‘HIS POWER TOWARD US WHO BELIEVE’
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 9, 2022 under 2022 |
Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message; October 9, 2022 from Ephesians 1:19-23
Theme: Confidence for living comes through knowing the greatness of God’s power toward those who believe.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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I placed my faith in Jesus as a teenager, back in 1973. Shortly afterward, I was baptized in a Presbyterian church not far from where I grew up. And I remember very clearly that, when asked to give a testimony at my baptism, I told everyone that “I had trusted Jesus as my Savior … and I haven’t had a bad day since.”
I remember how sure I was that that was true. But I also remember how—when I said that—the more mature saints in the church politely chuckled. They knew that the reason ‘I hadn’t had a bad day since’ was because I was still a bit naive, and simply hadn’t lived long enough yet in my Christian faith. They knew that those ‘bad days’ would come. And indeed they did.
The Christian faith doesn’t teach us that there won’t be any bad days in life. Rather, it teaches us that we have entered—by faith in Jesus—into a relationship with the almighty God who has His sovereign hand on us during those bad days; and that He teaches us how to have confidence in His mighty power to uphold us through them.
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Confidence in coping with the trials and difficulties of life is a very blessed thing to have. The fear of not being able to cope with the trials of life—the lack of confidence in facing them and going through them well—is something that has led many people to some destructive choices. Many turn to the use of drugs or alcohol or cannabis to desensitize themselves to the painful realities of life. Others will turn to false religions or cults—or even to the occult—in an effort to try to gain power over the struggles of life. It’s a good and right thing, of course, to want the power to cope; but it’s wrong—and very harmful—to seek that power apart from God.
There was a man named Paul who had learned the secret confidence in the midst of the trials of life. He wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 12; where he talked about a physical ailment that he suffered from and said,
And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
It wasn’t that he had been given any special power to heal all of his illnesses, or to avoid all of his health problems. Instead, it was the power of God—directed toward him for his benefit—that enabled Paul to confidently cope with the trials he felt in his body. He himself was weak; but when he was weak, it was then—by the power of God toward him—that he was made strong.
He said a similar thing in Philippians 4. He was in prison for the sake of the gospel, and was in great financial need. Some believers in Philippi wrote to send him some money and help him out. He wrote to thank them and told them;
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:10-13).
As you can see, it wasn’t that God gave power to him to use as he wished—so that he could prevent himself from having any times of suffering or need. Rather, it was that God graciously directed His own power toward Paul as God saw fit; and God’s power toward him enabled Paul to be content in whatever circumstance he was in—confident that God would help him to endure through either times of plenty or times of need. He could do all things through Christ who strengthened him.
And that’s what we need, dear brothers and sisters. The Bible does not promise that we will ‘never have a bad day’. But it does promise us that the power of God would be exercised toward us even in the midst of those bad days. This gives us the confidence we need in those bad days—and the ability to cope with them to the glory of God. We simply need to ‘know’ about that power.
With that in mind, please turn with me to Ephesians 1. It’s there that we’re told about the power of God over the circumstances of our lives as believers. We’re told about an infinite resource of confidence that enables us—not simply to avoid experiencing the trials and difficulties of life—but to cope with them and respond to them by God’s grace to His glory.
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In Ephesians 1, the apostle Paul had been writing to his brothers and sisters about the rich, eternal blessings that were theirs through a relationship with Jesus Christ. In verses 15-18, he told them;
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know … (Ephesians 1:15-18a).
And what were the things that he prayed that they would know? There are three:
… that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which 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 principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (vv. 18b-23).
It was crucial to Paul that his readers deeply ‘know’ these things. To know what is the hope of God’s calling upon us is what gives us a sense of joy for the future. To know what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints is what gives us a sense of worth and value. And to know the greatness of His power toward us who believe is what gives us the confidence to cope in times of trial. Joyful hope; a sense of value and worth; confidence in the midst of the trials of life—these are three things that every human being needs. And we have these things abundantly through Jesus Christ. Paul was praying that his believing friends would ‘know’ these things—know them deeply in the innermost being—because truly knowing them changes the way we live.
This morning, let’s focus on that third thing that Paul prayed for us to know; that confidence for living comes through knowing the greatness of God’s power toward those who believe.
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Now; in verse 19, Paul prayed that his friends would know “what is the exceeding greatness” of God’s power “toward us who believe …” The first thing this tells us is that this power from God—and the confidence that comes from it—is not promised to everyone. So; we need to understand who are …
1. THE BENEFICIARIES OF THIS POWER.
Paul makes it very clear that his words are directed, specifically, toward those of us “who believe”; that is, who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ and have entered into a relationship with God through a personal trust in what Jesus did for us on the cross. If you were to look back a few verses earlier—to verses 15-16—you’d see that this is made plain to us. Paul told them;
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers (Ephesians 1:15-16).
Paul was not writing to just anybody. He was writing specifically to those that he knew had placed a conscious, intentional, personal faith in Jesus Christ—believing on Him for salvation; and who had then gone on to demonstrate the reality of that faith in their lives by actively showing love toward one another. This power that we’re talking about is the very power of almighty God Himself—brought to bear, in an unlimited way, upon the needs of those who have had their sins washed away by the blood of Jesus, and who are now His adopted sons and daughters. It’s a power that is brought to the aid only of those who have a relationship with God by faith through Jesus Christ.
And it’s important to understand that it is brought to bear in the lives of those who continually live in a relationship of ongoing dependency and trust and faith in Him. You see; the power of God is not given to us to use as we wish. It’s not something that is ever passed on to us in any way that is independent of God Himself. If you’ll look carefully at Paul’s words, you’ll see that it is described as God’s power “toward” those who believe (or as some translations have it “for” those who believe)—not God’s power “used by” those who believe; or God’s power “possessed by” those who believe. It is God’s power “toward” or “for” those who believe in such a way that He remains sovereign. He exercises that power as He sees fit; and we remain the beneficiaries of it as those that He exercises it “toward”. As Paul puts it in Ephesians 3:20-21;
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).
So don’t think of this as any kind of ‘name-it/claim-it” power. We are not given His power to use for our own wishes and will. We are to submit to Him in all the circumstances of life as people who believe; and simply know that our loving heavenly Father exercises His power toward us as He wishes.
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But with that in mind; look, dear believing brothers and sisters, and how confident we can be in His exercise of that power toward us. Paul went on to call it “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power …”
This isn’t just any ol’ ‘power’ that is exercised “toward” or “for” us who believe. It’s not a power like any other power on earth that we might turn to in order to cope with the trials of life. Paul stacks superlative upon superlative and says that it is the “exceeding greatness” of God’s own power. The unlimited measure of this power is described as being “according to the working of His mighty power”. There is no limit to the greatness of God’s own power directed toward His sons and daughters by faith; because there is no limit to Him.
This declares to us …
2. THE SUFFICIENCY OF THIS POWER.
There is no trial that could ever come into our lives except what is permitted to do so by our wise and loving heavenly Father. And there is no circumstance that we could ever encounter over which our mighty God does not have absolute control. This of course doesn’t mean that there won’t be times in which we experience suffering. But we are made wonderfully and confidently able to cope with those times of suffering to the glory of God; because we know that God’s unlimited power is directed ‘toward’ us in it. (People sometimes say that ‘God will never give us anything that we cannot handle.’ But that’s not really the best way to put it. It’s better—and far truer—to say that God will never give us anything that He cannot handle if we will trust and obey Him.)
The apostle Paul wasn’t just simply blowing smoke about this. He knew this power from first-hand experience as a missionary and preacher of the gospel. He suffered unimaginable times of trial in his ministry; and yet, in 2 Corinthians 4, he was able to testify;
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. (2 Corinthians 4:7-14).
So; dear brothers and sisters; we can be confident in times of trial—and cope with such times to the glory of God—because of the absolute sufficiency of God’s power toward us in them.
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And even then, Paul doesn’t leave us to wonder how great that power is. He points us to an example of it all in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. In a way that almost seems as if Paul was launching off into a time of worship, he describes God’s power toward us as that …
which 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 principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (vv. 20-23).
When it comes to the power of God toward us in the circumstances of life, these words give us …
3. THE DEMONSTRATION OF THIS POWER.
Consider how great God’s power is toward us. It was the same power that was demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. God’s power toward us is so great that it is able to conquer the most powerful enemy we could face—death. As Paul put it in Romans 8:11;
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:11).
Our ultimate destiny is to be raised bodily in glory like our Lord. Do you ‘know’ that this power is at work in you? If so, it will give you confidence in coping through your trials.
But God did more than simply raise our Lord bodily from the dead. This power is also demonstrated to us in the fact that after the Father raised Him, He also seated Him in the position of highest authority and glory. The greatness of God’s power toward us is demonstrated to us in Jesus’ enthronement to God’s right hand. In Psalm 110:1, God made this promise to Jesus;
The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Psalm 110:1).
And He fulfilled that promise. At the beginning of the Book of Hebrews, it’s put to us in this way;
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high … (Hebrews 1:1-3).
And do you realize that that’s the power of God at work toward you in your trials?—the very power that enthroned Jesus at the right hand of God the Father?
And more; it’s the power that is shown to us in Jesus’ exaltation over all authority. We’re told that God has exalted Him “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come”. This may be talking about the spiritual authorities in the heavenlies—that is, the ranks and orders of mighty angelic beings. But it would most certainly also include every lessor power and authority that might be in existence in the human realms. As the apostle Paul put it in Philippians 2;
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).
The very same power of God that has exalted Jesus Christ above all authority is also the power that is at work toward you and me in our trials. Oh, that this is something that we would truly ‘know’!
And more still. It’s the power that is demonstrated in Jesus’ supremacy over all creation. Paul wrote that God has “put all things under His feet”. “All things” means just exactly that—all things! As the apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15-20;
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:15-20).
The power that has put all things under the feet of our Lord—and made Him supreme over all creation—is the very same power that is at work toward you and me in our trials. Can there really be anything that could come into our lives that we could not gain the victory over through this unlimited power?
And finally, notice that Paul said that God gave Jesus “to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all”. He who has been given supremacy over all things is now given as Head of all things to the church. This is meant to show us that the same power that did all of this for Jesus is also displayed in Jesus’ union with His church.
The apostle Paul wrote about how united Jesus is to us. It’s deeper than the husband/wife relationship. In Ephesians 5:25-27, Paul wrote;
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Jesus has been so united to His church that He does not consider Himself complete without her. And if the one who has been given supremacy over all things is also the one who unites Himself to us to that degree, then all things will be brought under the sovereign control of God for the purpose of accomplishing whatever He has purposed to fulfill in us in Christ! All things truly do work together for good to those who are loved by Him and called to His purpose!
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Perhaps one of the biggest problems we have with confidence in our times of trial comes from what it is that we choose to look at.
If we focus our attention on the trial itself, we certainly won’t have much confidence. And if we focus on our own contrived resources for coping, we’ll have even less confidence. But as believers, we’re not meant to have our main focus on those things. Instead, we’re to look at Jesus. We will grow in confidence if we learn to keep our focus on Him in the midst of our trials.
And this is because it is through Him that God has given us a demonstration of the greatness of His power toward us who believe.
AE
