LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS
The Resurrection and Enthronement of Christ and the Believer
Ephesians 1:15-2:10
INTRODUCTION
Before we look at this passage, we need to remind ourselves of the theological context of the passage. The spiritual condition of the world can be summed up with words like "conflict," "hostility," and "disunity." Although mankind participates in this conflict, the ultimate source for this hostility is Satan himself. In order to restore order and harmony to the universe, God sent His Jesus the Messiah (which translated in Greek is "Christ" and literally means "the Anointed One" by God with His Spirit). Empowered and equipped by the Holy Spirit, the Messiah Jesus brings in the kingdom of God, ruling in the Father's place. His rule will ultimately one day restore harmony and peace to the universe. At the present time, we see this reconciliation, this harmony, this unity coming into play when we see the Messiah Jesus bringing the Jews and Gentiles into a peaceful relationship with each other because of their relationship with Jesus the Messiah.
The power to which Paul refers is not just any ordinary power. Paul does 2 things to emphasize the greatness of God's power operating in our lives. First, in order to convey the notion that this power surpasses every other power, he uses four different words to describe this power: power, working, strength, and might. By piling up word after word on top of each other, Paul is saying this is ultimate power. He is calling it "power" to the fourth power (power x power x power x power). Second, he attaches this power directly to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The power which resides in the believer is nothing less than the power which raised Jesus from the dead.
No other human power can begin to compare with the power of the resurrection. To be sure, we have harnessed nuclear power; yet even that power does not compare with resurrection power. Man has not and never will come up with the kind of power which radically transforms the body of a person so that hit becomes immortal and which radically transforms the inner life of a person so that he never sins; however, that is exactly the kind of power within us because the Holy Spirit lives in us. Since we have that kind of power in us, we no longer have any excuse for the mundane lives we live, much less the sin in us. Yes, we are going to sin, and yes, on the basis of our relationship with Christ, we are going to be forgiven (1 John 2:1-2); however, since this resurrection power lives in us, we no longer have any excuse for sin in our lives.
THE RESURRECTION AND ENTHRONEMENT OF CHRIST (1:20-23)
At this point, Paul goes into another direction. Although what he is about to talk about relates directly to the resurrection power Jesus experienced and which He gives us by His Spirit living in us, the topic of the resurrection introduced here becomes the major topic in and of itself.
Most of us think of the resurrection as being mainly the event in which Jesus rose from the dead and His body was radically transformed. John throughout the Fourth Gospel and Paul here, though, state that the resurrection of Jesus is multi-faceted. The resurrection of Jesus the Messiah is spoken of as being a glorious event in the life of Jesus which is made up of several different acts. Throughout the Fourth Gospel, Jesus says that God is going to life Him up. Because God lifts Him up, He will draw all men to Himself (John 12:32). This lifting up starts first with Jesus’ being lifted upon the cross, second by His being lifted up from the grave, and third by His being lifted up in the ascension to be seated at the right hand of the Father. All 3 acts can be viewed as part of the enthronement of Jesus. The cross becomes the throne of Jesus; the resurrection becomes His enthronement; while the ascension into heaven is the final act in His enthronement when He sits down at the right hand of the Father.
Jesus being lifted up to the right hand of the Father does not merely mean that Jesus is just located beside the Father. More is involved than that. Being at the right hand of a great person means that that person is sitting in the place of honor. Paul describes the honor Jesus now possesses by saying: "He is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things in subjection under His feet."
The terms "rule and authority and power and dominion" are believed to be the names for the different classifications of angels (demonic in addition to those who side with the Father). In other words, no angel surpasses Him in honor. Next, God has given Jesus the name above all other names. It is no coincidence that it was at Ephesus, the ultimate destination of this letter, that Alexander the Great approximately 370 years earlier had declared himself to be Master of the Universe. Well, who today has given the Great Alexander a second thought other than some history professor who is boring his class to death; however, today billions across the globe still lift up the name of Jesus. Third, this honor God has bestowed upon Him is not temporary. Not only in this age do men revere Jesus above all others, but also in the ages to come will no others supersede the honor and glory given to Him. John has the same idea when he claims that in the New Jerusalem Jesus will actually sit down with His Father on his throne (Rev. 3:21; 22:3). The fourth idea of putting all things in subjection beneath His feet refers to the ancient practice of a king putting his foot on the neck of a person he has just conquered. In Joshua, we see Joshua taking the kings who have been defeated, lining them up, and then having his commanders place their feet on top of their necks. This shows absolute mastery over the persons conquered (Josh. 10:22-27).
Why has Jesus received all this honor? Because He humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on the cross (Phil. 2:5-11). God will exalt the person who humbles himself before him; since Jesus has humbled Himself to the greatest extent, God has exalted Him to the greatest extent. How and when did Jesus subject all things? When and by suffering on the cross. According to Paul, Jesus waged a great battle against Satan on the cross. The cross became the weapon Jesus used to deal a severe blow to Satan and his cause (Col. 2:15). The cross is to God's war with Satan like D-Day was in our war with Nazi Germany. Once we got a foothold on the beaches of Normandy in France it was just a matter of time before we conquered Germany. Well, the cross is Christ's foothold in Satan's territory. It's just a matter of time before Jesus returns and finishes what he began at Calvary.
Paul proceeds to inform us about how privileged we are as Christ's church. When Christ established the church, He needed a heavenly being to oversee and direct the church, to be her Lord. God could have arranged it so that the great angel Gabriel ruled over the church. Why not? Since the church is made up of weak, sinful people, you would think that God would even choose one of the lesser angels, maybe a flunky. But no! When God creates the church, He gives us no one less than Jesus the Messiah Himself.
Now Jesus is not just simply the ruler over the church. He is her head, and she is His body. When we became Christians, no one less than the Spirit of Jesus Himself came into each and every one of us and formed an indissoluble link between us and Jesus the Messiah. We actually become a part of Christ. Paul claims that we become so much a part of Christ that whenever a Christian enters into a sexual relationship with a prostitute, he actually drags Jesus into that relationship 91 Cor. 6:12ff.). Paul concludes that whereas it is true that Jesus fills the universe, His presence is with the church in a more dramatic way.
This is something we really need to appreciate and understand. I understand it when people have to be away from God's people on Sunday mornings during the time of Bible study and worship. Philip and Lesley Keltner have no business at being at church today since they just had Hannah this past Friday; however, arguments like "I can worship God at the lake just as well as I can in a church building" are really bogus. Whereas I can read God's Word at the lake, pray, and even sing a song or 2, God does not promise to be there when I do. Moreover, pulling out the Bible and reading it to myself just before I’m about to fish is nothing more than a feeble attempt to soothe a guilty conscience. Christ fills the universe; however, His presence is more dramatic and intense in the church.
THE RESURRECTION AND ENTHRONEMENT OF THE BELIEVER (2:1-10)
Spiritually Dead (2:1-3)
Because we are the body of Christ, what happens to Christ also happens to us. Just as He rose from the dead, so we too have risen from the dead. Before a person can rise from the dead though, he has to be dead. In verses 1-3 Paul describes the spiritual condition of both the Gentiles and the Jews before they entered into a right relationship with Jesus the Messiah. The Gentiles ("you") who were spiritually dead because of their sins and trespasses walked according to the course of this world. By "course of the world," Paul means that each age has certain characteristics about it. For example, during the Age of Enlightenment people focused on order. Some of the most beautiful gardens in Europe were cultivated and developed at this time. They aimed to tame nature from being disorderly into being orderly. The other day I was listening to Fox News Channel when the commentator touched upon this very thing. He was talking about how Barrett has to marry Bonnie Blake because she had gotten him to impregnate her. The commentator said, "In this day and age, you don't have to marry somebody just because you get them pregnant." That's what Paul means by walking according to the course or belief system of this world. (As a matter of fact, why does the time of day we live in determine what we believe?)
Next, he says that Gentiles walk according to the Prince of the power of the air, a specific reference to Satan. According to Paul, Satan's stronghold is the atmosphere. This is the reason that when Christ returns to save His people, He meets them in the air. He doesn't sneak in with some covert operation to free us; He goes right to the place where Satan is strongest and knocks down his door.
Whereas verse 2 describes the spiritual condition of the Gentile, verse 3 describes the spiritual condition of the Jews ("we"). According to Paul, whereas the demonic presence was not as strong among the Jews as it was among the Gentiles, the Jews nevertheless were just as dead spiritually as the Gentiles were. The Jews lived by the desires of the flesh; they indulged the desires of the flesh and of the mind. In other words, instead of following the Holy Spirit, they chose to live life on their own terms. Jesus was such a threat to them because He told them that the only way to have eternal life was to die to self (their own desires) and follow Him (Luke 9:23). The result of their lifestyle was that they were children of wrath, that is their eternal destiny was wrath and their existence upon earth was full of wrath towards others and themselves.
God Raises the Believer (2:4-10)
The spiritual condition of the entire world of man can be summed up with the word "dead." Do you know how much a dead person can do to take care of his terrible situation? Nothing—because he is dead. Do you know what we try to do to help people who are dead spiritually? We try to educate them first of all. Second, we teach them social skills. Third, we teach them football, baseball, soccer, tennis, gymnastics, etc. What do we produce as a result. Educated, sophisticated, rich, athletic dead persons. Gifted but still dead. Dead people can't take care of their situation; and unless something dramatic happens, we're going to remain dead.
Verse four begins with 2 of the most important words in the Bible: "But God." We're dead "But God; we're dead men walking, "But God who is rich in mercy because of His great love towards us raises us from the dead because we are one with Jesus the Messiah whom He raised from the dead.
I love my family, and I know that God loves me because He gave Nancy, Nathan, and Molly to me. I try to be a good dad; although at times I blow it. The other night I was playing Spider Solitaire on the computer when I felt Nathan coming up and standing behind me. I thought that he was just interested in watching his dad play a video game. Later, Nancy informed me that Nathan had been telling me that he was having some problems with his kidney. Nathan was hurt that I had seemed so callous to what he was telling me. For the life of me I did not even realize he had been talking to me because I was so absorbed in the game. Later I got with Nathan, asked his forgiveness, and when I prayed for him, I told God I knew He loved me so much because of the finest son He had given me. It meant a lot to Nathan. Well, as hard as I try to be a good dad to Nathan, I pale in comparison to our heavenly Father. He's never oblivious to our aches and pains. He's more interested in our situation than we are.
Well, because of His great love God has raised us spiritually from the dead and seated us with Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. How has this happened? The Spirit is the One who raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 8:11). The Holy Spirit is the One God uses to create the new heavens and new earth. Well, that same Spirit is the One who entered us when we accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. Because He lives in us, we are getting a real taste of what it is going to be like to live in heaven. What we experience now is limited; however, it is still a real taste of the future.
The final purpose of this is that God in future ages may show the surpassing riches of His grace which are only in Jesus the Messiah. Most of us think that when Jesus returns, He's going to make us perfect and that all we will do all day long is sing verse 5 of Amazing Grace. We'll be so perfect that we'll just float around with our feet never touching the ground. No so. The future is going to be dynamic and not static.
Paul pictures the future like being at the beach. For the past several summers my family and I have spent several days at the beach. Getting away from everything really drains all the stress out of my family. Nathan and Molly revert to being little children. We like to get out in the ocean and have sea weed fights. We'll take the dead sea weed and throw it at each other. At other times we'll stand facing the waves and act like the waves are huge, shouting out "Tsunami!" Then we'll shout it out like we're Japanese. We'll even throw in a few "Godzilla's" (with a Japanese accent) just for the fun of it. When we plan those vacations, we don't look in the Farmer's Almanac to see when the waves will be coming. It's not like we're saying, "Oh, there's only one wave coming, and that is in August." We schedule our vacation based only upon our activities because we are confident that the waves will always be there. That's the way the future is going to be. The waves of God's grace and love are going to be hitting us constantly in the future.
Probably the best description of this is given at the end of The Chronicles of Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia tell the story of some children who are getting a real taste of the life of Christ in a place called Narnia. Although the chronicles are 1200 pages long, the books are still too short. At the end of the chronicles, Aslan the Lion (Jesus) comes and saves the children when He destroys the world. He takes them to the New Narnia, just like Christ will take us to the New Jerusalem. Lewis ends the chronicles like this:
And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily
ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world
and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page; now at last they
were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on
for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.