Ephesians 1:19-21
Paul’s Kind of Praying (Part 4)
Rom. 1:16; 1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Cor. 2:4-5; 2 Cor. 4:7; Phil. 2:13; Col. 1:29; Acts 1:8; Eph. 3:17-18, 20.
Introduction:
Last week we started to look at the 3 requests Paul prayed to God for on behalf of the believers. He prayed that God would make them see and understand 3 important things about God. They were saved. They knew Jesus Christ died for their sins and they believed that. They had demonstrated in their lives a faith and a love that Paul could celebrate. Paul wanted them now to realize with greater clarity of spiritual vision 3 important things concerning God. First, he wanted them to know God’s person. Then he wanted them to know God’s possession. And this week we pick up with the 3rd thing that Paul prayed for: that they would know God’s Power.
The Ephesian Christians knew something about God’s power. I suppose that if I were one of those believers and I heard an elder of the Ephesian church reading Paul’s letter and he came to these verses, I would have remembered back on the early days of our church. I would have remembered being invited by a friend to go and hear a man named Paul teaching in the hall of Tyrannus. I would have remembered hearing Paul preaching that a man named Jesus was the Son of God who was put to death by the hands of men but was raised to life by the power of God. I would have remembered the moment when Paul called out for the people to believe in this Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life and I would remember that at that moment I trusted in Paul’s Jesus.
That is one effect of the power of God. Salvation. Paul says to the Thessalonians “our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” (1 Thess. 1:5). Romans 1:16 says, We “are not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
But then, as a believer in the church of Ephesus at that time, I would also remember how I had witnessed God’s power in other ways. Incredible events like those described in Acts 19 where Paul was doing powerful miracles. It says in Acts 19:11-12, “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.”
And then there was the time when the 7 sons of a Jewish chief priest were beaten up by a man who was possessed by demons. These guys didn’t know Jesus Christ but they tried to act like they were somebody special and use the name of Jesus. And for it, they got the tar beat out of them. And then it says, “When this event became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.” The power of Jesus Christ’s name was growing.
Then, in what I think is one of the greatest early acts of God’s power, there was a great moment involving a group of sorcerers who came to faith in Jesus Christ. These men came and publicly burned their scrolls that they had used for their magic. The total value of their scrolls was about 138 years pay for a regular rural worker.
Let’s put that in perspective here. The median hh income for Spring Lake residents is $53K per year. Multiply that by 138 years and you have almost $7.5M. If you had a personal library worth that much and it made you a hefty income as you used your library in your everyday work, how would you feel if you turned around and burned it? Burning $7.5 million right there at Millpoint park.
I think these former sorcerers didn’t regret it one bit. They didn’t think about selling those books and giving the money to the Church, the only right thing to do and the only valuable thing to do is to eliminate those books so the demonic information in them could never again be used for idolatry against the Lord. And that is why I think this is one of the greatest demonstrations of God’s power in Ephesus. It is only by God’s power that people turn away from idols and serve the Living God. Paul commended the Thessalonians for that when he said, “Everyone is telling me about how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9).
These Ephesians knew something about God’s power. What about us? What about you? What do you know about God’s Power?
Knowing God’s power is a key to the Christian life. That’s why Paul prays for them to know it. Here’s what we can learn about God’s Power.
God’s Power is Exceeding (v19a)
First, God’s Power is exceeding. Notice in verse 19 Paul says, “…His incomparably great power..” Some translations say, “the surpassing greatness of His power” (NAS), or, “the immeasurable greatness of His power” (ESV), or, “the exceeding greatness of His power” (KJV).
When we speak of God’s power we are speaking of His ability. We are now talking about the “able-ness” of God to do all things. We call Him the “Almighty” because “all Might is His”. He has all power, and, because He has all power He can do all things. We may also say then that He is “All-Able”. There is no limit to His ability. God does not come up short.
This is the point that Paul is trying to emphasize but could never over-emphasize. Paul says incomparable and in the Greek it is huperballon which literally means “a throwing beyond”. Beyond what? Beyond what is necessary to accomplish the task. In other words, God’s power is far more than what is needed to do whatever is necessary.
Just as an illustration, let’s say that I was at a stop light and a Ford Mustang pulled up next to me. And let’s say it’s not any ole Mustang, but a Shelby Cobra GT500. And let’s say I’m sitting in what I affectionately call the super-Kia and I feel a little macho – which you can do in a super-Kia. So I rev all four cylinders (if they’re all working) and look at the guy in the Shelby with a look that says, “I own you”. The light turns green and we both floor it. What do you think happens? Well, apart from a bunch of smoke from my engine and pieces of my car falling off, the Shelby is long gone. You see, not only did he have what it takes to beat me in the super-kia, he had way more than what it takes. He had a super-abounding kind of power that dwarfed anything I had.
That’s the kind of power God has. He not only has enough, He has more than enough. He not only has more than enough, He has waaaay more than enough. His power is a huperballon, an exceeding kind of power.
As a matter of fact, this is so important to understand, God often ridicules men in the Bible for their underestimation of His power. When Moses doubted God’s ability to provide food for the Israelites in the desert God responded. He said to Moses in Numbers 11:23, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Is the Lord’s arm too short? In other words, “Am I incapable? Huh, Moses? Am I unable? Is that what you think of Me, Moses?”
When we say that God’s power is exceeding we are saying that it exceeds all imaginable limits. His power is beyond anything that we can imagine, no matter how big our imagination is. As a matter of fact, I would point you to what Paul says in Ephesians 3:20. We often end our service with this passage as a benediction. Paul says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power…”
God’s Power is Exclusive (v19a)
Secondly, God’s Power is Exclusive. Paul says in verse 19, “HIS incomparably great power…” You see, Paul does not pray that they would realize the power they have in themselves. He does not ask God to open the eyes of their hearts to see the power of man. It is not human power he wants them to see. It is not the all-pervading “energy” of the universe that he wants them to tap into. It is not some god-like power they have to tap into within themselves. It’s not the power that came from practicing the occult, which those sorcerers would have been familiar with. Paul prays that the power they would know is the power of God Almighty because it is Exclusively His and no one else’s.
Let me help us apply what we’re learning here. First of all, the application is a mental one. We are to change in our mentality – in our thinking. We are to think of God more as the all-able, all-powerful One. Before you say, “Yeah I already do”, I would say “No, you don’t.” None of us yet see God’s power as it really is. You and I can say that God is all-powerful but we really do not even begin to grasp that. Paul wants us to comprehend it more.
Secondly, a good exercise to help grasp it more is to write down the things you are not able to do. This is like a backdoor way of realizing how powerful God is by looking at how powerful we are not. We are so deceived into thinking we have control over more in life than we really do. We are duped into relying on ourselves, or, on things of this world rather than on God. Paul is saying that God is able, not us. He is exceedingly more able than you and I because His power that enables Him is His alone. As you think about what you cannot control or bring about or accomplish as a puny human being, realize that God can do everything. Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but, with God all things are possible.” The more we realize we are un-able, the more we can look to the Lord who is “all-able”.
God’s Power is Expressed towards Believers (v19a)
So God’s Power is Exceeding, it is Exclusively His, and thirdly, it is Expressed towards believers. Notice Verse 19 again, “and His incomparably great power FOR US WHO BELIEVE…”
God’s power that Paul is talking about here is power that is exercised towards us. It is in operation in our lives. This isn’t God in the other end of the universe powerfully speaking more galaxies into existence, this is God’s power at work towards us.
This is important to realize because Paul is talking in this passage that they would know God better and that they would understand that they are God’s inheritance, and that they know His power because God’s power is that which brings us to know better. Turn to Ephesians 3 where we find Paul praying again. Read 16-19…..Notice that in order to know God’s love God’s power must be effective in someone’s heart so they effectively know God’s love for them.
God’s power is the energy that dynamically works in us. Philippians 2:13 says, “………” And then Colossians 1:29 says, “………….”
God’s Power Exemplified (v20-21)
Finally we see God’s Power Exemplified. In verses 20-22 we see two examples of God’s power at work. Paul names the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and then His Ascension. The 2 examples are God’s raising Jesus from the Grave, and then raising Him to the highest Government. Look with me at these two verses, “…….”
I asked myself this week “Of all the examples of God’s power, why does Paul mention these two? He could have talked about God’s power to create everything out of nothing. He could have talked about parting the Red Sea, or the plagues on Egypt to deliver Israel and manna, quail, water from the rock, all the military victories, etc. Why the resurrection and the Ascension?
I think it becomes clear when we realize that these two events – the Resurrection and the Ascension have tremendous bearing on the future of the Church. These works of God’s power show the particular relationship of Christ to the church. The particular miracles for Israel were done primarily for Israel and their faith and obedience to God. But now in Christ men from all nations are gathered into a spiritual community called the Church.
And now, what God did w Christ He will do with the Church. His power is exemplified in these two very pertinent and powerful events in the Church.
Paul’s Kind of Praying (Part 4)
Rom. 1:16; 1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Cor. 2:4-5; 2 Cor. 4:7; Phil. 2:13; Col. 1:29; Acts 1:8; Eph. 3:17-18, 20.
Introduction:
Last week we started to look at the 3 requests Paul prayed to God for on behalf of the believers. He prayed that God would make them see and understand 3 important things about God. They were saved. They knew Jesus Christ died for their sins and they believed that. They had demonstrated in their lives a faith and a love that Paul could celebrate. Paul wanted them now to realize with greater clarity of spiritual vision 3 important things concerning God. First, he wanted them to know God’s person. Then he wanted them to know God’s possession. And this week we pick up with the 3rd thing that Paul prayed for: that they would know God’s Power.
The Ephesian Christians knew something about God’s power. I suppose that if I were one of those believers and I heard an elder of the Ephesian church reading Paul’s letter and he came to these verses, I would have remembered back on the early days of our church. I would have remembered being invited by a friend to go and hear a man named Paul teaching in the hall of Tyrannus. I would have remembered hearing Paul preaching that a man named Jesus was the Son of God who was put to death by the hands of men but was raised to life by the power of God. I would have remembered the moment when Paul called out for the people to believe in this Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life and I would remember that at that moment I trusted in Paul’s Jesus.
That is one effect of the power of God. Salvation. Paul says to the Thessalonians “our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” (1 Thess. 1:5). Romans 1:16 says, We “are not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
But then, as a believer in the church of Ephesus at that time, I would also remember how I had witnessed God’s power in other ways. Incredible events like those described in Acts 19 where Paul was doing powerful miracles. It says in Acts 19:11-12, “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.”
And then there was the time when the 7 sons of a Jewish chief priest were beaten up by a man who was possessed by demons. These guys didn’t know Jesus Christ but they tried to act like they were somebody special and use the name of Jesus. And for it, they got the tar beat out of them. And then it says, “When this event became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.” The power of Jesus Christ’s name was growing.
Then, in what I think is one of the greatest early acts of God’s power, there was a great moment involving a group of sorcerers who came to faith in Jesus Christ. These men came and publicly burned their scrolls that they had used for their magic. The total value of their scrolls was about 138 years pay for a regular rural worker.
Let’s put that in perspective here. The median hh income for Spring Lake residents is $53K per year. Multiply that by 138 years and you have almost $7.5M. If you had a personal library worth that much and it made you a hefty income as you used your library in your everyday work, how would you feel if you turned around and burned it? Burning $7.5 million right there at Millpoint park.
I think these former sorcerers didn’t regret it one bit. They didn’t think about selling those books and giving the money to the Church, the only right thing to do and the only valuable thing to do is to eliminate those books so the demonic information in them could never again be used for idolatry against the Lord. And that is why I think this is one of the greatest demonstrations of God’s power in Ephesus. It is only by God’s power that people turn away from idols and serve the Living God. Paul commended the Thessalonians for that when he said, “Everyone is telling me about how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9).
These Ephesians knew something about God’s power. What about us? What about you? What do you know about God’s Power?
Knowing God’s power is a key to the Christian life. That’s why Paul prays for them to know it. Here’s what we can learn about God’s Power.
God’s Power is Exceeding (v19a)
First, God’s Power is exceeding. Notice in verse 19 Paul says, “…His incomparably great power..” Some translations say, “the surpassing greatness of His power” (NAS), or, “the immeasurable greatness of His power” (ESV), or, “the exceeding greatness of His power” (KJV).
When we speak of God’s power we are speaking of His ability. We are now talking about the “able-ness” of God to do all things. We call Him the “Almighty” because “all Might is His”. He has all power, and, because He has all power He can do all things. We may also say then that He is “All-Able”. There is no limit to His ability. God does not come up short.
This is the point that Paul is trying to emphasize but could never over-emphasize. Paul says incomparable and in the Greek it is huperballon which literally means “a throwing beyond”. Beyond what? Beyond what is necessary to accomplish the task. In other words, God’s power is far more than what is needed to do whatever is necessary.
Just as an illustration, let’s say that I was at a stop light and a Ford Mustang pulled up next to me. And let’s say it’s not any ole Mustang, but a Shelby Cobra GT500. And let’s say I’m sitting in what I affectionately call the super-Kia and I feel a little macho – which you can do in a super-Kia. So I rev all four cylinders (if they’re all working) and look at the guy in the Shelby with a look that says, “I own you”. The light turns green and we both floor it. What do you think happens? Well, apart from a bunch of smoke from my engine and pieces of my car falling off, the Shelby is long gone. You see, not only did he have what it takes to beat me in the super-kia, he had way more than what it takes. He had a super-abounding kind of power that dwarfed anything I had.
That’s the kind of power God has. He not only has enough, He has more than enough. He not only has more than enough, He has waaaay more than enough. His power is a huperballon, an exceeding kind of power.
As a matter of fact, this is so important to understand, God often ridicules men in the Bible for their underestimation of His power. When Moses doubted God’s ability to provide food for the Israelites in the desert God responded. He said to Moses in Numbers 11:23, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Is the Lord’s arm too short? In other words, “Am I incapable? Huh, Moses? Am I unable? Is that what you think of Me, Moses?”
When we say that God’s power is exceeding we are saying that it exceeds all imaginable limits. His power is beyond anything that we can imagine, no matter how big our imagination is. As a matter of fact, I would point you to what Paul says in Ephesians 3:20. We often end our service with this passage as a benediction. Paul says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power…”
God’s Power is Exclusive (v19a)
Secondly, God’s Power is Exclusive. Paul says in verse 19, “HIS incomparably great power…” You see, Paul does not pray that they would realize the power they have in themselves. He does not ask God to open the eyes of their hearts to see the power of man. It is not human power he wants them to see. It is not the all-pervading “energy” of the universe that he wants them to tap into. It is not some god-like power they have to tap into within themselves. It’s not the power that came from practicing the occult, which those sorcerers would have been familiar with. Paul prays that the power they would know is the power of God Almighty because it is Exclusively His and no one else’s.
Let me help us apply what we’re learning here. First of all, the application is a mental one. We are to change in our mentality – in our thinking. We are to think of God more as the all-able, all-powerful One. Before you say, “Yeah I already do”, I would say “No, you don’t.” None of us yet see God’s power as it really is. You and I can say that God is all-powerful but we really do not even begin to grasp that. Paul wants us to comprehend it more.
Secondly, a good exercise to help grasp it more is to write down the things you are not able to do. This is like a backdoor way of realizing how powerful God is by looking at how powerful we are not. We are so deceived into thinking we have control over more in life than we really do. We are duped into relying on ourselves, or, on things of this world rather than on God. Paul is saying that God is able, not us. He is exceedingly more able than you and I because His power that enables Him is His alone. As you think about what you cannot control or bring about or accomplish as a puny human being, realize that God can do everything. Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but, with God all things are possible.” The more we realize we are un-able, the more we can look to the Lord who is “all-able”.
God’s Power is Expressed towards Believers (v19a)
So God’s Power is Exceeding, it is Exclusively His, and thirdly, it is Expressed towards believers. Notice Verse 19 again, “and His incomparably great power FOR US WHO BELIEVE…”
God’s power that Paul is talking about here is power that is exercised towards us. It is in operation in our lives. This isn’t God in the other end of the universe powerfully speaking more galaxies into existence, this is God’s power at work towards us.
This is important to realize because Paul is talking in this passage that they would know God better and that they would understand that they are God’s inheritance, and that they know His power because God’s power is that which brings us to know better. Turn to Ephesians 3 where we find Paul praying again. Read 16-19…..Notice that in order to know God’s love God’s power must be effective in someone’s heart so they effectively know God’s love for them.
God’s power is the energy that dynamically works in us. Philippians 2:13 says, “………” And then Colossians 1:29 says, “………….”
God’s Power Exemplified (v20-21)
Finally we see God’s Power Exemplified. In verses 20-22 we see two examples of God’s power at work. Paul names the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and then His Ascension. The 2 examples are God’s raising Jesus from the Grave, and then raising Him to the highest Government. Look with me at these two verses, “…….”
I asked myself this week “Of all the examples of God’s power, why does Paul mention these two? He could have talked about God’s power to create everything out of nothing. He could have talked about parting the Red Sea, or the plagues on Egypt to deliver Israel and manna, quail, water from the rock, all the military victories, etc. Why the resurrection and the Ascension?
I think it becomes clear when we realize that these two events – the Resurrection and the Ascension have tremendous bearing on the future of the Church. These works of God’s power show the particular relationship of Christ to the church. The particular miracles for Israel were done primarily for Israel and their faith and obedience to God. But now in Christ men from all nations are gathered into a spiritual community called the Church.
And now, what God did w Christ He will do with the Church. His power is exemplified in these two very pertinent and powerful events in the Church.
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