This sermon goes along with the document titled Advent Reading 2007. This is for the second advent reading.
A few years ago Sports Illustrated came up with a list of the top ten comebacks of all time, not just in the area of sports, but in all areas of life. Among other items on the list they had Elvis Presley who was on it for a TV special in 1968 that revived his sagging career. Muhammad Ali made the list when he returned from a 7-year exile in boxing to reclaim the world championship. Harry Truman made the cut when he defeated Thomas Dewey in 1948. Even humanity was on the list, after recovering from the Black Plague of the 14th century when 25 million Europeans died.
Number two among the all-time comebacks was Japan and Germany, devastated in WW II and becoming world economic powers. What was the number one greatest comeback of all time? Sports Illustrated listed the greatest comeback of all time as, Jesus Christ. In 33 AD Jesus stuns the Romans and defies critics by his resurrection from the grave.
What are the editors of Sports Illustrated describing? The dominion of Jesus. All powerful, absolute, overarching, total domination. Checkmate.
This is Jesus Christ. Here in the advent season we remember our Lord Jesus, the preexistent third person of the triune God, entering our world as a child, coming to reverse the effects of sin that strangles our lives. We see Jesus as wise, loving, strong, kind and in many ways the ultimate example of perfect humanity. We see Jesus in this way and we also see him as divine…yet, I believe as an American church we fail to see one of His greatest achievements: Dominion; His complete, total control and domination over absolutely everything – no exceptions.
If we went out to the streets of Anchorage and asks folks what they thought of Jesus, we would get a variety of answers ranging from a good man, a great moral example, or a prophet all the way to the one and only God. But chances are, we would not hear about His dominion. If we asked these same people about the traits of Jesus we would hear answers like, loving, gentle, kind, generous and the like, but again, chances are we would not hear about His dominion. Why is that? Why is it that society at large and even those in the church don’t recognize Jesus’ dominion? Well, though Jesus has established His dominion, all things are not yet complete and second as maturing Christians, Jesus’ dominion is difficult for us to see. Understand that Jesus will dominate all things, and you will be there, everyone will be there – One day all will gather at the throne of God, that is you and I and everyone from all time and place, and there, before Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, whether they are a believer or not, that Jesus Christ is LORD.
See there are two ways that Jesus takes dominion: By force or by love and sanctification. By force. The forces who are hostel to the kingdom of God are put down by force and placed under Christ’s feet in victory. In other words, those humans who have refused to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and savior, will at some time in the future, be forced to bow to the domination of Jesus AND all hostel spiritual beings will also be forced by Jesus himself to bow to His dominion. On the other hand with the church Jesus exercises dominion in another way, by an act of supremacy worked out in love and sanctification. Force does not come into play at all, and in fact, the dominion of Jesus in our lives is nothing but beneficial, helpful, and as a practical matter, is there to help us overcome all things that stand against us.
As we open up the Scriptures, here in Ephesians chapter one, we see Paul speaking to the Ephesians about how he holds them up in prayer. Paul here, says several specific things about what he is praying for. As Paul prays for the Ephesians, the items he prays for that we see in verses 17 and 18 are tied to the dominion of Jesus. These items are not simply something that God can bless us with, God can bless us as Christians with these, because of what Jesus Christ has done by the power of his resurrection (verse 20) – but it is more than the resurrection, as we see in verse 20, it is the fact that Jesus not only is resurrected, but that He is seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly realms. This means that Jesus Christ is enthroned and given dominion, because of his resurrection and enthronement. This dominion of Jesus accomplishes what Paul is praying for in the lives of the Ephesians, and what can be ours also: the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, enlightened eyes of the heart, hope, incomparably great power.
To better understand what Paul is speaking of we will first look at the ancient cultural background understanding that Paul is addressing then see what Jesus’ dominion theoretically means for us and then what Jesus’ dominion means practically for us.
In the ancient Roman world magicians and exorcists tried to manipulate spirits by invoking the spirits name. They believed that if they had the name of the spirit they could then achieve power over the spirit and use it for their purposes. Paul tells us that the name of Jesus is supreme. This means that it is above all other names. Though a person could try to use the name of a spirit to do their will, since the name of Jesus is supreme and above all names, the name of Jesus cannot be exploited. See, in our day an occultist will call upon a spirit, say in a séance, and then attempt to use that spirit. The name of Jesus can never be used in this way. Why? Jesus is above all, which means He dominates the spiritual world – He cannot be manipulated in ANY way. In any way.
We see here in America different folks invoking the name of Jesus in attempts to become wealthy, to increase their personal fame, to gain political favor, to Lord over others – but this is not what Paul is talking about in the dominion of Jesus. People doing these things are just exhibiting petty self centered sin, Paul is speaking of something much more expansive: the spiritual world all about us.
See there in verse 21 Paul says, “far 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.” Paul I not speaking of power plays that you and I see at the office, in politics or other places in life, Paul is speaking of the spiritual realm.
In Paul’s day most people believed that the world was ruled by Fate, which was usually expressed by the stars. We see vestiges of this today in the horoscope printed in the daily newspaper. The idea was that our lives are controlled by Fate, things will happen in our lives and there is no way we can escape from Fate. The ancients feared Fate and many were overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness. There was little hope of escape, your life was set before you and that was that. If you were stuck in slavery, then that was your lot. Some of the mystery cults of the day promise escape from Fate. The cult of Isis was one of these that promised release from Fate and was very popular as a result. In fact many in Israel believed that the whole world was ruled by Fate, except the nation of Israel
Paul says that those who are with Christ are lifted above all powers, by the name and dominion of Jesus. So those who had lived their lives in fear of Fate, were now free, for fate has no power over Christians. Through the power of the dominion of Christ we are free to determine our own destiny, a destiny with a richness of life, peace, and satisfaction through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jewish belief, and the pagan belief as well, was that their were spiritual powers behind each of the nations. We see an example of this in Daniel 10:13 were we see an angel delayed by “the prince of the Persian kingdom” who is clearly not a human prince.
Look, we live in a spiritual world and somehow, someway, there are spiritual beings about us that attempt to influence events and our lives. There are spiritual forces about us, and that is a fact, to think otherwise is just plan ignorance. How these forces are structured and how they influence us is difficult to say….but understand they are there and they are for real. Paul gives us a structure of authority, power and dominion which some have made a big deal over, but in other parts of Scripture they are in a different order. All the structure and levels of spiritual beings really doesn’t matter for us, I think this is why we are given so little information about this sort of thing. What matters is this: Jesus Christ dominates over them all. Whatever is out there, either for us or against us, Jesus dominates them – by force if necessary.
So theoretically, by the power of the resurrected Christ who has ascended to the throne, we are free from domination of other things – be they spiritual, emotional, self inflicted, placed upon us by others. We are no longer controlled by fate, no longer controlled by the agenda of others, no longer subject to the nonsense placed upon us by our culture telling us to look this way, own that thing or act in that way.
We, who for years have lived under the domination of so many things, are free by our relationship with Jesus. Because you are with Jesus Christ there is nothing that is able to take domination over you. Why? Because, verse 22 and 23, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. All things means just that, all things, there is no exception noted. Because of Jesus’ power over death by His resurrection, God the Father, by placing Jesus at His right hand has also placed all things under His feet. That is dominion. Psa. 8:6 says, “You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet” We read in Hebrews: “Heb. 2:8 and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.” Everything is subject to Jesus, because of what Jesus on the cross did long ago, all is subject, but everything has not yet come to pass. In other words Jesus has the power of dominion, but He has not fully enforced it, He will, but not just yet. This in no way diminishes his power. This shows that God has a plan that has not been fully worked out – but He is working it out.
I want you to notice a little more in verse 22, appointed him to be head over everything for the church,”. Jesus dominion isn’t just so He be an all powerful being, He has done this for you and me, He has done this for the Church. Jesus dominion lifts you up, and frees you…verse 23, “the fullness of him who fills everything in every way”, this simply means that the fullness of Christ fills us, the church: His power is with us, and for us. Jesus dominion shows he has the power to overcome any trial and adversity. Theoretically, there is nothing that can come against you.
Does worry of finances dominate you? What is that habit you cannot find release from? Who is it that is domineering in a relationship with you? That desire that you know is wrong but cannot shake it. That person you cannot face. The past that haunts you, even wakes you up at night and you know it will always follow you. That anger and frustration in you life that you cannot break free from. All these things, ALL THESE THINGS, Jesus dominates in your life.
So if Jesus dominates everything theoretically, why don’t I see it in my life?
This is what Paul is talking about. He has told us already how to make this dominion of Jesus come alive in our lives. Check it out. Look again in your bibles at verse 17. Paul prays for you to have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Now, this wisdom and revelation is not so you can make everyday decisions is it? Look there in verse 17, why does Paul desire this in our lives? So that we can know God better.
Here is our first practical application that you can walk away with this morning. Getting to know God better will bring the dominion of Jesus upon your life. When you are in Jesus’ dominion, you are out of the dominion of others. How do you accomplish this? What does Paul say in verse 17, PRAY for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Have you prayed for that? If not, is it any mystery at all that so many things dominate you in your life? Is it any mystery that you do not feel free? How clearer can Paul be? It is right there, impossible to miss. Pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
My advice to you as a first step is this: Get some sticky notes and write yourself a reminder. Place this on the bathroom mirror, on your car dashboard, your computer, the refrigerator on the shower door – "Remember to pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation". Then, pray every time you see the note. A prayer from your heart, sincere and true. Do this and watch what happens in your life. For the direct result will be that you will become closer to God and the indirect result will be that the dominion of Jesus will take over those aspects of your life and you will start being free from those things that dominate you. Know God first and foremost and other concerns will start to fall into place. How do I know? I started praying this years ago, and let me tell you, when God starts to answer this prayer – you will know, you will know. I want you to note that this is not intellectual knowledge, this is personal knowledge – two way communicative fellowship with the Lord God.
The second practical application that Paul gives us is found in verse 18, that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”. The eyes of your heart are literally, your spiritual insight. It is how you know God, know His power, and live under His dominion. The eyes of heart is our spiritual core, not our minds. This is where we communicate with God and get to know him personally. Paul wants us to pray that the eyes of our heart are open. Add that to the sticky note.
What will this do for us? 18, we will know the hope that we are called to which pastor Ted spoke of last week and we will see His power, His power that is so great it resurrected Him from the dead and propelled Him to complete sovereignty and dominion over everything. We live in a spiritual world, perhaps God will reveal to you how real it is.
Jesus Christ, the greatest comeback of all time…..so far, for Jesus will be returning again and this time he will exert his full dominion over all – for the church it will be through love for all others it will be by force.
Rev. 19:11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.
Rev. 19:12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.
Rev. 19:13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
Rev. 19:14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev. 19:15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
Rev. 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Jesus Christ promised to come and conquer, to take by force if necessary those things that come against us. May we have the wisdom, courage and strength to pray for the dominion of Christ to reign in our lives.
May our Lord Jesus bless you in your ministry. -Peter
