We Need to Know What We Have

Sunday, August 18th

Ephesians 1:15-23

Matt Rawlings

Example: Our mission as a church, is to be disciples of Jesus, who are growing and making disciples. When Sarah came to us with her idea and asked us if she could start a Bible study for young girls, we were excited, because it was born out of her conviction that she needed to be making disciples of Jesus. She didn’t have any special training. She didn’t take a class. She didn’t have to have all of the answers. She did have to respond to conviction, step out in faith, make time for it and trust in God. I hope you caught when she said that when she heard the message that was given, she realized that she wasn’t trying to reach out or set an example to those girls younger than her. But she responded to God’s loving conviction. Sarah also said it was hard because of her fear - because she hates talking in front of groups of people. But she said it was a fear God was clearly calling her to overcome. And by the enabling power of God she overcame her fear and came out with much more than she could have ever expected.

What was Sarah doing by stepping out and leading young girls through a book study and engaging them? She was going about a mission – the mission of Jesus and the mission of every follower of Jesus, to make disciples. It is the same mission that each and every one of us is called to. Now, it might look a little different for each and every one of you. It might look like going to the book table and getting the book one-to-one Bible reading and then prayerfully thinking through who you can take through it.

Maybe there is someone at work or school who has questions about Christianity. So, you invite them to go with you to Christianity Explored this fall. You attend the informational meeting beforehand so you can be prepared to help. Or maybe there is someone that no one else seems to like or pay attention to and the Lord would want you to ask them to read the Bible with you so that you can help them encounter Jesus. Maybe it is your children or your brother or sister.

Maybe making disciples looks like something else for you. Perhaps it looks like taking your children through Scripture memorization. Maybe it's teaching them a simple catechism like the New City Catechism (found on the Gospel Coalition website), then taking your kids questions and helping them understand the meaning of the Scripture verses you memorize.

Maybe it looks like going to your small group and you are convicted that your attitude has been primarily to assess your group based on what you get out of it. So you change your perspective and assume that you are there to serve others and get to know them, whether or not they reciprocate. And you decide to prepare for every meeting and pray for your leader and the people in your group. You're desire is not to doing things the way you want, but in a way that is loving and caring towards them. Then, you look for chances to help the leader by making good contributions, sharing your heart and   looking for ways to speak the truth lovingly to encourage others and build them up. So, you start having your small group members in your home for fellowship regularly. You get to know them by asking them questions. When you find out one of them is having a marital challenge, assume that God wants you to help them by going through Ephesians 5 together, or meeting to discuss the book “What did you Expect”, by Paul Tripp once a month for a few months.

Maybe it means reaching out to a co-worker you know grew up in church and has doubts now. You ask him if you can go through a book on basic Christianity with him or maybe go through the gospel of Mark every two weeks. Or maybe you are a single gal and you meet a new young lady in the church who has many doubts and questions. You meet with her to study passages or read books that address all of her questions one at a time.

Maybe you are an engineer and you know other engineers at church. So you invite some non-Christian co-workers who are engineers to watch the Super Bowl together with other engineers from church. Your church friends hit it off with your unbeliever friends and eventually one of them comes to church.

It could look like Sally giving her friend Beth who doesn’t understand the Bible, a book like Wayne Grudem’s “Making Sense of the Bible” and then getting together to talk to her about it. Or maybe you are a mom with young kids and you start a daytime moms group and invite other young moms in your neighborhood as well as a few of your Christian friends. You just get together to talk about all sorts of things and share your life with them. And maybe eventually you invite them to church and you ask them what they believe about God. Some of them come to church and become Christians and you keep the group open to a few unbelievers.

Maybe you decide you want to volunteer for a group like Surgeons for Sight, that has a mission to help disadvantaged people, locally and abroad, get the eye care they need to lead productive lives in glorification of God. So, you fill one of their 600 volunteer slots for them at the upcoming Fall for Greenville. And as you volunteer, you get to make friends with people and share your life with them.

Maybe you just start looking for ways to invite other people into what you already do in life – if you go jogging ask them to go with you – if you play volleyball, ask them to go with you. It could look like joining a local rec-league with a friend from church, so that you can get to know others who don’t know God and share a reason for the hope you have.

Whatever you do – however the Lord is calling you to respond and step out in faith – it will likely look like taking a risk of some sort. It may take up your time and effort. It may mean changing the way you do things or changing your schedule. It may mean stepping out of your comfort zone and talking to people. It could look like sharing your life more openly than you ever have before. No matter what though, you can’t be a disciple who is growing and making disciples of Jesus on your own. You need God to give you strength – you need God’s enabling power.

The early church in Ephesus grew like crazy, not because of organized events but because people simply shared their lives and testimonies about the good news of Jesus with people everywhere they went. They told people about the reason for the hope that was within them. They deliberately sought to teach others about who Jesus was and everything that Jesus commanded.

We know from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that they faced pressures and persecution. They faced challenges and ridicule. And they faced very real, spiritual opposition. They were in marriages where they had to learn how to treat each other. They were tempted to laziness and self-focus and needed to learn what love looks like. They had to be challenged in Ephesians 4:1-3  to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

They faced temptations to turn back to their old ways of living and they wrestled with anger. And they were tempted to fear and unbelief – to shrinking back to giving up or just giving in to weariness. So then the  Apostle Paul writes to them about the hope that they have. In the first 14 verses of chapter one, he tells them of the great spiritual blessings that they have received. And in the verses for today, he prays that they would know the truth about who God is, to encourage them to live in the reality of the power that God has given to them. 

"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 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, 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, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, 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 one 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."

Ephesians 1:15-23

In these verses, we can see the Apostle Paul’s desire for the church. And because these words have been inspired by the Holy Spirit, we can see in these verses, what the Spirit’s desire is for the church today as well. You see, we are not just a bunch of individual Christians who happen to be together on a Sunday morning. We are so much more than that. We are the body of Christ. And in order for us to function well as a body together, we need to be healthy members of His body. But in order to function well as individual members of His body, we need to know what it is that we have in Christ. And I believe that the main thing that God would have us focus on from this text today is that...

Main Idea: We need to know what we have in Christ to function.

Imagine you suddenly awoke on a ship and you were told that you were a member of a crew that was on a mission. And on the mission you were going to encounter various kinds of enemies and many different challenges. It may take you a little while to get your bearings. It may take some time to be able to function. And if you had any hope of functioning as a healthy member of the crew and carrying out your mission you would need to know some things. You would need to know who was on the ship with you, what your capabilities were, what the crew could do, what the ship had on board and who was in charge. You would want to know what missions the crew had been on before and if they were successful.

Paul knows that the Christians in Ephesus need to be instructed. They have become a part of the body of Christ and they need to understand what they have and who they are in order to function and carry out their God given mission. And one of the first things Paul does for them is to show them that God is at work in them. This is critical. They needed to see that God was at work in them, in order for them to have hope to change. I believe that this is just as much true for us today.

1. We need to see that God is at work in us

We need to see that there is hope for us to function on our mission as a church, because God has already been at work in us and He will continue to be at work in us. Paul writes to them, "For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers..."

What is Paul thankful for that ignites prayers of praise? Is it that the church has grown large numerically? Is it that the church has developed lots of programs that are more impressive than all the rest? Is it that it is the fastest growing church? Is it that the church is the most well-known or popular or influential or hippest church around with the best band on the planet? No. What is impressive to Paul is their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love towards the saints. Paul praised what he saw and he also praised the things he wanted to encourage the church to grow and continue in. The love and faith that these Christians display are clear evidence that God has been mightily at work in them.

When we see faith in the Lord Jesus and love towards the Saints in our church, let us not discount that or assume that these things are normal or take them for granted. They are clear evidence that God is mightily at work in our midst. This should spur us all on to grow in our faith in the Lord Jesus and in our love toward all the saints even more. This is what we should be seeking to cultivate in our own lives and the church as well – and this is not a skill that uniquely belongs to any one Christian. Every Christian can seek to know Jesus better and love the saints in this church. You don’t need permission. Get to know Jesus in His Word and start loving the saints more and more.

By the way, what is one of the best measures of a healthy church? It is a church where people are growing in their faith in Jesus and where they are demonstrating their love for one another. Now, we have lots of areas we can grow in, but let us not lose sight of what is important. And also, let us be encouraged that we are growing in our faith in Jesus and in our love towards the saints. Why is this significant? Because people are prejudiced, people naturally are selfish, self-centered and people separate based on differences in ethnicity and background. But a sign of the transforming power of Jesus is when He changes people to love their fellow brothers and sisters.

If you go to a church with lots of things on the go, one that is popular and continuing to grow, look for whether there is faith in Jesus and love towards all the saints to evaluate health first. As a local church, yes, we have some areas in need of growth but His mighty power is at work in each and every one of us. And that should give us hope and faith for continued growth. God has been at work in us and He will be at work in us.

Paul thanks God for them on a regular basis – because God is the one who has done the work in them.

Far from making us proud, seeing where God has changed us should make us humble – realizing that God is the One who is responsible for the good fruit He has caused us to bear. It should give us hope – that God who has been at work in us will continue to be at work in us.

Paul knows that any growth is a gift from God and He is aware that the growth of the recipients of this letter are completely dependent on God, who generously gives to His children when they cry out to Him in prayer. So Paul prays for the church because he knows they depend on God and he also knows that a deadly spiritual war rages against himself and every believer. So he takes up his own advice and prays for them in the Spirit. He prays in verse 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, 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...”

Why does he pray this? He prays this because they need to be enlightened to what they have. And the second thing we are going to focus on is that...

2. We need to be enlightened to what we have

Paul’s prayer is that God – the same God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, might give them the Holy Spirit, a Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. They already know God and He wants them to know Him even more through the Spirit. He doesn’t just want them to have a head-knowledge, he wants them to have an experiential knowledge and live in light of it.

Paul prays that they might understand what God has done for them in Christ already. He prays that they might know what it really means that they have already received every spiritual blessing in Christ.

He doesn’t want the Ephesians to become complacent or take their blessings for granted. He wants them to really know the fullness of what God has given to us and to know God personally and closely.

They need to know this and we need to know this because as humans, we are prone to despair. We are prone to looking at ourselves and our abilities. We are prone to not see God. We are prone to losing our sight.

My aunt used to have a dog that everyone loved. She was the best most friendly, obedient, faithful and smart dog. The dog used to fetch my uncle drinks out of the bottom drawer of their fridge. But when the dog got older, the dog couldn’t see well anymore, because cataracts had developed in her eyes. They t made her eyes look hazy and dull, like they were covered with an opaque, scratched up lens. She needed her dull eyes enlightened.

The eyes of our hearts can become like that. We are dull at times. And some of us have become so dull that we cannot see well anymore and we are stumbling through life, missing the hope that God has for us. We need to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened. And the third thing we need to know from these verses in order to function is that...

3. We have hope and riches

Paul writes that the purpose of the spiritual insight he prays for is so that they may know “The hope to which He has called you...” He wants them to know that they have hope because God has called them to Himself to save them, to sanctify them and to present them holy eternally. Before God called them and before God called us, we were without hope. But now we have Hope because of God’s irresistible calling of us.

He also prays that they might know what are the riches of His glorious inheritance. Here Paul is praying that they might know the riches that they have because they are now the glorious inheritance of God.

He wants them to understand the extraordinary value that God places on them in Christ. God counts us as in Christ now and because of this, He values us as His Son. That is truly glorious! They are God’s own people now and because they are God’s people, they have received glorious riches in Him.

Then Paul spends the greater part of this passage letting them know the power that they have in Christ.

And the forth thing we need to know from this passage is that...

4. We have immeasurable power

"...and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might..."

We need to know what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. And the greatness of His power towards us who believe is not according to our own ability. The immeasurable greatness of His power toward us is according to the working of His great might.

Many of those in the church in the area around Ephesus had likely come out of magical cults and participated in the works of darkness prior to becoming Christians and there was a pervasive fear in the culture of hostile spiritual powers. They needed to see that God’s power is greater and that God works on behalf of all who believe. The believers in the area of Ephesus needed to know that God is all-powerful, they needed to know, just like we need to know, that His mighty working was not according to their own belief.

We need to know that we have been given the power to face any and all challenges that we might encounter, as we are in Christ Jesus. The Ephesians needed to have the eyes of their heart enlightened to see that God has immeasurably great power that He works for us and in us and on our behalf. And we need to be enlightened every bit as much as they did – and possibly more.

We don’t feel like His power is at work in us. We are dull. We often lack faith in His power to change us because we are blind to His power. When we see the weakness and inability in our own lives, we need to know the immeasurable greatness of His power.

When we feel like we can’t stop sinning in an area. When we just can’t control our anger, we need to know  - is there a power than can enable me to stop. Maybe you find yourself asking a question like this – maybe you are asking...

·         Is there a power that can break the hold of lust and enable me to say no?

·         Is there a power than can enable me to overcome chronic laziness, when I just don’t seem able to do the things I know that I should, even though I know what to do and want to do them?

·         Is there a power that can overcome my selfishness and self-focus, when I am just always thinking about myself and I don’t seem to be able to stop it – and I’m frustrated!?

·         Is there a power than can enable me to be kind and patient to the people God has placed in my life?

·         We need to know, will I ever be able to change and start to see where God is at work, instead of always focusing on what is wrong?

·         Will I ever be able to stop gossiping and slandering others – I want to help people but I just seem to get sucked into listening to gossip instead and I feel trapped.

·         Will I ever be able to stop hating and to love like Jesus has loved me?

When we find ourselves asking questions like these and thinking “can we really trust and believe that God’s grace is able to change us in all of my sinful habits, thoughts, actions and speech, that seem so powerful, so ingrained and so daunting”, we need to know that there is help and hope that is bigger than us. Well, Paul is saying yes, there is power that is greater than anything else and greater than you. He prays that we would know the immeasurable greatness of His power towards us who believe.

You see, God’s power is effective for all who believe – without exception. The question is not whether God’s power is immeasurably greater, but whether we know and trust and rely upon His great power.

Paul wants the Ephesians to know that God’s power is able to make us into loving, kind, compassionate, gracious people, who trust any rely on Him.

So, he reminds them of some of the ways that prove that God’s power is immeasurably great. And the first thing that he tells them that shows just how great is God’s power is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

God’s power is seen in the resurrection of Jesus.

"...that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places..."

How do we know what kind of power God has? We can see the power of God at work in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. What does this tell us about God’s power? God has power over life and death. So, when we feel like we aren’t able to change – we have to remember that it is the same power that raised Christ from the dead that lives inside of us. We aren’t powerful in ourselves, but we do have the power of God within us that is at work within us, even when we aren’t aware and when we don’t see it.

It is like someone has taken the normal combustion engine out of a car and replaced it with a nuclear engine that has limitless power making the car go. You may not see the power under to hood, but it would definitely bring you confidence that you will never run out of gas on a long trip once you know the power is there.

We can have confidence, that God will empower us. He will enable us to be faithful all the way to the end of our lives on whatever road of life that we travel, whether it is through the mountains or hills or valleys or desert. God’s power is at work within us, enabling us.

You know, no one has ever managed to cheat death. Death comes for everyone eventually. But Jesus conquered death and was raise to life and lives forever more, never again to die. Romans 8 tells us that “if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” We have the same Holy Spirit at work within us – the same powerful Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and He has power not only over death but over all of our sin as well.

Not only that, God’s power was at work in Jesus to seat him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

And Christ’s being seated at the Father’s side points to the fact that His work and His total domination and subduing of all things has been completed. Verse 21 tells us that Jesus has the full authority of the Father, He is "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."

What else is God’s power like? God’s power is so great, that He made Jesus to be far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named not only in this age but in the one to come. Jesus is far above every kind of power or authority in the here and now. He is far above the rule and authority of any earthly kingdom and any earthly ruler. The Ephesians needed to know this, because they would surely be tempted to fear the authority of the Roman Emperor and the power of his armies. But Jesus is greater than any world leader and holds more power than any army.

The Ephesians would have been tempted to fear the darkness all around them, when the whole culture seemed to be turning to evil and all forms of debauchery. It may have seemed as if the devil and his forces of darkness were able to take over. But Jesus has power over every demonic force. There is no spiritual being, no name, no thing that has any power over Him. He is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion.

Jesus will never be superseded. The words used for power and dominion here are associated with special classes of angelic beings. But, whatever powers or hierarchy there is in the universe, He is the ultimate power. There never has been anyone greater than Jesus and there never will be anyone or anything greater than Jesus. And this is the same power of God that is at work in you who believe in Christ Jesus. But it doesn’t stop with that. Paul tells us in verse 22 that God, “put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.”

What is the final things we need to know from these verses?

5. We have a head (and we are a body)

All things are in subjection to Jesus Christ – that is what it means when it says that God put all things under His feet. I grew up in Virginia and the motto on the Virginia state flag that flew outside of every school that is plainly visible for all to see. The flag is simple but it carries a clear message - it has a figure of Virtus, the goddess of vitue, dressed as a warrior. She holds a spear and a sword and is standing on the chest of the figure of tyranny, who is lying dead on the ground, with his crown cast aside. The seal was first adopted in 1776 and the tyrant symbolized Great Britain at the time but it has remained because it really symbolizes all tyrants and the motto says, “Sic Semper Tyrannis”, which means “Thus Always To Tyrants”.

The message is clear – when someone is under the foot of someone else – it implies a total conquering, a vanquishing of power – a complete domination. God has put all things under the feet of Jesus. No tyrant can stand before Jesus. Not the tyrant of death, nor sin, nor demons nor the devil himself nor all of hell can stand before Jesus. In fact, Philippians 2:9-11 says, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Everything and everyone will one day bow before Jesus whether willingly or forcibly. But in the meanwhile, all things are under His feet and He is head over all things. Everything is lesser in authority than Jesus. Everything is in subjection to Jesus. And the end of verse 22 and verse 23 tells us why. God has raised Jesus from the dead and raised Him up above all things with God and placed everything in subjection to Him and given Him as head over all things – to what end?

It says, God gave Him as head over all things to the church. God has granted Christ unlimited power and authority and rule for the sake of the Church. The power of God has been given to Christ for the benefit of those whom Jesus died to save – for His church, His body – those whom He loves and has called by name to be His church.

So, Christ’s rule and reign is for the benefit of the church. This jaw-dropping truth is meant to affect the way we pray – if we know that Jesus has unlimited power and He wields his power for the sake of the church, it will change the confidence with which we pray. God may choose not to answer our prayers in the way that we expect, but He doesn’t lack any power or ability to answer any prayer.

And He doesn’t lack any love for His own body. So, if things don’t turn out the way we expect, we can rest in the knowledge that He wants what is best and is able to do what is best and He knows what is best, so we  can trust Him. No power is withheld from Jesus and He loved us so much that He died for us. There is nothing that Jesus won’t do for us if it is the best thing for us. So we can trust in Him and have confidence in Him.

"which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

Christ is the Head of the church and His church is His body. He is the one who inspires, rules, guides, sustains and brings unity to the body and He is the one who enables the body to function in Him. The Body of Christ is meant to be the fullness  of Christ in the world, in the sense that the church has been given the full measure of His grace and power and He fills all parts of His body.