ephesians 1 he-man, darth vader and my grandfather...
TRANSCRIPT
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Ephesians 1
He-Man, Darth Vader and my grandfather walk into a bar: The power of the resurrection
for us
The master of five excellences
I think a lot about the definition of power. What does it mean to have true power? Most of you
know about my less than secret hope to be a super hero someday. For a while I hoped for
political power. Certainly the power of influence is still something I am aspiring to.
My grandfather used to tell me what real power looked like. And he was a
connoisseur of real power. He was born in Iowa into economic distress. In
high school he learned boxing and wrestling, entered the Marines, went to
college, then the Red Cross then the CIA. In the CIA he lived in Taiwan and
for six months continued to knock on the door of the master of Five
excellences (calligraphy, poetry, painting, Chinese medicine and taijiquan;
doesn’t this so sound like Kung Fu Panda?) until he finally agreed to take him
as his first non-Chinese student. Under Cheng Man-ching, he learned
taijiquan, bagiquan, and tuishou (push hands) as well as perfected judo,
boxing,T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Pa-kua Ch'uan and Hsing-i Ch'uan, and wrote 14
books on the martial arts including one on Shaolin Temple Boxing.
He used to tell stories of the great masters who would root their legs into
the concrete and not be able to be moved. Or they would solidify and throw
people back a dozen feet effortlessly
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6e01Gb-2h4 1.32 to 1.45) or punch
with all of his might and they would just stand there unmoving.
That’s a kind of power.
The power quiz
Here are some other ideas of power
This morning I want to give you a quiz. A power Quiz.
I am going to put something on the board and you figure out how the word power fits in with the
picture.
When you are sure you know the right answer stand up and I will call on you to pronounce it
with authority.
An easy one first
Power lines
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power tie
Power nap
Power plant
Power tools
By the power of Castle
Greyskull…I have the power
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The ring(s) of power
Absolute Power, Clint Eastwood, 1997
Power rangers
Soul power
Power puff girls
(I know you love this Dennis and Josh)
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Power Man
P90X power 90 minutes, extreme
Fight the power
With great power comes great responsibility
If you only knew the power of the
dark side
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Power of Love
The power of the resurrection
Don’t you ever talk about anything else?
Okay the power of the resurrection. How very cliché. Every Easter it’s the same thing. Jesus got
up from the dead. Don’t you guys ever talk about anything else?
Now, if you are here just because it’s Easter, it’s true, you probably do only hear about the
resurrection. But if you are here the other 51 Sundays, you might be amazed to find out, well…
we talk about the resurrection every stinking week. We pound the same nail over and over again.
Life, death, resurrection, ascension . . . in every sermon. Because it is this topic that drives
everything.
If I call this congregation to love people that are different than them, I do it based on the
power of the resurrection.
If I call this congregation to be generous and to work at the soup kitchen, I do it based on
the power of the resurrection.
If I call people to stand up for the oppressed, it’s based on the power of the resurrection
If I call them to invite someone to church, walk for a cancer cure, bring food to their sick
neighbor, work hard at their job, do landscaping or painting at the elementary
school, shovel their neighbors walks, lead their kids in family
devotions, visit people in prison and give their kids presents,
fight sex-trafficking, paint an awesome picture or play an
awesome song, whatever we do (So whether you eat or drink or
whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God) we do it all
because of the power of the resurrection.
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But this morning I want you to see the power that exists inside of you, the resurrection power
that is manifest in Jesus’ church. Not the building, but the people that belong to him. Those, we
saw last week, who are adopted, delivered and marked as an inheritance.
A couple of weeks ago, we started a new series in the book of Ephesians. We haven’t gotten very
far yet, but already we have been encouraged by how much he loves us. Enough to call us out, to
deliver us and to make us his own child. That’s already awesome, but hear the power of this
section.
15 Because of all this, and because I’d heard that you are loyal and faithful to Jesus the
master, and that you show love to all God’s holy people, 16 I never stop giving thanks for
you as I remember you in my prayers.
17 I pray that the God of King Jesus our Lord, the father of glory, would give you,
What are we to pray for?
Can I just stop for a second, I don’t want to camp here, but next week I want to revisit this
because I think the fact that this is a prayer is an area that we can learn much from.
What is it that he is praying for these people?
Healing for broken ankles?
Safe travels
Relief in stress
Financial success
“yubba dub dub, thanks for the grub”
17 I pray that the God of King Jesus our Lord, the father of glory, would give you, . . . in
your spirit, the gift of being wise, of seeing things people can’t normally see, because you
are coming to know him 18 and to have the eyes of your inmost self opened to God’s
light.
Not that there is anything wrong with praying that God will heal my ankle or your back or your
emotional struggles—I pray for those things for you guys nearly every day. But at least look at
the emphasis here: He is praying that they would have insight, wisdom, that they would
understand things that others don’t. He is praying that they would know three things (which is
the second half of 18 and 19)
Then you will know
1) exactly what the hope is that goes with God’s call;
2) you will know the wealth of the glory of His inheritance in His holy people;
3) and you will know the outstanding greatness of His power towards us who are loyal to
Him in faith, according to the working of His strength and power.
The first two I will come back to next week
Knowledge of the hope of God’s Call
Knowledge of the glory of his inheritance
But I want to camp on the third one today:
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The outstanding greatness of His power towards us
It’s one thing to speak robustly about God’s power, but what kind of power are we talking about?
Mighty Morphin power rangers kind of power?
Hulk Smash kind of power?
What is this power?
And it’s one thing to speak in lofty and transcendent terms regarding the power, but it’s quite a
different thing to remember that it is his power towards us.
So let’s answer these two questions:
1) What kind of power are we talking about?
2) How is the “towards us” relevant?
What kind of power are we talking about?
The first answer begins in verse 20. What kind of power are we talking about?
20 This was the power at work in the king when God raised Him from the dead and sat Him at
His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 above all rule and authority and power and lordship,
and above every name that gets itself talked about, both in the present age and also in the age to
come. 22 Yes: God has ‘put all things under His feet’,
The resurrection
It’s the power that raised the king from the dead.
Perhaps you have bought into the idea that this understanding of Jesus needs to be
demythologized.
“Let’s not go too far with this. Everyone knows people don’t rise from the dead. This is
just a primitive belief. It should be understood that he raised in our hearts.”
What kind of power is that?
That is not what Paul is getting at. He doesn’t want a kerygma Jesus, he adamantly rejects that
kind of Jesus. The Jesus he worships actually got up after three days of being dead. Even in their
primitive world, people didn’t do that. That’s what made this so mind-numbing. No one would
care about a king who rose metaphorically.
“Of course he rose. I am glad he is in a high place in your heart and you look back to who
he was and it gives you good feelings and now you can also rise.”
No! People don’t care about this kind of resurrection.
They are happy for you to “follow” these kinds of principles.
People don’t hunt down the disciples and kill them for a metaphorical resurrection. One of his
followers was exiled and 11 were executed and it wasn’t for a grand and lofty metaphorical inner
power.
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This is the same Paul who said that if Jesus didn’t really get up from the dead, then we are,
among men, the most miserable.
I know you have heard this a lot, but just allow your mind to consider what this would do today.
Not just someone’s heart stopped from beating for a few minutes and defibrillators jumping him
back to this life.
I know this is a bit gruesome, but I am talking about watching your best friend gunned down
right in front of you. Then the killers jump out of the car, come over and stick him through with
knives before driving off. The coroner comes and pronounces him dead. They take him back to
the coroners office and then to the mortician to do their magic of preservation. A couple days
later you are crying on the open coffin. You watch them lower it into the ground and dump dirt
on it. A few days later you come back to put flowers on the grave and there is a mound of dirt
and the coffin looks like it has jumped out of the hole in the ground and is spilled out on the dirt.
No body!
And then you turn around and he is standing there.
And then you and your other buddies talk to him, touch him, and have dinner with him.
And then more than 500 people all do the same.
It wasn’t a metaphor, it’s this kind of power that makes the dead live.
The ascension
But, notice it’s not just the resurrection that shows his power. Listen again.
20 This was the power at work in the king when God raised Him from the dead and sat
Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 above all rule and authority and power
and lordship, and above every name that gets itself talked about, both in the present age
and also in the age to come. 22 Yes: God has ‘put all things under His feet’,
He also sat him at his right hand in the heavenly places. This idea of seating someone at your
right hand is stock language screaming out the idea of “power.”
The right hand is the power hand. Sorry south paws.
He is seated in power, over all rule, authority, power, and lordship, oh and if you have any other
names for things that are super awesome and powerful, he is over them too (above every name
that gets itself talked about). Yes, everything is under his feet.
It’s the fulfilment of Psalm 110 that every Jewish person knew by heart.
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool
for your feet." (Psa 110:1 NIV)
Enemies subjected.
There is some question as to what these powers and authorities are. I don’t think we are talking
about ranks of demons, but I do think we are talking about cosmic powers. I think this because
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the book of Ephesians is very insistent that the church is more than a local group to hang out
with. It’s a blood-bought group of people who are not just part of the plan of God, but are the key
to the plan of God in showing the world (and by that I mean the cosmos, every power in
existence) that God is wise and intentional and will succeed in his plans. It’s a cosmic church.
For this reason I am convinced that these things are both spiritual and physical.
And I doubt any of you have too many problems with powers being both physical and spiritual.
Anyone watch House of Cards?
This is a truly messed up couple. Kevin Spacey is a congressional leader turned vice president
who considers it his goal in life to destroy others around him and lift himself up. He sets up a
Senator to run for governor the whole time planning his failure so he could do something else—
then he kills him. He uses a reporter to get information out to the world, and then shoves her in
front of a subway train.
Everything this “authority” does is for himself and designed to hurt others. In the show, they just
call it politics, but I think we can admit that it is evil.
I go back and forth regarding what I believe about powers in the United States. Whether our
President (of any term) has people killed for his own advancement. Whether they would silence
someone either permanently or by publicly destroying their reputation.
But I do know that people in power are probably tempted by the same things I am. More power,
more riches, more acceptance, more respect. I know that they are probably sometimes out for the
good of the public and sometimes out only for themselves. I know that there is evil in this world
and I know it uses authority and power to get what it wants.
Have you met Loki? He is the personification of deception and evil for his own gain. Yes, there
are deep truths in marvel myths.
Crucifixion
But this power is not a myth. And this King does not struggle with having too much power and
wealth and respect and acceptance. He isn’t tempted to become a tyrant. His power is real and
absolute and yet it shows itself in him laying his life down. The power of sacrifice and the power
of exaltation.
So, Paul is praying that the Ephesians will know the power of God made evident in two things:
1. The resurrection
2. The ascension
But it’s more than simple knowledge he prays for.
He is praying that they will know it.
It’s like if I call you to believe in Jesus. I don’t mean that I want you to intellectually assent that
he existed. This is considered a given in nearly all historical scholarship. I also don’t mean I
want you to intellectually assent that he died and got up again. This is far from universally
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recognized, but still I am calling you to that and so much more. When I say believe in Jesus, I am
calling you to follow. I am calling you to give up everything for the joy that is set before us. I am
calling you to sell everything you own for the treasure that is Christ.
So, when Paul says he wants them to know the power of resurrection and ascension, he is saying
that he wants them to experience it.
What is this power for?
Let’s float back to verse 19 again
and you will know the outstanding greatness of His power towards us who are loyal to
Him in faith, according to the working of His strength and power.
This isn’t just power for power sake, this is power for the church’s sake.
...you will know the outstanding greatness of His power … towards us.
Who is the “us?”
Those who are loyal to Him in Faith.
Again, not faith as in intellectual assent to a few cool facts, but loyalty. He is the king. Kings
require loyalty, following, . . . that’s what Paul means by “faith.”
But go a step further, back to verse 22 near the end.
and has given Him to the church as the head over all. 23 The church is His body; it is the
fullness of the one who fills all in all.
All of your translations are a bit different here and I have to admit, I can’t make heads or tails of
the Greek. It is just as confusing in Greek as it is in English.
Is God the one who fills Jesus? And Jesus the fullness of God?
Is the church the fullness of Jesus and if so does that mean that the church is (actively) the
content of that which fills Jesus or (passively) is the church the container.
Its Easter and I can’t possibly go into the depth needed to explain all this (come next week and
you never know), and the truth is, the Greek can mean all of these different ideas. So basically I
am going to conclude based on what I think Paul is trying to do with the entire book.
Surely, there is truth if I were to say that we fill up what is lacking in Christ. Not that anything is
really lacking, but in the sense that no one can now see the cross of Jesus, but they can see how
we sacrifice all to follow him. So, we fill up what is missing for others. But I think the big
picture of what Paul is trying to say is that the church is the fullness of Christ, because Christ
fills the church.
That is, we are empowered by Christ. So Christ goes into all the world, fills all the world, as his
believers carry him there.
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Forget all the exegesis and the Greek difficulties and the passive vs active senses and let’s bring
this down to the practical nitty gritty. Paul is convinced that the church has the power of God.
Let me dumb this down even further. Paul is convinced that you carry the power of God.
Power? What kind of power?
Look at verse 19 again
and you will know the outstanding greatness of His power towards us who are loyal to
Him in faith, according to the working of His strength and power.
Four words of power
Power = dunamis, we get the word dynamite from this
Working = energeia, we get the word energy from this
Mighty = ischus, I can’t think of any cool words we get from this
Strength/power = kratos, we get the word autocrat, one who conquers.
Four different ways to say how awesome the power is that comes to us.
Soul power
What kind of power?
The power that raised Jesus from the dead and raised Jesus to the right hand of God.
This isn’t some Red Bull or Monster or Amp or full Throttle energy drink kind of power. It’s not
8 hour energy or zoom pills. We are talking about Holy Spirit Power. We are talking about real
soul power.
Do you remember “Remember the Titans”
Let me ask you something, Mr. Campbell.
Uh-huh.
What kind of power you got?
Oh, man, you know I got some soul power
What kind of power you got?
What kind of question is that? I got soul power
Yes you do,
Right on, let me ask you something now Mr. Bertier
Yes
How strong are you
I am too strong
What? How strong?
Too strong
How Strong
Too strong, I want a victory
No I want a victory …
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What kind of power? Soul power.
But not a pretend metaphorical power—the kind of power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead
and raised him to the seat of power. Don’t underestimate that power.
Examples of power
It’s this power that enabled people to stand strong when lions ripped them apart.
It’s this kind of power that allows people success even with nothing seemingly on their side.
It’s this power that enabled people to go overseas into the worst of circumstances and bring
medicine and the gospel.
It’s this power that enables people to try to work on their marriage when it seems it is over.
It’s this kind of power that enables a child to forgive his alcoholic abusive father.
Do you know the story of Corrie Ten Boom? I have been to her house in the Netherlands and
seen the secret hollow wall that she had built for those running from the Nazis. Why? Because
she was a Christian and she had the power of the Spirit in her. That power was enough to carry
her through being forced into a cattle car and carted to Ravensbrueck. It was this power that
enabled her to read her Dutch Bible and translate into German and to hear the life giving words
passed through the prison in French, Polish, Russian, Czech etc.
It is also this power that, years later, at one of her speaking engagements brought her face to face
with the Raevenbruck guard who had her sister killed. He asked for forgiveness and she gave it.
The power to forgive.
It’s this power that empowered a missionary over and over again to be a man of grace.
He was sent a package that his 16 year old son opened. The
package was a bomb meant for his dad. To this day, this
missionary keeps a picture of the man who sent the bomb in
his Bible so he can pray for him constantly. He later found
out that this man had four kids of his own and he asked his
pastor if there was anything the church might be able to do
for this man’s family while the man was in prison.
That’s only the power of the spirit.
We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us
Letting the power go to waste
And Christians, so many of us just let this power go to waste.
Just before World War 2 in the town of Itasca, TX, a school fire took the lives of 263 children.
There was scarcely a family in town which was not touched by this horrifying tragedy. During
the war Itasca remained without school facilities.
But when the war ended, the town, like many others, began to expand and in fact built a new
school which featured what was called “the finest sprinkler system in the world.” Civic pride ran
high. Honor students were selected to guide citizens and visitors on tours of the new facility to
show them the finest, most advanced sprinkler system technology could supply and money could
buy. Never again would Itasca be visited by such a tragedy. With the post war boom the town
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continued to grow, and seven years later it was necessary to enlarge the school. When they began
adding the new wing it was discovered that the sprinkler system had never been connected.1
This sounds a lot like us. We have this incredible power and we spend our lives doing things that
require no real power.
We sing songs like “I will rise” and they grab our emotions a bit, but they seldom last after the
worship is over. They don’t empower us.
I feel like if I just preach boldly enough, if I just speak with enough passion and put just the right
amount of illustrations and rhetorical flourish and humor and excitement and Greek and
persuasion that you won’t be a once a year church person. That you will finally see Jesus. I want
to scream it out, that our God is great. I want to compel you to follow this God, and I can do that,
but it comes down to a choice for you.
Now I know I don’t have the power of chi that my grandfather spoke often of. I know Power
man, He man, power rangers and even the power puff girls could pretty easily take me out.
But I do have a power. A power beyond any of their imaginings. The power of the resurrection,
the power of the ascension. The power of the church is real and we can truly do anything.
Perhaps you don’t know about this power
Power Gospel message.
1 Story told by Dr. Howard Hendricks on March, 4, 1982 at the International Congress on Biblical Inerrancy in San
Diego CA. Found in Kent Hughes, Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1990), 57.
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Stand up and sit down a lot in our power quiz, so we can do it again as I ask you if you want this
power.
If you want this power for the first time …
An increase in the power…
Benediction
May almighty God make you faithful to his calling, cheerful in his service and fruitful for his
kingdom, and the blessing of God almighty, the father the son and the Holy Spirit be upon you
and through you with all those he sends you now and always, Amen.