Tuesday: Participating in Resurrection Power
In the remaining verses of Paul’s prayer report, Ephesians 1:20-23, Paul expands on the third topic of insight he hopes that the Holy Spirit will bring to believers: the enormity of God’s power, which He exercises on their behalf. He begins by pointing to two salvation history events as the premiere illustrations of God’s power: (1) the resurrection of Jesus from the dead; (2) the exaltation of Jesus to the throne of the cosmos (Ephesians 1:20).
How is God’s power expressed through the resurrection of Jesus? Ephesians 1:20; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22; Philippians 3:8-11; Hebrews 13:20-21; 1 Peter 1:3.
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The resurrection of Jesus is a non-negotiable belief of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:14, 1 Corinthians 15:17). It is because Christ is risen that faithful believers await the grand, future resurrection to eternal life at the time of Christ’s return (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). It is because Christ is risen that we can look to Him today for all the blessings of the gospel, including the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The imagery, that God “seated Him [Christ] at His right hand” (Ephesians 1:20, NKJV), is drawn from Psalm 110:1, the most frequently cited passage in the New Testament (all of the passages just cited seem to draw on it). The exaltation of Christ has a high profile in Ephesians. Believers are “seated with … him [Christ Jesus] in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6, ESV). In addition, Paul refers to the ascent of Christ as a prelude to Christ’s filling all things and giving gifts to His church (see Ephesians 4:8-11).
In Ephesians 4:8-11, Paul warns us away from adopting a merely static image of Christ on the Father’s throne, presenting rather “the dynamic NT picture of the exalted Christ going forth by His Spirit in all the world, conquering and to conquer.” — F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1984), p. 133. So Paul portrays the exaltation/coronation of Christ not simply as an illustration of the divine power offered to believers, but as the source of that power.
| What are the ways that you need Christ’s power in your life, and how can we better avail ourselves of that power? What practices might hinder our access to His power? |
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When I read all these verses about the resurrection of Jesus and his ascent into heaven, I think of all my atheist friends who believe it never happened and that the whole story is just a ruse to keep Christians hoping and paying for the maintenance of church institutions. Reciting these verses to them has no meaning to them. Or, worse, they think of me as a poor deluded soul out of touch with reality.
But running through these verses is an important message for us as believers.
Listen to this:
The message is that Jesus' resurrection "quickens" - give life to - us now. If Christ is risen then the evidence of his rising is not in the plethora of verses we can quote about the resurrection but in the way we live. That is the only Bible that my atheist friends will ever read. If Christ is dead in us, how can we preach the resurrection?
That is why I think the title of today's lesson is no accident. It is a challenging thought in itself.
Last quarter we studied about a world worshipping at the wrong shrine, and the call to come out of Babylon. Most Christians wrongly assume that this false worship which will be imposed will be a religious form readily distinguished from Christianity.
May we suggest that this false worship will have many appealing good things, but is based in a large measure on forgetting the Power of God.
We see in the world today a huge assault on Christian morals. Christians lament the moral and spiritual decline of the nation and blame it all on the atheists and humanists whom God has never charged with building up societies moral and spiritual foundation.
What we see in the letter of Ephesians is a call to Christians to understand the exceedingly great power of Christ far above the power of atheists and humanists or any other earthly power.
Now, in society, we see a backlash from the Christian right who are appalled with what's happening and who are reacting to the secularization in society and looking to get hold of civil power to set things straight. However, it is the secularization of the religious churches that are the biggest problem. Making politics the means to promote the gospel is tapping into the wrong power!!!! Most have forsaken their true source of power which alone can change society.
Paul and the other disciples made a huge change in their society, not by using political power, but by being empowered by the Holy Spirit, and setting before the people the life changing, transforming gospel of Christ.
Sadly, Christianity has been pretty intent on divorcing obedience from the gospel. The "under grace not under the law" has been twisted to mean grace releases one from obeying God's law (done mainly to get away from the Sabbath). Well, they removed the protective moral wall, not the wall of prejudice Paul was talking about, but the protective wall of God's commandments, and society happily (or miserably) plunged into lawlessness.
Christianity has denied the power of God that Paul is talking about, even though they still in their inner belief know the commandments are the standard for a moral society. So now they are working to increasingly plug into civil power.
But civil power does not change hearts. It uses force.
It is God's great and marvelous power we need that transforms lives, and as individual lives are transformed, society itself is transformed.
Jesus is one of God's dynamic ways of acting. God is movement as He is still. I am the one who blocks His power to do more for myself. It's a matter of self-control. Self-control comes with surrendering and peace with recognition of His power.
Power comes from studying and memorizing the Word (Joshua 1:8).
I love your last comment, "But civil power does not change hearts. It uses force.
It is God's great and marvelous power we need that transforms lives, and as individual lives are transformed, society itself is transformed."
Last night my spiritual sister and I were discussing God's love, and how love allows freedom of choice and will never force people to the will of God, nor does God force us to follow Him. Life is found in love. God is love itself, and I believe those who choose to follow Jesus Christ will find this life through His Love in us.
Those who choose to control others to go their way by coercion take away others' freedom of choice. The only love you will find here is love of self.
Thank you for your contribution.
Very well put. Thank you Celeste
What are ways we can utilize the power of Christ? If use the power of Christ we don't have to worry about avoiding hindrance to the power of Christ. So, how do we use the power of Christ?
Let Christ live within us. Live a Christian life. Turn the conversation from politics to examples of Christ centered lives in the community.
1 John 1:7. Live in the light of Jesus.
1 Peter 1:13-14. Live for Jesus as God's obedient children.
James 1:22. Don't just listen, do God's word.
James 1:27. Help others in need.
Yes, the trend is to solve the world's problems with political force of religion, force to worship God. Now many Christian people don't look at it that way indivually. God has his people in other churches too.
What does it mean to have a transformed life? This question goes to the heart of the lesson. I could be prolific is explaining scripture and be active in church for decades but still not have a transformed life. When Jesus gave power to his deciples, to heal the sick and to cast out devils, he gave it to Judas also. However, he clearly didn't allow that power to transform his own life.
As we study the lesson this week, how can the power we are studying about be used to transform our lives? Also, what does a transformed life look like?
God's power in Jesus' resurrection is revealed as His authority over life and death, promising eternal life to believers. Ephesians 1:20 emphasizes His power in resurrecting Christ and exalting Him above all. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 signifies resurrection as a hopeful promise for all in Christ. Philippians 3:8-11 shows the resurrection as a source of new life, while Hebrews 13:20-21 underlines it as a testament of God's power to equip believers to do His will. Lastly, 1 Peter 1:3 presents it as a transformative power offering an imperishable inheritance. Thus, God's power is manifested in the resurrection as a victorious, life-giving, and transforming force.
Accessing Christ's power often involves prayer, Bible study, fellowship with believers, obedience to God's commands, and surrendering our weaknesses to Him. Conversely, practices that can hinder access to His power include sin, lack of faith, self-reliance, neglecting spiritual disciplines, and harboring unforgiveness. The ways we need Christ's power—such as for guidance, strength, love, forgiveness, and patience—vary based on individual circumstances.
Participating in resurrection power is accepting what Christ as done for us by faith and allowing new life in Christ be reflected our own life so that when people see us, they see the changes in our life and glorify the father in heaven.