THE GREATNESS OF HIS POWER
Sunday July 02, 2000 A.M.
Ephesians 1:19-20
19 I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power
20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
Now we need to consider the greatness of His power which enables us to do these things.
If you or I were to try to fulfill any one command in our own power, then all we can say is, "Unclean, unclean."
We find we are not capable within ourselves; we are dead in trespasses and sin.
This means that we have no ability in our own strength.
By nature we have no love and have become enemies of God and our neighbor.
So we are not able to fulfill these commands in our own strength.
Our text says it is the exceeding greatness of His power towards those of us who believe, "...according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead."
It takes the unction and power of the Holy Spirit to raise us unto a newness of life.
The resurrection of Christ is the symbol of us being raised out of the powers of hell and spiritual death, under the power and servitude of sin, to be able to walk in a newness of life.
This takes the same creative and almighty power of God which it took to raise Jesus Christ from the grave.
Ephesians 2:1
1 Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins.
In our carnal state we have no capacity of any kind to show love.
The bitterness, enmity, and rebellion that are in the heart of man by nature is the result of the fall in sin.
When we try to love one another as Jesus loved us, we find we come so short.
We need the power and the grace of God to raise us out of this deadness and into the newness of life that Christ might be formed in us.
It is by the resurrecting power of God that He raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead to sit at His right hand.
Notice that God raised Jesus not only to sit in heavenly places but far above all principality and power.
Ephesians 2:5-6
5 that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor(grace) that you have been saved!)
6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms—all because we are one with Christ Jesus.
Then we become raised above the power of sin.
It is only in the resurrection power that we become raised above the power of Satan, sin, and our own evil nature.
As we look at our text in its context, the Apostle Paul speaks to the church of the Ephesians about the work of grace.
It is all of grace; it is the grace of God which gives us new desires and instills the love of God in our heart.
It is the grace of God which gives us the power to come above the controlling power of sin.
You and I can hear with the natural ear, but there is no power in that, it still leaves us spiritually dead; it was the power of the Word of Jesus, we see in, John 11:43
43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” that brought about the resurrection of Lazarus out of the grave.
Ephesians 1:12-14
12 God’s purpose was that we who were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God.
13 And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.
Look again and see that Paul is teaching us the chronology of the work of grace.
It is through the Word. ROMANS 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
It is when the Word is heard by the effectual application of the Holy Spirit that faith comes into exercise.
As the work of grace is worked in the soul by the Holy Spirit, faith is put into exercise.
Then we begin to know what it is to love one another and delight to do the will of God.
Then we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.
That seal is the earnest, or the evidence, of our inheritance.
As we unfold these Scriptures and the precious truths that are within, we must see where the fountain is.
It is in the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
We must marvel to see the spirit of charity in the Apostle Paul as we see in the next verses.
Ephesians 1:15-16
15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere,
16 I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,
What is the fruit of regeneration?
Our undeniable evidence of regeneration is our love for all saints.
Jesus says, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."
In other words, if you love one another, you are a friend of Jesus.
Why? Because it is against our fallen nature.
Our fallen nature brings us in enmity with God and our neighbor as is evident from Romans 8:7
7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.
Now we see charity. What is charity?
It is thinking of the other person in the best possible light.
The Apostle Paul is not telling the church at Ephesus that they have come to a state of perfection in this letter to them.
At the end of the letter Paul reproves them for things that ought not to be.
They did not obtain a state of perfection in the flesh, but Paul saw the element of charity; they have been renewed in the spirit of their mind, having put on the new man which is created after righteousness and true holiness,
Ephesians 4:22-25
22 throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.
23 Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.
24 You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness—righteous, holy, and true.
25 So put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbor the truth” because we belong to each other.
The Apostle Paul is identifying the good thing in these people, and he is commending them for it.
If we understand what it is to love each other, then we are not critical of each other, looking for excuses to tear each other to shreds, because we could find something to criticize every living soul.
If we heed Paul’s example, we will look for those things which accompany salvation and praise the person for it.
We need to look for those things upon which we can build a hope for salvation.
Therefore, we are to be patient with the shortcomings and appreciating those things which accompany salvation.
That is what the Apostle Paul is doing in this letter to the Ephesians.
He tells them he gives thanks for them unceasingly; he prays for them, and he tells them he is praying for a special wisdom.
The apostle’s prayer which was prompted by the evidence of their faith in exercise, i.e., their "...love unto all the saints," was for wisdom to discern the hope of their calling.
His prayer is for wisdom to know what leads to the assurance of their faith.
Ephesians 1:17-18 tells us,
17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.
Our text goes on to explain this prayer.
"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."
The Apostle Paul is praying that they would have the wisdom, the understanding, and the enlightening of their minds to see wherein the hope of their calling is found.
We too need to know and have hope that the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father have begun a good work in our heart; that He has given us the effectual calling.
FIRST, let’s consider the exceeding greatness of the power spoken of in our text.
This prayer was for wisdom to understand what he prayed for in the words of our text.
Paul wants us to understand the power and the significance of his prayer.
Ephesians 1:19-20
19 I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power
20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
By nature we will never see "...the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward...according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead."
We need the resurrection of the Divine image of God in which we were created through the working of God’s grace.
When we learn to see the power of sin under which were are enslaved by nature, we will understand why.
This teaches us that it is a resurrection from our spiritual death in trespasses and sins, and that we by nature are dead.
Ephesians 2:1 says,
1 Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins.
It takes a resurrection to bring us out of the spirit of deadness into the marvelous light of His gospel where we can walk in the newness of life.
The same power is required to deliver us from the power of sin and spiritual death and to bring us into spiritual life as it took to bring the Lord Jesus Christ out of death and the grave.
That is the teaching of this Scripture.
The Apostle concludes the prayer contained in our text by explaining the magnitude of Christ’s glory as God.
He tells of the power it took to bring Jesus out of the grave and "...set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places;" giving Him such exceedingly great power.
Now let’s read on, Ephesians 1:21-23
21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come.
22 And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church.
23 And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.
The resurrection not only brought Jesus out of the grave, but it also set Him above all these other powers.
He is set above the power of the grave, above the power of death, and above all principalities.
That is the power needed to raise us from the power of sin, hell, the power of our own deceitful heart, and set us above them.
Then we will understand what it is to do whatsoever He commands and that to do is beyond our ability in our fallen nature.
We must first be raised above the powers of sin and hell in order to walk in a newness of life and the new resurrected power.
Then in Chapter 2:1, after the Apostle explains "...the exceeding greatness of this power to us-ward."
See the connection between that power "to us-ward," and our spiritual resurrection!
The next chapter begins with the word And. "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins," EPH 2:1.
That same resurrection power is required before you and I are able to walk according to the Lord’s will.
We need grace (which is the Divine influence of the Spirit upon the heart that reflects itself in our lives) to love one another as He loved us.
It is by the work of regeneration and the grace of God that we are quickened and brought to new desires with love kindled in our soul for our Lord and our fellow man.
No man with all his modern technology has ever yet been able to create life, even a fly, or any living thing.
They claim to have made new forms of bacteria and other living things, but that is not creating life.
They needed live bacteria which they were able to alter into their new form of bacteria.
Through modern technology man has made a kernel of corn.
Man can make something which has the same nutrition, taste, and texture, but he cannot create anything, much less life!
Man can put his kernel of corn in the ground, but he can’t make it grow.
Man is not a Creator!
When God created the world he created it out of nothing; He brought it forth by the power of His Word.
Man can make things as long as he has the substances with which to make them, but creating belongs to God alone.
Man cannot create life.
You and I can go through all the exercise and effort, but we cannot create one genuine spark of love.
You and I cannot be the author of the things that pertain to life.
We are dependent upon the Lord for that new creation.
It takes the same "...exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward," to bring us out of this spiritual death as it took to bring Christ out of the grave.
Spiritual life, the new birth, cannot be performed outside of the Holy Spirit.
Those who are quickened by this new creation are admonished in Ephesians 4:22-25
22 throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.
23 Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.
24 You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness—righteous, holy, and true.
25 So put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbor the truth” because we belong to each other.
Our spiritually dead state does not relieve us of our responsibilities; we are responsible for these things even in our natural state, but then we have no desire to perform them.
As the result of the fall we have become "alienated" from God, becoming "enemies in your mind by wicked works,
Colossians 1:20
20 and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.
It is the work of the new creation to change our attitude, making us willing to do God’s will.
Philippians 2:13
13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.
This is where we are by nature.
The love that God created in our heart when we were created has turned into enmity in the fall of Adam.
Romans 8:7
7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.
It is through the new birth that we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, that our attitude toward God and our neighbor is changed, and we become able to love one another as Christ loved us, John 14:12
12 “The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
This new creation required much more than the first creation!
I have heard people who like to be called a humanist say, that his opinion of the creation theory was that if there was such a God who would be able to create a universe such as he had learned to see in his scientific knowledge of the universe, that God would never take notice of something as insignificant as a man.
The man was asked, wasn’t this what caused David to exclaim in Psalm 8:3-4
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you have set in place—
4 what are mortals that you should think of us,
mere humans that you should care for us?
It takes much more for this new creation than the first.
The first creation was affected by the simple power of His Word.
Psalm 33:6-9
6 The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.
7 He gave the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.
8 Let everyone in the world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him.
9 For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.
By the almighty Word of God the entire universe came into being.
This new creation could not be affected without a resurrection.
A crucifixion and a resurrection were necessary before there could ever be a new creation, because it must be preceded by the propitiation of our sins.
God’s wrath upon our sins had to be appeased and satisfied before the new creation was possible through Christ’s resurrection whereby we can be raised unto a newness of life.
Our sins had to be propitiated.
Now see how much greater that new creation is.
Colossians 2:13
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.
Do you understand what he is saying?
Quickened means there is a resurrection; that is where the new creation takes place.
We are forgiven all trespasses; there had to be the propitiation for ours sins and a resurrection before you and I could be raised unto the newness of life.
We had to be quickened and raised together with Him.
Romans 6:3-4
3 Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him?
4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
In the regeneration, i.e., the new creation of a soul, there must be a crucifixion as well as a resurrection.
Now stop and think about this. Ponder this statement of modern Christianity. "
All you have to do is accept the Lord Jesus and you will be saved."
Does it make sense?
Where are we first talking about a crucifixion of the old man of sin and cutting down our old nature?
Jesus said in Luke 9:23
23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.
Where is the newness of life if there is no crucifixion of the old man of sin?
Romans 6:6
6 Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.
There cannot be any resurrection until there has been a crucifixion.
The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified before He arose.
The appeasing of God’s wrath on sin had to come first.
In the way of grace there is a crucifixion before there is a resurrection; there is resurrection before there is any justification or salvation.
The resurrection means we have been raised above the things of death, and we have been brought to walk in the newness of life.
Until that has taken place, no one is saved.
Crucifixion, resurrection, walking in a new life, then we can start talking about justification.
It is a lie to tell people all they have to do is accept the Lord Jesus Christ, and they will be saved.
It is absolute deception because the Bible teaches the crucifixion precedes resurrection, and resurrection precedes forgiveness.
The chronology taught by Scripture is that we are predestined, first "to be conformed to the image of His Son;" second, "called;" third, "justified;" and fourth, "glorified,"
Romans 8:29-30
29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.
30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And he gave them right standing with himself, and he promised them his glory.
We also see this same chronology in Colossians 2:13
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.
You cannot separate them.
In Romans 5:6
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."
Notice the word if.
That means it must come first.
If we know the crucifixion of self and sin and everything of the world, we shall also walk in the likeness of His resurrection.
Do you think it is possible to live in sin and claim justification?
No, not according to the Bible.
Death to sin comes first, then raised unto a newness of life.
The work of grace in the soul is a transformation from death unto life.
Romans 12:1-2
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.
A crucifixion of self and flesh, our bodies a living sacrifice, comes first.
It is walking in the way of the cross.
We must take up our cross daily and follow Him.
After crucifixion we find "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind [it is so important that we learn to understand the connection between our attitude and our salvation!
`but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind’], that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
SECONDLY, let’s consider the resemblance referred to in our text,
Ephesians 1:19-20
19 I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power
20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
The work of regeneration is synonymous with the power of the resurrection of Christ.
A person who’s mind is carnal by nature is a spiritually dead sinner.
"...enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," Romans 8:7.
The new birth, i.e., being "born of water and of the Spirit," John 3:5, is to be "...transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God," Romans 12:2.
To effect this new birth requires the same power spoken of in our text, EPH 1:20, "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places."
It is an eternal wonder that the Creator of heaven and earth would condescend to mere humans.
A person I met on a plane said that to him it was inconceivable that a Being who had created the universe which is so wonderful would take thought of a human being.
We are so insignificant.
Notice what a wonder that the Creator of heaven and earth would exercise that same power which He used to bring the dead body of Jesus Christ, His eternal Son, out of the grave to effect the new birth in us.
God brought Him to such pre-eminence of honour at His own right hand in order to raise up such hell worthy sinners as we are to such honour.
See the honor when He raises up such sinners by the same power to set them in heavenly places together with Christ Jesus!
Ephesians 2:5-7 says,
5 that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!)
6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms—all because we are one with Christ Jesus.
7 And so God can always point to us as examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus.
When God brought Christ Jesus up out of the grave, He brought us, the church, up with Him because the church is in Him.
Do you see how it is one?
The church is one with Christ; Christ is the head of the church.
In the resurrection of Christ, He raised up His church as well.
Now in the work of regeneration it is first a crucifixion, then a resurrection.
By nature we are dead spiritually.
We served the prince of this world like all those who are still in their sins.
It isn’t as if you or I have any power within ourselves to raise ourselves above this fallen condition.
Ephesians 2:2-3
2 You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
3 All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God’s anger just like everyone else.
By nature of our fallen condition we were children of wrath even as others who are still in their sin.
There is not one thing we can boast of if we have been regenerated, quickened, and brought into that newness of life, it is all of grace.
When the Divine Word is spoken from heaven, there is as much a Divine mandate for our resurrection from spiritual death as there was for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When the Holy Spirit sends forth the Word of God, it comes with power.
It is the mandate for our resurrection out of death; it is with as much power as when Christ was brought from the grave.
Ephesians 2:4-5 says,
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much,
5 that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!)
We may not stand and boast that we stand above other men because we keep the commandments, we walk in newness of life.
If we understand the condescension of God and the power of the resurrection of Christ, and the power it took to bring us out of our walk in the things of death,
We will not be critical of the person who does not yet understand Christ’s highest command to love one another as He loved us.
We won’t be critical of another if we have learned to understand it was by grace that God worked love in our hearts, and delivered us from the power of that sin.
How then, do we respond to that brother who is still under the power of sin?
We may only heap coals of love upon his head that our response of love might melt the bitterness in his heart.
Romans 2:4
4 Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?
It is the goodness of God that leads sinners to repentance!
When the Word is spoken with Divine power into the soul, that resurrection power is irresistible!
Stop and analyze this.
It is not a matter of one getting to choose Christ, and that by making a decision we are saved.
Every power of hell cannot resist the Divine call.
When the Holy Spirit comes with the Divine call, there isn’t any thing or anybody that can resist.
Take notice of the parallel between the call of grace and the resurrection of Christ.
All the soldiers, high priests, and Pharisees could not keep the body of Jesus in the tomb.
They set the watch and guard; they did everything in their power, but when the angel came from heaven and rolled back the stone, they became as dead men.
They had no power against the Divine power that came to raise Jesus out of the grave.
That is the power which the Lord uses when He quickens a sinner.
It is irresistible.
When God’s grace enters a soul, all the power of hell, Satan, and sin, or the corruption of our evil nature cannot hold the soul in their service.
When the work of grace enters the soul, the old things of this world, including ones friends and the pleasures of this world, are not able to hold the power of the gospel back.
Luke 11:21-22 tells us,
21 For when Satan, who is completely armed, guards his palace, it is safe—
22 until someone who is stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
Old Satan is the strong man, but the Lord Jesus Christ is stronger than he.
The power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is more mighty than all the powers of hell.
"...the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe," is an everlasting power.
It is not here today and gone tomorrow.
Romans 6:8-11 says,
8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life.
9 We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.
10 He died once to defeat sin, and now he lives for the glory of God.
11 So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus.
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him [and so it is with those who are `created in Christ Jesus unto good works’
Why can’t we turn from Him?
Death looses it power over us because God has `before ordained that we should walk in them].
For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
When we come forth by the call of the Spirit, it is by the working of regeneration in our heart.
It is a true work of grace, and death has no more dominion over us.
See again the parallel in the word likewise.
The power of the resurrection in "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord," becomes obvious.
There is the power of the resurrection; it is the exceeding greatness of His power to us for those who believe.
For those who have received the knowledge of the truth and return again to their old sin, we have the awful illustration given in,2 Peter 2:20-22
20 And when people escape from the wicked ways of the world by learning about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up with sin and become its slave again, they are worse off than before.
21 It would be better if they had never known the right way to live than to know it and then reject the holy commandments that were given to them.
22 They make these proverbs come true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and “A washed pig returns to the mud.”
We see men and women who have known the way of truth, who have professed to be regenerated but who have become entangled in the things of death.
For them it would have been better to have never known the way of salvation.
See the comparison.
He isn’t comparing them to lost sheep.
They are nothing but a sow that was washed.
They were not transformed into a sheep in the first instance.
They are compared to a dog who returns to his vomit.
Those who have taken part in the resurrection of Christ are described in Romans 6:3-4. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
There is the parallel.
THIRD, let’s consider the blessed evidence which we have of taking part in that resurrection.
So many people claim salvation, but what evidence do we have in the Scriptures that we have it.
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.
Where is the earnest of the Spirit, where is our evidence?
Paul’s letter continues, "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," EPH 1:15-16.
Where is our evidence?
Jesus said, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," Matthew 22:40.
If you say you love God and hate your brother, you are a liar, and the truth is not in you, cf. 1John 4:20.
Where is your evidence? "...after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints."
Our evidence is faith in the Lord Jesus and love to all saints.
What is our faith?
When it is in exercise, it gives us the power to love the brethren.
We cannot claim the work of regeneration and hate our brethren.
If we have hate in our hearts, we are deceiving ourselves if we say we are saved for we have not the Spirit of Christ.
This spirit of love "...unto all the saints," which is the fruit of faith, has its fountain or foundation in the love of God, the Father, for the whole redeemed family.
We must follow through to find out why this is so critical.
God the Father so loved the world that He gave His own Son.
Now are we saying we are a part of that?
God loves me, but I hate my brother who is created after the similitude of God?
Do you understand why this is so important?
1John 4:10-11 tells us, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
Do you see the foundation of our salvation?
It is the love of God, the Father, revealed in our love to one another!
To see why this is so important, notice the tie between God’s love and our salvation.
It is "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
The bonds which bind the redeemed family together are very many, and very strong.
The ties that make us love one another are very important for they are such positive evidence that we have the work of regeneration.
What are these bonds?
These bonds spring from being members of one single body.
Stop and picture the parts of the body: hands, feet, arms, etc. If one member hurts, they all suffer.
We are all members of one body. How can I become an instrument of deliberate injury to another part of Christ’s body, and yet claim I am part of His body?
Romans 12:4-5 says, "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another."
See the bond?
If the bond is not there, we cannot claim to be a part of the body because it would take complete insanity for one part of my body to beat on another part of my body to inflict injury.
"For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones," EPH 5:29-30.
What kind of body are we saying Christ has if its own members are injuring each other, or not love each other?
These bonds spring from the common ground we have in our redemption by the same precious blood.
When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we see how the wine is made by many grapes.
They are placed in a wine press; the juice is pressed out.
In the fermenting process, all dregs settle out and the sweet wine is taken from the top.
This is used to symbolize the blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper.
Think about this for a minute.
You and I are individual grapes, but as we come into the body of Christ, into His blood, we lose our identity.
We become one wine.
All those grapes lose their identity.
They are completely immersed into one wine.
So it is in the body of Christ.
We become totally one in Christ, even as all the grapes become one wine.
So it is in the redemption that we have in Christ’s precious blood.
These are the bonds which bind us together.
1 Corinthians 11:25-26
25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”
26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
"Showing the Lord’s death" means we are showing death to sin.
"For in that he died, he died unto sin once," Romans 6:10.
In the Lord’s Supper we are celebrating death to sin.
Do you see the tight bonds that bind the saints together?
These cords of love must not be broken, and we must not injure each other.
These saints have the same friends, see the cords which bind them together!
They have the same enemies, the same living hopes, the same trials of faith, and they look for the same redemption by the same Shepherd and Bishop of their soul.
How can we come together in oneness of prayer before one throne of grace with one voice in harmony?
The harp strings we will use to sing the songs of redemption on the sea of glass will be voices in perfect harmony.
One will not clatter against the other; one will not want to harm another.
They are all singing together the redemption song, having been redeemed from the things of this world.
The harmony between the saints is so important.
These saints have learned to realize that none of them are perfect in this life; they know what it is to forgive each other.
They understand what God’s Word says in 1Peter 4:17.
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
The Lord comes to us saying, "Judge not, that ye be not judged," Matthew 7:1.
In the day of judgment the Lord will call on each of us.
How did we pass judgment on our neighbor?
Did you uncover his sins?
Were you looking with a critical eye at him, or for the things that may accompany salvation?
Judgment begins here in the court of my own conscience!
"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again," Matthew 7:2.
Those who show no mercy will have judgment without mercy.
When we come before the Lord and plead for mercy, God will first look to see if we have shown mercy; judgment begins right there!
We are not perfect; we have shortcomings.
How do we dare point a finger at another person?
This is where the bonds grow stronger.
GAL 6:1 says, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
That is not looking with a critical eye, but an eye of pity.
Judgment begins in the house of God; those who are truly the friends of Jesus understand that.
What is the end of those who obey not the gospel of God, of those who do not love their neighbor as Christ loved us?
The love of the saints for each other grows from a sense of unworthiness which they have learned from a little self- knowledge.
The more I learn to understand the gospel, the more I learn to understand who I am.
Sometimes that fork gets so full that the handle would break if I added one straw to it.
I dare not add one of your sins to it.
When I understand my own sins, I dare not pick up one stone to throw at the sins of others.
That is the beginning.
Matthew 6:12-15 says, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
Sometimes it makes one’s heart tremble, does it not, to come honest before the Lord and repeat His perfect prayer?
Have you ever tried to repeat the Lord’s Prayer (saying forgive me as I forgive) with your eye opened to see such an unforgiving spirit in your own heart.
All we need is a little glimpse into our own hearts, and we aren’t so busy with our brother’s sins.
They are small by comparison, and we can forgive them completely for we understand what forgiveness we need.
Verse 13 continues, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."
Our Saviour says right after that in Verses 14-15, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Do you see the word if in there?
Do we understand the contingency upon forgiveness?
We will be forgiven with only that quality of forgiveness.
What do we need more than to be forgiven our unforgiving spirits?
Understanding that leads to understanding the bonds of love which hold us together and which we need in our brother’s prayers.
We need the Lord to hold us from sin.
I need my fellow man; I need the hand and foot to carry me.
We need the other members of the body to embrace and support us for we are all one body in Christ.
"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."
Now we get a glimpse of the exceedingly great power we need of the Lord to raise us from the body of death.
That is a little self- knowledge.
The highest joy the saints have in each other is when they enjoy times of fellowship in their Lord.
It is not in trying to uncover each other’s sins.
We read in Psalm 66:16-19
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
my Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
[Now we need to come together to glorify God.
How?
By telling of the redemptive work He has done for us.]
If I regard [to cherish] iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer."
The Psalmist is telling of the wonderful song of redemption, asking others to come and gather around to tell what the Lord has done for his soul, and how He has pardoned their sin.
Then I am not so busy with our brothers’ sins.
