Preached by Pas. Carlos Barcelona Jr.
Ist Service @ E-tab
Ephesians 1: 15- 23
“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.”
Story:
On January 6, 1822, the wife of a poor German pastor had a son, never dreaming that he would one day achieve world renown and great wealth. When Heinrich Schliemann was 7 years old, a picture of ancient Troy in flames captured his imagination. Contrary to what many people believed, Heinrich argued that Homer’s great poems, the Iliad and Odyssey were based on historic facts and he set out to prove it. In 1873, he uncovered the ancient site of Troy, along with some fabulous treasure, which he smuggled out of the country that made the Turkish government angry. And so Schliemann became a famous, wealthy man because he dared to believe an ancient record and acted on his faith.
We need to discover that we were “born rich” when we trusted Christ. But this is not enough. We must grow in our understanding of our riches if we are going to use them to the glory of God.
This morning I would like to entitle my sermon, “Know Your Account.”
So many believers have never “read their bankbook” to find out the massive spiritual wealth that God has put to their account through Jesus Christ.
Illustration:
William Randolph Hearst invested a fortune collecting art treasures from around the world. One day Mr. Hearst found a description of some valuable items that he felt he must own, so he sent his agent abroad to find them. After months of searching, the agent reported that he had finally found the treasures. They were in Mr. Hearst’s warehouse. That means, Hearst had been searching frantically for treasures he already owned! Had he read the catalog of his treasures, he would have saved himself a great deal of money and trouble.
Paul knew the Ephesian believers’ faith and love and he rejoiced. And he desired the believers to understand the great wealth they have in Christ.
The Christian life has two dimensions: Loyalty to God and love toward men and we cannot separate the two.
But there is a loyalty to Christ which does not issue in love to men.
E.g. Monks and Hermits and Pharisees
The monks and the hermits had a loyalty to Christ which made them abandon the ordinary activities of life in order to live alone in the desert places. (Now I understand hermit crabs more, why they are called hermits. I don’t know where their real shells are but they take somebody’s shell and still hides in them.)
Before Jesus came the Pharisees had a loyalty to God, which made them disrespectful of those whom they thought less loyal than themselves.
The true Christian loves Christ and loves his fellow men. More than that, he knows that he cannot show his love to Christ in any other way than by showing his love to his fellow men.
However orthodox a church is, however pure its theology, and however noble its worship and liturgy, it is not a true church in the real sense unless it is characterized by love for its fellow men.
Faith and love is just the beginning. In the prison prayers of Paul, there are blessings he wanted his converts to enjoy. None of his prayers in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians requested for material things. His emphasis was on spiritual perception and real Christian character. He did not ask God to give them what they did not have, but rather prayed that God would reveal to them what they already had.
In this passage we will see the prayers of Paul that all believers need to know and desire:
I. KNOWING GOD
The atheist claims there is no God for us to know. The agnostic states that if there is a God, we cannot know Him. But this is the highest knowledge possible … knowing God. A man cannot understand much of anything else without a knowledge of God or by his ignorance of God.
The willful ignorance of God led mankind into corruption and condemnation.
Romans 1: 18, “For God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and wickedness of those who in their wickedness suppress the truth.”
Paul described the stages in man’s devolution: from willful ignorance of God to idolatry (substituting a lie for the truth) to immorality and indecency. Where does it begin? It begins with an unwillingness to know God as Creator, Sustainer, Governor, Savior and Judge.
We must grow in our knowledge of God.
– To know God personally is salvation.
John 17: 3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
– To know Him increasingly is sanctification.
Phil. 3: 10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”
– To know Him perfectly is glorification.
1 Cor. 13: 9- 12
“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
Since we are made in the image of God, the better we know God, the better we know ourselves and each other.
Growth in knowledge and in grace is essential. Any man who follows a profession knows that he should not stop studying. No doctor thinks that he has finished learning when he leaves the classrooms of his university. He knows that week by week, and almost day by day, new techniques and treatments are being discovered; and if he wishes to continue to be of service to those in illness and in pain, he must keep up with them. It is so with the Christian.
It is said, “A friendship which does not grow close with the years tends to vanish with the years.” And it is so with God. The years we spend knowing Him will ultimately lead us close to Him but the years we spend not knowing Him will ultimately lead us to ignorance, sin and separation.
We should not only desire to know God. We must also know His calling for us.
II. KNOWING GOD’S CALLING
The word called is an important word in the Christian’s vocabulary. The word church is a combination of two Greek words that mean “called out.”
Paul testified in Galatians that God called him “by His grace.” (Gal. 1: 15) And so we are. He reminded Timothy that a believer has a “holy calling.” (2 Tim. 1: 9) And so we have.
1 Peter 2: 9 “We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light” and have even been “called to glory.” (1 Pet. 5: 10)
God calls us by His grace and not because of any merit that we may possess. We must understand the hope that is ours because of this calling. Some callings offer no hope, but the calling we have in Christ assures us of a delightful future.
The word hope in the Bible does not mean “hope so,” like a child hoping for a toy at Christmas. The word carries with it “assurance for the future.” When we were lost, we were without hope, but in Jesus Christ we have a “living hope” that encourages us day by day.
The hope that belongs to our calling should be a dynamic force in our lives, encouraging us to be pure, obedient, and faithful.
III. KNOWING GOD’S RICHES
Ephesians 1: 18b “. . .the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”
This phrase does not refer to our inheritance in Christ but His inheritance in us. God looks on us as a part of His great wealth. We are God’s treasure.
E.g.
It has been my desire and joy that when I die I will leave an inheritance for my son. I want him to know that he is secure and that I prepared something for him. In the event of my demise. But I was so delighted two days ago when I saw him wearing his toga. I was so happy when I saw my own son, my beloved son, my inheritance, my wealth, my treasure finishing his university.
Just as a man’s wealth brings glory to his name, so God will get the glory from us because of what He has invested in us and when Jesus returns we shall be “to the praise of the glory of His grace.”
God deals with us on the basis of our future, not our past. He said to cowardly Gideon, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6: 12) Jesus said to Andrew’s brother, “Thou art Simon . . . thou shalt be called Cephas (a stone) John 1: 42
Gideon did become a mighty man of valor, and Simon did become Peter, a rock. We Christians live in the future tense, our lives controlled by what we shall be when Christ returns.
This truth suggests to us that Christ will not enter into his promised glory until the church is there to share it with Him. Christ will be glorified in us (2 Thess 1: 10) and we will be glorified in Him (Col. 3: 4). Knowing this should lead us into a life of dedication and devotion to God.
IV. KNOWING GOD’S POWER
By making us His inheritance, God has shown His love. By promising us a wonderful future, He has encouraged our hope. And in verse 19, Paul challenges our faith: “the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe” (Eph. 1)
This truth is so tremendous that Paul enlisted many different words from the Greek vocabulary to get his point across:
1. DUNAMIS – “power” as in dynamo and dynamite.
2. ENERGIA – “working” as in energy.
3. KRATOS – “mighty”
4. ISCHUS – “power”
Ephesians 1: 19 can be translated, “What is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength.” He is talking about divine dynamic, eternal energy, available to us!
After all, what good is it to have wealth if you are too weak to use it? Or if you are so afraid of robbers that you can’t really enjoy it? You may be wealthy- but miserable!
Reasons why we need power.
1. So we would not fail to use our wealth.
By nature we are too weak to appreciate and appropriate this wealth and to use it as it should be used. Matthew 26: 41 “The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.” To turn this vast spiritual wealth over to a mere human being, living by human wisdom and strength, would be like handing an atomic bomb to a two-year-old. But God’s power enables us to use God’s wealth.
2. So that the enemy would not deprive us of our wealth.
There are enemies who want to rob us of our wealth. (Eph. 1: 21) We could never defeat these spiritual foes in our own power and might, but we can through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament people measured God’s power by His creation or by His miracle at the exodus of Israel from Egypt. But today, we measure God’s power by the miracle of Christ’s resurrection.
Much more was involved than merely raising Him from the dead, for Christ also ascended to heaven and sat down in the place of authority at the right hand of God. He is not only Savior; He is also Sovereign. No authority or power, human or in the spirit world, is greater than that of Jesus Christ, the exalted Son of God. He is “far above all” and no future enemy can overcome Him because He has been exalted far above all powers.
CONCLUSION:
The greatest shortage today is not in our generators or our gas tanks. It is in our personal lives. Will you starting today begin to know by experience God – God’s calling – God’s riches – God’s power?
It is almost a characteristic of the age in which we live that it is an age of despair. On every side the voice of the pessimist sounds making us powerless and our weakness will deprive us of our wealth. We need to know the exceeding great power to us-ward. Apart from this power, we can’t draw on our great wealth in Christ.
The power of the Holy Spirit through the resurrected, ascended Christ is available to all Christians – by faith. His power is to “us-ward who believe.” It is grace that supplies the wealth, but it is faith that lays hold of the wealth. We are saved by grace through faith and we live by grace through faith.
