The Power of God

Intro

This morning I feel led to continue in the book of Ephesians. This letter is written by Paul, and is addressed to believers who assemble at a network of house churches scattered throughout the region. The city of Ephesus -which existed in modern-day Turkey- was itself is an important city of its time. It was the third largest city in the Mediterranean provinces of ancient Rome. It was a seaport city, ripe with commerce and it was an amalgamation in terms of its citizenry and population. In Ephesus, there were people from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds. Jews and Gentiles. Several years earlier, Paul had spent a significant amount of time here, nurturing a ministry. Priscilla, Aquilla, and Timothy were co-laborers with Paul, with Timothy assuming the role as Minister to church upon Paul’s departure. But now, Paul writes this letter, as he sits in a Roman jail, to a growing group of believers. He is writing to encourage their development, solidify their faith and strengthen the witness of their lives in reflection of God’s purpose and glory. The Holy Spirit accomplishes this task through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians by essentially dividing the book in half. The first three chapters outline theological truths, the latter he gives practical instruction.

Last week we began by drawing attention to chapter one, where the apostle offers praise and prayer. He first offers praise to God in verse three, for the spiritual blessings that God has afforded those who believe in Him through Jesus Christ. In the Jewish tradition, God’s favor was believed to be manifested by material blessings. Paul draws a comparison, noting that God has granted those who have faith in Him through Christ Jesus with not some, but every spiritual blessing! He has granted redemption, adoption, an inheritance.

Praise be to God for His redemptive scheme to save man from his sins, a plan in which the entirety of the Godhead is involved. Yes, Paul teaches, saving grace is afforded to every believer, having been purposed by God the Father, communicated by Christ, God the Son, and sealed by God, the Holy Spirit. Thus the Sovereignty of God is demonstrated by the fullness of His participation, but also by the fullness of His deliverance. He has saved every believer from the past, provided sustaining grace in the present and secured our hope for the future.

Praise be to God that saving grace is afforded to every believer, having been purposed by God the Father, communicated by Christ, God the Son, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. the Sovereignty of God is thus demonstrated by the fullness of His participation, but also by the fullness of His deliverance. He has saved every believer from the past, provided sustaining grace in the present and secured our hope for the future.

Based on the Sovereignty of God, and a desire we understand the nature of the God we serve, Paul prays for the saints. He prays for the saints’ enlightenment, that God would grant the believer to know Him better; grow more intimate with God. He also prays for the saints’ empowerment, that they may be more reflective of the goodness, grace and love. If you understood how much God cherishes you, you’d be more intentional and considerate in reflecting Him…

How can we have confidence in God ability to empower us? Well, the apostle gives the readers three demonstrations of God’s power.

God’s Power Exerted in Christ

(20) Jesus Christ is the tangible demonstration of the wisdom and power of God. At every stage of the life of Christ, God’s wisdom and God’s power is on display. His virgin birth is a demonstration of God’s wisdom to provide mechanism for His birth but also His power to accomplish it without the proximal seed of a man. His escape into Egypt following the visitation of gift bearing wise men demonstrate His wisdom to they need resources for the journey but also His power to provide. As Jesus answers the elders in the temple, the power of God is on display. When Jesus performs signs and miracles, God’s power is on display. When he loves His enemies, He is showcasing God’s power. When Jesus died for the sins of mankind, He was showing God’s power. But the crescendo was when God raised Jesus from the dead, sat Him down on His right hand; far above all authority, higher than any power except the Father Himself, a put all things under His feet. Jesus Christ is the tangible display of the power of God.

That’s what the scripture asserts in . Christ may be a stumbling block to those who need a sign; He may be foolishness to those in whose minds He defies logic. But to those of us who believe, because God has already exerted His power in Christ, it should provide us with confidence of God’s ability toward us.

God’s Power Exerted Individually

(2:1) Through His exertion of power in Christ; God also has exerted power in the believer. Watch it, scripture says we were dead, spiritually speaking. Now, you’ve heard the phrase, “God helps those, who help themselves.” Actually this phrase was not birthed by scripture but Greek culture. It sounds good, but in this case, nothing could be further from the truth. in the case of salvation, a sinner who tries to help himself is hopeless; powerless… DEAD!!! We were bereft of spiritual vitality. 3) carrying out the desires of the flesh and of the mind. -We did what felt good and what we deemed good! We were part of the family of Satan -children of disobedience. 12) We had no hope and were without God… I like verse 5 -BUT God!!! He’s rich in mercy… money, materials, mansion… Mercy is the manifestation of God’s goodness to those who are suffering, even when that suffering is the result of one’s own sin. He does not give, the punishment, we do deserve. -Daryl Aaron. I’m glad God is rich in mercy… But that ain’t all.

Watch God, not only does He love and lavish us with mercy, but on the other side of that same blessing is grace. Grace refers to God’s goodness toward us as none of us deserve His blessing. In other words, He showers us with blessing both material and immaterial that we do not deserve, Here the emphasis is on spiritual blessings. First he reminds us that we are saved by grace. As such because God raised Christ from the dead, He has made you alive in Him… Don’t let these new age folk tell you that because you believe in Christ, you’re not woke. Let them know that God has been waking up folk through Christ before the phrase ever became popular! Oh yes He woke us up, raised us up, sat us down. this does not mean we rest from service but it reiterates our communion, our blessings, and the security of our salvation that has been delivered through Christ.

God has and wants to continue to demonstrate His power in us. So God keeps working on us. He reminds us again of the fact that we’ve been saved by grace. Then Paul teaches that we are God’s workmanship...

God’s Power Exerted in the Church

(11) The apostle reminds believers of their past separation from God not only spiritually but physically. Israel was God’s chosen people. Yes, God made some exceptions such as that of the Gibeonites in , which demonstrates it was always His plan to include Gentiles. However on a mass scale all those who were not Hebrews were excluded from His covenant. He says we were afar off from God; but now in Christ we are brought near by His blood. God, through Christ has broken down the wall of partition...

He has abolished the enmity (hostility)… segregation was the law… mechanism to demonstrate holiness and sanctification of God through Israel and a vehicle to usher Christ into the world… remember it wasn’t about the people: it was about God. Israel made it about themselves

(16) Reconciled both unto God in one body… Jews and Gentiles, in our vernacular black brown yellow red and white. We are all one in Christ

16 -one body

19 -one city

20, 21 -one building, specifically one temple