Introduction

There’s a story of a cop who pulls a little old lady (we’re talking 105 here). And as he’s going through his routine of checking her registration, license, etc. he asks “Are there any firearms in the car I should be aware of?” The lady says “I got snub-nosed .44 in my purse holster, a CZ-75 in the glove compartment, and LCP MAX strapped to my ankle.”

The officer asks “Ma’am, what are you so afraid of that you carry so many guns on you?”

She looks at him and says “With these bad boys – not a thing.”

There is a comfort in having powerful tools at your disposal, or powerful people nearby. Today we’re going to read of something powerful enough that we have no need to fear about anything either in this life or the one to come.

Ephesians 1:15–23 ESV

¹⁵ For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

It’s not as long as last weeks sentence, but we are once again looking at one long single sentence of about 163 words, and it’s easy to get lost in it.

Paul wants us to know some things – like really know them. He says that it is his unceasing and constant prayer that we would receive

• the Spirit of wisdom
• Revealed knowledge
• Enlightened hearts

All so that we may know what is the hope and inheritance which he has called us to.

Knowing Hope

Of all the things Paul would want the church to know, it’s hope. Because few people in that day and age knew had much hope.

Erik gave a lesson on the hope that we as Christians have and the complete lack of hope that the atheist would have. But even religious people struggle with their hope.

For many of those Greeks who truly believed in the gods they worshiped, the most they could hope for was a decent life in the here-and-now. The realm of the dead was a shadowy place where spirits wandered restlessly, only half-knowing who they were or where they were at.

Even the Jewish Rabbi’s, the ones who believed in God and a resurrection, didn’t know hope.

Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai wept on his death bed: “There are two ways before me, the one to the Garden of Eden, the other to Gehenna (hell), and I do not know on which they lead me – how can I help weeping?”

Rabbis Shammai and Hillel debated whether or not it was better to be created and face such uncertain possibilities of being lost, or to not be born at all. After two years of arguments they determined it would have been better to have not be born.

These Jewish Rabbi’s – believers in God and his word – didn’t know hope because even after living a life of teaching and following God’s will, they knew they had sinned and were unworthy of God’s presence. They understood that no amount of righteous behavior could make up for their sins.

And we might have some similar thoughts.

I believe:

• There is a God
• There is an afterlife
• There is a final judgment to determine my place in it

And I might also believe that I have no chance of entering into heaven.

• It’s too late for me with all the long life of sin I’ve lived
• I don’t see a good person when I look into the mirror
• I see the perfection of Jesus and I could never even begin to measure up.

And these thoughts are generated by our recurring experience with sin. We struggle with it, wondering where this promised new life is from God because I still feel like a lost sinner. And even if we have kicked most of our bad habits are we still struggling with that one we can never shake off?

So does God have any interest or ability to help me, or am I forever under the power of Satan?

Even if those are ideas that keep you up at night you still show up because you have at least a little bit of hope.

But if we want to know it even more so that self-doubt becomes a thing of the past we need to know about the power behind that hope.

Knowing Power

Paul wants us to know about our hope and inheritance, and in verse 19…

Ephesians 1:19–21 ESV

¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Paul is really wordy in Ephesians – this is part of another long sentence. Paul is saying:

• We need to know about the power of Christ
• That is towards us
• That same power was in his resurrection
• And put him at the right hand of God
• Which is also above everything else

To know our hope better we need to know about the power of God that raises the dead.

To know about our inheritance we need to know of the power that put Jesus in heaven, next to God.

Death is No Power

What do you think of when you think of Power? The dictionary definition is the ability to make things happen.

• So maybe you think of a powerful businessman who can use his money to influence people or politicians
• Or maybe you think of physical power like those guys who can dead-lift 1,000 lbs.
• Or even something like the US military and all the bombs and explosions they come with. Our word for dynamite comes the Greek word for power (not that Paul has dynamite in mind here).

Is a dead guy very powerful? When you see two people in a fight and one dude kills the other one – do you think “Wow, what a strong thing to do, to die like that.”

So what’s so powerful about Jesus when he died?

That’s what a lot of people were wondering about in the old world – what kind of god dies?

The Jews understood this with other ’s who claimed to be the Messiah

Have you ever heard of Simon bar-Kochba? You have because I’ve mentioned him in a sermon before, but you might have forgotten.

He was like Jesus in a lot of ways:

• He had a group of followers and led a popular movement
• He insisted on proper religious observances and what the Law of God meant
• He was called the Messiah – bar-Kochba means “Son of the Star” from Numbers 24:17

Numbers 24:17 ESV

¹⁷ I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.

Even if you’ve heard about him, nobodies worshiping him. Because Simon was walking around the walls of his city under Roman siege and got sniped with a trebuchet.

A Messiah is powerful – a dead guy isn’t. And it’s why nobody worships

• Simon of Perea
• Athronges of Judea
• Menahem of the Sicarii
• Simon bar Giora
• Theudas
• Or Judas the Galilean

All who called themselves the Christ.

Power in Resurrection

But what if that dead guy got back up? Now we see power in the death of Jesus.

It shows that you can throw anything at Jesus:

• Shame
• Torment
• Rejection
• Abandonment
• Death

And he’s over it.

You hear a lot from CEO’s, business owners, or financial influencers on TIkTok that they started at the bottom and worked their way to the top. Nobody helped me! And if I could do it then so could you!

And then you find out they started their business with a $10 million loan from their dad, got their start as an executive in their family business right out of college, or were born in some way with a silver spoon in their mouth.

It’s not wrong for them to have those advantages – but why are they trying to hide them?

Because we love underdog stories of people who overcome obstacles and give those people a lot of honor. And it’s also a marketing trick. If I sell financial advice I want people to think that they can be just as successful as I am without advantages I was born with.

Jesus could have come down and relied on nepotism. He was at the right hand of God – but in Philippians Paul says that he gave all of that up to become a servant who was obedient even to death.

Knowing the power of Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope because he did start at the bottom – the bottom of a grave! And with the power of God he was able to overcome every obstacle, deny every temptation, stare down his enemies, let them do everything they could possibly do to stop him – and he still won!

And now Jesus holds that power out to us and says “If I can do it with God’s power – so can you.”

Power for Us

The idea of power can conjure up plenty of associations and these days isn’t very popular. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” we hear, and so become suspicious of anyone who has it or wants it. They use their power for themselves.

But what if the power of God was to show:

• That his power wasn’t for the purpose of crushing you into the dust – but raising people up from it?
• What if the power of God was to inspire hope that, just as Jesus was lifted up from the power of death – that it could used towards us as well?

That’s exactly what Paul wants us to know so well – that the power that was shown in raising Jesus from the dead is also being used in us.

That’s what he says in verse 19:

Ephesians 1:19 ESV

¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might

That power is towards us – for us!

Which means that as Christ is seated in the heavenly places:

Ephesians 1:21 ESV

²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

… that there is no power in heaven or on earth or anywhere else that can now have power over us.

Because we are also sitting at the right hand of God!

In Ephesians 1:22-23 Paul writes:

Ephesians 1:22–23 ESV

²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Notice how cool this is:

• Jesus is head
• Everything is below his feet
• We are his body

Therefore everything is below us as well. We are seated with Christ above all things,  just as Paul writes in Ephesians 2:6

Ephesians 2:6 ESV

⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Paul does not speak about that as a future event – but one that has happened already.

We are not under the power of sin or death or Satan – we are with Jesus – above it all!

Application: I’m Over It!

The power of God is working in our lives just as we have seen it at work in the resurrection and exhalation of Jesus. Paul isn’t telling us to do anything in this passage except to know this hope and power.

So every time I see something scary, or worrisome, or anything else that makes me lose hope, I’m gonna remember the power of Jesus. He’s over it and so am I!

I’m Over this World

Do you remember four years ago when everyone was depressed or angry about two guys in their seventies running for president? Did you hear they’re doing a sequel, bringing back the same characters and everything? Rather than let that get me down I know the power of God that has put Jesus and me over it.

I’m not going to doomscroll through the news feeds, videos, reels, and shorts where everyone has their hot take on what’s wrong with the world and why were doomed because of it. Jesus is over it and so am I!

I’m Over Sin

I am going to take my sin seriously but I’m going to take the power of God even more seriously. I am not hopeless to the powers of temptations – I can overcome them. I am not under the power of Satan – he’s under the power of Jesus. I am not helpless because God has given me the power to fight back.

I’m Over Doubt

And when I do sin, or look back on a long list of sins that I’ve already committed, I’m going to know the power of God that gives life to the dead.

• I’m not facing death with tears like the Rabbi Jochanan did.
• I’m not debating the benefits of having never existed like Shammai and Hillel.

Because I know the hope which God has called us to and the glorious inheritance he has prepared for us. I know it because Jesus showed us in his resurrection and ascension.

In all things scary, worrisome, or doubtful – Jesus is over it, and I am too.