Series:
Ephesians
Title:
Power of His Resurrection
Text:
Ephesians 1: 19-23
Date:
June 16, 2013
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
This was the apostle Paul’s
prayer for the Ephesian believers.
Ephesians 1: 17: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him: 18: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye
may know WHAT is the hope of his calling, and WHAT the riches of the glory of
his inheritance in the saints, 19 And
WHAT is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe,
according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised
him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and
power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this
world, but also in that which is to come: 22
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be
the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that
filleth all in all.
These
three “whats” comprise the joy set before you and I who believe on Christ:
1) The hope of his calling”—Christ in you is the hope
of glory and glory is the hope of his calling. The chief end for which we hope
is our eternal salvation into our inheritance to see our Redeemer face-to-face
and live with him forever.
2) The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints—this
includes God himself being glorified when he manifests before all powers and
principalities his glory in perfecting and conforming each of his saints to
Christ in the last day—God’s inheritance in the saints.
3) The exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe—this includes the mighty power which he has already
worked toward us who believe, the power he is now working toward us and the
power he shall work toward us when he raises us up in the last day.
The more God enlightens the
eyes of our understanding to behold this three-fold joy the more faith and
assurance we will have that God has saved us and the more willing it will make
us to lay down our lives and to suffer the loss of all we have for the cause of
Christ and his gospel.
This was the joy set before Christ Jesus our Savior for which he
served the Father during his earthly ministry.
Hebrews 12: 2:…who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Did
Christ live as though this world was his life? Was his affection set on things
below when he served the Father in this earth?
Absolutely not! His affection was set on things above. His affection was set on the joy of seeing
God glorified before all and the joy of seeing all his brethren gathered round
about the throne in glory. Therefore, Christ willing suffered not only death,
but the death of the cross, despising the shame. Now, Christ has entered that joy and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Two
other men in scripture—though not as fully as Christ—also saw that joy. They
saw it more fully than any other men in scripture. The first was Moses. God spoke with Moses
face-to-face. He showed Moses his glory—his glory in showing mercy to whom he
would show mercy. The second was the
apostle Paul. Paul was called up into the third heaven. He saw things not
lawful for him to utter.
Because
both saw that joy more than any of their brethren, both were more willing than
any of their brethren to be conformed to Christ’s death. When Moses’ brethren
sinned,
Exodus 32: 31: And Moses
returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and
have made them gods of gold. 32: Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin--;
and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.”
The joy of seeing God glorified and his brethren forgiven of their
sins made Moses willing, if it were possible, for himself to be cut off in
place of his brethren, like as Christ did in his death. Paul made a similar statement in
Romans
9: 3 when he said, “I could wish that myself were accursed—from Christ [that
is, if from Christ it was appointed unto me to do so—I could wish myself
accursed] for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
And Paul wanted to have his own eyes enlightened to know this joy
even more than he already did.
Philippians
3: 10: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
So
this is why Paul prayed the Ephesians might know this joy more fully, and why
we want for God the Father to enlighten the eyes of our understanding to see
more fully this joy set before us. “That we may know Christ, and the power of
his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable
unto his death.” So having studied the
first two “whats,” today we will begin to focus on the third “what”—“what is
the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe.”
The
exceeding greatness of God’s power to usward who believe does not refer only to
one thing. It includes every act of God toward his elect—beginning with God
raising Christ from the grave and every act of grace and power until when he
shall raise us from the grave into our final inheritance with Christ.
I
have five things to show you that are included in the exceeding greatness of
his power to usward who believe. But today we will just take the first thing.
Proposition: The
exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe begins with the very act
of God raising Christ from the dead and exalting him to the glory spoken of in
our text.
Notice
the language used to describe the power of God in Christ’s resurrection and
exaltation. When he calls the power of God to us “the exceeding greatness of his power” he is describing the power by
which he raised Christ from the dead and exalted him in glory—exceeding…greatness…of his power. Then he says, “According to the working of his mighty power, which he
wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own
right hand in heavenly places.” The margin says, “the might of his power.”
Note: The power of
Christ’s resurrection is one thing vainly religious men cannot learn in the
letter because truth is, we don’t have words to convey the power of Christ’s
resurrection—there are no letters to convey it. It must be taught of God in the
Spirit and can only be spiritual understood.
But
what made the resurrection of Christ from the dead such an unparalleled act of
God’s power? There are several instances
of resurrection in the scripture but the Holy Spirit does not use them to
compare the exceeding greatness of his power to us. Why does the Holy Spirit describe Christ’s
resurrection and exaltation this way?
The
measure of power by which Christ was raised has to do with how and why he died
and for what reason he rose again. We have to measure the power of his
resurrection by the power of his death.
His death was like no other so
his resurrection was like no other.
For the same reason his death
exceedingly surpassed all other deaths, the power of his resurrection
exceedingly surpasses all other resurrections.
Title:
Power of His Resurrection
Divisions: 1) The power
of holy justice; 2) the power of God’s faithfulness; 3) The power of grace and
love.
I. FIRST, CHRIST’S DEATH WAS EXCEEDINGLY GREAT BY THE EXCEEDING
GREATNESS OF THE POWER OF GOD’S HOLY JUSTICE.
THEREFORE HIS RESURRECTION AND GLORIFICATION WAS IN THE EXCEEDING
GREATNESS OF GOD’S HOLY JUSTICE.
Christ Made Sin
As Christ promised, when the time came,
the spotless Lamb of God, had all the sin of all the elect of God from all ages
of time laid on him and he bore our sins in his own body on the tree—this is
“the usward who believe.”—his elect.
When our sins were found on Christ, the exceeding great and mighty power
of God’s unyielding, unbending holy justice demanded his death.
I have reminded you repeatedly the
“death OF the cross” was the “death ON the cross”—the second death, the worm
that never dies, is the death our Substitute died while he was alive on the
cross. The “pains of death”, the agonies of the second death which Christ bore
for his people, are compared in the scripture to a woman’s travail in child
birth.
1 Thessalonians 5:3: For when they shall say, Peace
and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman
with child; and they shall not escape.
Illustration: Melinda’s sudden, “Ouch!” That “Ouch” grew in
intensity. Men, the closest thing we
will ever experience to that travail is a kidney stone. Melinda handled her travail much better than
I handled mine!
It was the inward sufferings of Christ,
which are called "the travail of his soul," (Isa 53:11) Like the
pangs of a woman in labor, they came upon him gradually. Four or five days
before his death he said, "now is my soul troubled." (John 12:27) The night in which he was betrayed, when he
came into the garden, “he began to be sore amazed and very heavy.” At length he
breaks out, and says, "my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death."
(Matthew 26:37-38) After some time his pains increased, and “being in agony, he
prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood.” (Luke
22:44) But the sharpest pains were when on the cross he was forsaken by his God
and Father. (Matthew 27:46)
The extremity and greatness of those
death pains arose first, from the sins of his people. The filth and guilt of our sins were laid
upon him—which must have been exceedingly great in power—the most extreme
distress imaginable to his pure and holy mind.
They also were due to the wrath of God. It was from the curse of the law, which he
sustained as the punishment for them: the exceeding great power of shame for
sin, the exceeding great power of punishment both in his conscience feelings of
the wrath of God, and in the strokes of divine justice, and the exceeding great
power of the punishment of loss—being deprived of the divine presence of God
his Father. These sorrows of soul may
are called the pains or sorrows of death. These made up the death he bore on
the cross. Christ said, "the
sorrows of death compassed him about," (Ps 18:4) Darkness covered the
whole earth for three hours.
But just before he gave up the Ghost and
commended his Spirit to the Father, Christ said, “It is finished!” (John 19:
30) God the Father heard his cry—because
it was “the acceptable time.”
Isaiah
49: 8: Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a
day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee
for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages;
The Power of God’s Satisfied Justice
God’s anger, as a judge, was turned away from him
because “he saw the travail of his soul, and was satisfied: by his knowledge
his righteous servant justified many; for he bore their iniquities.” (Is 53:
11) By his death, Christ “condemned sin in
the flesh.” (Romans 8: 3) His death struck the final death-blow to
death—both for himself and for his people. Our Substitute being eternal,
satisfied the exceeding greatness of the power of infinite justice for himself
and for his people. Christ snapped the cords
of death in two for himself and all his people and “destroyed him that had the
POWER OF DEATH, that is, the devil.” (Hebrews 2: 14) Therefore, after he gave up the Ghost and
went into the grave—the “cords of death” could not hold him in the grave.
Acts
2:24: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was
not possible that he should be holden of it.
Illustration:
A bed too short, covers too narrow.
Application:
Believer, we can stretch out on this bed and get plenty of needed rest. Christ “hath
abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel.” (2 Timothy 1: 10) He took the
stinger out of that old bee called death. Death is no longer a penalty of
offended justice to us, nor shall we continue under the power of death but “Isa
26:19: Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and
the earth shall cast out the dead.”
II.
SECONDLY, IT WAS THE EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF THE POWER OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS BY
WHICH HE WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD.
Christ
Faithfully Kept His Promise
God promised Christ that when finished the work of redemption, the
Father would glorify him together with his human nature with that same glory he
had with the Father before the foundation of the world. And Christ kept his promise to the Father.
·
He finished the transgression
·
He made an end of sins
·
He made reconciliation for iniquity
·
He brought in everlasting righteousness
·
He sealed up the vision and prophecy and
·
He anointed the most Holy. (Dan 9: 24) –Hebrews 10: 14: For by one
offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Therefore Christ prayed, John 17: 4: I have glorified thee on the
earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5: And now, O
Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with
thee before the world
God the Father Faithfully Kept His
Promise
God
the Father being satisfied, being just and the Justifier of usward who believe,
with every perfection and attribute of
God fully harmonized and glorified, in the exceeding greatness of the
power of his faithfulness--Ephesians 1:
20: he raised him from the dead, and
set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21: Far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22: And hath put all
things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the
church, 23: Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Application:
Brethren, see in this how it was
exceeding greatness of his power wrought to usward who believe!--Ephesians
1: 20: he set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places—at the same
time--Ephesians 2: 5: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6: And hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Colossians
2: 10: And ye are complete IN HIM, which is the HEAD OF ALL PRINCIPALITY AND
POWER 11: In whom also ye ARE circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh BY THE CIRCUMCISION OF
CHRIST: 12: BURIED WITH HIM IN BAPTISM,
When
Christ was baptized—immersed—upon the cursed tree in the wrath and justice of
God, the old man of each and every elect child of God was buried with him in
that baptism.
Colossians
2: 12:…wherein ALSO ye ARE RISEN WITH HIM through THE FAITH OF THE OPERATION OF
GOD, WHO HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. 13: And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath HE QUICKENED TOGETHER WITH HIM,
HAVING FORGIVEN YOU ALL TRESPASSES; 14: Blotting out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of
the way, nailing it to his cross; 15: And having spoiled principalities and
powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
The
more Paul saw this the more he desired to know it and the more he desired for
his brethren to know it. This was that “power of his resurrection” which Christ
desired to know more fully, that power that made Paul willing to be made
conformable unto Christ’s death.
Colossians 2: 20: Wherefore
if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though
living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,…3:1: If ye then be risen
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the
right hand of God. 2: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the
earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,
then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Romans
6: 1: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are
dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we
are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life. 5: For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his
death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6: Knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7: For he that is dead is
freed from sin. 8: Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also
live with him: 9: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;
death hath no more dominion over him. 10: For in that he died, he died unto sin
once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11: Likewise reckon ye also
yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. 12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should
obey it in the lusts thereof. 13: Neither yield ye your members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as
those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God. 14: For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye
are not under the law, but under grace.
Application:
Believer, try to grasp this as fully as you can, we are not in the flesh. Our old man of sin died when Christ died, is
buried and God remembers him and our sins no more! We are alive unto God, risen with
Christ! Therefore, yield no more to the
lusts of this flesh: to its doubting that our sins are put away nor to its
desire to be back under the bondage of the law nor to its doubting of God’s
provision nor to its covetousness for things of this earth,
Instead, yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from
the dead! Let us give our members to be
used of God as instruments of righteousness!
Whatever we need to serve him, to get the gospel of his Son out to his
lost sheep—Christ’s resurrection and glorification is our guarantee that our
God shall supply all our need according to his riches in glory. He will do it by the same faithful operation
whereby he raised us together with Christ!
This is the “power of his resurrection” that will make us lay down our
lives—to be made conformable unto his death—so that God be glorified and our
brethren be saved!
III. THE THIRD POINT I DO NOT HAVE TO
LABOR ON, FOR YOU ALREADY SEE IT PLAINLY, IT WAS THE EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF THE
POWER OF HIS GRACE AND LOVE THAT RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD.
Raised Again for our Justification
Romans 4: 25: Who was…raised
again for our justification.
By
raising Christ, God the Father testified to usward (for whom Christ died): that
Christ was legally discharged, acquitted, and justified, and all his people in
him that we might see fully that our sins have been atoned for, God has made us
complete in Christ and God has forgiven us all our sins.
Raised to Be our Head
Furthermore,
God has made Christ our Head in all things to us, his church, which is his body
the fullness of him.
By
his resurrection from the dead God "declared Christ to be the Son of God
with power." (Rom. 1:4.) Christ has all power and is filling all in all. God
did this that we might believe and have a good hope in God that God shall do
the same for us by the righteousness of our risen Christ Jesus
1
Peter 1:21: [It is by Christ that we] do believe in God, that RAISED HIM FROM
THE DEAD, and GAVE HIM GLORY; THAT your faith and hope might be IN GOD.
Application: Sinner,
when God enlightens your understanding to see what Isaiah saw then you will cry
out for mercy. Isaiah said, “I saw…the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and
lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” He heard, “Holy, holy, holy, is
the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” “Then said I, Woe is
me! for I am undone;” (Is 6: 1-5) Oh, that you might see Christ now, risen in
great glory!
So
you see, brethren, when Paul spoke of wanting to know the “power of his
resurrection”—it is not simply the sheer power of God, it is the power of all
the perfections of God working mightily in harmony! Christ died for a multitude
no man can number, yet not even a multitude of graves no man can number could
hold Christ in the grave because the power of the multitude of God’s
perfections all glorified together in Christ’s sacrifice is the exceeding great
and mighty power that IS ETERNAL LIFE—the power of his resurrection.
Brethren,
we have eternal life! Oh, that we knew it more fully! Oh that we knew that none
of our possessions are ours and none of them will profit us if we make them our
lives. We shall never be the loser for
laying down our lives. We only gain by using all that God has given us for the
furtherance of his gospel and the provision of our brethren—by it God is
glorified for we say we trust in the exceeding greatness of the mighty power of
his holy justice, his faithfulness, his grace and his love, by using us he
shall call out all his sheep, and so shall we all continue in his gospel
together for all eternity! Our life is not in this world it is with Christ
above. May God give us grace now to live our lives like we truly believe it!
Ephesians 6:10: Finally, my
brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Amen!