Ephesians 1

This is going to be a little bit different (Ok, a LOT bit different) than my other pages, but after church yesterday, and my one-on-one with God last night, I couldn't NOT post it. My heart is so full it feels like it's going to burst, and I had to share. Please, out of love for each other and God, let's keep any further discussion respectful, but feel free to be completely honest about your thoughts on the subject. 

 Ephesians 1:17-21 (This letter is from Paul to the church in Ephesus, but since God is the same yesterday, today and forever, we can assume these words inspire by the Holy Spirit, are for the whole church body, which is us, for every time.)

17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which the has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

 I was struck profoundly by the last part of this passage that talks about the "incomparably great power of God," and how God desires to use His power in our lives.

 For some reason, too many Christians don't experience this power, and I believe it is because of what my pastor said yesterday morning during his sermon. On a moment-by-moment basis, we fail to truly LOVE Jesus, first. We follow rules, and societal norms, and we may even carry an attitude of gratitude or affection for Jesus, but very few of us surrender ourselves completely to the love of Jesus that would take us far outside our comfort zones and put us in situations beyond our control where the only thing we have to depend on is the power and protection of God. 

 Do we really love him? Do we really trust him enough to follow the beckoning of the Holy Spirit into unfamiliar, maybe even dangerous territory? And if not, why do we sit and wonder why we don't see the awesome power of God moving in our lives on a daily basis, or why we find it so hard to hear the counsel of the Holy Spirit?

 I like to read the above passage this way, and I'll explain why I believe it is a valid way to read it and live by it.

 Eph.1:18-21 paraphrased

"...His incomparably great power is...Christ [who is in us]...far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but in the age to come."

 Wow! If we fully surrender to the love and power of Christ, if we truly die to flesh, to society, to fear of man, and are reborn in the Spirit of Christ, he gives us "Power to do all things through his strength and for His glory." (Phil. 4:13)

 Some may say the way I've paraphrased and condensed those verses is a stretch, and it may be, but I'm going to explain my reasons for writing it that way. By no means am I saying we should ignore the rest of that scripture, which is why I wrote it all out at the beginning, but for the sake of the revelation that I believe was given to me by God, I'm going to take those key phrases from the text to emphasize. 

 If Jesus does only what he sees the Father doing (John 5:19) and our inheritance as believers is God's incomparably great power like Ephesians says, and we have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, then it would follow that, as the Holy Trinity, each separate part of it functions as one, which would mean that when we surrender ourselves to the work of the Spirit, we surrender ourselves to this incomparably great power of God.

 More simply, Christ did everything through the power of the Father. We are saved by Christ. We are moved by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, which is the power of God.

 It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead that would be available to us if we would just surrender ourselves to it!

But if we refuse to fully surrender to the love of Jesus and make him LORD of our lives, not just Savior, why do we wonder where the power of God is?

 We ask for our inheritance like the prodigal son, but we're unwilling to submit to the authority of the One who gives us that inheritance and end up squandering it, just like in the parable. 

 Submission to the authority of the Father does not just mean following rules and living a "good life." If Jesus had done that, he would have been largely ineffective as a Savior because he would have lived a very safe, normal, life, largely unnoticed by anyone, and died without affecting real change. But he couldn't do that, because he was fully and deeply committed to doing the will of the Father, and so God gave him power and authority to heal the sick, cast out demons, preach with supernatural knowledge, and everything else that we find in the gospels. 

 You must be willing to follow the guidance of the Spirit outside of what any "rule or authority, power or dominion, or any title that can be given" says is ok, just like Jesus did. He was never disrespectful, but God's word eclipsed that of the local officials. Jesus realized that his justification was in the Father, just as ours is, and even though he paid the ultimate price for his actions that seemed to against all law and authority of that time, his inheritance is eternal and precious, just as ours is when we surrender to the calling of the Father. 

 The authorities, society, your friends, family, etc. will persecute you, will hate you, will judge you. Jesus never kept those facts a secret. He never promised us physical safety, positions of influence or power in the physical realm. We have all those things in the spiritual realm, which is where our eternal reward lies. Matt. 10:42 "And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." 

 Can you imagine the extent of the reward we would receive if we surrendered our lives and wills completely to that of that Father when he promises a reward for just giving someone a drink? What if you did everything the Father asked of you, just as Jesus did? What if we loved Jesus the same way he loved the Father? What if we were so committed, so dedicated, so pure of heart and in love with our Redeemer that obedience to his commands was our first priority? What if we were like Abraham, willing to sacrifice every single promise, because our assurance was in the word of God and our love for him outweighed our love for anything, everything else in this life? 

 I know, it sounds barbaric and disgusting to sacrifice something as precious as our children just because God said so. But, did Abraham sacrifice his son? Or did God deliver him from that very situation by providing the sacrifice for him? As far as I can remember, the only person who has sacrificed a child for God, is God himself. And His Child was a willing sacrifice. He prayed for God to deliver him if it was possible (Matt. 26:39) but surrendered to the will of God, even unto death. History is full of people who have died for the name of Christ, seemingly pointless, painful, cruel, horrific deaths, but their eyes were not set on the rewards of this world, but on eternal rewards and heavenly places.

 I want to be like that. If the time comes when I am persecuted for Christ's sake, I want to be one that sets my eyes on heaven, even as physical death comes, and laugh in Satan's face because when he brings an unjust death upon me, my faith in Christ guarantees eternal life and fierce retribution from an angry Father who does not tolerate injustice to His family. Hallelujah!

 So, what will you decide when it's up to you, to me, to every individual, what is more important? Following the guidance and counsel of the Holy Spirit to eternal life and rewards greater than any dream or imagination? Or physical safety, maybe even financial gain, power, influence, and the esteem of our fellow man? Who will you love first? Yourself, or the One who sacrificed everything for you? Return to your first Love, and surrender yourself to every word that comes from the mouth of God! Then you will move in power and see the incredible miracles that will take place for the glory of the Father!