Strong in the Lord
If you want to see God’s power at work in your life (and you should), then let me recommend a careful reading (or 20!) of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
In Chapter 1, Paul begins with God’s eternal plan of salvation, and reminds us that God’s greatest feat of power toward us has already been accomplished in Christ: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (1:7). “In him” we have also “obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (1:11-12a). Our redemption price has been paid. Our salvation is as secure as the plan of God, who alone in the universe has the power to work all things according to his own will.
Paul then prays that the Ephesians would come to know “the immeasurable greatness of [God’s] power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked 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 one to come. 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” (1:19-21). Take a moment to consider this: the focus of God’s immeasurable power is “toward us who believe,” that is, “the church, which is his body.”
In Chapter 2 Paul reminds us that there is another power at work in the world. We all “once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (2:2). “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (2:4-6; 9-10). “We were dead.” Let that sink in. Until God applied Christ’s resurrection power to us, we were entirely powerless. We are the workmanship of God’s power, not our own. Every aspect of our salvation, from faith to repentance to good works is a gift.
In Chapter 3 Paul tells us that it was the power of grace that transformed him from God’s enemy to Christ’s Apostle: “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power” (3:7). And, he tells us, the ultimate goal of his Spirit-empowered ministry is “that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (3:10). It is to this end that Paul prays for the Ephesians, “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church (3:16-21a). Here again we see that the exercise of God’s power is focused on the church. This is because it is through the church that God intends to display his glory in the heavenly places.
Chapter 4 shows us that just as Christ used his power to make Paul an apostle, so he extends his power to make ministers of the rest of us:
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (4:11-16).
Again we see God’s power poured out for the building of his church. His work reveals itself in our lives when we live as “members one of another” (4:25), speak only in ways that are “good for building up,” and forgive “one another, as God in Christ forgave” us (4:32).
In Chapter 5 we learn how to be “filled with the Spirit” (5:18). We see that his power flows into our “inner being” (3:16) as we address “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” as we give “thanks always and for everything to God,” and as we live our lives “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (5:21). In short, we experience the Spirit’s power when we join him in his work of building up the church. (This is why 4:30 tells us, we grieve the Spirit when we tear it down.)
By Chapter 6 it should be clear that the church is the focal point of God’s power. But, as we saw in 3:10 it is also the focus of God’s enemies. Hence, it is to the church, corporately, that Paul addresses his famous call to arms:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (6:10-13).
The armor of God is constructed of all the gospel truths of the first five chapters. And its purpose, as with the rest of the letter, is to ensure that we, the church (and each of its members), will be “able to withstand in the evil day.” Today, my friends is that evil day. So today, together, let’s take up God’s armor and take our stand.
