2011-06-05 Sermon Ephesians 1
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110605pm Ephesians 1:15-27 Mark 16:14-20 Last Thursday we celebrated the Ascension of Christ, when 40 days after he rose from the dead he ascended to heaven, having told his disciples to wait in the city until they would be clothed with power from on high. In this reading from Ephesians Paul describes what that means for us: v.20 [God] raised [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given... and placed all things under his feet... that's his Ascension; and therefore Paul prays that we may know his incomparably great power for us who believe. It's all about the power of God. What do we mean by the power of God? There is so much in Scripture that we could be here all night, but let's pick a few key points. First, it's God's power in creation. We should have no doubt about the power of God just by looking at the things he has made. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. If you were able to add up all the power that exists in the universe – all the heat of the sun multiplied by the billions of stars that are believed to exist, all the motion of the galaxies travelling at unimaginable speeds – it's as nothing compared to the mighty power of the one who decided to cause it all to exist. And Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his word of power. We have literally no idea how immense is the power of God. Secondly, it's his power in providence. Power means the ability to get done what you will. God's will is that there should be a universe for him to enjoy and for it to enjoy and glorify him, and specifically that there should be a community of beings made in his image as a gift for his Son, to enjoy his love for eternity. So God's will tends towards bringing about this kingdom, this realm of human beings – at every level from macro to micro. The Bible doesn't tell us of a god who just started creation and left it to run itself, but a God who is sovereign over all things, who actively rules events. Jesus said Are not two sparrows sold for penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father (Matt 10:29). That doesn't mean that everything that happens is straightforwardly God's will – there are lots of other 'wills' in the world, powers, systems, nations, cultures, right down to each individual person – your will and mine. The interaction between them is infinitely complex – the world is not as Isaac Newton and the deists thought a fairly simple machine like a clock, where everything works by simple cause and effect. Other wills are created by God and in the end subject to him, and they are not in competition with him. It's not that human will and God's will are mutually exclusive, so the more something is willed by God the less my will has to do with it. Human 'flourishing' increases in accordance with the quality of relationship with God. Human freedom varies in direct, not inverse, proportion to involvement with God. Paul says that Jesus Christ has the power that enables him to bring everything under his control (Phil 3:21). We demonstrate the fact that we actually believe this every time we pray. Third, this includes his power in salvation – again in very concrete events, the biggest demonstration of God's power in the OT is the Exodus. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and that the Lord brought you forth from their with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm (Deut 5:15) Israel constantly celebrated that God was powerful enough to be able to bring it about that they should be saved from misery and brought into freedom in the land, defeating nations much more powerful than they. Well that same power was demonstrated with even greater power in the salvation of the world enacted by Jesus. Paradoxically, it's the power of the cross: for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who believe it is the power of God (v.18)... not with words of human wisdom lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power (1 Cor 1:17). And it's the power of the resurrection, the mighty strength which [God] exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead. There is no power on earth that can give life to the dead, death is the ultimate denial of any sort of power, but God's power overcame our sin and death to give life. That means that fourthly there is power in the proclamation. Paul says I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes... (Rom 1:16). It is God's ability to bring about that community of the redeemed who will surround his throne for ever, and his ability to bring individuals into that community as he works in them to draw them to believe the good news. Paul was confident that his message could compel and convince: the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world: on the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds...(2 Cor 10:4). And he was confident that this could be done despite and because of the weakness of the church: my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor 12:9) And so fifthly there is power in sanctification. Sanctification is such an unappealing word! It means the wonder and joy of knowing Jesus, the exhilaration of being able to talk to him, the splendour of feeling loved by him and never being able to be separated from him, it means the happiness we get from being good. This is the power that Paul says is at work in us who believe. There's plenty more, but that will do for now. And this is what Paul prays for us to know: to have wisdom, revelation, increasing knowledge, enlightenment, to know that this is what God is like and this is what God is doing in the world. He obviously thinks it's important that we know where real power lies in this world. It is God's will that under his power and authority there should be human powers and authorities to run things according to his will – national governments, international organisations, families and different ways that people are organised together – companies, schools, etc. Our big mistake is when we think that we have power to do what we will, rather than what he wills. Last week there were two big news stories about care services. In Winterbourne View hospital we saw authority and power being evidently severely abused, as carers bullied very vulnerable patients, and those with authority to prevent it failing to do so. The power of God is at work when we care for the vulnerable, when we patiently love and nurture those who are needy, exasperating and difficult. The power of God is at work when people with major problems feel some love and joy and peace in their lives. The power of God is at work when wrongdoing is exposed and stopped and put right. We also heard that Southern Cross, a company that runs 750 care homes with 31,000 people, has failed because private equity firms have bought it with mostly borrowed money, made a profit and left it with unaffordable debts. The head of Blackstones, Stephen Schwarzman, and others like him who have made millions even billions of pounds by causing this, who live ridiculously lavish lifestyles with more money than anyone could spend in a hundred lifetimes, may think of themselves as men of power. But this is not the power of God. The real power is in the love that decent carers show to old people. Real power is that which brings about the will of God in love, joy and peace. And that's why Paul prays that we will know and understand and see and that this is how it works: so that we will be moved away from selfish bullying and cruel abuse of power towards the power to love and bless and heal. Eph 3:16, 20
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