Ephesians 1:19-23
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead
and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 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. 22 And he put all things under his feet
and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
I press these questions again because I am convinced that the main trouble with most of us is our failure to realize the greatness of the salvation into which we have been brought, and which we enjoy together.
The Christian is meant to be a rejoicing person. And yet, if we are honest, we have to admit that far too often we give the impression not so much of rejoicing as of depression.
We give the impression that to become a Christian means to carry a great load upon the shoulders and to have endless cares, worries and anxieties. Indeed the world caricatures the Christian in that way because of what we are all too frequently. To ‘scorn delights, and live laborious days’ is far too often the idea of what the Christian life means and is. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that we have somehow not realized the greatness of our salvation. We do not realize the greatness of what has happened to us; or the greatness of what is happening to us, the process through which we are going even now. And we do not realize the greatness of the perfection to which we are going and for which we are being prepared.
We should all be likewise amazed at ourselves, and we should stand and look at ourselves and say, ‘Is it possible? is it really true of me? Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me’. That is one of the best tests of our profession as Christians
Somehow or another we do not grasp the idea of this mighty working of God in salvation. Far too often we think of it solely in terms of forgiveness. We think of the Christian life as just a matter of knowing that we are forgiven, and then our living the Christian life as best we can. We miss the drama, the grandness and the greatness of it all, and especially this power which the Apostle is anxious for the Ephesians to know
We seem to forget that when He died upon the Cross He offered Himself, as we are told in the Epistle to the Hebrews, ‘through the eternal Spirit’. We have become so familiar with the facts about the Cross and the death of the Lord that we seem to lose the sense of power that was involved there
But it is also by this selfsame power that we continue in the Christian life. It takes the same power which enabled us to believe to enable us to continue at all in the Christian life. We would not be able to stand for a single hour in the Christian life were it not for this power of God that is working in us
If we do not know this power, sooner or later we shall be depressed and unhappy, and begin to wonder whether we are Christians at all; and then begin to wonder whether we can continue and ever arrive in the glory. The devil would soon discourage us utterly
‘Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world’ (
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy …’ And He is not only able to keep us from falling, but He is actually doing so.
His eternal heart of love thinks of this little band of believers whom He is about to leave in this evil, sinful world, and His petition is: ‘Father, keep them’, for if the Father does not keep them they are lost
Firstly, I must know and realize this power because of the power of the forces that are set against us. The Christian in this life and world is like his Lord before him; and there are certain things he has to face. He has to wage a constant warfare against the mind and the outlook of the world. I fear that many of us are not aware of the subtle power of worldliness
But we not only have to fight the world but also the flesh. The ‘flesh’ does not always mean gross sin; it can appear in the form of lethargy and laziness. How easy it is to feel that we are not quite fit physically or intellectually to read the Bible. You feel a prompting to read the Bible, but you say, ‘I am rather tired, I have had a heavy day in the office, my mind is not quite up to it, and it is not right to read the Scriptures when you are not at your best
We have to wage a constant battle against lethargy and laziness, and the equally subtle temptation to procrastination
You have rejoiced in the statement that ‘old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new’. But the Christian convert soon discovers that these things do not mean exactly what he thought they did
We are commanded ‘to mortify the deeds of the body’ (
The Bible teaches that the devil’s power is second only to that of God.
Yet many Christians regard the devil almost as a creature of fun, and may even deny his existence. Hence they do not realize their need of this power of God
The Apostle Peter writes: ‘Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour’
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places’?
He works in my personality, affects my will, and creates desires and longings within me. Suddenly I am aware of a desire to read the Word, or a desire to pray to God. It is the result of the working of God the Holy Spirit generating a prayer, or stimulating me to some other activity. He is constantly stimulating my will and giving me power to act
