Do you know anyone famous? Maybe relatives or ancestors who did something incredible? Once I worked part time at a luxury condo in Minneapolis as a security guard letting residents in and out of the complex. One late night a man entered whom I didn’t recognize. As he began walking past me at the door, I spoke up “Excuse me, sir…” and was about to ask who he was. He turned to me and a big smile on his face he says, “I’m Dave Winfield” and shook my hand. I felt like I turned 10 shades of red with embarrassment at not recognizing the all-star major league baseball player. Sure enough, he owned one of the condos but was so rarely there, I hadn’t met him.
Do you know the most famous man of all time? Jesus? Or have you only heard of him and his reputation? Paul in our text this morning is pryaing for the believers in Ephesus (1:17) “that you may know him better. This morning as we look at this passage, we discover some key areas which reveal Jesus as Lord. Why? God wants US to know who this Jesus really is. Don’t get caught red-faced at the end of your life when you face the judgment day. He wants us to worship Him for his glory. He wants us to submit to his headship as Lord. He wants his will to be done through us. So who is this Jesus? Who is this Lord? How well do you really know him?
First, He is the one RAISED. “when he raised him from the dead”
There are those who are cryogenically frozen immediately after death or at the point of death. They are hopeful that someday a cure for what they die from will be discovered and they will be resurrected and new life will come.
Others say they will live forever in the memories of those who live on. But memories are not a replacement for the living soul.
We look in the Bible and find Jesus raised Lazarus, a little girl, and others from the dead. The apostles and even the prophet Elisha did the same. But every one of these died again. They got old or got sick and passed away and their resurrected bodies are in the grave.
But when Jesus rose, he rose in glory with a body that is eternal. He said in John 11:25-26 "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Jesus himself is the resurrection and life and if you trust in him, you too will have a resurrection day!
Jesus is secondly introduced as the one SEATED at the right hand. “Seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,”
Thursday was ascension day of the Lord – 40 days after his resurrection he ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives and disappeared into the clouds. He could have simply disappeared right in front of them but instead he chose to make a dramatic exit in order to communicate that he would no longer be among them and among us in visible form.
And at his ascension, the Gospel of Mark (16:19) make makes this statement: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 1:3-4 says “After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”
What is that seat at the right hand? Is there an actual chair? A real throne? Is Jesus limited to that place? It’s not merely a place that limits his movement. Jesus is omnipresent just like the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is present for example in Holy Communion. It’s also not just a seat of honor or a seat of rest.
Sitting at the right hand is a figure of speech. Since man commonly uses his right hand for most of the things he does, so the place where God does his work is called his right hand like the phrase, “you’re my right hand man.”
Jesus therefore has the full power of the Father at his disposal. Psalm 89:13 “Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.” If you are the right hand man of a king, you have been given all his power and authority to make decisions in his name.
Therefore, if you want any help from God, it can only come from Jesus – he ALONE is given the position of the right hand. You can only come to the Father through Him. Not any other name!
Sitting expresses something permanent. It’s not a temporary place until Jesus decides to move on – No! Jesus for eternity will be at this position of power and authority. There is no one who can take it out of his hands. At the right hand is God’s infinite glory, power, and majesty!
Now, if you are a believer, then this fact of Jesus being at the right hand of God seated permanently should give you enormous peace. Why? Because he doesn’t change. No one can usurp him. He doesn’t get tired and give up. He doesn’t have a bad day. He doesn’t lose his grip. He’s not like a president who fails to lead. He is always the same day in and day out and if he is YOUR Lord, you have that solid assurance that he will be there for you just as he was in the past, so he will be now and to your dying day.
Jesus is thirdly described as ABOVE ALL. “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.”
Think about what this means for a moment. He is above all the different types of power we come across on earth and in the spiritual realm as well.
Here our text gives five different words for power that we come across and reveals that Jesus is not only above them all but FAR above each of them.
1. Far above all rule – This word refers to someone who has the highest rank – the first. We think in this category in the military ranking system: General. Admiral. Supreme Court Justice. But according to Scripture, there is no #1 on earth because Jesus is above him.
2. Far above all authority – “authority” refers to the power to make decisions. Whoever has the responsibility or honor to make decisions for a group of people is an authority. A head of a household, the teacher of a class, a church council, a representative, a judge. The list can go on and on. But Jesus is above – he is far higher and his decisions outrank any others. Yes, there are authorities and all are given by God, but no one can come close to the authority of Jesus.
3. Far above all power – “power” refers to strength – resources at your fingertips. You don’t have to be physically powerful to have power. You merely have to be able to command a group of people to have power whether it be an army or employees or a country. Power can be in merely a word or in a written signature. So many today are hungry for power more than anything else.
What is the greatest power on earth? It could be president or even head of a crime ring, or the CEO of a software producer. But each are far below the power of Jesus who has at his disposal an army of angels who answer to his commands. No one else comes even close. And that power is at your bid if Jesus is your Lord. He says, “Ask in my name!”
4. Far above all dominion – “Dominion” refers especially to heavenly powers - even thinking of angels and demonic forces – those who have such power that we cannot even imagine. We are easily terrified by demonic powers – and these are real – demons exist and do have tremendous power.
But if you are trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord, you are protected from any other power. Nothing can touch you. None have the power and authority as the Lord Jesus Christ. They must submit to Him every time. No power can overcome him!
5. Far above every name – And we finish this list with a general summary – that there is no name of anyone either on earth who has ever lived or ever will live in heaven or hell who is greater. Jesus is and always will be the highest, most powerful, greatest, the pinnacle. No ONE is or ever will be above Him!
Friends, Jesus is truly above all! But Paul has one more description of Jesus and this one is very surprising:
Finally, Jesus is described as GIVEN TO THE CHURCH. “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
This is the most amazing statement for those of us who are his followers. After all of who Christ is and his power and majesty and authority over all. He has given all of this over to the church! To those who are spiritually part of his kingdom.
Notice the analogy to a body. Jesus is the head. The church is the body. THIS IS A POWERFUL ANALOGY. It has three important implications.
First, who is the church? It doesn’t mean all church members, or confirmed members or baptized members or people who went through a class or who pray a lot or read their Bible. The church isn’t the AFLC, LCMS, ELCA, Baptist, Methodist, or Pentecostal.
It means those who have been born again - those who trust in Jesus Christ and his promises alone for their Salvation – those who have repented and surrendered their life into the hands of Jesus. This is the church which crosses ALL denominations. To be part of this body doesn’t demand allegiance to a particular denomination but to the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you part of this church? We call it the church universal.
Second, JESUS is the HEAD. What can the body do without the head? Nothing. There is no brain – no control center – no ability to move a single finger without the head’s control. Friends, we are powerless in this congregation if we think we can accomplish anything without the empowering control and wisdom and final approval of Jesus. Whatever we do on our own is worthless. So any decisions and any ministry and any work that we take up as a congregation MUST be guided by the head. And if it is guided by Him, we are assured of success. And that leads to the third implication.
Thirdly, we are the BODY of Christ. We have the awesome privilege to be the body of Jesus. Do you realize how precious this is? Do you realize how much power he has handed over to us? It’s unbelievable! He didn’t have to do that. He could have saved us from our sins and then went on ruling by himself. But he lifted up his people to be his body.
What can the head do without the body’s actions? NOTHING. Here Jesus is with all this power, and authority and dominion and he has limited its use to his people. To you – to me!
Just remember the time you were first given the keys to the car. Maybe your parents were in the car but it was almost like a sacred trust. Your life and the life of your Father or Mother were in your hands. Hopefully nothing bad happened. Most of you remember handing those keys over to your son or daughter that first time. You took a risk! So also did Jesus at his ascension.
It’s like Jesus ascended into heaven and then handed the responsibility of using that power over to the church. He gives the commands and directs the work and we are his hands, feet, and mouth. He handed his body over to us! How are you handling this great responsibility? We need to answer his calling – to follow his will. And use the power given to us to do so!
What is God saying to us through this passage this morning?
• Jesus is risen! The only one in all the universe.
• Jesus is at the right hand of the Father – a place of power and a place of permanence. We can count on him never moving from his – he is faithful!
• Jesus has higher rank, more power, and a better name than any person who ever lived now or forever either on earth or in heaven.
• Jesus has handed that power and authority over to the use of the church – his people – to you! Friends, what’s the bottom line? Praise Him for who he is! And follow his lead. Make sure that whatever you do, is in line with our head – our Lord. Our first objective is to find out what Jesus wants us to do and then do it in his unlimited power which is at our disposal.
