THE POWEREPHESIANS 1:15-23

Adapted from a Jim Black sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/

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A DEA officer stops at a ranch in Montana, and talks with the owner, an old cowboy

telling him, 'I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs.'

The old rancher says, 'Okay, but do not go in that field over there,' as he points out the

location.

The DEA officer verbally explodes saying, 'Mister, I have the authority & power of the Federal Government with me.' Reaching

into his rear pants pocket, he removes his badge and proudly displays it to the farmer. 'See this badge? This badge means I have the power to go wherever I wish...on any

land. No questions asked or answers given. Have I made myself clear? Do you

understand?'

The old rancher nods politely, apologizes, and goes about his chores.

A short time later, the old rancher hears loud screams and sees the DEA officer

running for his life chased close behind by the rancher's prize bull. With every step the bull is gaining ground on the officer, and it seems likely that he'll get "horned" before he reaches safety. The officer is clearly

terrified.

The old rancher throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his

lungs.....'YOUR BADGE! SHOW HIM THE

POWER OF YOUR BADGE!

Paul prays for the Ephesians to open their eyes to the source of their power. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians can also open our

eyes to the incredible great power found in Christ!

Ephesians 1:15 NET For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the

Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you

when I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual

wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him,

18 — since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened — so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the

wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who

believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength.

20 This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated

him at his right hand in the heavenly realms 21 far above every 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. 22 And God put all things under Christ's feet, and he gave him to the church as head over all things. 23 Now the church is his body, the fullness of him who

fills all in all.

Have you ever felt “empowered?” There was a worker who had been a lower level employee with little to no power over his organization or decisions being made.

His boss had only recently taken over the department. He called him into his office

and said, “I want to make this department the best and in order to do that I need to

bring in the best people.

But I don’t know the best people out there, you do. Go out there and get them to join

our team.” The worker all of a sudden felt empowered to make things happen for his team, where he never had before. And he did. He went out and began bringing in some of the very

best in the field to join their team.

That power didn’t come from his position, he was a low level employee. That power didn’t come from his personality, he wasn’t particularly charismatic. That power didn’t

come from him, he had nothing to offer himself! That power came from

above...well, his boss.

This morning we’re going to talk about POWER.

We’ve been looking at the book of Ephesians and have seen that one of Paul’s key emphases in the book is the changed life. Life “in Christ” looks different than life

“in the world.” But Paul also knows that the transformation of lifestyle is sometimes a

difficult one.

We don’t change overnight, and a lot of that has to do with motivation. Many of us

became Christians out of guilt or out of fear. I don’t believe that those are motivations that sustain a changed life for very long.

Paul doesn’t motivate that way. Ephesians 1:3 NET Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly

realms in Christ.

He then goes on to unpack this treasure trove of blessings, he has chosen us, he

has planned for our adoption as His sons & daughters, he has freely bestowed upon us His glorious grace, he has redeemed us & forgiven us, he has revealed his will to us, he has planned us for a purpose, he has marked us with the promised Holy Spirit

guaranteeing our inheritance!

I believe THAT is a motivation that will stick! If I can constantly remember WHAT God

has done for me, I will want all the more to LIVE for Him!

Paul also knows that motivation is simply not enough. Even the best of intentions sometimes fail, as many of you may be

experiencing with your New Year’s Resolutions now that we’re in the fourth

week of January. You’ve heard the saying, “The road to hell is paved with good

intentions.”

“Yes, Lord, I know that I need to make things right with my wife, but if she’ll just

give me a few more days, I’ll make it up to her.” “Yes, Lord, I know that I need to mend my relationship with that person, I’ll get to it tomorrow.” “Yes, Lord, I know that I need to be more involved at church. I’ll sign up for a new ministry as soon as I finish this project

at work.”

“Yes, Lord, I know I need to be more available to my kids. As soon as things settle down at the office, I’ll be able to.”

Sometimes simple motivation is not enough to live the Christian life. We need to be

empowered from above! Paul knew that this was true for the Christians to whom he was

writing and so that is why he offers the prayer for them that he does. Remember, we observed that while Ephesians doesn’t

talk a lot about worship or prayer, there sure is a lot of both in it!

Ephesians 1:15 NET For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the

Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you

when I remember you in my prayers.Paul continues his opening to the letter by

saying, “There’s two things I’ve heard about you that make me proud!” 1. your faith 2.

your love for the saints.

What a neat observation! I would go so far as to say that faith in Christ unavoidably leads to love for your fellow brothers &

sisters in Christ.How could you have faith and not love your brother? Faith & Love are two fundamental, foundational and critical elements in being

the church!

What are WE known for at The Lindley Christian Church? If Paul were writing this today to this congregation, what would he

have heard about us? We MUST be known as a fellowship of believers who;

1. have immense trust in Christ and 2. practice love for each other

Paul says that he remembers them in his prayers and then goes on to name

specifically what he prays for the Church. What do you pray for The Lindley Christian

Church?17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your

growing knowledge of him,

Or "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” or "a spirit of wisdom and revelation." Ephesians 1:17 involves a complex

exegetical problem revolving around the Greek term πνε μα (pneuma) ῦ pnyoo'-mah. Some take it to mean "the Spirit," others "a

spirit," and still others "spiritual.“(NETnotes)

“I want you to know God,” he says! “Better than you do now!”

Paul prayed that the Father would grant the Ephesians the spirit of wisdom and that He would give them revelation. But these are

not so they may see into the lives of others, have the ability to predict events, or do what

we commonly think of as “prophet stuff.”

He wanted them to have the spirit of wisdom and revelation simply so that they

would have a better knowledge of Him (God).

In the knowledge of Him: Our Christian life must be centered around this purpose - to know God as He is in truth, as revealed by

His Word; and to correct our false, idolatrous ideas of who God is.

The knowledge of Him: It is important for us to have an accurate knowledge and

understanding of who we are. Yet it is far more important (and beneficial) for us to

know and understand who God is. (Guzik)

And so, Paul is saying, “I want you to understand what God has given you so that

you may know him better.”

18 — since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened — so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the

wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

"The word 'heart' in Scripture signifies the very core and centre of life, where the intelligence has its post of observation,

where the stores of experience are laid up, and the thoughts have their fountain."

(Alford)

Thus, it seems that the author is saying, "I know that you are saved, that you have had the blinders of the devil removed; because

of this, I can now pray that you will fully understand and see the light of God's

glorious revelation." (NETnotes)

This understanding and enlightenment will then bring about a three-part knowledge of

God

1. Paul says (vs. 18), the first thing we need to know is the HOPE to which he has called us. Hope is a tricky word for us in the 21st

century, but a very important one in the Bible! Let’s use the lottery as an example.

Some poor fellow might go into a convenience store, lay down his money for a ticket and walk out saying, “I hope I’ve got the winning number!” But what REAL hope will he have? One in a million? Worse than that! He probably stands a better chance of being hit by lightning! And really, does he really think he’ll win? Probably not. But

that’s what we typically think of when we think of ‘hope’. “I don’t expect to win that jackpot, but it sure would be nice if I did.”

Folks, that’s NOT Bible Hope! God has called us to a different Hope! I sure ‘hope’ that when I say ‘the hope of Heaven’ you don’t think, “Well, I don’t expect to go to

Heaven, but it sure would be nice if I did.” Bible ‘hope’ is

“confident expectation.” Paul says in Rom 5:5 that “Hope does not disappoint.” God keeps his promise! If he

has called us to a Hope ofHeaven ... we can rest assured that’s

exactly what we’ll get!

When you were a kid, why did Momma call you for supper? Because she wanted you to

be there! God has called us to Heaven, because he wants us to be there with him! We were created to live with him forever-predestined to spend eternity with him!

Ephesians 1:11 NET In Christ we too have been claimed as God's own possession,

since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

Doesn’t this good news, then, give us the drive as the church to go out into the world and tell people that God has called them, if they’ll only come?!! Doesn’t that empower

us? We can tell people for certain that when they come to know Jesus, when they put their life in Christ, then they can know for

certain where they’re eternity will be spent!

2. The second thing we need to know is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the

saints.

18 — since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened — so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the

wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

What is the future of The Lindley Christian Church? Do you know what God has in store for us? Now, none of us may know

what is going to happen to this congregation next year, next month or

tomorrow, but we know what will ultimately happen to the church, don’t we? The church is going to be with God! WE are a great and

glorious inheritance! Notice the language closely.

The inheritance Paul is speaking of is God’s, not ours! “his glorious inheritance”

God is on the receiving end of this glorious inheritance and WE are it! That’s just what he means when he says ‘inheritance in the saints.’ The inheritance that consists of the saints! Paul is pointing to the tremendous glory that is present when God inherits the

people he has set apart for himself!

Let’s compare verse 18 with what he said 4 verses earlier.

14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God's

own possession, to the praise of his glory.18 — since the eyes of your heart have

been enlightened — so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the

saints,

Saints, Christians, get their inheritance at the redemption of God's own possession.

That’s us! At that time God's own possession becomes his glorious

inheritance.

That is, till the time when body and soul are redeemed from all their miseries, and

glorified in the kingdom on heaven. (Clarke)

Did you ever think of yourself as an inheritance? As something worth inheriting? Doesn’t that make you feel good, though? Doesn’t that ‘empower’ us as a church to know that God is expectantly awaiting the

final day when he will receive us to himself? That should empower us to more boldly face an increasingly un-Christian culture

with the good news of Jesus!

3. The third thing we need to know is his incomparable greatness of his power

toward us who believe!

19 and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as

displayed in the exercise of his immense strength.

Here Paul introduces a new and important theme in the letter, ‘Power.’

Ephesians emphasizes power more than any other NT letter. Bible students more

learned than me say in verse 19 alone he uses four different words for power. Here

the apostle emphasizes what God’s power has accomplished in the resurrection of

Christ and exaltation to God’s right hand. He wants believers to know that this great

power is available for them!

The church is Strong! Mighty! Powerful! Not because of position or personality, but

because it has the power of God’s salvation behind it! That’s the greatest power source

in the universe!That power is like the working of his mighty

strength, 20 This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the

heavenly realms

21 far above every 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. 22 And God put all things under Christ's feet, and he gave him to the church as head over all things. 23 Now the church is his body, the fullness of him who

fills all in all.

That’s POWER!The amazing thing is that this power which raised Jesus from the dead, which seated him at the right hand of God just as David

said hundreds of years prior, in the 110 Psalms and placed him as head over all things– is available to you and me! Why

was Jesus placed at the right hand of God and as head over all things? For “the

church” (vs. 22) God did it for the church!

Isn’t it amazing what you can pick up by simply overhearing someone’s prayer? Of course the Holy Spirit made sure that THIS

prayer of Paul’s was written down and passed along to us because it is a prayer for the 21st century church as much as the

1st century church! Have we fully taken hold of the power that is available to us?

Are we doing everything we can to take the good news of Jesus to the world? Have our lives been truly transformed into a culture of

Christ followers?

The story is told about President Franklin Roosevelt coming to Chattanooga in 1940

to dedicate the newly constructed Chickamauga Dam.

As a part of the newly created TVA, the dam had been constructed to provide electricity, power, to the Tennessee Valley. It’s told that this new source of power greatly changed

the economy of the valley. The ready availability of power drew new industry,

which rapidly began to overtake farming as a primary way of life.

But it was the image of President Roosevelt, the most powerful man in the

world at that time one might argue, riding in the back of an open car and giving his

dedication speech that left a lasting impression on many people.

When we think of power, let’s remember this occasion back in 1940. The world was in chaos and countries all over the globe were locked in conflict over power. Pres.

Roosevelt may have been the most powerful man in the world in 1940, but

having been crippled by polio he couldn’t even stand on his own power.

The immense power that he wielded came because he had been empowered by the

people who voted for him. Some of us have been crippled by the horrendous effects of sin in our lives. We don’t have the power within us to stand. But God does! And He wants to give us that power! This morning, are you plugged in to God’s power source?

Do you have the salvation, the Hope of Heaven? Are you a part of this glorious

inheritance that God is SO looking forward to receiving some day? If you’re not in

Christ, then your answer must honestly be no. How can we encourage you to come to

Christ today? Commit your life to him in baptism, turn away from your sins?

Think about the power that the new Chickamauga dam provided the

Tennessee Valley wasn’t really new power at all. If you’re just the least bit

familiar with how those dams work, you know that all they do is convert the

energy of the river into a different kind of energy- electricity. The power was there all along. All the dam did was harness that energy so that it could be used.

Our Physics Professor could give us a better definition of Power, but here is a

simple one: the ability to act.God has provided for us a tremendous

source of Power! For those of us who are Christians, it has been there all along! It has been there for us! Have we tapped into the POWER? How will we take that power of God’s salvation and harness it in our lives

to DO something about it?

Maybe you’re like the Tennessee Valley this morning. You’ve had the power

there all along, but you’ve never harnessed it in your life, you’ve not

taken hold of the power to do mighty things for God! Let me tell you, God has

given us this power for a reason! He wants us to live changed lives and he

wants us to make a difference for Jesus in the world around us!Are you going to do it?