Sunday, November 25, 2007
Ephesians 1:15-23
Senior Pastor
Before I start this morning I am going to recommend you keep your Bible open and if you don’t have one open that you pull one out of the pew rack and flip over to Ephesians 1:15-23. Keep it handy because we are going to look at this passage closely and it is packed with long phrases that will be easier to grasp I think if you can glance it as we walk through it.
Our Christian calendar begins in a season called Advent,
which begins four Sundays before Christmas.
That will be next Sunday. The
Christian calendar ends today and this last Sunday is known as Christ the King
Sunday. The calendar traces the life
and ministry of Jesus and ends by leading us to the confession that Christ is
King. This is not only to be a general
confession, but a personal confession that says Christ is King or ruler of
my life.
There are multiple assigned readings from scripture in the Christian calendar for each Sunday. This reading is one of those readings assigned for today because it illuminates the nature of Christ, especially in the last three verses we read, hear them again, beginning with verse 20: God put this power to work in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 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 age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (v. 20 –23) This is a description that says Christ is King, is the King. What we do not hear as readily is the undertone that would have been obvious when it was first circulated, which is that the Caesar of Rome pales in regard to authority and power and dominion in life, and particularly in the life of Christians. Caesar is not King; Christ is King.
Now this section of scripture in my Bible, and probably in yours has a subtitle, Paul’s Prayer. Paul is praying for these Christians living in Ephesus that they might come to make this confession that Christ is King. Before he gives this description of the nature of this King, he tells them why he prays they come to know this and he makes three points. Look in verse 17, he says, I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that…let me stop right there for a second. The “so that” tips us that he is getting ready to tell us the results of what happens when one comes to know Jesus Christ as Lord.
Now I think this is really good to hear because I run into too many Christians who are sort of ho-hum about faith, they are kind of lukewarm, or some are worse than that, they are burned out. I even feel that way sometimes, but hearing this fires me back up. Listen with me, in verse 18, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe. (v. 18 – 19)
Do you hear the results we can experience by knowing Christ? We get to be filled with hope because our hearts are enlightened as to our calling, i.e., we get to see God’s purpose at work in our lives and that necessarily fills a person with hope. So we get to be filled with hope by knowing Christ.
But we also get to see the riches of the inheritance we have through the saints, i.e., we get to see the working of God through others around us. That is inspiring isn’t it, when we get to see the work of God in other people of faith. So we get to experience the hope that comes from God calling us but we also get a double portion by seeing that God has already done it richly and gloriously in others before us – that is our inheritance.
Then finally we get a glimpse of the immeasurable greatness of God’s power in the life of one who believes. Now God’s power is available to anybody and everybody on the planet, but folks only get to see it with the eyes of faith. It only works to the max once we begin to believe – what this author so eloquently calls opening the eyes of your heart.
So we get first hand hope, we get the richness of inheriting even more hope, and finally we receive the experience of God’s power at work in our lives. Then just to bring the point home, the author connects this great power that can be ours to eternal life when he says, God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead! Can you hear this prayer saying there is hope now, there was hope before and brothers and sisters, there is surely hope in the future?
Rachel Naomi Remen is a doctor who works with patients who have life threatening illnesses. She writes about the transformations that sometimes come as people face such gripping news. She says often a critical step is accepting the illness and embracing life even without knowing what the future holds. She writes, When people begin to take such an attitude they seem to become intensely alive, intensely present. Their losses and suffering have not caused them to reject life, have not cast them into a place of resentment, victimization, or bitterness. As a friend with HIV/AIDS puts it, “I have let go of my preferences and am living with an intense awareness of the miracle of the moment.” Or in the words of another patient, (I really like this one) When you are walking on thin ice, you might as well dance. (Kitchen Table Wisdom. p. 171)
Now I like that, not because I live that way, but because of the challenge it offers. I think it is the same challenge that Ephesians offers when it proclaims there is hope now, there was hope before, and there is surely hope in the future. Even when we do not know exactly what life holds, we can be full of hope. Because we are part of the body of Christ and Christ is King and that leads to the conclusion of this passage: that we can know the fullness of him who fills all in all. (v. 23) Of all people, we are the people – people who are in the church – who should be filled up and running over with hope.
Just over a week ago I began to call people who had been givers to our church who had yet to fill out a commitment card for 2008. Now this is a daunting proposition to many and most pastors want no part of it. But I was fortunate to work with a pastor early on in my ministry who showed me how to do this. Well, actually he made me do it. But I realized it was a blessing because 99 out of 100 of those I call want to give; they want to be a part of the work of God. I am glad to help them. One lady I called is a widow, she lost her husband a few years back and he was self-employed so she also lost a good deal of her income. She has had other setbacks since his death; she has reasons to be bitter. But she is not. She told me how much she loved the church and how much God has blessed her and how she rests in the assurance of God’s blessings. It was great to talk with her and hear her great faith. I tell you her witness fired me up!
Another family I called had just buried a loved one in the past few weeks. They too have had some other struggles in life, but all they could say were how appreciative they were of the church in their time of need. They knew of the hope and the fullness of Christ coming through the church to them, firsthand.
Another woman I talked with told me she was simply overwhelmed with her life right now. She told me that if her business doesn’t turn soon she is afraid she will have to file bankruptcy. I said, “I bet that means you are not ready to pledge the $1,000.00 you did this year?” She said, “No, but you know I really do need to get back to church.” Even though she wasn’t feeling it right now, she knows where the place of hope is. She was glad I called and I was glad to be a voice of hope and encouragement for her.
Finally I talked to one fellow who has had some major health problems and serious surgery. He is still recovering and he just couldn’t believe the church was calling because he knows he had dropped out on us sometime before his health problems began. It is hard to express how elated he was to know we were thinking of him.
Now contrast that with the 1 out of the 100 who told me how bad her life was. I mean to listen very long you would think she had it worse than anybody. She has quit coming to church as well, but worse she has lost her hope. She has forgotten the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe. She is a life-long Christian but she is no longer experiencing the fullness of him who fills all in all. You know what I did? I took St. Paul’s lead as noted in this letter to the Ephesians and prayed with her right there on the phone – not quite as eloquently, but prayed nonetheless. I prayed that she might receive encouragement from God. I continue to pray that we might spark her faith and re-ignite her hope.
Let me close with this Thanksgiving story. It happened several years ago when a single mother of three kids was facing a bleak Thanksgiving Day. Her husband had left several months before, two of her three kids were down with the flu and she only had $2.50 left to her name. Then her phone rang. It was the secretary from her former church.
The woman recalls, the secretary was calling to tell me that they had been thinking of us and had something they wanted to give us. I said I was just thinking about going to store and I could drop by on my way.
I arrived at the
church just before lunch. The church secretary met me at the door and
handed me a special gift envelope. “We think of you and the kids often,”
she said, “and you are in our hearts and prayers. We love you.”
When I opened the envelope, I found two grocery certificates inside. Each
was worth $20. I was so touched and moved, I broke down and cried. We hugged and I
thanked her through my tears.
At the store I picked
up some soup and juice for the kids. At
the checkout it came to just over $14.00.
I handed the clerk the gift certificate. She stared at it a long time – I was afraid something was
wrong. Finally I said, “This gift
certificate is a real blessing. Our former church gave it to our family,
knowing I’m a single parent trying to make ends meet.”
The cashier then looked at me,
with tears in her loving eyes, and replied, “Honey, that’s wonderful! Do
you have a turkey?”
“No. It’s okay because my children are sick anyway.”
She then asked, “Do you have anything else for Thanksgiving dinner?”
Again I replied, “No.”
After handing me the change from
the certificate, she looked at my face and said, “Honey, I can’t tell you
exactly why right now, but I want you to go back into the store and buy a
turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie or anything else you need for a
Thanksgiving dinner.”
I was shocked, and
humbled to tears. “Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes! Get
whatever you want. And get some Gatorade for the kids.”
So I went back and
picked up a turkey and several other items and returned to the clerk. As I placed my groceries on the counter, she
looked at me once more with giant tears rolling down her face.
“Now I can tell
you. This morning I prayed that I could help someone today, and you
walked through my line.” She reached under the counter for her purse and
took out a $20 bill. She paid for my groceries and then handed me the
change. Once more I was moved to tears.
The sweet cashier then said, “I am a Christian. Here is my phone
number if you ever need anything.” She then took my head in her
hands, kissed my cheek and said, “God bless you, honey.” (Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul,
1995, Canfield, et al)
Do not cease to give thanks for Christ is King. If we have faith in Christ, if Christ is King of our lives, then we have reason to give thanks and love each other. In another letter Paul writes faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.
Amen and thanks be to God.
…a personal confession that says Christ is King or __________
of my life.
v. 20 – ____
Paul’s ____________ -- v. 17
v. 18 – 19
We get to be filled with ________…
…we also get to see the ____________ of the inheritance…
Then finally we get a glimpse of the immeasurable
__________________ of God’s power…
…there is hope now, there was hope before…
…there is surely hope in the _______________?
Rachel Naomi Remen
…often a critical step is accepting the illness
and embracing
________ even without knowing what the future holds.
When you are walking on thin ice, you might as well
__________.
…that we can know the fullness of him who fills all in
all. (v. 23)
…a blessing because ____ out of 100 of those I call want
to
give; they want to be a part of the work of God.
She is a life-long Christian but she is no longer
experiencing
the ________________ of him who fills all in all.
“I am a
__________________. Here is my phone number….”
Do not cease to give thanks for Christ is ________.
Kids: Today we are remembering that Christ is ________.