1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,760 We're celebrating a very strange birthday and the life of the 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:07,520 church. We are celebrating this year at 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:12,960 the 17 hundredth anniversary of the first ecumenical council of 4 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,840 the church. And that's, it's not, not a big 5 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:19,480 one, but you know, 1700 years. It's like Raphael said, this 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:21,840 faith is very old. And the Ecumenical Council is 7 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,000 significant because what makes it ecumenical is in the early 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,560 church there was a gathering of a group of people to look at 9 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:34,120 some doctrine, to consider some doctrine, and every pastor in 10 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:37,320 the world was invited. That's what made it ecumenical. 11 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,920 So they had this council in modern Turkey engaging in a 12 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,480 theological dialogue. And it's a big deal because in 13 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:49,080 325, when they got together, Christianity had been illegal. 14 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:52,240 I mean, until that time, truly, and the Roman Empire, it was 15 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:53,840 illegal to be a Christian. And there's all kinds of 16 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:57,560 persecution until a very important date, 3/13, when you 17 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,720 have the the Edict of Milan from Constantine. 18 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,680 And all of a sudden, for the first time, Christianity is 19 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,120 legal and we can start to talk about theology openly. 20 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:08,520 And it took them just a few years. 21 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,800 At 325, all the pastors in the world are brought together and 22 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,960 the church wants to answer the question, what does it mean that 23 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:19,480 Jesus Christ is the Son of God? And they did this at the Council 24 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,360 of Nicaea in 325. And what came out of that 25 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,360 council was the creed that we read, that we read together 26 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,800 earlier. And we don't often recite 27 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:30,640 creeds. We probably ought to do it more, 28 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,880 showing just that we're not the first people to believe these 29 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:36,760 things. But so far as these creeds are 30 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,080 helping us understand the Bible, faithful summaries of the Bible, 31 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,000 we we accept them. We read them. 32 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,760 And I want to bring you to one line of this creed that we read 33 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,200 this morning to emphasize it. It says he ascended into heaven 34 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,480 and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 35 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:59,400 So for the last 1700 years, the universal church, that Catholic, 36 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,680 in that sense, Catholic means universal. 37 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:06,640 This universal church has been confessing the session of Jesus 38 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:08,039 Christ. You'll know what that means in a 39 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:09,440 minute. We're we're confessing that 40 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,080 Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. 41 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,760 Just a few years later after this Nicene Creed came out, 42 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,840 there was another creed, the Apostles Creed that came out as 43 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,800 a something to confess when when new believers that new believers 44 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,640 could confess at their baptism. And this Apostles Creed is just 45 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:30,120 twelve of the most important doctrines as that exist as a 46 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,440 summary of our faith. And one of those 12 is familiar. 47 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:38,680 It says he ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of 48 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,520 God the Father. You go within another 100 years. 49 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,960 The Athanasian Creed, which was a creed that summarized faithful 50 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:49,840 Trinitarian theology, says this. He rose again on the third day 51 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:54,280 from the dead, ascended into heaven and sit at the right hand 52 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:57,480 of the Father Almighty. And the Athanasian Creed puts 53 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,560 that sitting down as the climactic position. 54 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:06,120 And so this doctrine that we speak little of in the Church is 55 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,120 known as the session of Jesus. Session is from the Latin word 56 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:14,200 cessio, which means a sitting. It's very fancy complicated 57 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:16,800 concept. If if you're if if your meeting 58 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,840 is in session, if Congress is in session, it means everyone is 59 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,400 sitting down, engaging in business, ready to engage in 60 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,600 business for Jesus. It represents his enthronement. 61 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,240 It means that he is sitting down not in any chair, but on the 62 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,640 throne of David, his father, of which his Kingdom will know no 63 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,280 end. It's the power and the glory and 64 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,800 the majesty and the sovereignty and the dominion of the God man, 65 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,400 Jesus Christ. So if, if you've seen the the 66 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:52,080 House of David series on Amazon, there's a very climactic part of 67 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,560 that of that series where the, the, it's the series or the 68 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,960 episode ends with for the first time, you see someone sitting 69 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:02,600 down on the throne of Saul, which would become the throne of 70 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:04,320 David. And it's this climactic thing 71 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:06,160 because he's been in in the throne room and all these people 72 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:07,040 are in and out of the throne room. 73 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,000 But there's a difference between being in the throne room and 74 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,400 being the one seated on the throne. 75 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,280 Big difference. And you see David for the first 76 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,600 time sitting and establishing that eternal throne. 77 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,160 And we even go back to our Scripture reading this morning 78 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,840 in Psalm 110. What's the most quoted Old 79 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:29,560 Testament passage in the New Testament, Psalm 110, The Lord 80 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:34,400 said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies 81 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,440 your footstool. The Lord said to my Lord. 82 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,040 And so there he is, though there's only one who sits on the 83 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:41,960 throne. It's a position of authority and 84 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,280 dominion and rule. And Scripture teaches that in 85 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,280 heaven there is a throne room and there is a throne, and it's 86 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:51,920 above all other Thrones. It's high and lifted up. 87 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,400 It's the seat of absolute authority and rule. 88 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:57,520 And Ephesians 119 to 23 wants you to teach. 89 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,640 Teaches us above all else that Jesus Christ is seated on that 90 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,600 throne. That is the the premier teaching 91 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:07,880 of this passage. He's seated in exaltation and 92 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,880 glory. He's seated having completed the 93 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:12,960 work of redemption. He sat down. 94 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,760 He's seated with all authority in heaven and on earth. 95 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:20,080 And it's teaching even in verse 19 that his being seated is 96 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,680 demonstrating the immeasurable greatness of his power. 97 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,640 And if you'll turn to Ephesians 119 to 23, we're going to finish 98 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,880 this prayer of Paul that's directed toward a host of 99 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,120 Ephesian churches. And if you remember back to last 100 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:37,960 week, in verses 15 to 18, Paul's praying for this church. 101 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:39,760 And he's really only praying for one thing. 102 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:44,040 He says, I'm praying that you might know God better, that you 103 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,280 would understand and know him not even just intellectually, 104 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:49,480 but experientially, that you might know God. 105 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,800 And as he puts forth that request, he says it really comes 106 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,280 in three separate requests that you would know God. 107 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:58,520 But he says that you would know the hope of your calling. 108 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:02,840 And then he says that you might know his glorious riches or the 109 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:05,680 inheritance of his riches in the Saints. 110 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,920 And then as you move to this, this is the the the bulk of it, 111 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,760 the thrust of it. He says that you might know, 112 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,600 verse 19, the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us 113 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,680 who believe. And so by bringing up this Third 114 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,000 Point, He's showing that not every spiritual benefit and 115 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,640 spiritual blessing that we have in Christ is in the future. 116 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:26,560 We always talk about the future. All your pain, all your 117 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:28,080 suffering, all your tears are going to be wiped away. 118 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,600 There's an inheritance. You are His on that day. 119 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:33,120 He is yours on that day. He's the guarantee of it. 120 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,440 He's your seal. But then he says, no, there is 121 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,960 spiritual blessing that's here and now. 122 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,600 There are resources that are available to you as a Christian 123 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,840 now. And he says He wants you to know 124 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,760 the immeasurable greatness of God's power at work in you. 125 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:58,160 And read with me Ephesians 119 to 23, and we'll read about it, 126 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,640 Paul says, and tying on this, this final aspect of his prayer. 127 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,600 And what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us 128 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,360 who believe according to the working of his great might, that 129 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,280 He worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and 130 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,760 seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places? 131 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,920 Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and 132 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,560 above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also 133 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,600 in the one to come. And you put all things under his 134 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,360 feet, and gave him as head over all things to the church, which 135 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,440 is his body, the fullness of him who fills All in all. 136 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,160 So this is about the immeasurable greatness of his 137 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:38,720 power. And he says God's power is 138 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,600 displayed primarily in three places, according to this 139 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:44,840 passage. The first one is in creation. 140 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,360 If you're taking notes, the first way that we see God's 141 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:50,080 power and made visible is in creation. 142 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,840 The second one is in Jesus Christ in and through him. 143 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,280 And really there's two places you see his power displayed in 144 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:00,880 the resurrection and you see his power displayed in his session. 145 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:05,120 And really that's his authority and his power on display. 146 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,400 And then the third finally says you'll see his power displayed. 147 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,480 You see it in his church in creation and in Christ and in 148 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,600 his church. And we turn first to how his 149 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:20,080 power was revealed in creation. The immediate context of of this 150 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:24,280 prayer is Ephesians 1/3 to 14. All of that theology is 151 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,560 connected here. And he wants you to understand 152 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,560 that this power is made available through union with 153 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:33,200 Jesus Christ. That is your attachment. 154 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:35,880 You are placed in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. 155 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:38,120 It's the work of God's Holy Spirit. 156 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:39,520 It comes to us in other passages. 157 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:45,760 Acts 18 says you will receive power from on high when what 158 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,520 happens when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. 159 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,680 A very famous passage, Second Timothy 17 of 1. 160 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:55,240 You can live your life around that says for God gave us a 161 00:08:55,240 --> 00:09:01,960 spirit not of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control, 162 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:04,920 of self-discipline. That's how it manifests itself, 163 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,440 power and love and self-control. And what Paul's teaching is that 164 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:11,240 the same work of God that was there in the beginning when he 165 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:14,560 created everything visible and invisible by the word of his 166 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:18,400 power from nothing, the same power is what raised Jesus 167 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,840 Christ from the dead. It's that same power that by 168 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:26,160 which he ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand 169 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:29,800 of God the Father as a Co ruler. And it's the same power he's 170 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:32,960 going to emphasize that is that it is at work in you the 171 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,480 believer. It's at work in us as a local 172 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:38,000 body. And it's a power that is 173 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,200 impossible to measure. It's limitless. 174 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:43,880 It's boundless. He uses this word. 175 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,920 It's immeasurable. Literally in the original, it's 176 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,960 Hooper ball on it's to to throw beyond a mark is what it means 177 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,560 literally it means to throw beyond the mark. 178 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:56,560 And and metaphorically what that would mean is to excel or to 179 00:09:56,560 --> 00:09:59,760 exceed or to go beyond, to surpass. 180 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:02,800 And Paul takes that word immeasurable and he couples it 181 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,840 with the word megathos, which means greatness or magnitude. 182 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,480 And you put them together. We say this is we translate it 183 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:14,160 the immeasurable greatness of his power, not measurable by any 184 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,400 human instrument or comprehension. 185 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,480 And Paul says in these 5 verses, it's on display again primarily 186 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,720 in three ways, particular in particularly in three ways in 187 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,440 creation, in Christ, and in the church. 188 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:32,240 And in verses 19 to 20, Paul's overwhelming you with a sense of 189 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:35,280 this power. And he's going to do that by 190 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,960 giving you 4 different words for power. 191 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,640 In the original, he's he runs out of vocabulary before he runs 192 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,640 out of awe and wonder at the majesty and the power of God. 193 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,600 And as he heaps up this vocabulary, he's giving you a 194 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:51,960 sense of his omnipotence. And he's he's either alluding to 195 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,960 or directly quoting what the Old Testament authors were doing 196 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:58,440 with these same words. They're using every word for 197 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,040 power in the Hebrew that exists in succession to give you a 198 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:06,080 sense of God's all powerful. You compare the language of 199 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:09,480 Ephesians 119 to Psalm 147. You can write these down and 200 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:10,840 read them in their context later. 201 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:17,400 Isaiah 40 verse 26, Psalm 147, compare them to Ephesians 119 202 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,680 and Psalm. Isaiah 40 says lift up your eyes 203 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:24,200 on high and see who created these. 204 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:25,800 He actually wants you to do that. 205 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,000 When it when it's dark and you're with your life group 206 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,080 tonight, you all can go outside and stand on your porch and look 207 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,280 up and see. And he says, who created these? 208 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:36,600 Meaning the heavenly bodies, this vast expansive universe. 209 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,520 Did you create it? Did one of your buddies create 210 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:43,000 it? No, he says, by the greatness of 211 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:48,240 God's might, and because he is strong in power, not one is 212 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:50,640 missing. He's heaping up these words for 213 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,480 power. The same's true in Psalm 1474HE 214 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:55,120 determines the number of the stars. 215 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,960 This is important as well. He gives to every star and 216 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:03,000 celestial body and name. He's abundant in power, great as 217 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,120 our Lord. His understanding is beyond 218 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:07,040 measures. It's the same construction, the 219 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,360 same comparable words between the Old and New Testament that 220 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:12,040 are trying to impress on you the same thing. 221 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,200 What is the Old Testament emphasizing God's doing with His 222 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,200 power in these verses? It's it's his creation. 223 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,080 It's revealing his power in creation that he created all 224 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:24,800 things from nothing in an instant. 225 00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:26,800 He's creating the heavens and the earth. 226 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:28,080 He's putting his glory on display. 227 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:32,480 He's fulfilling Genesis 114 where God says not only let 228 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:36,280 there be light, but let there be lights in the expanse of the 229 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,680 heavens as he put all of those galaxies in this universe 230 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:42,640 together. And as you keep reading Psalm 231 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,560 147, there's more. What else does God do with the 232 00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:47,280 immeasurable greatness of his power? 233 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:51,480 It says He heals the broken hearted. 234 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,520 He binds up the wounds of the hurting. 235 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:58,600 He lifts up the humble. He casts the wicked to the 236 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:00,480 ground. This is what God does with his 237 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,480 power and it gives our response in the Psalm. 238 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:06,480 What are we to do with? How do we respond to this great 239 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:10,200 power of God? It says you sing, you sing, and 240 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,920 Thanksgiving you sing and you give thanks to Him and you 241 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:17,200 recognize that He is all powerful and He directs this 242 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:23,360 creating, wound binding, broken heart, healing power toward us 243 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:27,240 who believe. And you see something in these 244 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,480 two passages alongside God's powerful work at creation. 245 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:36,040 It says in both of these that God is the namer. 246 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:41,160 God is a naming God and naming something, even parents, as you 247 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:45,120 name your children as you name something, it's displaying among 248 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:47,320 other things, your dominion over that thing. 249 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,640 I mean, when God gave Adam and he was able to name all of the 250 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,000 animals, he's giving them dominion over all of this 251 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,440 creation. And you see that it's God who 252 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,160 changes names. You have a given name like 253 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:01,080 Abraham and God says, no, I name you Abraham, Sarah, you are 254 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:05,280 Sarah Jacob, I name you Israel. It comes to the New Testament 255 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:10,320 Jesus Christ as God takes names. He says you were you are now 256 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:14,280 Peter talking to Simon and he talks to the James and John. 257 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,280 He says now you are bow and urgess you are sons of Thunder. 258 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,160 He changes names and interesting that in our passage, if you look 259 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,600 to verse 21 of Ephesians 1, you see that God names others. 260 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:29,280 Nobody names God and his name is above every name. 261 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:33,040 Verse 21 says above every name that is named, not only in this 262 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:37,720 age, but the one to come, and we recognize God's name is not we 263 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:40,280 don't give God a name, He reveals it to us. 264 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:43,520 He has a name. We don't name him, He reveals 265 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:45,640 it. And when Moses says he asks him 266 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:49,480 what his name is, he says, who shall I tell Egypt sent me? 267 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:53,120 Who shall I tell them sent me? And he says, you tell them I am 268 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:56,240 sent me. And he's tying his name because 269 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:00,800 his name only is tied to being itself, power itself. 270 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,240 He is omnipotent. He is all powerful. 271 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,080 We we confess in classical Christian doctrine that God is 272 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,200 not becoming anything. He's pure actuality. 273 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:11,680 He's not becoming powerful. He's not becoming. 274 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,160 He is. That's why his name is I am. 275 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:20,080 And Jesus is putting himself in this divine eternal fullness of 276 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,320 being in power. He says in John 858 before 277 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:30,320 Abraham was I am saying that I am this God, I am all powerful 278 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:33,800 for from him and through him and to him are all things to him be 279 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:36,120 glory forever and ever. Amen. 280 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,720 And he first demonstrates God, first demonstrates the 281 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,000 immeasurable greatness of his power in creation. 282 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:45,200 The Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 9. 283 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,520 I love it how it takes that work of creation and it it attaches 284 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:50,840 this word power to it. What is the work of creation? 285 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,320 It was on to say the work of creation is God's making all 286 00:15:55,320 --> 00:16:00,320 things of nothing by the word of His power in the space of six 287 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:04,840 days, and all very good. It emphasizes He did this by the 288 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,320 word of His power. And we say rhetorically, what 289 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:12,000 kind of power is required to generate all things visible and 290 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,600 all things invisible in an instant, to take all that there 291 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,440 is and to bring it into existence from nothing. 292 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,000 And the answer is immeasurable power, unfathomable, 293 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,200 immeasurable by any human instrumentation or 294 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,200 comprehension. And Paul is revealing that by 295 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:31,240 giving you 4 words in the original 4 different words for 296 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:33,680 power. He starts with dunamis, 297 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,120 overwhelming you with this. Dunamis is a Greek word that 298 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:41,560 means the ability or capacity of acting, Meaning we say this all 299 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:43,200 the time and we're going to continue to say that God not 300 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,040 only wields or possesses authority, He exercises His 301 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:49,000 authority through Providence in this world. 302 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,160 He doesn't just have a will for this world, He enacts it. 303 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,280 That's beautiful because He has this plan that He's revealed in 304 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,880 Ephesians 3 to 14, a plan that began in eternity past, a plan 305 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:01,400 for creation, a plan for recreation, a plan for 306 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,720 redemption, a plan to have you inherit all that He's given to 307 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:06,920 you. And He has not only the plan, 308 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:08,760 but the power to bring it to pass. 309 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:11,880 And you've already seen him do his plan of creation. 310 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:15,520 He's already begun to redeem his church and expand his Kingdom. 311 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:18,680 And so we have every confidence as a church to say he can bring 312 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:20,480 us. If God is for us, who can be 313 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:23,240 against us? He can bring us into that final 314 00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:26,000 state. He uses this word dunamis. 315 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,280 That's the first, wielding his authority with power, ability, 316 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:31,480 or the capacity of acting. And then he moves to the word 317 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:36,120 Kratos, which means he has strength or he has might even 318 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:39,840 it's reflected in our word democracy or autocracy or 319 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:43,960 theocracy. Chrissy is Kratos, meaning the 320 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:46,800 right to rule or reign. It's strength or might and 321 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,480 dominion and rule and mastery. He goes on to use the word 322 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,920 iscas, which means an inherent strength that's possessed. 323 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,840 And then the fourth word is the word inergea, which means to 324 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,400 work or produce or to affect. And he marshals all of these 325 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:06,440 words to enforce the idea of God's not only his abundant 326 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:10,000 power, but his available power to his church. 327 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:13,200 And he overwhelms you with this idea of power. 328 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,760 And then amazingly, he tells you where all this power is 329 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:18,120 directed. All of this. 330 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:23,600 Where does he direct that power? He says right here toward us who 331 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:27,280 believe he's focusing it in and through his church. 332 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,280 His power flows from him through us. 333 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,600 You are like a light bulb. Scripture says his. 334 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,440 The immeasurable greatness of his power is directed toward you 335 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:38,720 and you become the light of the world. 336 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,000 His power is revealed in creation and then secondly, his 337 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,640 power is revealed in Jesus Christ. 338 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:49,880 And as you look toward verse 20, he says that His power is not 339 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,280 only displayed in the work of creation, but in Christ when He 340 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,280 was raised from the dead. Look at the end of verse 19 into 341 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:57,280 verse 20. It says, according to the 342 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,400 working of His great might, that He worked in Christ when he 343 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:05,120 raised Him from the dead. And we confess that when He was 344 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:07,600 raised from the dead, He was raised in power. 345 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:09,520 We say that because this is what Scripture teaches. 346 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:14,320 Romans 14 And He was declared to be the Son of God in power by 347 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,440 His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. 348 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:20,040 And that's a that's a beautiful thought when you pair it with 349 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:24,040 first Corinthians 614 where it says, and God raised the Lord 350 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:28,720 and will also raise up his church in power on the last day. 351 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:30,920 You say, how do we why do we have confidence to know he's 352 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:32,280 going to raise us on the last day? 353 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,840 Because he's already done it. We've seen his power in Christ 354 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:38,480 and he says, and in the same way he was the firstfruits, I've 355 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:40,760 demonstrated my power. And now you have every promise, 356 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,920 every confidence to know I will raise you on the last day. 357 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,120 And this is one of the reasons why many in the church believe 358 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,200 that that specific grave cloth that was found in history, the 359 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:55,560 Shroud of Turin, is actually the cloth of Jesus Christ because 360 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,720 there's a unique imprint on it where it seems as if there's 361 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,280 radiation coming from inside the grave cloth. 362 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:06,720 And whether you believe it's the actual grave cloth of, of Jesus 363 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,480 or not is burial cloth or not, this is what we would expect to 364 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:14,880 see some kind of unexplainable power, the evidence of an 365 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,960 unexplainable power in this world. 366 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:22,240 And the resurrection required this level of power. 367 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:28,200 And we say, why? Because death feels like, seems 368 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,880 to us to be an unconquerable force. 369 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:35,240 And yet Paul says in First Corinthians 15, if Christ has 370 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,680 not been raised, your faith is in vain. 371 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:39,880 Our faith would be in vain because it would mean that there 372 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:43,480 would be some kind of force that's stronger than our God and 373 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:46,360 our Lord of glory. And, and by this miraculous 374 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,960 resurrection accompanied by angels, accompanied by the 375 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:53,240 rolling away of the stone, we see his power at work. 376 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:55,880 And the resurrection demonstrates so many things at 377 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:57,440 once. It's, it's incredible that it 378 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:01,040 shows that God actually has the power and the authority and the 379 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:05,600 capacity to reverse the curse of Adam so that all of the, the 380 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:10,720 sickness and all of the, the, the evil that we see in the 381 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:12,680 world, God has already begun to overcome it. 382 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:14,280 He's already shown he has authority over it. 383 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,440 He can reverse the curse, the resurrection, showing that God 384 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:20,920 has the power to defeat sin. Again in first Corinthians 15, 385 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:22,680 he says where O death is your victory? 386 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,480 Where O death is your sting? The sting of death is sin and 387 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,560 the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, he's given 388 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:32,200 us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 389 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:36,640 Jesus had the power to fulfill the law perfectly on our behalf. 390 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:39,400 The resurrection goes on to demonstrate that God has power 391 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,480 even over death and hell, so that this can be our song where 392 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:43,960 we say death, where is your victory? 393 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:47,840 Death, where is your sting? Creation demonstrates God's 394 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,280 power. Recreation demonstrates God's 395 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,640 power that He can take away your heart of stone and give you a 396 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:54,880 heart of flesh. He can conform you into the 397 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,920 character of Christ. Resurrection is a demonstration 398 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,800 of His power, as Jesus was the first fruits from the grave. 399 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:05,120 And all this is teaching that Jesus has overcome the world, 400 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,520 breaking the grip of death's dominion and defeating sin and 401 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,320 death and hell. And then he takes it's in the 402 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:13,680 same sentence. He takes this power of God's 403 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:16,520 resurrection and he attaches it as all of our creeds have done, 404 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,800 following this verse. He attaches it to the work and 405 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,720 the power of God's or Jesus Christ's session. 406 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:28,720 He's sitting down, he says, and the same sentence He raised him 407 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:33,320 from the dead, verse 20 and seated him at his right hand in 408 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,440 the heavenly places. And so we want to move on now to 409 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,080 verses 21 to 23. And while you're going to verses 410 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:42,960 21 to 23, you see 3 1/2 out of our 5 verses are emphasizing 411 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,520 Jesus being seated at the right hand of God the Father. 412 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,240 This is a premier doctrine of your faith and one of the 12 of 413 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:53,240 the Apostles Creed. Jesus sat down, He was 414 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:55,800 enthroned, and he wants you to know. 415 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,280 Paul prays that you might know he's he's praying that you might 416 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,160 understand and know not only the power of his resurrection, but 417 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:03,600 he's saying the power of his session. 418 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:06,120 Let's read verses 28 to 23 again. 419 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,200 This is the power that that he worked in Christ, when he raised 420 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,080 him from the dead, and seated him at his right hand in the 421 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:16,560 heavenly places, far above all rule and authority, and power 422 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,200 and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in 423 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:21,080 this age, but in the one that is to come. 424 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:24,880 And he put all things under his feet, and gave him as head over 425 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,960 all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him 426 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:34,760 who fills All in all. The Westminster divines asked 427 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,200 the question of how is Jesus exalted? 428 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:40,840 This is the climactic position of these creeds and of this 429 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,760 text. How is Jesus exalted in his 430 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,200 sitting down at the right hand of God the Father? 431 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,040 And I love this. They answer it so specifically. 432 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,360 Christ is exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God, in 433 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:56,480 that as God man, he's advanced to the highest favour with God 434 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:01,160 the Father with all fullness of joy, with all fullness of glory 435 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:06,200 and with power over all things in heaven and earth, seated in 436 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,680 the fullness of joy and in the fullness of power and authority. 437 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,000 This was, we knew this from the second that he was made 438 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:17,040 Incarnate when he came and we hear his name, his precious name 439 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:20,240 for the first time as the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary and he 440 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:22,480 says you're going to call his name Jesus. 441 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:25,040 That same Angel says he will be great. 442 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,360 He will be called the Son of the Most High and the Lord will give 443 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:31,560 to him the throne of his Father David and of his Kingdom. 444 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,840 There will be no wind. So when Jesus sits down, he's 445 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:37,200 being given and and fulfillment to all this prophecy. 446 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,720 He's being given the throne of his father David. 447 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,720 And when he sits down at the right hand of God, it's not like 448 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,800 Jesus sits down at God's right hand and it's like he's somehow 449 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:49,760 over there somehow less than when he sits at the right hand 450 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:51,720 of God. That means he's Co reigning with 451 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:53,600 God. It means you go back and you 452 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:57,520 read Isaiah 6 and it's it's Jesus and it's God the Father. 453 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:02,200 It's called in Revelation 22 the throne of God and of the Lamb, 454 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:03,760 right? They are Co Regents. 455 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,640 They are Co reigning. It's one God and it's his 456 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:10,320 throne. We call it the session of Jesus 457 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,000 Christ. And it's a position 458 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,520 representing, according to Paul first, it's a position 459 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,000 representing the immeasurable greatness of his power. 460 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,320 And it says it's it's representative also of the 461 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:22,600 completion of his work of redemption. 462 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:26,880 Hebrews 10/12 says when Christ had offered for all time a 463 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:31,280 single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of 464 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:32,720 God the Father. And the only time in Scripture 465 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:36,120 you see Him standing back up is to receive His Saints into 466 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,960 glory, as He does with Stephen. He stands up as the gospel is 467 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,360 visualized. He stands up to receive His 468 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:46,160 church. It represents also His 469 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:47,920 exaltation and His ultimate glory. 470 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,280 Philippians 29 to 11. For he has exalted him and given 471 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,560 him the name that is above every name, so the name of Jesus 472 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:56,600 Christ. Every knee shall bow, and every 473 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,720 tongue shall swear fealty both on earth and under the earth. 474 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:01,480 They shall swear that Jesus Christ. 475 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,160 They shall confess that Jesus Christ is Yahweh to the glory of 476 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,160 God the Father, ultimate exaltation and glory. 477 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,440 And finally, it represents His authority where he's actively 478 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,320 ruling and reigning over all kings of the earth. 479 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,840 And the kings of the earth now, Psalm 2 says they set themselves 480 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,160 against the king and against his anointed, against the Lord and 481 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,480 his anointed. And the one who sits in heaven 482 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:24,400 laughs, and it's a laugh of derision. 483 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:30,520 He says, As for me, I have set my king in Zion, my holy hill 484 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:34,200 and that's the significance of this our God, we say our God 485 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,200 reigns. Jesus is alive. 486 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,040 He's interceding for us. He doesn't just possess 487 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:41,440 authority, He wields it. First Corinthians 15. 488 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:44,760 He's reigning until he has put all enemies under his feet. 489 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:49,000 He has a definitive plan that it called in the the first part of 490 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,960 this chapter that this mystery that was yet to be revealed to 491 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,360 his Saints, and yet it has been revealed to us things that 492 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:57,640 angels long to look at. It's been recorded for us 493 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,120 through Paul and our scriptures. And again, when he comes to this 494 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:03,800 prayer, we see that not only does God have the plan again, he 495 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:05,760 has the power to bring it to pass. 496 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:10,720 This is why we pray, Lord, save my save my friends, save my 497 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,360 family member. We, we, we pray to Him knowing 498 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:18,080 that he can answer our prayers, that he can save, that he can 499 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:22,040 execute with His power. You can compare it to the power 500 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:23,600 of a nation. It's one thing if a nation has 501 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,600 authority. It's another if they have a 502 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,520 military arm where they can use that power and wield that power. 503 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:33,680 We say that God has not only the authority, but the power. 504 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:39,280 It says what he does with it. Exodus 15, He defends us in the 505 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,000 Song of Moses. It says he triumphed. 506 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:45,000 He triumphed gloriously. The horse and rider, He is 507 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,960 thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my 508 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:50,320 song. He has become my salvation. 509 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,560 The Lord is our strength. The Lord executes justice. 510 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:55,480 That's what His throne is for. How do I know that? 511 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:59,240 Psalm 97 He always sits in throne forever. 512 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,120 He has established His throne for justice. 513 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:05,920 He's wielding His power. What do we call it when God 514 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:07,560 wields His power? It's Providence. 515 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,920 He has a plan for the world. He sees it come to pass. 516 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:14,400 Authority is the right to act. Power is the ability to act. 517 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:19,120 Jesus has both. And our president, every time a 518 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:22,200 president is elected, he becomes the commander in chief. 519 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:24,960 You go to Article 2, Section two of our Constitution. 520 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,040 It says the president shall be the commander in chief of the 521 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,240 army, in the Navy of the United States. 522 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,560 I love what follows. It says three times in that 523 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:33,240 section. He shall have power. 524 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:36,720 He shall have power. He shall have power and those 525 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:38,800 that live in the United States don't always like when the 526 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,160 president exercises his power, but every time he does it, it 527 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,240 reminds us it's his to wield right. 528 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,680 And so this is God's to wield. He has the right and the ability 529 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,600 to use his power. We say as a church, we confess 530 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:57,600 the Lord reigns. He reigns not in theory, but he 531 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,240 reigns in reality and in practice. 532 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,520 And where He directs this power brings us to our third and final 533 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:08,080 point. His power is revealed in His 534 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,560 church, verse 19. His prayer is that we might know 535 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:15,920 the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. 536 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,240 Verses 20 to 21. He seated Him at the right hand 537 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,320 in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and 538 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,080 power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not 539 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,280 only in this age, but the age to come. 540 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:31,080 So if you don't feel like God's power is being displayed in you, 541 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,440 you're in good company. I didn't feel like God's power 542 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:37,440 was displayed in me when I woke up this morning. 543 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,160 Couldn't wake up rather this morning and I'm groggy and I'm a 544 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:44,160 little bit sick. Maybe that's you or your bones 545 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:45,080 creak. Do you feel like the 546 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:47,280 immeasurable greatness of His power is being revealed in you? 547 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,160 I think one of the greatest times I've seen God's power. 548 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,440 It doesn't come like we we think it should come. 549 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:57,400 The greatest sermon I ever preached was on no notice to 7 550 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:01,480 widows in a retirement home because his power was revealed. 551 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,680 I remember sitting in my car coming to the Lord of glory 552 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,840 saying God, you know this has been a week above all weeks. 553 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:11,160 I have not had time to make this sermon that I'm going to deliver 554 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:14,960 to this your church. I need you Lord to work in and 555 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,360 through me. I have 5 minutes God work in and 556 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:19,920 through me and that was the greatest sermon I ever preached. 557 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:21,280 I know you have stories just like that. 558 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,240 He took this small little offering that I had and he 559 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:29,720 multiplied it and he took my humility and he, he made it 560 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,720 something beautiful and great. He showed and revealed his power 561 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:35,480 to me. It's if, if you don't feel like 562 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:38,760 you are great and powerful, you're in good company with the 563 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,640 Ephesian church. If you remember, they were weak, 564 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,560 they were marginalized, they were persecuted, they felt 565 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,320 worthless. And this is what our human 566 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:51,360 nature, it doesn't lift us up. Our own nature tears us down and 567 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:54,200 we, we, we tend toward feelings of worthlessness and 568 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:58,160 marginalization. We feel weak, and I want you to 569 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:00,960 give you some perspective to remember that the Ephesian 570 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:05,200 believers felt powerless. And in their context, they were 571 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:08,120 under Rome, which was the greatest power that had ever 572 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,080 ruled until that time, the greatest power ever. 573 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:14,920 And as we read the words of Paul to the Ephesians, we're reading 574 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,320 in 2025 when we read about the Roman Empire in history books, 575 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:22,600 because they have come and gone and God's Kingdom has spread all 576 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,760 over the face of the earth. It's a glorious thought. 577 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:29,480 It's it's present, it's alive, it's active, it's expanding with 578 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,160 energy and force. And God is marshaling the 579 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:36,720 resources and faith of 2.3 billion Christians in this 580 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:39,000 world. That's the power of God, that he 581 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,760 would not only convert them, but shepherd them in his Providence 582 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:44,440 so that he could expand this Kingdom. 583 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,320 His power is not like a great storm that you can see. 584 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:49,360 It's not like Jupiter where you see the little storm and it's 585 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:51,080 represents the power that's contained there. 586 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:55,200 It's like a seed that is sown. It's it's like a little leaven 587 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:59,000 that God has put into the earth and it has expanded over the the 588 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,240 entire earth. It's like a mustard seed, the 589 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:03,680 smallest of the seeds that God has sowed in this world. 590 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:07,160 And now it is expanded against the the will of kings and 591 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:10,360 governments and earthly powers and spiritual principalities. 592 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:14,000 This Kingdom of God has expanded into every country, tribe, 593 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,960 tongue, and nation of the world. That's the power of God. 594 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,320 And you see the church explicitly named in verses 22 to 595 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:23,880 23. Our passage continues. 596 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:27,480 He has put all things under his feet and gave him as head over 597 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:32,480 all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him 598 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,640 who fills All in all. So the final place you see God's 599 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:41,800 power is in this in in you, you the believer in us, this local 600 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:44,480 body. And John Piper once was 601 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,560 addressing non believers or believers about no addressing 602 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:51,040 non believers about believers. He says, have you ever met a 603 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,000 believer? You who say, I don't like 604 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,360 believers. I just want to hang out with my 605 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:58,040 non Christian friends. They're more fun anyway, he 606 00:32:58,040 --> 00:32:59,840 says, have you ever actually met a believer? 607 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:03,960 Have you ever actually met not a churchgoer, have you ever 608 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,600 actually met somebody who has bowed their knee and given their 609 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:10,320 life to Jesus Christ and seen the power and the energy that 610 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:13,200 comes off of a fully surrendered person? 611 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,600 He says, I, I challenge you, if you're an unbeliever, consider, 612 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:19,160 do you, have you ever really met a Christian? 613 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,320 And Paul's saying there's a supernatural power that is 614 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:26,560 displayed in them that the world can see. 615 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,280 It's not, you can't measure it, but it's there. 616 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:31,400 It's being displayed in them. It makes them different. 617 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:34,600 Jesus calls it salt. He says in believers there's a 618 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:39,280 certain preserving influence and power, and he calls it light. 619 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:43,600 He says there's a certain exposing and revealing influence 620 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:47,280 that comes from the church and that didn't come from you. 621 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:50,000 That preserving influence didn't come from you. 622 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,160 That light doesn't come from you, it comes from somewhere. 623 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:56,240 And it's the power of God at work in you, in and through you. 624 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:58,600 And if you don't see the power of God at work, it's because 625 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:00,000 you're looking in the wrong places. 626 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:05,200 We want to see God in our flesh, in miracles, in the miraculous 627 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:06,840 demonstrations of God's strength. 628 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:10,400 We want to see red seas divided and armies consumed. 629 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:12,239 And we want to see fire called down from heaven. 630 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:15,199 But that's not where God's power is displayed. 631 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:19,199 Very rarely is it displayed in healings, in the calling down of 632 00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:22,440 fire. Luke 954, the disciples wanted 633 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:24,880 to see power. And when Jesus is preaching, 634 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:27,440 they're expecting revival and revival doesn't come. 635 00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:30,639 And so they say, Jesus, if, if we can't see power and revival, 636 00:34:30,639 --> 00:34:34,400 can we have the power of Elijah and by our word fire come down 637 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:36,880 from heaven? And do you remember what Jesus 638 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:42,560 says to the disciples? He rebukes them because the 639 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,760 power of the Holy Spirit in this church is is very infrequently 640 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:47,679 like a great storm. It's like a seed. 641 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:49,840 It's internal and it's transformative. 642 00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:52,480 And as we go through the rest of Ephesians, we finished Ephesians 643 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:54,440 one this morning. And as you go through the rest 644 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:56,800 of Ephesians, Paul shows you this is what the power of God 645 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:58,520 produces. This is what it looks like. 646 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:01,920 It looks like chapter 2, verse 10, and the accomplishing of 647 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:04,520 good works that God has written for you to walk in from all 648 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:07,440 eternity. Chapter 2, verses 14 to 16, it 649 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:12,080 looks like overcoming racism, impartiality and living in unity 650 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:13,520 with people that are different from you. 651 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:17,280 Chapter 4, verses 2 to 3, it's, it's power is displayed. 652 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,880 God's power is displayed in developing patience and humility 653 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:23,640 and gentleness. Chapter 4, verse 7, it's in 654 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,280 serving the body according to the gifts that God has given. 655 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,040 So we, we thank God that he's given John Burgess the ability 656 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:33,680 to cook and we're going to go enjoy that or Allison the, the, 657 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:35,720 the gift of singing. Did anybody enjoy that? 658 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:41,280 That's the power of God. It's the the power to resist. 659 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:45,680 Chapter 4, verse 25, a whole host of vices and he names some 660 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:50,720 sexual immorality, greed, lying, anger, rage, stealing, filthy 661 00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:54,120 language and crude joking, alcohol and substance abuse. 662 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:58,200 We have power over these things. Chapter 5 verses one to two, we 663 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:01,600 resist self centeredness and live in a way that reflects the 664 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:03,960 the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. 665 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:07,840 Chapter 5, verses 22, it's in loving your children well you 666 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:10,800 can see the power of God displayed and loving your spouse 667 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:12,440 well. You can see the power of God 668 00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:16,280 displayed in overcoming all obstacles that your family 669 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:20,160 encounters to the glory of God. Chapter 6, verse 12, it's in 670 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:24,360 resisting power and influence of all the demonic forces in the 671 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,240 world. And we say even Satan himself 672 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:30,800 will flee from the power of God's word. 673 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:33,920 Ian Hamilton goes on and says there's a whole host of examples 674 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:35,640 you can read throughout Scripture that shows you the 675 00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:39,400 power of God and Joseph, the power to overcome temptation and 676 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:42,000 the apostles, How to live without compromise and without 677 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:45,600 fear, to live in self-control. How to live without broken or 678 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:49,040 with broken hopes and dreams, How to overcome indwelling sin, 679 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:52,320 how to resist evil forces, how to live virtuous lives, how to 680 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,440 manifest the love of God in the world. 681 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:56,880 I know you've all heard the song in Christ Alone by Stuart 682 00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,640 Townend. He shows you what the power of 683 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:01,320 God is. He says no guilt in life, No 684 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:04,040 Fear and death. This is the power of God in me, 685 00:37:04,720 --> 00:37:08,480 not just great miracles and no guilt in life, No Fear and 686 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,120 death. This is the power of Christ, the 687 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:13,200 immeasurable greatness of his power. 688 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,400 If you want to see the greatness of his power, he says look to 689 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:17,560 creation. It's there. 690 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:19,920 You could see what he's capable of. 691 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:22,800 If you want to see God's power, look, look back at the 692 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:27,360 resurrection of Jesus Christ and what it means for you, and look 693 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,400 at the session that he ascended into heaven and sat down at the 694 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:32,760 right hand of God the Father. He says that's the power that is 695 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:37,440 at work in you, the believer. And so Jesus's application of 696 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,800 that is so let your light shine. Let your light shine so men 697 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:43,400 might see and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 698 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:47,960 And to sum all of this up, I want to echo the rhetorical 699 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:50,840 words of Paul first in Romans 821 where he says, if God is for 700 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:54,080 you, who can be against you? Do you get a sense of that after 701 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:56,440 reading this passage? I wanted to end with a quote 702 00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:59,880 from John Owen talking about the the session, the majesty, the 703 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:02,280 glory, the power of Jesus Christ. 704 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:05,480 He says quote. Thus is he glorious on his 705 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,800 throne, which is at the right hand of the majesty on high, 706 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,600 glorious in his Commission, which is all power in heaven and 707 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:16,640 on earth, glorious in his name, a name above every name, Lord of 708 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:19,880 Lords and King of kings, glorious in his scepter. 709 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:22,920 The scepter of righteousness is the scepter of His Kingdom, 710 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,920 glorious, and His attendants. His Chariots are 20,000, even 711 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,840 thousands of angels among them. He rides on the heavens and 712 00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:33,080 sends out the voice of His strength, attended with 10,000 * 713 00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:35,600 10,000 of His holy ones, glorious. 714 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:39,240 In His subjects, all creatures in heaven and on earth, nothing 715 00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:41,240 is left that is not put in subjection to Him. 716 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:44,800 Glorious in His way of rule and the administration of His 717 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:47,240 Kingdom. Full of sweetness, efficacy, 718 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:51,080 power, serenity, holiness, righteousness and grace and and 719 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:54,080 toward His elect, but of terror, vengeance and certain 720 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:57,400 destruction toward the rebellious angels and men. 721 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:00,880 Glorious in the issue of His Kingdom, when every knee shall 722 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,960 bow before Him, and all shall stand before His judgement seat. 723 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:07,120 And what little portion of His glory is that we have pointed 724 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:08,760 to? This is the beloved of the 725 00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:13,320 Church, It's head, it's husband. This is He with we with whom we 726 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:16,160 have communion. Please pray with me, Church. 727 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:22,360 Lord, we confess you now as Lord Jesus, you are Yahweh, You are 728 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:25,760 the 1 seated with all power and with all rule and with all 729 00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:29,680 dominion, and we gladly and willingly bow our knee to you, 730 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:34,200 and we confess Jesus Christ is Yahweh, to the glory of God the 731 00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:35,320 Father. If there, if there is any in 732 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:39,560 this room that has not been impressed with the sense of 733 00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:42,560 power and majesty that you have, that has not bowed the knee to 734 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:47,600 you, then, Lord, we pray to you that you would draw them by the 735 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:49,840 power of Your Holy Spirit this morning to understand that You 736 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:51,800 are He of whom the Scriptures are written. 737 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:55,080 And we pray that for the rest of us that we might know better the 738 00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:58,120 hope of Our Calling, the glorious inheritance of you and 739 00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:01,560 the Saints, our inheritance of you as your Saints, Lord, and 740 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:04,240 this the immeasurable greatness of your power. 741 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:08,560 Lord, we have so many resources, so much power available to us. 742 00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:12,400 Lord, thank you for this, but help us to tap into this, to 743 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:14,600 pray your Spirit down, that you would fill us, that we would be 744 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:17,120 salt and light to the world. God, we love you. 745 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:21,320 Demonstrate, please your power in us this week to the praise of 746 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:22,920 your glorious grace. Amen. 747 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:27,080 Thanks for listening. To learn more about Heritage 748 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:30,080 Church or if you'd like to respond to this sermon, visit 749 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:34,400 our website at www.heritageshawnee.org.