In
Ephesians 1:15- the apostle Paul prays that the church in Ephesus will embrace
their spiritual gifts into their hearts. He prays that the Ephesians will
understand the revelation God has given them regarding their spiritual gifts. Paul
was intent on bringing the true light of Christ with the Gospel message. He
reminds us in Ephesians 2:1-2 that “we were once dead in transgressions and
sins, in which we used to live when we followed the ways of this world and the
ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient.” Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesus shows us how to pray for
others. He reminds us that Christ has set us free from the bondage of sin. Paul
wants us to know the hope of God’s calling, the riches of our eternal
inheritance, and the greatness of God’s power.
We
need to know God and his character. We can only know God through the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual insight from the depth of our
thought process. This allows us to see the grand hope to which God has called
us through his grace.
Believers
must know Christ and not just gain knowledge about him. Believers must also
understand Christ with all of their hearts, intellects, emotions, and wills.
Such understanding is not available to non-believers. When I talk about the
heart, I’m not talking about the physical organ. The New Testament defines the
heart as the higher intelligence in which will and emotions cooperate with the
mind.
Every
believer can use God’s power. Such power is dynamic, energetic, mighty and
strong. This mighty power is anchored in heaven. It raised Jesus from the dead
and seated Jesus at God’s right hand. Prayer that flows from a deep sense of
gratitude is forceful and rooted in thankfulness. Our source of its glory is
God himself.
Christ
has conquered the power of evil, and will continue to conquer it in the future.
Knowing the victorious Christ allows believers to face life’s challenges.
Thanks to Christ’s power, no sinner is beyond rescue and no saint is beyond
recovery.
The
Holy Spirit comes to us when we pray and accept Christ in faith. Once our human
spirit is dedicated to God and inspired by God, the Holy Spirit can work in the
world through us. That is the rationale behind the Parable of the Talents, which
we heard from Matthew’s Gospel last week. The revelation of the Holy Spirit is
an activity of God. Sometimes new Christians seem to be in closer contact with
God than Christians who have been faithful for years. Have we allowed our
spirits to be dulled by the materialistic nature of our world? Society
pressures us to be rational, but we must remember that God is not rational as
defined by the world. His ways are not the world’s ways.
As
the Holy Spirit enlightens us, our knowledge of God expands. That enlightenment
is tied in with the hope to which we are called by Christ. That hope transforms
us. That hope includes the hope of life after death. That hope is at the heart
of the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection to eternal life with
him. The enlightenment we get from our
expanded knowledge of God also shines a light on the riches of the glory of our
eternal inheritance. We will spend eternity with the angels and redeemed
people.
The
enlightenment also shines a light on the awesomeness of God’s power, especially
when it is exercised by believers. This is the Resurrection power that raised
Christ from the dead. It is the same power that took Jesus back to heaven. It
is the same power that exists over heaven and earth. It is the same power that
defeated evil. It is the same power that will exist for all eternity. It is the
same power that will heal the sick, drive out demons, renew our spirits,
reconcile our relationships and bring peace. God’s power changes lives. God’s
power is real. It meets us at our point of need. It is dependable and
consistent.
Ephesians
1:15-28 is often read on the Sunday when we celebrate Christ’s ascension.
Ephesians has been called “The Epistle of the Ascension” because it is in this
letter where we meet the exalted Christ. The reading is also appropriate for
Reign of Christ Sunday because on this particular Sunday we also meet the
Christ who is exalted as our heavenly king and Saviour. Christ is the king or
head, but we are his body. Whatever Christ would do, we must do. We are his hands and feet. We are to do God’s work by
spreading the Good News of the kingdom, but we must not claim to be equal to
him. Because of our sinful human nature, we are under judgment. Christ is the
centre of the unity that God wants for all sinners. We are the instrument
through which that unity will be created.
The
Holy Spirit reveals God’s wisdom to us. It is a part of the power that we have
as believers. The power we have allows us to live in freedom and victory over
satanic forces. This power is greater than earthly powers. God’s wisdom is
available to us, but we often refuse to obey it. We can’t pick and choose when
to obey God. It is not something we can take from God and leave. We can only
get it through a living relationship with God.
We
need wisdom. It is the ability to make the right calls. We get wisdom in five
ways:
1.
Entering into a
personal relationship with God.
2.
Praying for
wisdom.
3.
Meditating on
God’s Word.
4.
Hearing and
heeding the counsel of people we respect.
5.
Seeking wisdom
with all of our heart.
God
is a visionary leader. He sees opportunities in the spiritual
world-opportunities for us to do his will. He is saving people through Jesus
and through us when we do his work in our world. He allows us to see that this
is his world and he is in it. His heavenly vision needs our earthly
support. All
of us have a calling. It is our responsibility to exercise Christ-like control
over our lives.
We
have the same authority in the spiritual realm as those Christ sent out
personally. In fact, because of Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension, we
can have greater spiritual power because we are in Christ instead of being with
Christ. We must be conscious of this authority. We must be aware of that
authority so that we will be aware of our rich, eternal inheritance.
The power of Jesus isn’t like any power that we
know on this earth. God’s power is so
great that it is beyond anything we can imagine. It has vital strength which
can overcome any obstacles and gain complete control over our lives. His power redefines and changes
our lives. It recreates us as his new people through the water of baptism. His
power is stronger than death – it gives eternal life. His power forgives even
our worst sins. His power gives us new directions – daily it kills everything
that is evil and corrupting in our lives and renews us as his chosen people.
His power gives us his body and blood in a piece of bread and a sip of wine.
His power gives us faith through the Word of God. He is ready to use his power
in our lives, our families, and our work places. He is ready to use his power
when we are overcome with fear, worry, grief, and pain
The
power in the cross is evident when out of love God gave up his son’s life for
our sake. He loaded our sins on Jesus’ shoulders when Jesus was on the cross.
The power of the cross raised Jesus from the dead. God’s power gave Jesus all
power and authority when Jesus returned to heaven. God’s power is based on the
love he has for us.
There
is power in the cross, and there is hope in the cross. Hope keeps us fighting
for Christ in our evil world. Hope keeps us going when times are tough. Hope
keeps us going when we face persecution. Hope abides. God isn’t finished with
us yet!
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
2.
Dunnam, M.D.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 31: Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians/Philemon
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.: 1982)
5.
Dr. Neil
Anderson, “Our Access to Christ’s Authority.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
10. Dr. Randy White, “Hope, Richness and Greatness.”
Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
11. Dr. Neil Anderson, “Our Access to Christ’s Authority.”
Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
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