According to Ephesians 1:15-19, Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians that they, and we, would have the eyes of our hearts enlightened to be able to have God’s work done in our lives (read previous post “Do You See?”). He mentioned three specific things: the hope of God’s calling, the greatness of God’s involvement with his people, and the greatness of God’s power. We’re going to pick up there as he kind of blows up this truth of God’s power actually operating in our lives.
EPHESIANS 1:18-21: I pray that the eyes of your heart [a]may be enlightened, so that you will 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 surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about 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 every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
On Easter we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, the most astounding and transforming event in world history. What happened that weekend was massive and transcendent. Yet it also means something very personal.
That’s what Paul was praying about: the most awesome power in the universe is available for you and me today. Open the eyes of your heart and understand and receive resurrection power.
To help us understand “the surpassing greatness of his power” Paul gives a description and a demonstration of that power.
For the description he uses 4 words in verse 19. One or two is not enough. The first is “power” (Greek: dunamis). We get words like dynamic and dynamite from this Greek word. It means God’s capability. The second is “working” (energeia). Our word “energy” comes from that. It’s God’s power in operation, like electricity energizing the lights. The third word is “strength” (isxous). This is God’s muscle, the living power he has within himself. And the 4th word is “might” (kratous). It means the force to control or to resist opposition. God is omnipotent, all-powerful. Every kind of power is his.
Description is not enough. We need a demonstration to really understand this power. We need God to show us, not just tell us, what he can do. Here it is: “He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” The power that God uses in our lives is based on and is the same kind of power that raised Jesus from the dead and enthroned him as King of all. Resurrection power!
Some people have said that Jesus didn’t really die on the cross so he wasn’t really resurrected. They say he was unconscious and simply woke up in the tomb and got out. Now think about that. Jesus didn’t sleep for the last 33 hours of his life. He didn’t eat for about the last 18-20 hours. He was tortured by Roman soldiers. He was so weak he couldn’t carry the cross all the way to Calvary. Then he was nailed to the cross and hung in the most agonizing position possible, exposed to the weather, for six hours. A soldier rammed a spear under his ribcage. Then his body was put in a tomb. If we accept this unconsciousness theory, we have to believe that this starving, tortured, anemic, exhausted man was able to get up, get out of the burial wrappings, get to the tomb entrance, shove aside a massive boulder, overpower and knock out at least 2 Roman guards, then appear to his disciples in perfect health!
No, he wasn’t unconscious. He was dead. Deceased. Expired. Deep-sixed. Wasted. Taken out. He had kicked the bucket. He had bought the farm. His number was up. No breathing, no heart beating, no brain waving. He was dead. Dead through Friday night, through Saturday, through Saturday night, into Sunday morning. Then God aimed his power, working, strength, and might into that tomb. The decaying process in his muscles, organs, and tissues stopped. The spirit of Jesus re-entered the body, but it wasn’t the same old flesh and blood shell. It was transformed into the incorruptible resurrection body that will last forever. Forty days later, God again exerted his strength and raised Jesus off the earth and into the Heavenly throne room where he reigns over all there is.
God’s awesome, unmatched power has been demonstrated in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
Of course, the resurrection of Jesus is not just God showing off what he can do. With his death and rising, Jesus accomplished cosmic and eternal results That power is, Paul said, “toward us who believe.” God aims his power into our lives. It’s available for us now. We can receive resurrection power today.
Now resurrection power is not just for resurrection. Someday we will need to be raised from death, but we’re not dead yet. We can receive God’s awesome power for what we do need now. There are a lot of things we need. Here are three.
We need resurrection power to turn our lives around. So many of us are going in the wrong direction – making wrong choices – headed for heartache and destruction. God’s power will turn our lives around.
Guillaume Bignon experienced the powerful work of God. He begins his story saying, “If French atheists rarely become evangelical Christians, how much rarer it is for one to become an evangelical Christian theologian. So what happened? One might argue that with 66 million French people, I’m just a fluke, an anomaly. I am inclined to see it as the work of a God who says, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy’ (Rom. 9:15).” You can read his entire story at Christianity Today. Here’s a summary.
Bignon studied math, physics, and engineering in college and landed a job as a computer scientist in finance. He also played volleyball in a national league, traveling the country every weekend for the games.
He met a girl who believed in God, and they started dating. His new goal in life was to convince her that her beliefs were wrong so that they could be together without obsolete ideas of God—or sex—standing in the way. He started thinking: What good reason was there to think God exists, and what good reason was there to think atheism was true? He also started reading a Bible.
Due to a strange shoulder injury preventing him from playing volleyball for a couple of weeks, he went to a church to see what Christians do when they get together, like visiting a zoo. After the service Bignon approached the pastor and began asking questions. They met together over several weeks. Then something happened. His own words:
“God reactivated my conscience. This was not a pleasant experience. At the same time I had started my investigations, I had also come to commit a particularly sinister misdeed, even by atheistic standards. Though I knew exactly what I had done, I had shoved it down inside. But God brought it back to mind in full force, and I finally saw it for what it was. I was struck with an intense guilt, crippled with chest pain, and disgusted at the thought of what I had done and the lies I had covered it with. I was lying in pain in my apartment near Paris, when all of a sudden the quarter dropped. That is why Jesus had to die: me. He who knew no sin became sin on my behalf, so that in him I might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21)… I placed my trust in Jesus, and asked him to forgive me in the way Scripture promised he would…
“I was not looking for God; I neither sought him nor wanted him. He reached out, loved me while I was still a sinner, broke my defenses, and decided to pour out his undeserved grace—that his Son might be glorified, and that I might be saved from my sin by grace through faith…”
Resurrection power will turn your life around.
We also need resurrection power to go beyond our limitations.
I was a shy, introverted kid, and that’s still part of my personality. I was so shy I was even afraid to talk to myself! Class presentations in high school were pure torture. If I had died and gone to Hell at that time I’m sure I would have spent eternity presenting oral book reports in Mrs. Hill’s English lit class. I remember sitting at the teacher’s desk for one such presentation. I bowed my head with my hands on the sides of my face and couldn’t look up at my classmates. I felt the burning sensation of blood rising to my face and ears (I’ll bet they glowed bright red!) It was awful. Then, at about age 19/20, God called me into full-time ministry – to preach, to stand in front of people every Sunday and preach! And I did it, and I loved it, and I believe did a pretty good job. It was all from God. He empowered me to do it beyond my limitations.
We all have limitations. God’s power is not limited. He’s not confined by what we can’t do. We don’t have to be. You can go beyond your limitations. That same power that got Jesus out of the tomb can strengthen and equip you with all you need to get beyond your limitations.
Third, we need resurrection power to bring us into God’s plan. Remember Ephesians 1:10 that tells us what God’s design is – he is working to restore the universe under the Lordship of Christ. He’s working out that plan in the world right now, and he works through his people – you and me – to make that happen. God has the power to bring us into his plan where and how he wants us.
Mike pastored a church in southern Indiana while he was going to seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a bad experience. He and his wife returned home in Georgia and never wanted to go to Indiana again. Several years later, Mike attended a meeting in Indianapolis. During his quiet time in the hotel, God made his presence known very strongly and gave Mike a deep concern for the people of Indianapolis. But he still did not want to move there. Back home, 4 things happened that changed his mind. (1.) A seminary student told him of the need for new churches in Indiana and gave him the name of his denomination’s Indiana missions director. (2.) When Mike asked Ron, of his denomination’s home missions board, if he could see God working in any particular location, Ron said, “Let me tell you about Indiana…” (3.) Mike asked Darrell, also of the home missions board, if he knew anything about Indiana. Darrell said he had just come from Indianapolis and he had never seen a city as receptive to the gospel. (4.) Ron sent Mike a letter and included the name of the new executive director of the state denomination office in Indiana. Well, Mike and his family moved to Indiana and their dread turned to joy as God used them to start a new church in Indianapolis. (Experiencing God Magazine, 4/95, p.22)
God is working out his plan. We mustn’t go out on our own with our own plans and ways. We must allow God to fit us into what he is doing. He has the power to make that happen. His might raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him to the throne – that completed Christ’s work for gaining redemption and abundant life for humanity. That power can bring us into God’s plan so he can work through us to bring that redemption and life to people today.
Resurrection power is available to us today.
It’s available for “us who believe.” When we stop believing just in ourselves, stop trusting just in our own strength, we can receive resurrection power. When you die to yourself, when you deny self, when you stop being self-centered and self-reliant and self-controlled, and become Jesus-centered and Jesus-reliant and Jesus-controlled, God exerts his power in and through your life.
(VIDEO LINK: CHRIS TOMLIN – RESURRECTION POWER)
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