Immeasurable Power

people have been maneuvering and manipulating for more power and leverage to the dawn of civilization.

People use physical or military power to do others and force them to do their bidding.

They use verbal or political power to gain an advantage over someone,

to win an argument or to really stir up the masses to pursue their own ends.

People use magic, sacrifices to their gods, spells, astrology, tarot cards and talismans

in an attempt to control their future than that of others.

You might dismiss one or more of these methods as barbaric or superstitious

or think that one of these methods works better than the others,

but at the heart of it all, they are all the same.

They are all the same because at the root of it is selfishness, fear and a desire for control

over the circumstances in your life that seem to be out of your control.

And none of them provide any kind of lasting security.

Ephesians 1, 15 to 23 teaches us about a far greater power that is at the disposal of those who believe in Jesus Christ.

That's why we are the spiritual power.

And yet many Christians live without awareness of this power, spiritual power.

Therefore, Paul prays on their behalf.

More specifically, he prays on behalf of the Ephesian believers in this context.

They would have the Spirit's wisdom to believe and experience Christ's power.

That's really the main point of this passage.

He said, we ought to also then pray to the Father of glory for the Spirit's wisdom that we might know Christ's power.

And I'll follow that outline.

First, talk about the Spirit's wisdom.

Secondly, about the Father's glory.

And then thirdly, about Christ's power.

So first, Spirit's wisdom.

We see that in verses 15 to 18.

He begins,

So the phrase,

So the phrase,

So the phrase,

So the phrase,

So the phrase,

So having heard report that the Ephesian, the church, the believers have faith in the Lord Jesus,

And that they also love the fellow saints, all the saints that are among them,

He now knows that this spiritual blessings that he just talked about in verses 3 to 14 belong to them.

That this, their faith in Jesus and their love toward the saints is proof,

Evidence for Paul of the fact that these spiritual blessings now belong to them.

And after realizing that, Paul now gives thanks to God.

He thanks to, he praises God.

And then now he prays on behalf of these Ephesian believers.

And this is not a point to be glossed over,

Because Paul's not mentioning just the faith and love of the saints in passing.

This is a thoughtful theological statement,

Because he says elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 13, 13,

Faith, hope, and love are the defining marks of the Christian.

The things that define the Christian above all things.

And so here he mentions faith, and he mentions love,

And later he will also mention hope in verse 18.

That's what those things define the Christian,

Because Christians have faith not in themselves,

Or anything else, or anyone else,

But in the Lord Jesus for their salvation.

That's their faith that defines them.

Christians also have hope,

Because they have the Holy Spirit,

Who is the deposit, the down payment,

The guarantee that all the spiritual blessings that God promises

Will be consummated and fulfilled.

So we have hope in that spirit.

And then finally, we have love toward God and toward our neighbor,

Because the Father has loved us first.

And so we receive that love,

And are transformed by that love to love others,

To love one another, and to love God.

And so that's,

So faith, hope, and love define us as a Christian.

So that's why he's mentioning those things.

And it's important to hold those things together as believers,

Because it's easy to kind of separate them out.

Faith in the Lord Jesus,

And love toward all the saints.

On the one hand,

Some Christians seem to have faith,

A lot of faith in the Lord Jesus.

But not a lot of love toward the saints.

Their faith is very private,

And individualistic.

They have their own private devotions,

And prayer times.

Which is great.

I mean, we should all have that.

But they do not gather regularly with other believers.

They seem uncomfortable with intimacy,

And commitment.

And I can guarantee you that such a believer,

May flourish for a little bit,

But will not bear much fruit.

Because their faith will soon dwindle,

And they will be plagued by doubt and error.

On the other hand,

Some Christians seem to have love toward all the saints,

But they don't seem to really have faith in the Lord Jesus.

For them, church is more like a social club.

They like hanging out with a whole bunch of really nice people,

So they go to all the church events and function.

But,

They're mistaking their community's faith for their own.

They don't have a personal faith in the Lord Jesus.

And so,

What happens is when this person moves away,

Let's say they move away to another state for college,

Or they relocate for another job somewhere else,

They don't plug into a healthy local church right away.

And they begin to lose faith and be discouraged.

Why?

Because they never had their personal faith to begin with.

It wasn't their own.

They were mistaking their community's faith for their own.

They had love toward the saints,

But they had no faith in the Lord Jesus.

It's kind of like coal.

Like,

If you guys have ever done barbecue,

You put a whole bunch of coal in the barbecue pit,

And then you burn them.

You can never tell which coals have actually caught fire,

Because it's all really hot.

It's only when you spill them on the ground,

And separate them all out,

That's when you can tell when a coal has really caught fire.

You have to have a personal faith,

Believe in the Lord Jesus,

And have love toward the saints.

You can't have one without the other.

Right?

If you turn later in verses 22 to 23,

Paul describes Christ as the head of the church,

And he describes the church as his body.

How can you love someone's head and not their body?

How can you love someone's body and not their head?

It's impossible,

Because they're one person.

You can't say,

I love God,

I love Jesus,

But oh,

I don't really love the church.

There is no such thing.

You can't say,

Oh,

I love the church,

But I don't,

You know,

I don't really want to be exclusive,

And have exclusive living.

You can't do that.

Faith in the Lord Jesus,

Love toward the saints,

They stay together.

You have to hold them together.

And then so Paul says in verse 16,

I do not cease to give thanks for you,

Because he has seen these evidences,

Love toward the saints,

And faith in the Lord.

He now says,

I do not cease to give thanks for you,

Remembering you in my prayers.

Now,

Paul writes,

The way that Paul writes this here,

It's clear that this is not the only occasion

Paul is praying for the Ephesian believers.

This is his regular practice,

Right?

He says,

I do not cease to give thanks for you.

He's really putting into practice

What he taught in 1 Thessalonians 5,

17 to 18.

Pray without ceasing,

Give thanks in all circumstances,

Right?

And Paul's not giving thanks to God

Because of something specific

That the Ephesian believers did for him.

No,

He's thanking them,

And thanking God for them,

And praying for them,

Because he knows that they are God's people,

That they belong to him.

And what does it mean that Paul

Does not cease to give thanks,

Remembering them in his prayer?

I mean,

Sometimes people wonder,

Like,

How can you really pray without ceasing?

Right?

How do you pray without ceasing?

Do you pray all the time?

Is that all you do?

Do you ever eat?

I mean,

Do you ever,

You know,

Go to the church service?

I mean,

Do you ever,

I mean,

How do you pray without ceasing?

It's helpful to compare this

To a parallel passage in Colossians.

The book of Ephesians

And the book of Colossians

Have a lot of substantial parallels.

And most likely,

Because Paul probably wrote them

In close succession to each other.

He wrote them in a similar time

In his life.

And he probably had similar concerns in mind

As he was writing those two letters.

And in a parallel passage in Colossians 1,

9,

It says this,

And so,

From the day we heard,

We have not ceased to pray for you.

Asking that you may be filled

With the knowledge of his will

In all spiritual wisdom

And understanding.

Very similar,

Right?

But that additional phrase

Is very helpful.

It's illuminating for understanding

This passage.

Because he says,

And so,

From the day we heard,

We have not ceased to pray for you.

So what he's saying here

Is that since that day

He heard about them

And heard about this,

He has continued to pray for them.

He hasn't stopped praying for them.

His prayer for them

Doesn't have an expiration date.

Right?

And so some people,

When they tell us,

Oh,

Hey,

I want to pray for you,

They'll pray for us

Maybe a couple times

And they stop.

Right?

Paul's saying,

No,

I haven't stopped.

I keep praying.

He's not saying

That's all he does.

He's not saying

That he prays all day long

Every second of the day.

But what he's saying is,

You know what?

Every,

I pray for you regularly.

Every time I want my knees

To pray to the Father,

I remember you.

I thank God for you.

And I pray for you.

I have not ceased

To pray for you.

It is still my practice

To this day

To pray for you.

And why does Paul do that?

Why does he pray continually?

And we can see why he does it

By looking at what he prays for

In verses 17 to 19.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

The Father of glory,

May give you the spirit of wisdom

And of revelation

In the knowledge of him,

Having the eyes of your hearts

Enlightened,

That we may know,

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,

And what is the immeasurable greatness

Of his power toward us

Who believe.

Right?

So the motivation

For Paul's prayer

Is very simple.

We can't know God

Unless he gives us

The spirit of wisdom

And of revelation

In the knowledge of him.

Paul has to pray

For the Holy Spirit

To work in our lives

Because we can't know God

Apart from the working

Of the Holy Spirit.

And many of us

Sitting here

Were raised up

In Christian homes

And grew up

As part of the church

And consequently

We know a lot of things

About God.

But the fact that

We know these things

Don't mean that

We actually believe them.

We know them

But we don't

Cognitive knowledge

Doesn't automatically

Translate into

Experiential knowledge.

Theoretical knowledge

Doesn't automatically

Translate into

Practical knowledge.

And it's the spirit of God

That takes the knowledge

In our heads

And impresses them

Deeply in our hearts

So that we actually

Believe them

And live by them.

And as Christians

I think we have

All experienced this.

There's a

Perhaps you heard

This truth in a sermon

One time

And you know

You've heard it

Countless times actually

But then there's

That one particular

Sunday morning

And you're sitting

In the pews

And you hear

The same sermon

The same truth

But then all of a sudden

You have an

Aha moment.

It clicks for you.

The penny drops.

You guys know that expression?

The penny drops.

Like I mean

If you have a vending machine

Right?

Like you try to put

A quarter in

And often times

Like it gets stuck

Right?

And you have to

Kind of shove it

A couple times

And then the penny drops.

Right?

It clicks.

And then now

The machine works.

Right?

So that's like that

For a lot of us.

We have a lot of truths

Rammed in there.

Right?

But the penny

Hasn't dropped

For all of them.

We haven't really

Quite got it.

And it's the spirit of God

That works in our lives

And in our hearts

To bring that

To bear on our lives

So that we really believe it

And live by it.

And that's essential.

And because Paul

Is so aware of this truth

That the spirit of God

Has to make these truths

Work in our lives

He prays for them

Because he knows

He can't make that happen

In his own strength.

I hope you have thought

About this

As the church

Because what that means

Is all our preaching

All our ministry

All our evangelism

Is in vain

Apart from the illumination

Of the spirit of God.

It's no wonder then

That Paul prays

Without ceasing

For the vision

It's no wonder then

That every place

Everywhere

Revival was always preceded

By concerted efforts

To pray together.

If we really want

To see each other

Grow in our knowledge

Of God

We must pray

To God the Father

For the Holy Spirit

And the spirit of God

We pray for one another.

Our praying for one another

Is one of the strongest

Most reliable evidences

Of our love for one another.

Why is that?

Because if we love one another

If we really love one another

And we will look

At each other's lives

And we will see a brother

A Christian brother

And a crippling sin

In his life

And we'll see a sister

Whose lack of faith

Is hampering her growth

And we will see

A member of the same

Family of God

Whom Satan is robbing

Of joy in God

And we will desperately

Want to help them

Because we love them

But we will feel helpless

Because we can't

Bring that change

In that person's life

We can't get that person

To believe the truth of God

And so that will drive us

To our need

To pray.

That's why

Our prayer for one another

Is one of the clearest

Evidences of our love for one another

Since we began meeting

As a church

For corporate worship

In my house

Like a couple years ago

We have always emphasized

Prayer for this

That's why we have

A prayer service

Every week

On Friday nights

Friday nights

Of all times

Right?

That's prime time

For you know

End of the week

You know

Relax

Unwind

Social life

But we gather to pray

Why?

Because we believe this

We believe that this

Has to happen in our lives

Spirit has to work

That's why we pray

For 45 minutes

Before church starts

The service starts

On Sunday morning

We pray together

For the service

That's why we pray

During the service too

We pray because we know

We desperately need

God's help

Because we know

That the spirit

Has to illumine

The spirit's wisdom

Must be at work

In our lives

For us to see

For the scales

To fall from our eyes

And for us to see

The truth

To know the truth

So I encourage you

That the three days

Of prayer and fasting

Participate in this

This week Thursday

Wednesday to Friday

And we created

Some guides for you

That can help you

To pray

To inform your prayer

During that time

It's based on

Ephesians 1

After praying

For the spirit's wisdom

Paul specifies

Why he wants

The spirit of wisdom

To help us understand

And I sum that all up

In the phrase

Father's glory

And that's to summarize

The two points

That he prays for

In verse 18

First notice that

He addresses God

As the father of glory

In verse 17

The glory of God

Is really the

Display of the attributes

Of God

It's the deity

On display

All his perfections

His beauty

His holiness

That's his glory

His displaying of that

That's his glory

And that's why

Truly to be strict

Nothing in the world

Is glorious

Except for God

Because he alone

That's his

To preach

Glory is deity

On display

So when we say

Something is glorious

We're saying that

Oh it reflects

God's glory

Right

A mountain range

Is glorious

Because it reflects

God's magnificence

And now

If that's the glory

Of God

See what Paul says

In verse 18

This is mind boggling

He prays 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

God's glory

God's deity

On display

His perfections

His beauty

His holiness

His power

Is not displayed

Primarily in the

Seemingly infinite cosmos

But in

Us

We

Are God's

Glorious

Inheritance

Paul wants

Believers to see

That

Believe that

Throughout the

Old Testament

The people whom

God redeemed

For himself

Were described

As his inheritance

For example

Deuteronomy 9

29

He says

They are your

People

And your

Inheritance

Whom you brought

Out by your

Great power

And by your

Outstretched arm

Right

This is really

A reiteration

Of what Paul

Said early

In verse 14

When he says

That we are

God's prized

Possession

Right

It's the hope

That God

Has called us

To

The spirit

Of God

Has put a

Still on us

Saying this

Is God's

This belongs

To God

It says

His inheritance

And so we

Are God's

Glorious

Inheritance

The father

Of glory

His glory

Is displayed

In us

His glorious

Inheritance

What that

Means is

This

We're not

Just

You know

Cheap

Trinkets

In the

Father's

Treasure

Of little

Value

We are

His

Riches

We are

The crown

Jewel

We are

The glorious

Inheritance

That's

That's

How God

Sees

Because we

Are in

Christ

Jesus

The glorious

Son

That should

Fill us

With wonder

And gratitude

And unwavering

Security

In Jesus

And so he

Prays for a

Spirit of

Wisdom

Spirit's wisdom

And he

Prays for the

Father's glory

And then lastly

He prays for

The Christ's

Power

And he

Emphasized this

Third point

Because it's

Something that

The Ephesians

Really need to

Get

And he

Says in

Verses

19 to

21

That you

May know

What is the

Immeasurable

Greatness

Of his

Power

Toward us

Who believe

According to

The working

Of his

Great

Might

That he

Worked

In

Christ

When he

Raised him

From the

Dead

And seated

Him at

His right

Hand in

The heavenly

Places

Far above

All rule

And authority

And power

And dominion

And above

Every name

That is

Named

Not only

In this

Age

But also

In the

One

To come

The Gentile

Converts

To Christianity

In Ephesus

Whom Paul

Particularly

Has in

Mind

As he's

Writing

This

Letter

Were

Still

Very

Much

Enticed

By

And

Entangled

In

The

Spiritual

Forces

Of

First

Century

Paganism

And you

Can

Find

Example

Of

This

In

The

Bible

But

Before

I

Get

To

That

So

Ephesus

Was

Even

Though

It

Was

A

Religiously

Pluralistic

City

It

Had

One

Really

Prominent

Idol

And

Religion

It

Was

The

Cult

Of

Artemis

Artemis

Is

The

Greek

Goddess

Of

Fertility

The

Wild

Animal

And

But

They

Elevated

Her

To

The

State

Of

Supreme

God

And

They

Called

Her

Lord

And

They

Believed

That

She

Ruled

Both

The

World

Above

The

Spiritual

Realm

Of

Spirits

As

Well

As

The

World

Of

Earth

The

Terrestrial

Forces

And

As

Well

As

The

World

Under

The

Spirits

And

Under

World

So

They

Believe

That

Artemis

Ruled

The

Whole

World

And

To

Illustrate

How

Big

This

Cult

Was

Like

They

Had

A

Temple

Of

Artemis

Which

Was

Have

You

Guys

Seen

A

Picture

Of

The

Parthenon

In

Athens

Right

So

That's

The

Largest

Surviving

Greek

Temple

That

We

Have

Today

The

Temple

Of

Artemis

Was

Four

Times

The

Size

It

Was

One

Of

The

Seven

Wonders

Of

The

World

So

This

Revealing

Story

About

The

Context

The

Religious

Context

Of

Ephesus

So

What

Happens

Is

There

Are

These

Jewish

Exorcists

They

Make

A

Living

By

Exorcising

Demons

And

They

Travel

Around

And

They

Were

Sons

Of

A

High

Priest

Named

Sceva

And

It

Says

That

They

Began

To

Invoke

The

Name

Of

The

Lord

Jesus

Over

Those

Who

Had

Evil

Spirits

Saying

I

Adjure

You

By

The

Jesus

Whom

Paul

Proclaims

But

To

Their

Great

Embarrassment

When

They

Invoked

The

Name

Of

Jesus

Whom

Paul

Proclaims

The

Evil

Spirits

Pounced

On

Them

Overpower

Them

So

That

They

Fled

Naked

So

When

This

Happened

Paul

Luke

Continues

To

Record

This

Right

After

This

Happened

It

Says

This

Became

Known

To

Everyone

In

Ephesus

And

That

Fear

Fell

Upon

Them

All

And

The

Name

Of

Jesus

The

Lord

Jesus

Was

Extolled

Now

Because

Of

That

Many

Believers

It

Says

Who

Were

Secretly

Indulging

In

The

Magical

Arts

And

Basically

Seeking

And

Treating

The

Idol

Artemis

They

Brought

Out

All

Their

Books

Full

Of

Incantations

And

The

Magical

Practices

And

They

Burned

Them

In

Public

In

The

Public

Square

Recording

All

Of

This

In

Acts

19

And

It

Says

That

What

They

Burned

That

Is

A

Reference

To

The

Greek

Drachma

The

Currency

So

One

Silver

Is

A

Day's

Wage

So

That

Is

A

50,000

Days

Wage

So

If

You

Count

$15

As

The

Average

Rate

For

An

Hourly

Wage

That

About

Six

Million

Dollars

In

Today's

Currency

So

This

Is

And

These

Are

Believers

Who

Are

Bringing

Out

The

Stuff

That

They

Had

In

Their

So

This

Reveals

The

Extent

To

Which

This

Cult

Had

An

Influence

Over

The

Lives

Of

The

Christian

Converts

In

Ephesus

Six

Million

Dollars

Worth

Of

Books

I

Mean

Even

If

They

Got

Fleeced

For

Every

One

Of

Those

Books

I

Mean

That's

A

Lot

Of

Books

That

These

People

Had

Right

So

After

This

Event

And

Then

Luke

Continues

That

There

Was

A

Silversmith

Named

Demetrius

Who

Made

A

Living

By

Selling

Little

Craftsman

And

Starts

A

Riot

Trying

To

Drive

Paul

And

His

Companions

Out

Of

The

City

Of

Ephesus

So

That's

The

Context

To

Which

Paul

Is

Writing

This

Letter

To

The

Ephesians

Now

This

Is

Really

Helpful

For

Understanding

It

Because

One

It

Tells

Us

That

The

Magical

Arts

Were

Still

Highly

Influential

And

Lucrative

But

Also

That

Christianity

Was

Making

Significant

Inroads

In

That

Context

But

Old

Habits

Die

Hard

Right

And

So

Christians

A lot

Of

Them

Were

Still

Holding

On

To

These

Habits

And

Paul

Is

Aware

Of

This

As

He

Writes

This

And

He's

Saying

Basically

You

Don't

Use

Incantations

And

Charms

To

Gain

Control

Over

Your

Problems

Of

Daily

Life

Turn

To

The

Lord

Jesus

And

That's

Why

He's

So

Emphatic

In

Verses

19

To

21

Read

That

Again

With

Me

And

As

We

Do

That

Notice

Just

The

Proliferation

Of

All

These

Power

Words

Right

What

Is

The

Immeasurable

Greatness

Of

His

Power

Toward

Us

To

Believe

According

To

The

Working

Of

His

Great

Might

That

He

Worked

In

Christ

When

He

Raised

Him

From

The

Dead

And

Raised

Him

At

His

Right

Hand

In

The

Heavenly

Places

Far

Above

All

Rule

and

Authority

And

Power

And

Dominion

And

Above

Nearly

Exhausts

The

Bank

Of

The

Greek

Vocabulary

For

Terms

Related

To

Power

He

Uses

Them

All

Like

Almost

All

Of

Them

Right

He

He's

Emphasizing

That

Immeasurable

Greatness

Power

Great

Might

And

All

Of

These

Words

Are

Words

That

Were

Characteristically

Used

In

The

Magical

Arts

During

That

Time

You

Find

Them

In

The

Magic

Books

That

Have

Survived

In

Inscriptions

On

Buildings

And

Stuff

Like

You

Find

These

Incantations

They

Use

These

Words

And

So

And

He's

Saying

That

Basically

That

These

Gods

That

You

Relay

On

These

Idols

That

You

Seek

Are

Impotent

Compared

To

Surpassing

Greatness

And

Power

Of

Christ

Christ

Power

And

What's

The

Proof

Of

This

Power

That

Christ

Has

How

Do

We

Know

That

He

Has

The

Immeasurable

Greatness

Of

His

Power

How

Was

God's

Immeasurable

Power

When He

Raised Him

From

The

Dead

And

Seated

Him

At

His

Right

Hand

In

The

Heavenly

Places

Far

Above

All

Rule

And

Authority

And

Power

And

Dominion

And

Above

Every

Name

That

Is

Not

Only

In

This

Age

But

Also

In

The

One

To

Come

And

He

Put

All

Things

Under

His

Feet

And

Gave

Him

As

Head

Over

All

Things

To

The

Church

So

Basically

the

Proof

Of

Christ

Immeasurable

And

Him

Subjecting

All

Things

Under

His

Feet

And

Being

Given

To

The

Church

As

Head

Over

All

Things

Those

Four

Things

Is

What

Proves

To

Us

That

He

Has

Victorious

And

Conquered

All

Things

And

Now

He

Has

Been

Given

To

The

Church

And

What

Are

The

Things

That

He

Subjected

Under

His

Feet

The

Words

Rule

And

Authority

Can

Be

Used

To

To

Human

Authorities

And

They

Can

Be

And

The

Spiritual

Realm

Is

Seen

Throughout

Scripture

As

One

That

Is

More

Significant

Than

The

Earthly

Realm

So

When

You

Have

Spiritual

Authority

You

Don't

Need

I

Mean

You

Should

Understand

That

It

Is

Involving

All

Kinds

Of

Authority

And

The

Words

Rule

Authority

Power

And

Dominion

Are

Also

All

Words

That

Are

Very

Commonly

Used

In

Jewish

Texts

And

Gentile

Magical

Texts

Now

To

Refer

To

Angelic

Powers

Rule

Authority

Power

And

Dominion

And

Paul

Consistently

Uses

Them

In

That

Way

In

His

Epistles

So

Paul

Is

Saying

That

All

The

Spiritual

Forces

Are

Subject

To

Christ

And

The

Popular

Belief

At

The

Time

Was

That

The

Spirits

Dwelled

In

The

Realm

Above

And

And

So

Intentionally

Paul

Writes

Here

That

Christ

Is

Far

Above

All

Authority

Right

All

Rule

Authority

Are

Dominion

He's

Saying

That

You

Know

What

He's

Not

Even

On

The

Same

Plane

Right

You

Think

Of

Spirits

As

Being

In

The

Realm

Above

Christ

Is

Far

Above

He

Surpasses

Them

And

This

Is

A

Spiritual

Rain

We

Know

That

Because

He's

In

The

Heavenly

Places

He's

Not

Reigning

From

An

Earthly