Strengthened to Endure By God’s Mighty Works

Chesty Puller is perhaps the most famous Marine to have ever lived. His legend was known even by his enemies…the Army. He is most famous for his courage in battle. His quotes are used by Marine Drill Instructors and Gunnery Sergeants on a routine basis in order to build confidence and the war fighting spirit in Marines. Quotes like:

“We’re surrounded. That simplifies the problem.”

“They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can’t get away now.”

And most famously…When an Army captain asked him for the direction of the line of retreat, Chesty radioed his Tank Commander, gave his tanks the Army position, and ordered: “If they start to pull back from that line, even one foot, I want you to open fire on them.” Turning to the captain, Chesty bellowed, “Does that answer your question? We’re here to fight!”

· He is an enduring testament to courage in the direst of situations.

· Ephesus Cultural Recap.

o 3rd largest city in the Empire.

o Multi-ethnic and multi-cultural.

o Diverse worship.

§ Artemis of the Ephesians—goddess of fertility, magic, and astrology.

· Fertility—manipulating prosperity through self-serving practices.

· Magic—religious practices aimed at producing the desired result.

· Astrology—Using the interpretation of the regular patterns of celestial bodies to manipulate others toward self-serving ends.

§ Center of Roman Imperial Cult (emperor worship)

§ Gnosticism—gaining status through the attainment of special knowledge (esoteric/secret knowledge). Glorifying man’s mind.

· Ephesus was a city with a culture of worshiping man’s greatness.

o Everything was permitted and even celebrated—except humility.

o Believing, trusting, and serving the sovereign God of the universe.

§ Abandoning (even dying to) self in favor of a life that glorifies, honors, and proclaims Jesus Christ was met with active and even violent opposition.

· This is the setting of the Ephesian church, a people surrounded in enemy territory.

o They were commended for their endurance by Jesus in Rev. 2.

Revelation 2:2–3 (ESV)

Revelation 2:2–3 ESV

2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.

o They endured and kept their lampstand shining in a very dark place.

· This week, we have all been exposed to a level of darkness present in our nation that we were perhaps not aware of.

· Many of the things we have taken for granted in our nation (liberty, freedom of expression, public safety) seem to be no longer as firm as we used to enjoy.

· Another run-on sentence (169 words) shows that praise and prayer are so important in the Christian life, and they are closely connected.

o These are indispensable to the Christian living surrounded in enemy territory.

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

· Paul moves from praise (vv. 3-14) to prayer.

· Paul’s priorities here are praise first, then prayer.

o The modern church is often strong on activities, plans, and programs, but weak on seeking God in prayer.

o I believe Paul’s priorities are God’s priorities for the life of the church.

§ Praise and prayer.

· Praising God for His greatness should lead us to seek Him in prayer.

o One theologian beautifully put it this way.

When you find yourself struggling to pray, thoughtful meditation and reflection on “the riches of His grace” will frame your heart and mind to pray for others and for yourself.

· This points to an important reality that I addressed last week.

The Christian life is not an intellectual exercise, or a broadly spiritual one (feelings-based). Rather, it is uniquely experiential and affectional… It's about a relationship with a person.

· “For this reason” Points back to the amazing, praiseworthy promises of God made available in Christ Jesus (vv. 3-14).

o In particular, Paul is thankful because of what he said in vv. 13-14:

· Ephesians 1:13–14 (ESV)

Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

· Paul is thankful that the Ephesians have received the gospel, believed it, and were giving evidence by the work of the Holy Spirit among them.

o The evidence is faith and love.

· Again, faith and love are closely linked.

o Faith/trust in Jesus inevitably results in love for/toward His people.

o Brotherly love is central to the Christian life, and to the preaching ministry of Jesus, Peter, and John (in addition to Paul).

If we believe verses 3-14 are true of us, we should treat the family of God as cherished and loved. The way Jesus loves them, and the way He is loved by the Father.

· Colossians 3:12–14 (ESV)

Colossians 3:12–14 ESV

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

· The Ephesians are a source of encouragement and joy for Paul, like a proud father watching his children succeed.

You never know how great an impact your faithfulness and love will have on others.

God gave us the gift of Christian testimony (about changed lives) as a source of encouragement; that God is moving among us and in the world.

We have a tendency towards internalization of our spiritual lives; if God isn’t conspicuously moving in our lives, then it means that our faith is not enough.

· Paul’s thanksgiving moves quickly to intercession.

o He believed that the best thing that He could do in gratitude for the salvation of the Ephesians was to pray for them.

· Although many in Ephesus have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, there is still a continuous need for them to be strengthened and filled with the Spirit so that they can endure to the end and walk in obedience to God.

17 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, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, 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, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might

· Paul is asking for two things for the Ephesians:

o Something that God gives and something that the Ephesians need to know.

· What we need from God is for Him to give us “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of God.”

o It’s interesting here that Paul says that what we need isn’t the demonstration of some great spiritual power…that we gain some showy gifts as if we are Holy Spirit Jedi Knights or that the glory is so present in us that we would glow in the dark.

o What we need more than anything else is wisdom and knowledge. We need illumination.

§ Not some kind of secret/esoteric knowledge like the Gnostics, mystics, and gurus proclaim, but an experiential/familial knowledge.

· We become sons and daughters of God, and we need to come to know Him as Father.

We need God to open the “eyes of our hearts” to see what He has already revealed about Himself in Christ and in the Scripture.

§ It’s not a new revelation, but one that can only be perceived correctly through eyes made enlightened through the work of the Holy Spirit.

We need to know God better.

· John 17:3 (ESV)

John 17:3 ESV

3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

· Knowing God is everything! And it’s the work of the Holy Spirit to help us know Him better.

· 1 Corinthians 2:12 (ESV)

1 Corinthians 2:12 ESV

12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

· In a city steeped in idol-worship, the Ephesians need to be well-equipped to stand firm.

o And we are no different.

What enables us to stand against the assaults of the unholy trinity of the world, the flesh, and the devil is an ever-deepening, personal, affectional knowledge of God.[1]

· Three things that Paul asks the Lord to give the Ephesians eyes to see.

· The hope to which he has called you: The hope we have is summarized in Paul’s opening blessings.

o We need to have confidence (faith) in the truth of those promises.

o The hope that we have as Christians is not some kind of vague, wishful optimism.

§ That kind of hope is naïve and powerless to make a change in the world.

Satan sows doubt about the certainty of hope. Doubting our salvation for any number of reasons.

This doubt is good in his sight because it is self-absorbed. We mire ourselves in guilt and focus only on ourselves, and thus become paralyzed from living for Christ.

§ We have a hope that is like an anchor, firmly rooted at the ocean floor.

· It grounds us through the turbulence of the seas around us.

· It is firm, tangible, and permanent.

· The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints: That we would come to see through the provision of those precious promises/blessings, how truly precious we are to God.

o We are His treasured possession; Christ’s inheritance in all creation is bound up in His possession of and work through His Church.

· Zephaniah 3:16–17 (ESV)

Zephaniah 3:16–17 ESV

16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. 17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

· The immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe:

o We have an absolute need and dependency upon the power of God to help us endure the spiritual war that is life in this fallen world.

· Deuteronomy 3:24 (ESV) An immeasurable, omnipotent power.

Deuteronomy 3:24 ESV

24 ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours?

· Isaiah 40:26 (ESV) A complete and comprehensive power.

Isaiah 40:26 ESV

26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.

o The omnipotence that God possesses to enable/ensure our endurance is illustrated in the amplified superlatives that He uses to describe it.

§ Immeasurable—Hyperbollic/Surpassing

§ Power—Dynameos: Raw force/potential to move/act

§ Working—Energeia: Willfully Directed

§ Great—Kratos: Overwhelming, Dominating, Conquering

§ Might—Ischous: Able to accomplish.

o All this supreme power is put to work toward us. On our behalf, and for our good.

· This power was desperately needed by the Ephesians because they were steeped in magical and astrological practices.

o So, this amazing reality is such a comfort.

§ To know that God is supreme over every other power and is firmly in the corner of His people.

We need to reflect upon and come to know these wonderful realities personally in our lives.

Forces are arrayed against us as believers. To force submission to moral evil, to compromise in our faith, to doubt that God can or wants to preserve us.

We need to know that the God we trust and serve is supremely able to do all that He has promised.

· 2 Timothy 1:12 (ESV)

2 Timothy 1:12 ESV

12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

But God doesn’t just leave us to have some kind of optimistic, wishful hope in the power of God to save and preserve us. He gave us powerful proof.

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.

· God’s supreme power was demonstrated in what He did in Jesus Christ His Son.

· First, He demonstrated his supremacy in resurrecting Christ.

· Romans 1:4 (ESV)

Romans 1:4 ESV

4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

o That same power which raised Christ from the dead is the power that upholds us today and forever, and is the foundation, the spring of all our hopes.

o The resurrection of Jesus is the pinnacle of God’s work in salvation history.

§ In the resurrection, God validated everything Jesus ever claimed for Himself and all that had been promised regarding His redemptive purposes.

§ Christ was raised to eternal life as proof that we will possess that same life in him.

o The resurrection is thus the primary focus of the preaching of the early church.

· 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 ESV

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

· Second, we have the assurance of hope because God exalted Jesus.

o 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven in the sight of the disciples.

· Acts 1:9 (ESV)

Acts 1:9 ESV

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

o He now sits upon the throne of heaven at the right hand of the Father.

o The exaltation of Jesus is important for 3 reasons:

§ Christ is seated upon the throne—He is Lord forever, having completed His work in salvation.

§ Christ is seated at God’s right hand—He is supreme in honor and power.

· Philippians 2:9–11 (ESV)

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

§ Christ is seated in the heavenly places—He has preeminence over all creation.

· 1 Timothy 6:15a–16 (ESV)

1 Timothy 6:15–16 ESV

he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

o This exaltation is affirmed by Paul in the subsequent statement: “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.”

o This exaltation is permanent as well: “not only in this age but the age to come.”

Jesus is Lord yesterday, today, and forever. We don’t need to fret or fear that this world is subject to the works of the enemy.

Their evil has an expiration date that has been fixed before the foundation of the earth.

Our King rules forever and endures as the immovable anchor of grace for our lives today.

· Third, God has put all things in subjection under Christ.

o God fulfilled what was promised in Psalm 8:6:

· Psalm 8:6 (ESV)

Psalm 8:6 ESV

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,

o We have the guarantee of future victory.

· Finally, Christ has been made head of the church.

o Christ is head over all things, supreme over all creation.

§ And He is completing His victory through His body, the Church.

This is amazing! We are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. He is fulfilling His victory through us.

We are the means by which He will bring salvation to the ends of the earth and crown the victory that was won on the cross and proclaimed by the empty tomb.

· This also means that the church, which is founded and given life in Christ, is the place where we primarily access and experience this power.

We don’t experience the fullness of life in Christ outside of the church. It’s not a salvation issue, but a spiritual health issue.

·

· Is this Way really going to work in the face of darkness like the one we have experienced and may experience in the future?

o Is it really true that the gospel is going to bring salvation to the furthest

· The greatness of God’s power in Jesus Christ is made available to us through the Holy Spirit.

o The power to overcome temptation.

o The power to resist the pressure to compromise; to back down in the face of opposition to Christ.

§ As the apostles did in the book of Acts.

· Acts 4:19–20 (ESV)

Acts 4:19–20 ESV

19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

o The power to cope with blasted hopes.

· Philippians 4:13 (ESV)

Philippians 4:13 ESV

13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

o The power to overcome indwelling sin

· Romans 8:13 (ESV)

Romans 8:13 ESV

13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

o And perhaps most importantly, the power to persevere to the end.

· Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

Philippians 1:6 ESV

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

· We need not fear when darkness seems ascendant, for the sure promise of Jesus Christ is that we will be victorious.

o Not because of our ability, but because of His power:

· Romans 8:31–39 (ESV)

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[1]Ian Hamilton, Ephesians, ed. Joel R. Beeke and Jon D. Payne, The Lectio Continua Expository Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2017), 49–50.

Strengthened to Endure By God’s Mighty Works

Introduction

Context

The Prayer of a Spiritual Father (vv. 15-16)

Taking Hold of a Firm Hope (vv. 17-19)

The Grounds for an Enduring Faith (vv. 20-23)

Conclusion