His Power for Us Who Believe

Ephesians 1: 15 23
Introduction: The kind of power that changes everything
My dad used to tell a story about an old Georgia redneck who would routinely
head out into the swamp and return with a boat full of fishmore than anyone
could conceivably catch, even in a long day of fishing with rod and reel. Well, in
the course of time, his exceptional good luck caught the attention of local
authorities who sent out a game warden, undercover, to see what was going on.
So, one morning, just as the old man was getting ready to leave the dock, he was
approached by this young stranger who wondered if he might come along for the
day and take a lesson.
Now the old man suspected from the beginning that something was up, but he
allowed the young man to accompany him anyway, and a few moments later, the
boat was headed out into the swamp at top speed.
Later, when they had arrived at a point distant enough from civilization that the
young warden began to worry about his own safety, the old man turned off the
engine and said, I think this oughta do for today, dont you agree? Eager by
this time to please, the warden nodded vigorously while the old man pulled a big
old cigar from the pocket of his fishing vest, lit it, and puffed furiously til the end
glowed bright with heat. Then, the younger man watched in amazement as his
companion removed a stick of dynamite with a medium length fuse from yet
another pocket. Immediately, the secret to the good old boys luck was evident.
What in the world are you doing? exclaimed the young warden. You cant fish
with dynamite! Thats a violation of more laws than I can count.
Yup. I spect thats true, said his companion. But then he lit the fuse on the end
of his cigar and held it for a moment as he waited for it to burn down closer to the
dynamite.
By then the warden was practically in a frenzydesperately looking for some
way of escape even as he shouted at the old man, You just cant do this! Its
completely illegal.
Yup. I spose so, said the old man; and with that he handed the dynamite to the
young warden at the last possible moment and said calmly, Now, do you wanna
talk, or fish?
And we are left to imagine the impact on the ecosystem as the game warden
tosses the dynamite away, wreaking havoc on the local fishery.
Of course, in truth, dynamite is nothing to play with. I mean, it looks innocuous
enough to the untrained eye, I supposejust a cardboard tube with a piece of
string hanging out one end. But when used as intended, it can release a power
that is all disproportionate to its size. But thats why its called dynamite. The
name itself is practically a transliteration of the Greek word for power
dunamisthe very word that is used here in Ephesians to speak of the power that
God exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his
own right hand far above all rule and authority and power and dominion You
see, that powerthe power of Godlike dynamite, contains an energy which,
when released, changes everything.
The Power of God Raised Christ from the Dead
It certainly did in the case of Christ. He was deadtruly deadhed been in the
tomb for three days and three nights when God lit the fuse and unleashed the
power of his own Holy Spirit to bring life out of death, to break the power of sin,
and in fact, to make all things new and ultimately, thats the message of Easter,
Ascension Day and also of Pentecost. The power of the living Godthe power
that inevitably changes everything it toucheshas been loosed in our world.
More specifically, the message of Ephesians is not only has this power been
turned loose in our world; this power that changes everything has been turned
loose in our lives. You see, the focus of this amazing little letter has been on God
from almost the very first verse; but the focus, in particular (as we saw last
Sunday) has been on the amazing ways in which God has blessed his people in
Christ: (verse 7) in him we have the forgiveness of sin; (verse 11) in him we were
chosenwe have an inheritance, having been predestined according to the plan
of God; and (verse 13) in himthat is, in Christwe have been marked with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee in the here and now of the
eternal life which is ours already in Christ. Paul tells his readers that God has
done all of these things for his people in Christ and then, even as he prays that
God would open our eyes to see it, he writes that all that has been done has been
done in us by the working of his great strength in accordance with the very
same power that he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and
seated him at his own right hand in the heavenly places
And heres where chapter one and chapter two come together, and this is why I
read the text in the way that I did this morningtake a look at that with me if you
will. Paul writes, beginning in verse 15,
 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your
love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and
revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of
your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to
which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the
working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised
him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
21
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion
Now, watch as Paul connects the Theological to the practical. He wrote,
That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in
Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in
the heavenly realms,
Then, in the opening verses of chapter two
[And] you were dead in your transgressions and sinsButGod, who is rich
in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ6 And God raised us up with Christ and
seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
The Power of God is at Work in Us
You see? Christ was dead, but God, by his power, made him alive and raised him
up; and you were dead, but God, by that same power has made you alive and has
raised you up and seated you with Christ in the heavenly realm.
Of course, the one event is of far greater significance than the other, at least
from a cosmic perspective, but the scriptures are telling us that the power is the
same. The power that is at work in us is the same power that brought Jesus out
of the tomb and raised him to the right hand of the Father.
The Power of God Makes Us Alive in Christ
And truly, the need is just as certain. Spiritually speaking we were cut off from
God; deadtruly deadin our sin. As John Calvin wrote,
If we attend carefully to what the apostle saysthe meaning is clear[He]
says that they were deadHe does not mean simply that they were in
danger of death; but he declares that it was a real and present death under
which they labored. As spiritual death is nothing else than the alienation of
the soul from God, we are all born as dead men, and we live as dead men
And Calvin goes on:
[Those] who are eager to seize every opportunity of undervaluing the grace
of God, say, that while we are out of Christ, we are half dead.
With all the optimism of Miracle Max in The Princess Bride, they say, Were
only mostly dead, and mostly dead is partly alive.
But the teacher objects.
[W]e are not at liberty to set aside the declarations of our Lard and of the
Apostle Paul, that, while we remain in Adam, we are entirely devoid of
lifeand that out of Christ we are altogether dead, because sin, the cause of
death reigns in us.
But by the power of God (the same power that raised Christ up and seated him at
Gods right hand), we have been made alive in Christ. For the wages of sin is
death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. We have
been made alive toward God and alive in Christ
More still,
The Power of God Raises Us Up Together with Christ
And this is not merely repeating the first point for emphasis. Ephesians says,
4
But God, being rich in mercy,
because of the great love with which he loved us,
5
even when we were dead in our trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ
by grace you have been saved
6
and raised us up with him
and seated us with him
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7
so that in the coming ages he might show
the immeasurable riches of his grace
in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
So, when he says, and raised us up with him in this context, Pauls not speaking
of being raised up from the dead. Hes saying that weve been raised up with Christ
and seated with him in heavenly places. One commentary on this passage notes
that this is such a bold figure of speech that the temptation comes to leave it in the
rarefied atmosphere of pious rhetoric. But by Gods own word, not only are we now
risen with Christ, we are now seated with him in the heavenly realm. Not only have
we been given the hope of a future resurrection to be followed by eternal life in the
presence of God, we have already been welcomed into his presence and in Christ,
we are seated at his own right hand.
And where is this blessingwhere is this heaven on earth to be found? Well, we can
hedge or evade the question; we can name it so-called positional truth and then
point out that while its true in the now, its certainly not intended to be our
experience in the now; but I dont think thats God intent here. Everything that
weve learned of him so far in the letter to the Ephesians would lead us to the
conclusion that God is not stingy regarding his grace. He lavishes it upon his people.
In fact, thats the expressed intent of the prayer here at the end of chapter one and
the beginning of chapter two. Remember,
16
I do not cease to give thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers,
17
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory,
may give you a 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,
19
and
what is the immeasurable greatness of his power
toward us who believe,
No, it is the purpose of the author here to persuade usindeed he prays that God
himself would persuade us that these blessings are not only for the fullness of the
kingdom, but that they are also for the here and now and, also to persuade us that
The Power of God is Experienced by his people in Christ
Which is not to say that Gods power is simply on display, as if we are intended to
look at Christ and to understand that one day God will do in us all that he has done
in him. Rather, it is to say that the power of God is experienced right here, right
now, in Christ.
I think that this is one side of the Ascension that is often overlooked, because we
preach and we read from the Gospels and the book of Acts that when the 40 days
were over, Jesus was caught up into heaven and seated at the right hand of God
and that is true. But in a way, we act like those disciples in the story who after Jesus
was hidden from their sight by a cloud stood there, looking into the sky and
wondering when he would return, as if the ascension meant that he was gone, and
there was little else to do but wait for his return.
Of course, at that point, angels appeared, stood beside them and said,
Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back
in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.
So there is that promise; one day, Jesus will return.
But there was another promise made at about the same time. Jesus himself said,
I am with you always, to the very end of the ages. So it was not his intent that
we think of the Ascension as the event which has separated us from our Savior.
Rather, it was Gods intent for us to understand that since we are in Christ, and
Christ is in us, we are now where he is nowseated with him at the Fathers right
hand in heavenly placesand he is now where we are now, for we are his body,
the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
This is the power, the dunamis, the dynamite of God, at work in us, his people in
Christ Jesus.

May we pray.