The Mighty Power of God in the life of Believers

Good morning. It is our privilege and joy here at Dillingham Ravian Church to

be able to lead you in the study of God's Word.

My name is Pastor Simon, and here at Dillingham Ravian Church,

our mission is to make disciples of Christ as we shine the light of God's Word

throughout Bristol Bay, southwest Alaska, and beyond.

When Samaritan's Purse was building our church, they had an excavator digging

the foundation hole and other powerful equipment for the construction work.

My little boy, Jonathan, who at that time was almost three years old,

was fascinated with the big machines.

So much so that our little red-headed boy would stand in the window watching

the machines and yelling at the top of his lungs.

Big, big, big, big equipment like excavators and dump trucks have tremendous power.

Yet without the machine being operated correctly, the machine's power is either

no use or extremely dangerous.

And just as heavy machinery has great power yet needs to be operated rightly,

God has unlimited energy-producing power that he uses with the same energy that

he rose Jesus from the dead. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we are so eminently grateful for your word,

for your truth that you have given us in your Son, Jesus Christ, and in your Holy Word.

Teach us today. Use us, Lord.

Lord, as we come to your word, may your word not come to us in word only,

but in your very power, in your Holy Spirit, and in full conviction,

would you convince us, Lord, of your gospel truth, of who you are,

what you've done in your son, Jesus Christ, and in his resurrection,

and in his death.

Use us today. Help us to understand and know what you want us to know and how we can apply it.

In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, we pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Here at Dillingham Raven Church, we have been teaching through a preaching series

in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, which teaches us about the unifying love

of God in the Holy Trinity, in God's church,

and how God's church can live out the unity of God.

Last week in Ephesians chapter 1, we learned that Paul was praying for the Ephesian

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

congregation that the Lord would shine the light of his truth upon their whole being.

So that they would live in the intimate knowledge of the hope of God in Jesus Christ.

Paul also prayed for the Ephesians to grasp by the light of God's understanding

that they totally belong to Christ as his inheritance, his own people of God.

Moreover, Paul prayed that God would enlighten the Ephesians in their inner

beings so that they would know their surpassing magnitude of God's energy-producing

power towards those who live a life of faith in Christ.

And this morning, we're going to continue on in our study in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 19 to 23,

Ephesians 1:19–23

where Paul wrote, These are in accordance with the working of the strength of

his might, which he brought about 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 every name that

is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

And he puts all things in subjection under his feet and gave him as head over

all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

There are two overarching timeless truths that I believe God wants us to know from this passage.

The first principle I'd like to show you is that as believers,

we cannot know the hope and dependence of and God's power without God's resurrection power.

Doesn't it often happen that if you really need a vehicle to work,

it doesn't work? That's what happened this Friday and this weekend.

I had four kids to transport to Juana, wedding rehearsal and a ceremony to lead,

my boy to bring to a birthday party, and my Suburban's battery then died.

My old Explorer was smoking like it was on flyer.

When I was able to get time between events, I went and used my portable battery

charger and jumper to jump my Suburban.

That jumper is worth its weight in gold. The battery charged and the vehicle started right up.

My point with this story is that my vehicle was dead.

It had no life by itself and could not power itself.

It took an outside power source to bring it all to life.

And this is what Paul was teaching the Ephesians in his prayer that we were

dead in our trespasses and sins. And God in Christ from his unlimited power

gave us spiritual life and the ability to know him.

Paul continued in his prayer in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 19 to 21.

Ephesians 1:19–21

These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might,

which he brought about 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,

power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age,

but also in the one to come.

As we continue in our study in Ephesians 1, verse 19, it is important for us

Ephesians 1:19

to ask what Paul was referring to when he wrote, these are in accordance with.

To answer this question, let us turn to Ephesians chapter 1, verse 18 to 19.

Ephesians 1:18–19

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know

what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance

in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power towards us who believe.

Paul prayed that the Lord would shine the light of his truth upon Ephesian Christians

in three ways. The first one is that the Ephesian believers would intimately

know the hope of Jesus Christ.

Secondly, that the Ephesians would know that they belong entirely to Almighty

God as the inheritance of Jesus Christ.

And lastly, Christ's followers would truly know the surpassing greatness of

God's energy-producing power in their lives as they live by faith in Christ.

Back in Ephesians 1, verse 19, the word that Paul used for working meant the

Ephesians 1:19

energetic power from which comes the word energy in English.

The word translated as strength is the power that overcomes resistance as in Christ's miracles.

This word is only used of God and never of believers.

And lastly, the word might refer to God's inherent strength, which he provides.

Paul wanted to emphasize the mighty and colossal energy and strength and provision that God has.

Thus, Paul described in verse 19 that the energy-producing power that God displayed

in raising Jesus from the dead and exalting Jesus above all rule and authority is the same power.

That it takes a person to know the hope of Jesus Christ, to grasp that they

belong wholly to Jesus, and to intimately know the surpassing greatness of God's

energy-producing power in the lives of those who live by faith in Christ.

What was Paul's point in this exceptionally long sentence?

That a person cannot know God or the hope of Christ, nor understand God's power

without God empowering us by His resurrection and ascension power to know and understand Him.

What can we as Christians learn from this truth?

There are three applications that I want to show you. The first way we can apply

verses 19 to 21 is that we, you and I,

must learn that we cannot know God and His power without God Himself giving us the ability to do so.

It takes the same energy-producing mighty strength that God rose Jesus from

the dead and raised Him back up to heaven for us to know God and His power.

And that means we, you and I, must continually, moment by moment,

be dependent upon God in prayer to be able to know Him and live by His unlimited power.

This is extremely challenging because the messages that we read in books,

that we see on TV and social media, are all focused on being independent and

strong in our own strength.

Yet we, you and I, and all people, were created by our Creator God,

Father, Son, Holy Spirit to be dependent solely on Him.

The second truth that we as Christians must learn is that for others to know

that they belong to God, to know His hope and depend on God's energy-producing

mighty strength, we as Christians must be praying that God gives them these gifts.

Do you have family members that don't know the hope of Christ?

Do you know believers who were struggling in their walk with Christ,

and Christ's power is not much evidenced in their lives,

then pray that they would know the hope of God and know dependence on Him,

and that they would know by faith

the energy-producing mighty resurrection power of God in their lives.

The third application I want to draw your attention is that because our God,

Jesus Christ, is greater than all rulers and

authorities he is sovereign or in

control of all life in the universe that amidst

all the challenges and trials that we you and I face

we can call on God in

Jesus Christ for his mighty power to depend on him through the trials and he

will give it to us through the deaths and the grieving that we have been going

through in our communities in our regions here in Bristol Bay and in Alaska

as we struggle with illnesses.

And whatever your situation is, you can be victorious in Christ.

As you trust in Him, He will give you His power.

The same power that raised up Jesus, He will give you that power to walk and

live victoriously throughout your situations.

There is no one more powerful than our God, and He is in control.

So far, we've learned from Paul's prayer for the Ephesians that it takes the

same energy-producing mighty strength that God rose Jesus from the dead and

raised Him back up to heaven for us to know God and His power and to depend upon Him.

Paul also prayed in his prayer that God gave all things to be subject to Christ.

According to our government's archives, the unconditional surrender of the German

Third Reich was signed in the early mornings of Monday,

May 7, 1945 at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force,

or SAFE, at Reims in northeastern France.

I'm going to say some of these names wrong, but forgive me for that.

General Alfred Yodel, Chief of Staff of the German Army, signed three other

surrender documents at the same time, one each for Great Britain, Russia, and France.

At present were representatives of the four Allied powers, France,

Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States, and the three German

officers delegated by German President Karl Donitz.

These were General Alfred Jodl, who alone had been authorized to sign the surrender

document, Major Wilhelm Oxenius, an aide to Jodl, and Admiral Hans-George von

Friedberg, one of the German chief negotiators.

My reason for using this historical account is to point out that like Germany's

authorized general who signed the documents of complete surrender in the presence

of some of Germany's highest ranking military commanders along with the allies'

highest commanders, so also in a universally greater way, Jesus Christ will

return and all his enemies, both physical and spiritual,

will be subdued and forced to submit to his mighty rule.

Paul in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 22 to 23 wrote this, And he put all things

Ephesians 1:22–23

in subjection under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.

Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

There are two aspects of verses 22-23 that I would like to point out to you.

The first truth that I see in these verses is that God has given all of life to be subject to Christ.

The word for subject that Paul used meant to subject, to make subservient,

forced to submit or subdue.

Paul was praying that God had put all of life to be subjected and forced to

submit under the feet of Christ.

In Acts 2, verses 32-36, during his message, after the descending of the tongues

Acts 2:32–36

of fire upon the apostles and upon the disciples, Peter proclaimed.

This Jesus raised up again, to which we were all witnesses.

Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received

from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you both see and hear.

For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand.

And here it is, verse 35, until I put your enemies as a footstool for your feet.

Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him

both Lord and Christ. this Jesus whom you crucified.

According to one commentator, the phrase under his feet referred to when in

ancient times a king who placed his foot upon the neck of his defeated foe demonstrated power and victory.

Paul applied this imagery to Christ. Since God raised Christ to sit beside him,

all things were subject to him.

For kings, when they had defeated their foe.

So the defeated king would be dragged before the victorious king,

and the victorious king would then place his foot upon the neck of that defeated foe.

And that would symbolize victory and authority over the defeated king and his armies.

Back in Ephesians 1, verse 22 and 23,

Ephesians 1:22

I want to impress upon you that Paul in this prayer didn't pray that Jesus would

one day be exalted as King and Lord and all of God's enemies would be forced

to submit to the power and authority of Christ.

That will happen. It is true. One day Christ will come with clouds in the sky

and with colossal power and he will subdue all opposition to his rule.

But that wasn't what Paul was praying in this passage.

For Paul and for God, Jesus' complete and absolute future victory is already a done deal.

The reality of Christ's victory is so secure that it is as if it already happened.

The second principle I want you to see is that God the Father made Christ Jesus

as head over the church who is Christ's body.

There are two words here that will help us understand what Paul was teaching about in this passage.

The first word I want to show you is the word head, which indicates Christ's

leadership of the church.

His authority and empowerment enabled the body of Christ to grow and mature.

The Greek word used here for church or ekklesia refers to the assembly of people.

In Christian context, it describes the people who assemble in the name of Christ.

Paul in Colossians 1, verse 18-19 taught, And He, meaning Christ,

Colossians 1:18–19

is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning and the firstborn

from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. It is essential for

us to understand that as part of Christ's church, we do not rule or direct ourselves.

In a human body, the head is extremely critical for the operation of all parts of the body.

Every system in the body is directed from the brain, and the body will die if the brain dies.

Paul was alluding to the truth that as the body of Christ, we are operated and

controlled by Christ our head.

He is where we get our directions from. We cannot operate spiritually and make

any kingdom impact for Christ without submitting to the directions of our head, Jesus Christ.

Unlike Christ and his enemies, the relationship between Christ and his church

is one where we are bathed in the love of Christ, where we submit.

To Him, and we do submit, but it's not by force, but out of love for and trust

for Christ as the head and Lord of our body.

There are two ways that we can apply verses 22 and 23 to ourselves as Christians.

We can trust that all power and authority is Christ, and rulers both on earth

and in the spiritual realm will be forced to submit to Christ's rule.

This is a reality that is going to happen.

Andrew Berkospe, one of the teachers at our church, has been leading a Bible

study on Sunday mornings, and he has been leading us in a study of the book of Revelation.

And one of the amazing truths from that book is that the wrath of God towards

the earth and Christ's rule from God's perspective is so certain that it has already happened,

even though it physically had not yet happened.

Secondly, as the Church of Christ, Christ is our Head, and we are also to submit

to His authority and get our directions from Him through His Word.

Every problem that we have in the universal Church around the world stems from

disobedience to the Word of Christ, our Head, from denominations and congregations'

moral declines, to the disregarding of fundamental biblical doctrine,

to the takeover of many congregations by the cultures around us.

All of it comes from the lack of faith in Christ as Lord and the lack of submission

to his majestic rule over his church through his amazing word.

Obedience comes from the trusting the love of Christ as we love him.

And I want to encourage each of us that many congregations and church movements

around the world have not been swayed by the winds of culture and have indeed

held strong to Christ and his word.

And in each of our local congregations in our communities we,

you and I can be a beacon of hope of Christ's light and a catalyst for Christ-centered

growth as we trust Christ's our head and obey his word together.

What have we learned from Ephesians chapter 1 verse 19 to 23 today?

Ephesians 1:19–23

The first truth we have learned is that the energy producing power that God

displayed in raising Jesus from the dead and exalting Jesus above all rule and

authority is the same power that it takes a person to know the hope of Jesus Christ,

to grasp that they belong wholly to Jesus,

and to intimately know the surpassing greatness of God's energy-producing power

in the lives of those who live by faith in Christ.

We as humans cannot know God or the hope of Christ, nor understand God's power

without God empowering us by His resurrection and ascension power to know and understand Him.

The second timeless truth I want to remind you of is in two parts.

First off, that all earthly and spiritual powers and authorities will be forced

to surrender and submit to the all-powerful cosmic might of God in Jesus Christ.

Christ will rule supreme over all the universe and all realms.

Secondly, for us as the Church of Christ, Christ is our head,

and we are to lovingly obey Christ in response to his love as our bodies obey our brains.

And I want to encourage you today from 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9.

2 Corinthians 12:9

From when Christ encouraged Paul.

In verse 9, And he has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you,

for power is perfected in weakness.

Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses so that the power

of Christ may dwell in me.

In regard to a relationship with God and living according to the ways of God,

we are so extremely weak.

But God is the epitome of strength.

We, you and I, have access to his mighty, colossal, energy-producing power that

is greater than anything in all the universe as we obediently trust and surrender

to Christ, our Lord, and head.

Cling to Christ. Trust him, for he is our Lord and our head and our God.

Let's pray. Father God, we thank you. We

praise you for your glory and your honor and for all that you have done in Jesus

Christ and for your resurrection of him and your ascension of him into heaven

and that you have exalted him over all of life everywhere.

That one day he will return. And Lord, we eagerly await that return.

Help us, help me, help all who are listening to this message to eagerly long for his return.

But even more so, may we trust in you.

Trust in your son so that we can live with the resurrection power in everything

that we can do, that we do.

May you be glorified in us and may you be honored. In your precious son's name,

Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray, amen.

I'll leave you with this scripture from Ephesians chapter three, verse 19 to 21.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine,

according to the power that works within us.

To him be the glory in the church, in Christ Jesus, to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you.