to distribute those Bibles, but isnt it great to often see Him providentially overcome mens thwarting intentions. Weve see God very active in our church this week. God providentially provided for one man who badly needed a job. Last Sunday we had basically been turned down holding Child Evangelism meetings at the elementary school. This week, not only has permission been granted, but the school is insisting that they take responsibility to send the permission slips home with the children, taking an administrative burden off us. Two other very specific answers to prayer the details of which I cannot share with you have also happened this week. No, they are not resurrections but they are God working through and around evil, even now to accomplish His purposes with resurrection power in our midst. And weve only scratched the surface. God has great things in store for us, Beloved. Lets believe Him for so much more. C. It is Present The final thing we need to understand about the power of God is that it is not only proven and primary but it is present. It is available; it is here and it is now. If we are not experiencing it, the fault is not Gods. There two
57

important elements of this truth that we need to absorb about the current presence of Gods power. It is available and present now. 1. Through Connection With our Head Look again at verse 22: And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23) which is his body. Paul speaks at length about the body of Christ in I Corinthians 12, emphasizing there that every single part is important. But he never specifically mentions Christ as the head to the Corinthians. Here He does exactly that as he makes his first mention of the church by name in this book. The sense of this verse is this. Paul is saying, Ive told you all about the immeasurable power of God. Ive told you about how it has been displayed through the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Ive told you how God the Father has put all things under His feet, so you understand that He is supreme, that there is no one like Him, that His is the king of the universe and now that you know that, I want to let you know that, by the way, He who is head over all things well, Im also giving Him as head to the church. Do you see how it is moving from remote to close up and personal? Him ruling over all those dominions and authorities and rulers and powers is one thing, but now He is saying that same one, who has all that ability and power and authority Im giving Him to the church which by the way is you Im giving Him to you as well. I played first base on a fast pitch softball team one year when I was in college and we needed a pitcher. Our coach came to practice one day and said, do you remember Gary so an so who was coached by Tom Rodgers, brother of Angel catcher and later manager and perhaps the best fast pitch softball pitcher I ever saw. Do you remember Gary who did so well after those lessons from Tom Rodgers? We all said, Yes, we remember, can you get Gary? Get Gary? he replied. No, I didnt get Gary. I got Tom Rodgers. Im going to give you guys Tom Rodgers the best of the best. It ended up being kind of a boring year in a good way. The opposition got one hit off of us all year. One hit. Folks, that is what Paul is saying here. Hes saying, you know the very one who God resurrected and took into heaven and under whose feet God has put everything in the universe. Well heres the good news. God has also
58

given Him to us. He has given that one to the church as well to be its head and authority. I grew up thinking that the pastor was the head of the church. How about you? Tell you what, we are in real trouble if the pastor is the head of this church but, Beloved, He is not. Christ is. And with Him comes all that immeasurable power of God available to us. A few years ago body life was all the rage in churches across the country, and the emphasis was good and healthy for the most part. We need each other. Things work best when each person is doing his or her part. In many ways, we will succeed or fail to the degree that we function in accordance with the gifts that God has uniquely given us and in harmony with the rest of the body. Well study all about it when we get to chapter 4 of Ephesians. But I want to tell you something. We can get along without certain members of our body, cant we? But we cannot get along without the head so if there is a priority to be had, the priority has to go to maintaining relationship with the head, does it not? That is number 1. That is why worship is so important. I remember hearing Dr. Cully Olson, a regional pastor in the North American Baptist General Conference, speak many years ago. In his message he told of a man he knew who had lost his arm in a train accident at the age of 8. Of course, his handicap bothered him at first and he didnt want to go anywhere or be seen by anyone, but he finally decided that he would do his best. With hard work and determination he went on to amazing success. He became the US handball champion, not the onearmed handball champion, but the handball champion, beating out other men who played with two arms. He was an expert fisherman who hooked up the trailer, launched his boat, and cleaned his own fish. He was written up in Field and Stream Magazine for cleaning fish with a white glove on without getting the glove dirty. One day, Dr. Olson noticed that his friend had a band aid on his finger. When he asked him about it, the man replied, I hit my finger with a hammer. Dr. Olson almost went on, but soon it dawned on him to ask how in the world a one-armed man pounded his finger with a hammer. The man replied, You know, its funny, but youre the first one to ask. Everyone else just says, Oh. He continued, I was cleaning the gutter on my house with a hammer. As I reached wide to get another load of junk, I lost my
59

balance and nearly fell, so I threw the hammer in the air and grabbed a rung of the ladder with my hand. Unfortunately, as the hammer came down, it hit my finger. The point is, you could get along without another member of the body as that man had learned to do but if your head were severed, that would be it, wouldnt it? God has given us the Supreme person in all of His creation to be our head. But if we are not making use of His headship, it is like trying to function as a person with your head cut off. As a church it is our responsibility corporately and individually to be seeking our head for every decision, every move, every ministry and every function. Ever try to get up from your chair after your foot has fallen asleep? Doesnt work very well, does it? Why? Because your foot is no longer in touch with your brain, thats why. Your brain is fine. It is sending out all the right signals, but some nerve somewhere along the line is asleep at the switch and its curtains for you if you try to walk. Beloved, it is our Christians responsibility and duty to be in touch with the Head that God has so graciously given to us. Dont let the body of Christ look spastic because you are asleep at the switch, too lazy or rebellious to be in touch with Him. Unleash the immeasurable power of God through your connection with this Supreme Head that the Father has given to us. 2. To Enable Us to Complement Our Head As we come to the end of Pauls wonderful prayer, we are left with one difficult phrase to interpret. He says beginning in verse 22: And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23) which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. What does he mean by the phrase, the fullness of Him who fills all in all? The phrase has been debated endlessly in commentary after commentary. But I think Pauls intent is straightforward. The word fullness means exactly that fullness or completeness. And it clearly modifies the word body. On that there is solid agreement. I think, therefore, a straightforward reading of the text is best. What Paul is saying is that God has given Christ as head over the church which is his body and thus is the fullness or completeness of him (Jesus) who fills all in all. Its a bit of a staggering concept, but in a sense, we are so closely connected with Christ, functioning as His body here on earth, that it can be said that we complete
60

or fill him who in turn is filling all things. Not that He would be lacking without us, but He has chosen to use us to complete his work here on earth. Amazing to consider. The body imagery is introduced here for a reason. And it is to emphasize the binding tie that now exists between Christ and the church, between the head and the body. And because of that unbreakable tie, we are now participants in His ongoing work! We, His church and His body, complete Him in His work to complete all things. Think of it this way. Just as a body without a head is useless, so a head without a body is useless, right? Now we have to be careful here because we could be guilty of saying that somehow Christ was lacking until we, His Church and His body came along. And, of course, that would be not only ridiculous, but heretical to boot. But I believe the point is that Christ having elected us, having forgiven us, having redeemed us, having adopted us, having given us a position in heavenly places with Him, having made us to the praise of His glory did not do all of that so that we could just sit back and look pretty! Do you think that? Do you think that He literally went through hell for us so that we could get saved and then just go on about our self-centered, live for myself lives without any thought for His larger mission? Do you think that? Do you think that there is nothing more to it than to make some profession of faith, be baptized, get to church once in awhile and thats it??! Then I must tell you, I seriously doubt that you are saved. I am deeply concerned whether you even know the Lord or not. If you think like that and are not seeing the power of God in your life, then dear friend, the likelihood is that the power is missing because the Lord is missing and you are not His at all. Oh, please, examine yourself carefully. Those who are really part of His church and are His body are there, you see, to be His body in reality to be His arms and His legs and His mouth and His representatives in this world. They are there to fill or complete Him in His work of filling all in all. All in all is all-inclusive. The first all in neuter, the second is masculine. What Paul seems to be saying is that Christs task is to fill all things (the masculine would be used to cover every person and thing) in all ways and in that function, we, His body, are to complete Him by representing Him. This concept is not only not foreign to Scripture. It is inherent in it. Christ is not lacking without us, but He has given us the marvelous privilege of
61

being part with Him, in His reconciling, redeeming work. William Hendriksen, my favorite 20th century commentator says this, As to his divine essence Christ is in no sense whatever dependent on or capable of being completed by the church. But as bridegroom he is incomplete without the bride; as vine he cannot be thought of without the branches; as shepherd he is not seen without his sheep; and so also as head he finds his full expression in his body, the church. Let me give you one more indication of this concept. Heres what Paul says in Colossians 1:24) Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christs afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. So the concept is this. The true church, believers who have really died with Chris to self, and been rise with him to a new life those believers constitute the church, the body of Christ, and those believers are going to be keen to carry on the work of Christ in this world as His representatives, as His body, as His bride. So keen that they will even want to help make up whatever is lacking of Christs afflictions. It is precisely for this reason that we need that immeasurable power that Paul is praying for; and it is precisely this mentality that separates true believers from those who think they are believers. And I am compelled to ask again do you really belong to Him? William Barclay in his commentary gives a clear illustration of the truth of verse 23 that we have the wonderful privilege of completing the work of Jesus Christ here on earth. He says suppose a great doctor, working in his laboratory and in his hospital wards, discovers a cure for cancer. Once that cure is found it is there. But before it can become available for everyone, and before the sufferers from cancer all over the world can be cured, that cure must be taken out to the world. Doctors and surgeons must know about it and must be trained to use it. The cure is there; but the one man cannot take it out to the entire world; a corps of doctors must learn about it and about how to handle it, and they must be the agents whereby the cure arrives at all the worlds sufferers. That is precisely what the Church is to Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus that all men and all nations can become one. But before that can happen, all men and all nations must know about Jesus Christ. If thats not heavy on our hearts, Beloved, the question is, whose body are we, for it is likely not the body of Christ. We were privileged on Monday evening to have a family with us who are living out this truth in a country where the danger is great enough that we
62

cannot share it publicly. We were in the presence of royalty. Wayne Losey, his wife, Amy, daughters Carol (16), Katie Beth (14), Emily (12) and Rebekah (8), as well as son Daniel (5) presented their work in translating for a group of people known as Shepherds, because thats what they are. The Loseys were here on a special 3-month visit to see Waynes mother who lives in Greeley and has been battling breast cancer. They feared the worst when they came, but it now appears that the Lord is extending Jean Loseys life and for that everyone was grateful. We talked extensively with the Losey girls, all delightful in the interaction and direct involvement in the work of their parents. They know the Shepherd language and move easily among the culture for they all dress and live like their native friends and helpers. In 2005 an earthquake that occurred while the Loseys were in the States on furlough which devastated the area where they live, killing many of their friends and helpers. Virtually everyone who was inside a house was killed due to the heavy roofs that caved in on everyone. The Loseys would have suffered the same fate. Instead, they returned 11 days later to help retrieve from the high country many who had not yet, after almost two weeks, received medical attention despite severe injuries, and then spent most of their time up until now helping rebuild after the devastation. They are hoping on their return to be focused heavily again on their translation and work and literacy projects. But what I found extraordinary in listening and later talking with Wayne was matter-of-fact way in which they face what is clearly a highly dangerous situation where their lives are under threat more or less constantly. No big deal was made of it, but they commented that they had moved once for fear that the wrong people had found out where they lived. They often travel, particularly to certain locales, with the girls huddled in the back of a covered van or pickup with their mother, concerned that if they took their own more comfortable car it might lead to trouble. They never meet with friends who are believers in either home, but only in public places. That and more and they do it all with obvious joy, trust, confidence and extraordinary faith from the parents right down to the children. When I asked Wayne about the danger afterwards, he acknowledged that it is real, but said they had decided early on they could not and should not shelter their children from it. He told me that they have had what can only be described as miraculous escapes from dangerous situations many times over the years now and accept that suffering is part of the deal for a Christian something they are not anxious for their children to see first-hand, but
63

which under the resurrection power of God neither do they want to shield their children from. We have it too easy, folks. Our prosperity plagues us. We are strangled by it. Pray for the Loseys, will you? Pray for their work; pray for their safety; pray for the girls whose normal missionary kid companions will be largely gone from them for this next year and a half. They will return for a regular furlough in late 2010 and will see them again. I trust that we can show them a church full of people who have cared and prayed and participated in their ministry there and I pray we will be people who are here in our luxury experiencing also the resurrection power of Christ because it is absolutely available. The power of God is not only proven and primary, but it is present. It is present in our connection to our head and it is present to allow us to do the work of complementing our head. Conclusion And so, we arrive at the end of this wonderful prayer where Paul thanks God for the love and faith of these Ephesians believers. Then he prays for the eyes of their hearts, the eyes of faith to be open so that they can see and grasp and live in the good of the hope of their calling constantly striving toward that goal of being like Christ, looking forward to the wonderful day when they will at last see Him, so that they will know their wonderful position as the inheritance of God and that they will know the unbelievable, unmatched, unexcelled power of God, proven, primary and most of all present available now, to enable us to live a Christian life. So, are we? Living Christian lives? Showing forth the marvelous position we have in Christ? Or do we look just like the rest of our world working only to make money to spend on ourselves living for the next social hour or football game or round of golf or shopping spree no ultimate goal other than retire and lay on a beach and play more rounds of golf. May I respectfully ask, how is that any different from the life and goals of any one of our friends or neighbors who make no claim to know Christ. Where is our passion for Him and for His work? On March 4, 1982 at the International Congress on Biblical Inerrancy in San Diego, Dr. Howard Hendricks told an amazing story. Just before WW II in the town of Itasca, Texas, a school fire took the lives of 263 children. There was scarcely a family in town which was not touched by this
64

horrifying tragedy. During the war Itasca remained without school facilities. But when the war ended, the town like many others began to expand and in fact, built a new school which featured what was called the finest sprinkler system in the world. Civic pride ran high. Honor students were selected to guide citizens and visitor on tours of the new facility to show them the finest, most advanced sprinkler system technology could supply and money could buy. Never again would Itasca be visited by such a tragedy. With the postwar boom the town continued to grow, and seven years later it was necessary to enlarge the school and in adding the new wing it was discovered that the sprinkler system had never been connected. What an incredible story. Its folly strains our belief. Yet, alas, it is a parable of what has happened in so many Christian lives. There is untold power available for every believer in Christ, but so many never hook up, and their lives are thus impotent and shamefully useless. Heres what really scares me. I wonder if they are even really Christian lives? Is it possible that we have fooled ourselves, thinking that we are Christian because we go to church once or twice a month and throw a little money in the plate. Do we need to be reminded that going to church doesnt make us a Christian any more than being in a garage makes us a car? Make sure that you really belong to Him, Beloved. And if you do, man, get plugged in. Understand the position and power that are yours. Find your place of service where God will call you and give you a passion for the people and for the work. And then well, then do it to the praise of His glory and to your everlasting reward.

65