Sermons

The Immeasurable Greatness of His Power

April 17, 2022 Speaker: Josh DeGroote Series: Easter Sunday

Topic: Resurrection Passage: Ephesians 1:15–23

Happy Easter. One Sunday a year, we call Easter Sunday where Christians all across the world celebrate the bodily resurrection of Christ. This historical fact has massive historical and spiritual implications. The apostle Paul said that if Christ did not rise from the dead bodily, our faith is in vain. But Christ has risen from the dead, the tomb is empty, and truly everything is changed because of it. 

So Happy Easter! But it’s also important to keep in mind that every Lord’s Day Christians are having a celebration of the resurrection of Christ. It’s why Christians meet on Sunday. So although we are happy to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus with millions of other Christians, let’s not forget, we get to do this again next week! 

When you look at the NT, in particular the book of Acts, one thing is clear: these followers of Jesus Christ were absolutely convinced that He rose from the dead. The resurrection was their message. The resurrection was their power source. And it is meant to be a power that we experience as well. 

BIG IDEA: The Christian life is to be lived according to and in the strength of the resurrection power of Christ. Resurrection power is given to us through Christ, to live and die for His glory. This power is not so that our lives become easy; so that life is like a walk in the park. In fact, our lives in some ways will become more difficult. We will recognize life is not about us, but Christ. We will face more obstacles as we seek to live faithful to Christ in a world that is hostile to Christ. 

And it is this experience of power in relation to the resurrection of Christ that will thrust us forward. This is what Paul prays for in Ephesians 1. In verses 19-20 Paul prays that they would know:

what is the immeasurable greatness of his power at work toward us who believe (v. 19a)

This power toward us or for us is immeasurably great. It is beyond our ability to measure. David Bryan’s company works on and sells massive machines that are extremely powerful, these enormous presses that bend metal. It is hard for me to fathom the power of these machines, but it is measurable. Paul says the power at work toward us who believe is immeasurable. Cannot be measured. It surpasses any measurement of greatness. The reason why is because it's not nuclear power, or steel press power, or the power of positive thinking, but divine power. 

But then Paul gives us a way to measure this power that is at work toward us - not by giving us nicely defined calculations, but by telling us what it is like. He says it is according to or in accordance with. In other words, Paul is about to tell us what this power is like. And what follows is breathtaking. Let me read for you again verses 19 to the end. This immeasurably great power at work toward us is:

According to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 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 age to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

The power of God at work toward believers is like that. Amazing! And notice it is a power at work toward believers, right now. This is not pointing to some future time when God will do a great work in us. Certainly we can point to a future time (resurrection of the body). But this is speaking of an ongoing, present power to be known and experienced. It begs the question, why do we experience so little of this? Or at least not as much as we ought to and would like to. Paul seems to imply that it has something to do with the dimness with which we see spiritual reality. Remember this is a prayer in which Paul prays that the Father would open their spiritual eyes. He says, “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened.” 

We have these eyes (physical). And Paul here says we have another set of eyes, the eyes of the heart. And he prays these spiritual eyes would be enlightened or opened or given the ability to see with greater clarity. He prays that the lights would come on, that these eyes would be opened to “know the immeasurable greatness of his power at work toward us who believe.

I want to pause right here and ask you to do something. Would you pray this for yourself, for me, for us this morning. May this be our constant prayer this morning. The blind man, when Jesus asked him “what do you want me to do for you”, responded, “I want to see!” And what follows is Paul showing us or revealing to us what this power is like. And this is what we need to see today with the eyes of faith, the eyes of our hearts - may God help us! Verses 20-23 say the power of God toward us now is like. The first thing we see is:


The power of God toward us is like his power in raising Jesus from the dead

And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power at work toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead…  (v. 19-20)

The Father raised Jesus from the dead. This is not the language of allegory. This is the language of historical fact. The Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead, having broken the power of sin and death. This is power. And Christ was not merely resuscitated, only to die again - like Lazarus. No, Christ was raised in a body that would never, could never die again. He has the power of an incorruptible life. He was dead, but behold he is alive forevermore and now has the keys of death and Hades. 

He has the keys. The devil doesn’t have the master set of keys. Christ does, because he rose from the dead. No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me. From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. Christ has been raised from the dead, never to die again. And here’s the thing. For those who believe, we can say, “I’ve been raised with him.” Peter says, “God caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

We were once dead in our sins. But God in his great love, when we were dead, made us alive together with Christ - this is the essence of what it means to be saved by grace. If you believe in Christ, you have been raised from the dead! And we have been raised with Christ (baptism) not just so that we get to go to heaven someday or experience the resurrection in the future - we will praise God! But also that we may now live in newness of life through the resurrection power of Christ. Romans 6:10-11 says,

For the death he [Christ] died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 

We have died to sin through Christ and we have been raised to a new life in and through Christ. We are now summoned to live in this newness of life in all of life, through the resurrection power of Jesus. 

The power of God at work toward you is like the power that the Father worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. Lord, open our eyes to see!

 

The power of God toward us is like his power in seating Christ at his right hand

And seated him at his right had in heavenly places… (v. 20)

After Christ was raised from the dead, the Father seated him at His right hand. Jesus prayed to the Father, “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:5)

The Father answered that prayer, because there Christ is, totally secure, in a place of majesty and honor. The way the scriptures point us to the exaltation of Christ here makes more sense when we are reminded of the immense humiliation of Christ in the incarnation. We know that Christ, who is eternally God, humbled himself. The language of Philippians 2 is striking: “he took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men, being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” We saw the picture last week in our men’s group in John 13. God in the flesh getting down on his knees to wash the disciple’s feet. And because of that, because of his humility to the point of dying a criminal’s death on the cross. Philippians 2 goes on to say, 

Therefore, God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Christ has been exalted to the Father’s right hand and there sits secure. Now get this. The NT says, we are seated with him. I think when the NT talks like that, it primarily (not exclusively) speaks of our position and eternal status in Christ. It is meant to be a truth we are to have our eyes open to in order to give us an absolute assurance of our eternal security in Christ. In Ephesians 2:6 it says we have been raised with Christ and seated with Christ in heavenly places, “so that in the coming ages God might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ.” Colossians 3:1-3 says Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand, and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Our lives are hidden. This is the power of God to keep us safe and eternally secure.

The power that raised Jesus from the grave and seated him in the presence of the Father, at his very right hand, put you there as well and keeps you there, totally secure forever. That is power! 

 

The power of God toward us is like God triumphing over all demonic powers through Christ

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. (v. 21)

The power at work toward us is like the cosmic-shaping power of God when he exalted Christ above every power, rule, and authority. There is probably more that could be said and should be at another time. Jesus is most certainly exalted over every earthly power. But I want to draw out the glorious truth that Christ is now exalted in victory over all evil, demonic powers. The earliest mention of the gospel is in Genesis 3, in the garden, when God says the seed of the woman will be a Conqueror who crushes the head of the serpent, though his heel will be bruised in the process (Genesis 3).

Ephesians 6 uses the language rulers, authorities when talking about “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places…” This is talking about satanic power. Our Lord Jesus Christ has not only been raised from the dead, but also has been raised “far above” - that’s the language of exaltation - all demonic powers. Christ has triumphed over Satan. He has crushed the head of the serpent!

We might say, “But the devil seems to have so much power…” He still is a liar, a deceiver, a murderer. Yes, that’s all true. But for those of us who believe, he has the power of a lion who roars loud, but has no teeth. This, of course, does not mean he can’t harm us in any way. It most emphatically means he cannot harm us in an ultimate way. That ability has been removed from him. Look at how that connection is made in Colossians 2:

God forgave all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open sham, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13-15)

One of the ways the devil seeks to harm us now is as an accuser. He accuses us of our sin night and day. But did you notice what God accomplished through Christ in Colossians 2? He canceled the record of debt… with its legal demands! His accusations cannot stick! Christ died for us! Christ was raised. Christ intercedes for us at the Father’s right hand! He has triumphed over all demonic, evil powers. Like a victorious general parading his defeated enemy the city, Christ has done so to the devil. So this power enables us to withstand his accusations, to “resist the devil and he will flee.”

 


Finally, the power of God toward us is like Christ being exalted with unrivaled authority for our GOOD (v. 22-23)

And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (v. 22-23)

You see the word feet. God put all things under Christ’s feet. You see the word “head”. God gave Christ as head. The word head alludes to an active reigning. Jesus Christ is no mere figurehead - like the Queen of England - who has very little active authority. Christ is head. And notice that he is head over  “all things”. He has the unrivaled authority and wisdom to reign over all things. He is head over all human history, over all nations and kings, queens, judges, presidents, prime ministers, and thug tyrants. He is head over the CDC and WHO. He is head over elections and the ultimate outcomes. He is the head over every military leader and every war. He is head over all nature - climate change, weather patterns. He is head over every individual. He is head over social media controversies. He is head over it all. Jesus, upon his resurrection claimed this, “All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me…” 

But notice how verse 22 speaks of this power at work “toward us”. Christ rules and reigns with absolute, sovereignty and unrivaled wisdom on behalf of the church. He was given as head over all things “to the church” - to us. In other words, Christ uses his authority and wisdom over all things to serve us as our Captain, Leader, Shepherd, Savior, Redeemer, Friend. This is a stunning thing power toward us! Jesus commands my destiny! This is meant to free and empower us to live for Christ - move all your chips into the middle of the table. Go all in with Christ. 

Christ has risen from the dead! God raised Him! God seated Christ at his right hand. God triumphed over satan, demonic powers, and over all earthly powers. And Christ rules with absolute sovereignty. And all of this mighty power is at work toward you! You have been raised with Christ. You are seated with Christ. You have ultimate victory over the world, the flesh and the devil in Christ. And he reigns and rules all things for your ultimate good. This is the power of God at work toward you!

Two Questions in Conclusion

1. Do you believe?

Remember this immeasurably great power is toward “us who believe”. Do you believe? Now, let’s face it, we all can say like the father of the demon possessed boy to Jesus, “I believe, help my unbelief!” But do you believe? Do you believe that the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death? You are no longer under the dominion of sin and death. Do you believe this? Do you believe you are as eternally secure as Christ himself is because your life is hidden in him? Do you believe this? Do you believe that the powers of satan have been overcome? And so you can fight the Tempter, the Father of lies, taking up the sword of the Spirit and have victory? Yes he can kill the body, but after that he can do no more! And in fact, when he kills a saint, they overcome and receive a glorious reward. As Justin Martyr said, “You can kill us, but you cannot hurt us.” Do you believe this? Do you believe Christ sits as head over all things, with unrivaled authority and rules for your good? Do you believe this? 

That’s the question. This power is at work toward us who believe. Do you believe? 

 

2. Do you pray for your eyes to be opened to this reality?

The Holy Spirit is the One who does the opening of our eyes… and he lives inside us. May God the Father open our eyes. May he give a spirit of wisdom and revelation. May the Spirit reveal this afresh. 

This might sound grandiose, and so let’s think of it in a micro sense. The world is waiting to see a demonstration of the power of God through faithful men and women who believe Christ has risen from the dead and live as though it really happened. And so one of our constant prayers ought to be, “Open the eyes of our hearts so that we might know the immeasurable greatness of your power at work toward us who believe.” 

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