The power of God

I was pleased to turn to Ephesians chapter one. Book of Ephesians chapter one, we'll read from the part anyway for time's sake. Reading from verse 18, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in or among the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ.

When he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come and to put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him that filleth all in all. Read in chapter three please. Speaking of this mystery which has been entrusted to the apostle Paul he says in verse seven, whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Drop down the chapter to verse 16 that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is a breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God now unto him that is able to do exceed it abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all all ages world without end amen. Last of all in chapter six chapter six in verse 10 finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and the power of his might but on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Now I won't read more because time is a constraint and that means I'll abbreviate everything that I have to say.

The letter Deboer said you speak a lot better when you have shorter time so we'll try to do that. You know a wonderful thing this book of Ephesians we've been hearing about the inheritance of the saints and the prospect the children of Israel had that God desired them to come into the enjoyment of all the blessings that God had purposed for them in his redemptive work out of Egypt. We have a picture of that in a spiritual sense certainly presented to us in Ephesians and I'm sure that my brethren here have appreciated the depths of it as we all have.

I think that you could write over the book of Ephesians the fact that it presents to us God's great eternal purpose as the purpose of God being worked out not by the puny efforts of you and me as mortal individuals in this world but the purpose of God being brought to completion by the power of God. Only the power of God could affect this work. What do you think of the vastness of it and the greatness of what God has intended to do, what he intends for the believers, what he intends for Israel, what he intends for the world, what he intends in relation to the glory of his own name and the exaltation of the person of Christ? It's impossible for any man to accomplish it.

No, he says it's by the power of God and God is going to accomplish it and he's going to carry it out and he has brought you and me into the sphere of his blessing and his capability to meet every need that you and I have. And in context of that when I think of this great purpose it doesn't surprise me that Paul uses so many words to express the idea of power. In fact in verse 19 of chapter 1 we have four different words in the Greek language that are indicating the power that God is expressing and they're all different words in some measure and yet he brings them all together and he multiplies them and he seems to pile them one upon the other just to emphasize to our hearts the fact that there's absolutely no lack of power on God's part to bring it about.

I'm thankful it doesn't depend on me or you. It's the power of God. These words are very interesting and I'm going to try to explain them as best I can as best I understand.

I'm not going to take a lot of time to do it but thinking of an illustration of the aspects of this power or what to think with you about the idea of a great locomotive sitting upon the tracks. You might see it in the distance and I don't know if you've ever been in one but I was in one one time in a park up in one town here in Iowa. Don't even know where it was but there it was sitting cold still upon a track in a park.

You know one thing it impresses you. It gives the impression of greatness. It gives the impression of the immensity of power that must be contained in it as something about it that just simply expresses to you the thought that this is a powerful machine and you see it sitting there.

That's one of these words that he uses in this passage is the idea of power that is very evidently understood that must be possessed by some kind of an object. Well then you know you say how come that thing is so powerful? Well the man that's involved in it would explain to you that's the way it was designed. It was designed to have 6,000 horsepower so it can pull train cars along the track.

That was designed that way. It's a representative of the best engineering technology that we have so that that power has been put into it by design. It's a purpose that's going to be carried out.

That's another one of these words. It's the idea of might. And then you have the idea well you know that train's just sitting there.

That engine's sitting there not doing anything. It's not even moving. No noise.

No nothing. Well he said just wait a minute. You see those men they're going to start it up.

And then you see that engine sitting upon the track of the motors rumbling away. And I've been near them and you have too and you just get the immense the sense that here's something that has potentiality. This is an engine that's on the track that's going to be directed to accomplish a certain goal and has been hooked up to those cars.

And there you have the idea of power being directed the potential to activate and to do something. You have power resident. First of all you have power inherit by design.

You have power in its potentiality. And then you have it as you think of that locomotive pulling those cars along the track. There you have the idea of power and operation.

Energy being expended. Those are sort of the idea of these words that I've been trying to to bring before my mind in the study of this passage. I don't know if you ever seen it but I saw at one time that there were six locomotives pulling about five freight cars.

I thought you know there's a lot of power there. An overwhelming sense of power. Much more power that is needed than to pull five cars along the track.

And yet when you think about what Paul is telling us in relation to God accomplishing these great purposes and bringing them to fruition. He wants you to know that there's a super abundance of power and there's no limit in it. It's just infinite.

And he wants you and me to appreciate the great reality of it in our own personal life. The wonderful thing to know that there's no lack of God's power to bring about his purposes. Not one thing is going to fail.

Not one desire of God will ever come to to cease to come to its fruition. Oh he's going to bring it all to pass one day. Wonderful thing to know that God has sovereignty over all.

But look at the clock. I want you to notice with me that in Ephesians chapter 1 we have the first prayer of the apostle Paul in this epistle. There's a prayer that is a relation to the glory, the exaltation of Christ.

There's a prayer that these believers might enter into some measure of understanding of all that is pertaining to this resurrected exalted man that is in the glory of God's right hand. He's going to pray for them and it's a relation to his prayer directed toward the father of glory. Well as you come to chapter 3 you have another prayer.

That prayer is not centered so much on glory. It's expressed in the fact of love. Entering into the greatness of his love and appreciating the vastness of a love that is incomprehensible.

There he says it's the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Different titles, a different purpose. But without developing that, I want you to notice how he uses this word power, the different expressions of it in these four references.

First of all he's elaborating for them the desire of his heart that they might understand and be able to appreciate, perhaps to agree, enter into like Israel never properly entered into the land. This great understanding of what the hope of that calling is. That takes you back to verse 1 through 6. He's elaborating the great purpose of God that has called you and me out of darkness and brought us into relationship to him and the great purpose that he has that is one day going to bring us into his own presence and to seat us before him eternally.

He says that's the hope that lies before you. I want you to understand that and to live in the good of it. And then he wants them to appreciate presently in their present life the riches of that inheritance that God has provided for each one of us among the saints.

I know that the saints saw his inheritance as well, but it's idea primarily that it's an inheritance that he has provided that you and I could enjoy in common with all the people of God. That's the present experience of each one of us as God's people. Then he says as well, I want you to know how this is going to be carried out.

He says I want you to know this. What is the exceeding greatness of his power, dunamis, toward usward who believe, he says according to the energy, the active working of his mighty power, the power of his strength. I cannot comprehend the expanse of all the greatness of this power that he's speaking about.

But he wants us to appreciate and he wants each one of us to understand that there is immense eternal divine power that is working to accomplish these things to bring you and me in our experience and to the enjoyment of them. Two of these words actually, by the way, are never used for human ability. They're never used for human power.

They're only used for supernatural power. And so he's emphasizing this is a power outside of ourselves, but which we can partake of. He says it's already been demonstrated.

It's the power of which he wrought in Christ. When he raised over the dead, a tremendous work of God, he says, that's the power that is seated in the God's right hand as the head over all things. And now given to the church, you and I are partaken of it.

I can't develop that more. I wish I could. But do you think about a little bit and think about what that power would affect in your life and mine to give us some sense of our blessed relationship with this man that is now in the glory and to live in a lasting, eternal expression of fellowship with him, drawing from the blessing of knowing that we're linked with him as the one who is now seated and raised by the power of God.

That word which he wrought in Christ is the other word, another word for power. In other words, it's by the working of God that brought this all about. He said, that's the working that is going to work in you and me as well.

In the end of chapter three, he's interesting. I just noticed this, I think while our brother William was speaking, but in this prayer in chapter three in verse 16, down to the end of the chapter, it begins with power and it ends with power. Notice that in verse 16, he says to be strengthened.

That's one of the words for power also with all might by his spirit and the inner man. That's the word for power, strengthened with all power by his spirit and the inner man for the accomplishment of these purposes. Then it comes to the end of the chapter.

He says, now unto him that is able, another word for power, to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that work within us. And you look at what is in between those two indications of the power of God. And you think, well, it's impossible, impossible to know in a very genuine, real way, day by day, the dwelling presence of Christ as he wants to know, to be at home in your hearts.

And he says, indeed, not only that, but to be filled with all the fullness of Christ and to know something of the love of Christ, which is impossible to know completely. He's presented to us things that are too grand and too great. He says, you can't comprehend them by yourself, but it begins by telling us of the power of God that does it.

And I take us to the power of the Holy spirit of God operating in each one of each believer as a result of the purpose of God and put it in there. You know, I'd love to enter into the the blessings and the position of the riches of God in Christ that we have a part in and are able to participate in. It's only by the spirit of God.

It is, is infinite powers ability. He's able. I'm not able.

You're not able. Not a one of us is capable of accomplishing this in ourselves. Thank God we have a super abundance of power that is more than enough so that you and I can participate in and know the personal experiential reality of Christ himself being at home, dwelling in your hearts by faith, rooted and grounded in love, able to comprehend with all the saints, the length, the breadth, the depth, and the height, and to know the love of Christ.

It's the power of God working by the spirit of God and your life in mind. May God help us to know something of it. But join coming back to verse seven, you find that he's going to emphasize there the fact that in relation to his ministry, that great apostle Paul, with all the ability that he had received and the intelligence that he had and all that he possessed naturally, he says, I was made a minister in relation to the unfolding of this mystery concerning the church, the body of Christ, the unity of Jew and Gentile in that body.

He says it was a given unto me by the effectual energy of his power. Oh, you wonder the thought comes to me in a way that if, if that was his experience, a great man like the apostle Paul recognized that in order to fulfill that responsible work, it could only do so by the effective energetic working of the power of God in him. How much more for any one of us, you know, dear brethren, if we're going to affect anything for God in our service, it's only going to be as we draw from lean upon.

I know the reality of the power of God using us. You know, a lot of things can be done in the flesh. Flesh has tremendous ability.

The flesh is not what God wants to use for the accomplishment of his purpose. Natural ability is all right, but it has to be coupled, doesn't it? With a, with a realization of our total dependence upon God, whether it be in relation to our witnessing in the gospel or even in relation to seeking to preach the gospel. Or what about our other activities in ministering the word of God or serving in any capacity? He says it's the effectual working of his power.

That is, he is bringing this about and he will operate in your life and mine. And of course, you and I, I'm sure I do. Anyway, we feel so insignificant.

Sometimes you wonder, how could I ever do that? Well, sometimes we get amazed at ourselves because it's not because of our ability whatsoever. It's how God himself imparts so graciously, liberally, and fully unreservedly so that you and I can enter into the ability and have the ability to be able to accomplish something that is for his glory. Oh, he says, Paul, whether it be in any aspect of my service, whether it has to do with the uh impartation of truth to the believers, whether it has to do with preaching the gospel to the unsaved or testifying the grace of God, whatever it might be.

He says it's the effectual working of his power. And I'm convinced of this in my own soul, that to be able to be effective at all for God and his service, it requires my attitude of dependence upon him. Realization that I need his power to control and to impart the ability, not only to live a holy life and to have reverence by my attitude and behavior and so much needed today, but also to enter into the blessing of the inheritance that we've been brought into and to possess it and to enjoy the good of it.

As well to be able to serve God with reverence and godly fear. Last of all, in chapter six, there's a warfare. And he reminds him as he comes to the close of this book, as I began in the assurance of the power of God to make real to them that which is connected with the risen Christ, exalted in glory.

Oh, he says, you have a warfare. You have an enemy. That enemy is going to do everything possible to hinder your progress, to ruin your life and your testimony and to draw you away from simple obedience to the word of God and faithfulness and devotion to the Lord Jesus.

He says, finally, my brethren, here's the last thing I want to tell you. Be strong. The idea is to be strengthened.

It's a passive verb. It means allow God to strengthen you. He says, according in the Lord, rather, and in the power of his might, those two words are the same two words that are joined together in the end of chapter one of verse 19 is mighty power.

It's the might of his strength. He says, and here they are faced with a warfare against spiritual wickedness, the evil powers that would seek to rob the children of God or their inheritance to present, prevent them from making progress in the things of God and to live victorious lives in relation to sin. He says, just be strengthened in the Lord and in the might of his strength, in the power that he gives the ability.

And, you know, you and I delight to read about those exploits of David's mighty men and men that stood for God and men that defended territory and men that advanced the cause of David and put him on the throne. You know, when you look at those men, you see so many times that it was the evidence of the power of God working in them, the ability that God gave them to accomplish something for his purposes. And here they are standing, able to enjoy the presence of the king and to rejoice with him as occupies the throne.

He says, finally, brethren, be strengthened in the Lord. I take that to mean submission to his authority and that a power, that ability, which he gives under the power of his might and put on the whole armor of God. You know, this, the child of God has every reason to be victorious.

We're not on the winning side. We're on the side that is one. We're linked with a man that is triumphed.

We're going to enjoy a possession that we never deserved in any way. We're going to enjoy the blessing of it on the way home to heaven, as you live in the, in the personal experiential knowledge of the power of God that operates in you and me by his Holy Spirit, the work of God to enable us to stand, to go forward, to possess and to enjoy what we have in Christ.