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You can turn in your Bibles to 
Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1. I'll read the chapter and then our 
focus will be on verses 19 to 23. But beginning in verse 1, 
the apostle Paul writes, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by 
the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful 
in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father 
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us 
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should 
be holy and without blame before Him, in love, having predestined 
us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according 
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of 
His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him 
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound 
toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery 
of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed 
in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, 
He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which 
are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. In Him also we 
have obtained an inheritance, being predestined, according 
to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel 
of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to 
the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after 
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, 
in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy 
Spirit of promise. who is the guarantee of our inheritance 
until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His 
glory. Therefore, I also, after I heard 
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 
do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in 
my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father 
of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation 
in the knowledge of Him. the eyes of your understanding 
having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope 
of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance 
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power 
toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty 
power, which 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 principality and power and might and dominion and every 
name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that 
which is to come. And he put all things under his 
feet and gave him to behead over all things to the church, which 
is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you for this wonderful passage of Holy Scripture 
and the great things that it teaches us through the praise 
of the Apostle and through the prayer of the Apostle. And we 
pray, Lord God, that you would cause us to meditate upon and 
to contemplate your great grace, your manifold blessings that 
you have poured out upon us. And may we pray in a manner that 
is consistent with what we find. passages like Ephesians 1. Forgive 
us again for our sin and transgression. Guide us now by your Holy Spirit. 
And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, remember 
in verses 15 to 23, the apostle lets us in to his prayer closet. Not specifically, this isn't 
the actual prayer, but it does cover how he prays when he goes 
to the throne of grace on behalf of the church in Ephesus. We 
see similar prayers in other epistles of the apostle, and 
we see the emphasis on spiritual things. Not that he wouldn't 
pray for you to get a new job, not that he wouldn't pray for 
your broken arm to fit or to heal, but he would pray specifically 
for spiritual verities, spiritual things. Notice his prayer in 
this particular context. Verse 17, he says that the God 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to 
you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of 
him. We have the spirit, he is the seal, he is the guarantee, 
but Paul prays that we'd know more of his influence, more of 
his power and provision in our lives, specifically that spirit 
of wisdom and revelation, so that we may grow in our understanding 
of who God is. And then Paul gives us three 
things that he wants us to know about God. Notice in verse 18, 
the eyes of your understanding having been enlightened, you've 
been converted, you've been called out of darkness into marvelous 
light, you're able to traffic, you're able to truck, you're 
able to receive these things now. So the eyes of your understanding 
having been enlightened, and then notice the three what's 
in verses 18 and 19. These are the things he wants 
us to know concerning God. In our increase in the knowledge 
of him, he wants us to know what is the hope of his calling. He 
wants us to know what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance 
in the saints, and he wants us to know what is the exceeding 
greatness of his power toward us who believe. And then he amplifies 
that third one and takes us to the end of the chapter. So he 
really wants us to understand something about God's power. 
The demonstration of God's power in us, verse 19, and then the 
demonstration of God's power in Christ in verses 20 to 23. 
So let's look first at the demonstration of His power in us in verse 19. Notice, and what is the exceeding 
greatness of His power toward us who believe? So there is the 
direct referent that He wants us to appreciate that God's power 
has been manifested in our lives. Now, first, the reason for this 
emphasis. Remember the church in Ephesus 
had a fascination, or at least the people that make up the church, 
had a fascination with the occult. Remember in Acts chapter 19, 
when the apostle comes there to preach, to proclaim, to make 
disciples and found the church, we see that persons that were 
repenting, persons that had believed the gospel, were taking their 
books of black arts and they were burning them. They were 
getting rid of them. So there does seem to be this 
backdrop in Ephesus wherein there was this fear, perhaps, of these 
powers, these principalities. And you see this reference in 
a couple of places. Notice in chapter 2 at verse 
6, He raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly 
places in Christ Jesus. So whatever principalities and 
powers at one point affected you in your earthly sojourn, 
they are no longer a threat. Notice as well in chapter 3, 
he says that the church functions in order to instruct the principalities 
and the powers. Notice in 3.10, "...to the intent 
that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by 
the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places." 
And then over in chapter 6 at verse 12, perhaps the one we 
know the most, he says, "...we do not wrestle against flesh 
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers 
of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 
in the heavenly places." One commentator, Stephen Baugh, says 
that Ephesian converts, whose whole lives had been steeped 
in attempts to placate unseen hostile powers, could not easily 
and quickly shake these old beliefs and patterns of thought. Hence, 
Paul looks to God in prayer that his audience would be convinced 
of Christ's supremacy over any supposed demonic competitor. 
That is a good emphasis. The people of God in various 
locales, various times in history, have various things that affect 
them. And so it should not surprise us that from verses 19 to 23 
in chapter 1, the apostle wants his readers to understand the 
exceeding greatness of God's power. Now, with reference to 
that, God's power toward us, notice the nature of the emphasis. He heaps up words. He piles on 
words. He couldn't tell us any more 
about how powerful God is. Notice, verse 19, what is the 
exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, and then 
notice, according to the working of his mighty power. So he heaps 
up all this terminology, but we need to understand with reference 
to God, there is nothing that is harder for God than something 
else. God is pure act. That means that 
when he creates the world and he does it by the word of his 
power, it doesn't leave him weary. It doesn't leave him tired. It 
doesn't leave him exhausted. When you or I are going to lift 
50 pounds, it takes a certain amount of energy. When we're 
going to lift a hundred pounds, we need to increase or redouble 
our efforts for more energy. That's not the way that God operates. God is pure act. There's no potency in God, whether 
active or passive. There is nothing that is difficult 
for God. And we see that emphasized through 
scripture. In Genesis chapter 18, with reference 
to the birth of a baby for Abraham and Sarah, there is nothing too 
difficult for the Lord. In the prophet Jeremiah 32 17 
and 32 27, same emphasis. There is nothing too hard for 
God. Paul heaps up these words for 
us to underscore to us God's great power. What is the exceeding 
greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the 
working of his mighty power. Again, just understand, there's 
not some things that God has to sort of prepare for in order 
to undertake because they take something out of him. There's 
no taking anything out of God. God is glorious, God is omnipotent, 
God is most high. Now, in terms of the demonstration 
of his power toward us, we've already seen it rehearsed in 
verses three to 14. Paul in praise, Paul in worship, 
Paul in blessing God, praises God for his power. It's seen 
in election. It's seen in predestination unto 
adoption. It's seen in redemption through 
the blood of the Lord Jesus. It's seen in the power of the 
Holy Spirit who functions as the seal and guarantee of our 
salvation. And here specifically in verse 
19, yes, it's salvation, most likely regeneration. because 
he then moves into a consideration of the resurrection of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Charles Hodge says in this passage, 
it cannot be doubted that the apostle compares the spiritual 
resurrection of believers with the resurrection of Christ, and 
refers both events to the operation of God or to the divine power. See, brethren, Arminianism isn't 
true. Pelagianism isn't true. Calvinism 
or Reformed theology is accurate because it acknowledges what 
the Bible makes clear from cover to cover. Salvation is of the 
Lord. It's not our contribution. It's 
not our free will. It's not our participation. It 
is God's power that brings us to new life. It is God's power 
that confers upon us the redemptive benefit that Christ secured. 
It's God's power that keeps us unto the day of Jesus. It's God's 
power from the beginning, in the middle, and to the very end. 
It's not our power. It's not our ability. It is not 
our will. It is God. And so Paul wants 
us to understand what is the exceeding greatness of his power, 
which he displayed or which he manifested toward us who believe 
according to the working of his mighty power. So that's the demonstration 
of His power in us. Now let's look secondly at the 
demonstration of His power in Christ. And He does this with 
three references. First, the power displayed in 
the resurrection of Christ. Second, the power displayed in 
the current session of Christ. And thirdly, the power displayed 
in the dominion of Christ. Again, he wants these believers 
not to be sort of paralyzed by any view of anything out there 
which may negatively impact them or affect them. This is great 
teaching or great doctrine or great instruction for us in our 
own generation. I don't think any of us would 
have any kind of a difficulty acknowledging things aren't well 
out in the world right now. Not that they were back then, 
but there's some unique challenges that we face. There are those 
powers above us that at times we question not only their intelligence, 
but their end game. what it is that they have in 
terms of their purpose for us. And so we ought not to be, you 
know, walking with fear and trepidation. We ought not to be paralyzed. 
We ought not to be sidelined. We need to consider the greatness 
of his power. We need to consider the greatness 
of that power as displayed in the life, death, and resurrection 
of our Lord Jesus. And we need to understand that 
whatever this world throws at us, if God is for us, who can 
be against us? We have divine power on our side, 
and the apostle wants us to contemplate that. He wants us to know that. 
He wants us to understand that. And so he prays that the spirit 
of wisdom and revelation be given to us in the knowledge of God. Because if we don't understand 
that power of God, then we will be sidelined. We will have our 
knees shaking. We'll be destroying our digits 
as we chew them to death. And we will not be the effective 
soldiers of Christ in this lower world. So notice in the first 
place, the power displayed in the resurrection of Christ. Verse 
19, what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe 
according to the working of his mighty power. Now notice in verse 
20, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. 
Now, in the study that we've engaged thus far, I have defined 
two things that are appropriate with reference to our understanding 
of who God is. There is the doctrine of inseparable 
operations. That means that Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit, as the one true and living God, does all that 
God does external to God. John Owen defines or describes 
it this way. The several persons are undivided 
in their operations, acting all by the same will, the same wisdom, 
the same power. Every person, therefore, is the 
author of every work of God, because each person is God, and 
the divine nature is the same undivided principle of all divine 
operations. And this arises from the unity 
of the persons in the same essence. See, if we compromise that or 
if we take from that, we're going to posit three separate centers 
of consciousness in the one true and living God. We're not supposed 
to do that. We're not supposed to carve up 
the divine essence. We are rather to appreciate that 
everything external to God is accomplished by God, Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit. But as we read our Bibles, we 
see that certain persons of the Godhead are credited with certain 
works. This is called appropriations. 
Appropriations is the attributing distinct external works to individual 
persons of the Trinity in order to draw our attention to each 
person's distinctiveness. It's a means, a method employed 
by the writers of the Scripture And it's something that the church 
has recognized throughout her history. It is the way to do 
theology. It is the way to think concerning 
the one true and living God, and the reality that in this 
divine and infinite being, there are three subsistences, the Father, 
the Word, or Son, and the Holy Spirit. So this is the way that 
we can talk about our triune God without compromising anything 
concerning our triune God. So in this passage, it is appropriated 
to the Father of having raised up the Son from the dead. So 
verse 19, what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward 
us who believe according to the working of His mighty power, 
which He, God the Father, worked in Christ when He raised Him 
from the dead? So this raising from the dead 
is ascribed to the father in several places. Acts chapter 
two and verse 24, the father is credited with raising Jesus 
from the dead. Acts chapter three, we see the 
similar instance in verse 15. First Corinthians chapter six, 
verse 14, again, tells us that the father raised the son from 
the dead. Now you'll know that the son 
says, I have the power to take it up again. I'd lay down my 
life. I have the power to take it up again in John 10. but in 
terms of appropriation with reference to the Father. Turn over to Colossians 
2. Colossians 2 in some sense is a similar or parallel passage. Colossians is parallel to Ephesians 
as a whole. But in Colossians 2, verse 12, 
or verse 11, we shouldn't be afraid of this passage, and him 
you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without 
hands by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the 
circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism in which 
you also were raised with him through faith in the working 
of God who raised him from the dead. So in Ephesians, specifically 
in verses 3 to 14, Paul praises the Father for what the Father 
does, for what the Son does, and what the Spirit does. And 
when Paul prays to God, he asks that the people of God grow in 
their understanding of who God is. Again, in this divine and 
infinite being, there are three subsistences. And he wants us 
to understand that, and he wants us to understand certain things 
about the three persons of the Trinity. So that's the methodology. Now notice in the second place, 
the power displayed in the current session of Christ. So verse 20, 
which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead, 
now notice, and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly 
places. far above all principality and 
power and might and dominion and every name that is named, 
not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. Theologians 
refer to what Jesus is doing now as the session or the current 
session, that timeframe between the first and the second advent 
of our blessed savior. We know from scripture that he 
ever lives to make intercession for us. We know from scripture 
that he is our advocate with the father, even Jesus Christ 
the righteous. In this interim period between 
the first and the second coming, we call that the session, or 
the current session, and that is precisely what Paul speaks 
about here. So we see the power of the Father 
with reference to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, but we 
also see the power of the Father with reference to the current 
session of our Lord at the right hand of the Father. Now notice, 
the fact of his exaltation to the right hand of the Father 
is clear. Notice, when he raised him from the dead and seated 
him at his right hand. What is the significance of the 
right hand? In the first place, the right 
hand of God is figurative. God is spirit. He does not have 
a body like men. So there's no actual right hand 
of God. It is figurative or metaphorical 
language. Turretin says the sitting at 
God's right hand can be understand not properly and literally, since 
God has neither right nor a left hand, but figuratively and metaphorically 
to denote the supreme dignity and sway of Christ. When it says 
that Christ is at the right hand of God, when it says that he's 
at the right hand of the Father, that is precisely what is in 
view, to denote the supreme dignity and sway of Christ. The right 
hand, in Old Testament references, is the place of honor beside 
the cave. 1 Kings 2, verse 19, relative 
to Solomon. Psalm 45. Again, Turretin says, 
the supreme majesty and glory by which he was most highly exalted 
by God and received a name above every name. The supreme dominion 
which he powerfully exerts over all creatures and which he shows 
especially in the government and defense of the church. We're 
gonna see that open up more so when we get down to verses 22 
and 23, but Christ has supreme power, authority, and dignity. 
He exercises that sovereignty over every square inch of the 
cosmos, but he does it with a specific reference to the church. That's 
what he says in verse 22. He put all things under his feet, 
gave him to be head over all things to the church. So he has 
universal comprehensive sovereignty to the church. We are indeed 
the apple of His eye. We are indeed the blessed ones 
that God has called out of darkness into marvelous light. We are 
His special possession. We are His prized people. Other 
New Testament passages that emphasize this, Acts 2, 33 to 36. In that 
sermon, Peter describes the true humanity of Christ, the death 
of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and then the ascension 
and exaltation of Christ. We see it as well in Romans 8, 
verse 34. Colossians 3, you can turn there. Colossians 3, very practical 
advice for the people of God, whatever their situation. Colossians 
3, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which 
are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. See, 
brethren, that's where our orientation ought to be. It ought not to 
be on Davos. It ought not to be on the who. 
Now, those things are certainly things we ought to be conscious 
of, cognizant of, and we ought to be aware of and prayerfully 
engage in those things. But in terms of our final and 
ultimate commitment, Christ is enthroned at the right hand of 
the Father. Again, brethren, if God is for us, what can man 
do? If God has got us, then the devil 
himself cannot trip us up. The world itself cannot stop 
us. The world itself cannot cast 
us into hell. God Almighty is for his people. The book of Hebrews emphasizes 
this in a repetitious manner. Hebrews 1.3, "...who being the 
brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, 
and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had 
by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the 
Majesty on high." Look at 8.1 in Hebrews. Now, this is the 
main point of the things we're saying. We have such a high priest 
who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty 
in the heavens. And then Hebrews 10, 12. Hebrews 
10, 12. But this man, after he had offered 
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of 
God. Referent, obviously, to ultimate authority, dignity, 
supreme power, and glory, but to the finality of sacrifice. When the old covenant high priest 
went into the Holy of Holies and he did his thing, he didn't 
sit down, he got out of there, lest God kill him, lest God destroy 
him. Christ offers up his sacrifice. The approval is such that he 
sits at the right hand of the Father. It is a most glorious 
evidence of God's acceptance of that blessed sacrifice. And 
then Hebrews 2.12, I'm sorry, 12.2. looking unto Jesus, the 
author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set 
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has 
sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. We see it 
in 1 Peter 3 at verse 22. Now brethren, you ought to hear 
an Old Testament text in there. You ought to hear Psalm 110.1. 
Psalm 110.1 and I'll add 2. The Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. 
The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion, rule 
in the midst of your enemies. So you see, for the Apostle Paul, 
as he's writing to these formerly pagan Ephesian believers, these 
persons that were caught up in the occult, in black magic, in 
those things that are vile and reprehensible in the sight of 
a living God. Again, they couldn't shake that stuff necessarily 
quickly. There'd be that remaining corruption. 
They'd still probably have that fear and trepidation. What is 
Paul saying? Paul is saying, get your eyes 
of faith at the right hand of God most high, where Christ rules 
and reigns, and he's over all of his and your enemies. Psalm 110.1 was the anthem of 
the early church. Brethren, in the light of the 
Roman Empire and their wickedness and their enmity ultimately against 
the church of Jesus Christ, look at how many times Psalm 110.1 
is cited, is quoted, or is alluded to. In other words, they were 
not going to be sidelined for fear of the civil state. They 
were not going to be sidelined for fear of some principality 
or power in the heavenly places. They understood that Yahweh said 
to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make all of your enemies 
your footstool. This is the stuff of biblical 
Christianity. This is the stuff of the church 
militant. This imagery of footstool points 
to conquest. The Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Gil says it's an allusion to 
the custom of conquerors treading upon the necks of the conquered. He didn't make that up, brethren. 
The Bible tells us. Joshua 10, 24, when they executed 
the coalition of Amorite kings, and they drew near and put their 
feet on their necks. 1 Kings 5.3, when Solomon appeals 
to the king of Tyre in order to get supplies for the building 
of the temple. He says, you know how my father 
David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his 
God because of the wars which were fought against him on every 
side until the Lord put his foes under the soles of his feet. 
And then Psalm 47.3, he will subdue the peoples under us and 
the nations under our feet. Now, brethren, if we move back 
from that, most likely the very core of all of this blessed promise 
is Genesis 3.15. Genesis 3.15, I will put enmity 
between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed, 
he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. So 
the son of God is lowering his foot of judgment upon the devil, 
upon his legions and upon all of the enemies that withstand 
or try to withstand God most high and his Christ. He has installed 
his king on his holy hill of Zion. Notice in our passage in 
Ephesians 1.21, he speaks of the extensiveness of his reign. So at the right hand of the father 
with supreme dignity and power and authority, he's not just 
chilling, he's exercising that power and authority and it's 
extensive. And notice how Paul describes 
the extensiveness of it in verse 21. far above all principality 
and power and might and dominion and every name that is named. 
Now, some of these terms apply obviously to the unseen realm 
as in Ephesians 6, 12, but some of these terms can apply to civil 
government. The Roman Empire was not friendly 
to the Apostolic Church. By the time that Paul writes 
this epistle, things are getting hotter in the Empire in terms 
of the Christian Church. Initially, the Empire treated 
Christianity as a subset of Judaism, so they didn't mess with them 
that much. Well, of course, there was that obvious breach between 
Christianity and Judaism. The Christians continued to preach 
and teach and turn the world upside down. It eventually garnered 
the attention of the civil authority in Rome. And the civil authority 
ultimately comes down heavy upon the church of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. The city of Rome burned down. What do you think Nero 
did? Well, that's too bad. Do you think he blamed climate 
change? No, he blamed the church. He blamed the Christians. He 
blamed those in the empire that were now being marginalized, 
that were now being looked at as suspect and as potential threat. So the terminology here appeals, 
or applies rather, to unseen forces and to even seen forces. But what's the emphasis? Christ 
is above them. Christ is above whatever there 
is out there. Christ is above whatever there 
is in here, in terms of civil government. And then notice the 
eternity of his reign from the right hand of the father. So 
after emphasizing the extensiveness of it, far above all principality 
and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, 
notice, not only in this age, but also in that which is to 
come. not only in this age, but also 
in that which is to come. We're promised by the angel in 
Luke chapter one, verses 31 to 33, that of his kingdom, there 
will be no end. When we see in 1 Corinthians 
15, 20 to 28, Christ presents the kingdom unto his father, 
such that God is all in all. So the extensiveness and the 
eternity of his reign is a manifestation of the power of God that Paul 
wants us to understand, because actually it's really helpful 
to consider that there aren't renegade sinners out there. There 
isn't somebody as equally powerful as God. They're all under Christ. and the enemies are experiencing 
the lowering of his foot upon them. Gil says this phrase in 
verse 21 denotes both the extensiveness of Christ's kingdom and the eternity 
of it as reaching to both worlds and being over everything in 
them and as lasting to the end of this and unto that which is 
to come. And then thirdly, notice the 
power displayed in the dominion of Christ. Again, he's not just 
sitting there in the Sashet, but he's actually engaged in 
subduing. He's actually engaged in government. He's actually engaged in executing 
power. In the first place, notice that 
the father put all things under Christ's feet. This is a quotation 
from the Psalm that we sang at the outset of worship. Psalm 
eight, verse six, talking about the dignity of man. God made 
man upright. God made man with dignity. We 
bear God's image. There is great dignity there. 
But of course, man plunged into sin, and therefore it's the last 
Adam. We see this application in Hebrews 
2 with reference to the man Christ Jesus, who sets in order what 
was originally given or intended for Adam. But notice, Psalm 86 
says, you have made him to have dominion over the works of your 
hands. You have put all things under his feet. That is precisely 
what Paul says here. Not sure why the New King James 
doesn't offset it as a quotation from the Old Testament. It should. 
because it is, he put all things under his feet. Notice that the 
father gave him to be head over all things. He has universal 
and comprehensive sovereignty. Brethren, I realize at times 
this is tough to get our minds wrapped around because the world 
is a mess. because Justin Trudeau is a mess, 
because President Biden is a mess. It's hard for us to contemplate 
that God Most High has Christ the Lord sitting on his right 
hand, where he has universal empire over everything. We must 
conclude that they are the way they are because Christ is where 
he's at. In other words, it is God who 
raises men up, it is God who puts men down. Christ speaking 
as wisdom in Proverbs chapter 8 says, by me kings reign. Romans chapter 13, let every 
soul be subject to the governing authority, for there is no authority 
except from God, and those which exist are established by God. That doesn't mitigate against 
us praying and asking God perhaps for removal, for re-election 
or for restraint or those sorts of things. But we need to finally 
and ultimately come to grips with the reality that when God 
sends Babylon against the Southern tribes, he refers to Nebuchadnezzar 
as my servant, my servant to decimate the Southern tribes. 
When God raises up Cyrus, king of Persia, to be the means by 
which the back of Babylon is broken and Nebuchadnezzar is 
ultimately done, God calls Cyrus, king of Persia, my Christ, my 
Messiah, my anointed. So all things are under the foot 
of Christ. So whatever is, is because Christ 
is where he's at. And we take comfort in that because 
we know that the one over them is ultimately going to bring 
them to judgment. The same Christ is the God of 
absolute justice and righteousness, the God of Leviticus 27, the 
God of Deuteronomy 28. When you murder babies, when 
you murder old people, when you engage in sexual perversion, 
there's judgment to be had. That foot of the Redeemer will 
come down on your neck and vanquish you and destroy you. He must 
reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool. So the 
Father put all things under Him, the Father gave Him to be head 
over all things, and He does so with reference to the church. 
So Christ is the head of the church. There are two implications 
we should draw from this. First, an ecclesiastical implication. The Pope of Rome is not the head 
of the church. In fact, our confession, I think, 
is wonderful. It says, the Lord Jesus Christ 
is the head of the church in whom, by the appointment of the 
Father, all power for the calling, institution, order, or government 
of the church is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner. 
Neither can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, 
but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition 
that exalteth himself in the church against Christ and all 
that is called God, whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness 
of his coming. See, the Pope is not the head 
of the church. Jesus is the head of the church. 
That's the ecclesiastical implication that comes from verse 22. But 
secondly, there is a political implication that flows from verse 
22. Prime ministers, presidents, 
provincial health orders, or officers, they're not the head 
of the church. Brethren, when monkeypox develops 
and they wanna close the church, we stand on Ephesians 1, 22. 
They can inform us, they can tell us, they can talk to us 
about the threat and the danger and the potential, but it's Christ 
who dictates what the church does as church. He is the head. He has the authority. He is the 
ruler over all. In the history of the church, 
there's been questions concerning how do we deal with the civil 
government? How do we deal with the ecclesiastical? Well, of course, Rome sets the 
ecclesiastical over the civil government. Anglicanism, for 
instance, sets the civil government over the church. That's why the 
queen of England is the head of the Anglican church. That's 
not bueno, as our Mexican brothers would say. That is not good. There is no human earthly head 
over the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. So there is an ecclesiastical 
implication, a political implication, and then a practical implication. 
Christ is head over all things to the church. Brethren, whatever 
may come our way, whatever difficulties may face us, it cannot shake 
that reality. Brethren, there can be hardship. 
There probably will be. There's gonna be difficulty. 
Again, I'm not a prophet or the son of a prophet. God could change 
things overnight. But the particular trajectory 
we are on seems to suggest that there may be some challenges 
in our future. We've seen them over the past 
couple of years. We see them every time we fill up our gas 
tank. If you were in the United States and you had a baby needing 
formula, you would see that as well. Brethren, these things 
are going to affect the people of God. It is the reality. But we mustn't terminate on the 
challenge. We must focus at the right hand 
of God most high, where Christ is. He is the head over all things 
to the church. And then Paul explains or Paul 
fleshes out or gives us a beautiful statement concerning the church. 
Notice in verse 23, which is his body, the fullness of him 
who fills all in all. So he put all things under his 
feet, gave him to be had over all things to the church, which 
is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Romans 
12, that same sort of analogy is utilized. You see it as well 
in 1 Corinthians 12 with reference to the use of spiritual gifts. 
But just turn over to Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4, specifically 
at verse 11. Ephesians 4, verse 11, and he 
himself gave some to be apostles. some prophets, some evangelists, 
and some pastors and teachers, notice, for the equipping of 
the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body 
of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of 
the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man. to the measure 
of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no 
longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with 
every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning 
craftiness of deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth in love 
may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, 
from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every 
joint supplies according to the effective working by which every 
part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying 
of itself in love. There is solidarity between the 
head and the body. There is union between the head 
and the body. There is a close, inextricable 
connection between the head and the body. So all of what Paul 
has written here concerning what we ought to know concerning God's 
power should really thrill our hearts, should really encourage 
us, and should really stabilize us for the fight that we are 
in. In conclusion, first of all, 
the believer's knowledge of God, the three whats in verses 18 
and 19. What is the hope of his calling? 
What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints? 
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe? 
Brethren, we ought to pray in a similar vein. We ought to pray, 
God help me to increase in my understanding so that I get these 
things, so that these things can roam around in my mind and 
heart and build me up and strengthen me. so that these things can 
be foundational in terms of my perseverance, in terms of my 
going forward, in terms of the various challenges in life right 
now. Help me to focus upon the power of God Almighty. The knowledge 
of his power encourages the heart, doesn't it? I hope you've been 
encouraged tonight. I mean, perhaps you didn't get 
every jot and tittle, but there's at least this, you know, surface 
level awareness. God has lots of power. He's a 
great God. As well, the knowledge of his 
power stabilizes the soul. He's over everything. Spiritual 
forces, non-spiritual forces. Political governments, ecclesiastical. Everything is under the rule 
and sway of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The knowledge of his power 
promotes perseverance and grace. See, perseverance and grace isn't 
about us. It's about us depending upon 
God. It's about us looking to him. It's about us accessing 
that power that he has for his people. He doesn't just begin 
the work in us, but he keeps us unto that great day. And then 
as well, the knowledge of His power affords a reason to praise. We ought to praise God that He 
has unlimited, unrivaled power. Secondly, the Savior's exaltation 
to the right hand of God. He has universal sovereignty. 
It's both extensive and eternal. It is comprehensive. It is all-inclusive. There is no one in this world 
outside of the rule and the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Listen 
to John Eady. He says, the brow once crowned 
with thorns now wears the diadem of universal sovereignty. And 
that hand once nailed to the cross now holds in it the scepter 
of unlimited dominion. He who lay in the tomb has ascended 
the throne of unbounded empire. That, brethren, should cause 
you to get out of bed each and every day. And it should cause 
you to do so with a bit of a spring in your step. We remember Mr. Bolt when he prayed about that 
spring in the step. That is a great indicative of 
the people of God. They've got a spring in their 
step. Why? Because Christ is seated at the 
right hand of God most high, where he has unbounded empire. The Lord Jesus exercises that 
universal sovereignty over all things, and the Lord Jesus exercises 
that universal sovereignty with specific focus upon the church. And then one final observation, 
turn to 1 Corinthians 15. I alluded to it earlier, it's 
good to read it, get it in our minds and hearts. This is one 
of the clearest expressions of biblical eschatology. We ask 
the question, what's going to happen in the future? Is there 
going to be from among us a man who rises up, he's an antichrist, 
he cuts a covenant with the nations and all the peoples are led astray? 
Is that what's in our future? Is there a pre-trib rapture? 
Is it going to be the case that cars are unmanned and they go 
off the road because everybody got raptured? Is that what's 
in our future? 1 Corinthians 15, 20 to 28 is 
the best expression in my mind of biblical eschatology. It's 
simple. Eschatology wasn't given to confound 
the wise. It was given to instruct the 
unwise. It was given to encourage the 
people of God. We don't need charts. We don't 
need conferences. We don't need, you know, 10 part 
series on, you know, what's gonna happen at the pre-trib rapture. 
That's just so contrary or foreign to what we find in biblical eschatology. But notice in 1 Corinthians 15-20. But now Christ has risen from 
the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 
For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection 
of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even 
so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own 
order. Christ the firstfruits, afterward 
those who are Christ's that is coming. Then comes the end. You 
get that when Christ comes again, then comes the end. There's no 
millennial kingdom in there. And in terms of the earthly thousand 
years, I had a dispensationalist once tell me, well, that's where 
you'd put the millennium. Well, no, you don't put passages 
to fit your eschatological scheme. You let the Bible dictate. You 
let the Bible instruct. Yes, we can harmonize the thousand 
years in Revelation 20. But typically, in a balanced 
and sane hermeneutical world, we use clear passages to help 
us with the not as clear passages. And when you get to Revelation 
20, you have a spirit being being bound by a physical chain in 
a bottomless pit. There's obviously symbolism going 
on. In fact, we're told to expect 
that in Revelation 1, 1 to 3. The things signified in this 
book. It alerts us to the reality. 
There's going to be vision. There's going to be symbol. There's 
going to be signification. So when we get to Revelation 
20, it certainly teaches us the truth, but the truth isn't grab 
that thousand years, formulate an eschatological scheme, and 
then shove it into passages where it isn't. So back to the passage, 
notice what happens when Christ comes. It says, and those afterward, 
those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end. And notice when that end comes, 
when He comes, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father. 
You mean we're in the kingdom now? Yes, we're in the kingdom 
now. when or after he puts an end 
to all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign 
till he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that 
will be destroyed is death, for he has put all things under his 
feet." There's that Psalm 8-6 again. But when he says all things 
are put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under 
him is accepted. Now, when all things are made 
subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject 
to Him, who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. 
He does this as the mediator. He does this according to His 
role or function as mediator. It's not that the Son, as Son, 
is eternally subordinate to the Father. That can't be. The Son 
is consubstantial of the same essence as the Father. So there's 
no gradation. There's no big G God, little 
g God. The subjection by the Son to 
the Father is in the realm of mediation. It's in the realm 
of redemption. It's in the realm of consummating 
the kingdom and offering it up to the Father that God may be 
all in all. All of that, brethren, to say 
God has exceeding great power, we're supposed to know it and 
understand it, and we're supposed to receive great comfort as a 
result. And if you're not a Christian 
here, think about that power. That power was able to save the 
Apostle Paul. That power was able to save John 
Newton, who had been a blasphemer and a slave trader. That power 
was able to save Augusta. That power is able to save wretches 
in this room. That power is glorious and wondrous, 
such that if you come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, God 
has the power to save you, to forgive you, to have you experience 
chapter one, verse seven. In him, we have redemption through 
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches 
of his grace. There is great power, great grace, 
great glory, and great mercy to be had in our blessed God. So don't tarry, don't wait, but 
rather look unto him in faith and you will have everlasting 
life. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this great 
and glorious display of your power in the resurrection of 
Christ, in the current session of Christ, and in the dominion 
of Christ. His rule and reign over all things 
for the church. May you encourage and strengthen 
our hearts and may you help us to persevere And God, may you 
indeed be glorified in the context of our local church and in the 
families here and in individual lives. And we ask now that you 
would go with us, watch over us, and continue to be near to 
us. And we ask in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.