Well, may God bless that reading
to us with regard to the unity of the body. Now let us turn
to, once again, the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians and the
first chapter. And this evening we'll read from
verse 20 to the end of that chapter, verse 23. So the first chapter
of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians from verse 20 to the end, which
he wrote in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him
at his own 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 world, but also in that which
is to come, and hath put all things under his feet, and gave
him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body,
the fullness of him that filleth all in all. Last time we were speaking on
this chapter. We finished on the 19th verse,
which speaks about the exceeding greatness of his power to us
all who believe. according to the working of his
mighty power. And these verses then continue
really with that theme, setting before us the great power of
God. And it is a good thing if all
of us recognise continually that we do deal with an all-powerful
God. And as we have some right view
of that, I'm sure it will give us a better understanding of
who we have to deal with, not just a little God, not a God
who is wooden or made of stone or some other material, but we
worship the ever-living and the true God, to whom belongeth all
power, power that was used to create the world into being.
And thankfully, that same power that brings salvation. And we
have this statement here, and what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to us who believe according to the working of his
mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and set him in his own right hand in the heavenly
places. our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,
was raised from the dead. He died physically. He was placed
in the tomb, in the grave, and there he lay until that wonderful
time when he was raised from the dead, that glorious day of
the resurrection. And it was the power of God. And all of us, of course, in
due time, If the world continues, we'll also be laid in the grave.
But on that great day of the resurrection, when the trumpets
shall sound, and all will hear the voice of God, then to realize
there is that resurrection power which will raise everyone, some
to everlasting life, and some to everlasting death, in hell
with the devil and all his angels. But it will be the wonderful
power of God that will do that. And of course it is the same
power which brought that life into our souls. Because spiritually
we were dead. And yet what a mercy it is to
know that Christ has powerfully brought life into our hearts. That Spirit of God has caused
us to hear the voice of God, that which those who are dead
never hear to the saving of their soul. What a blessing therefore
we have heard to the saving of our soul, this great wonderful
power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead
and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. And we know that today this great
and blessed Saviour is seated on the throne, on the right hand
of the Father. And what a wonderful thought
it is, especially as we gather together for prayer, to know
that we have one who takes our prayers and presents them to
his Father. He intercedes for us. And therefore
as we come, I often pray feeling how feeble our prayers are and
how they seem to lack the urgency and the true desire to know that
the Lord Jesus knows exactly how we are and exactly what we
desire. And therefore he takes our prayers. and presents them to his father. He is a most glorious high priest,
a wonderful intercessor, an amazing mediator. And so what a pleasure
it is to realise this great blessing as we come to our father in heaven,
even this evening. What a mercy then to realise
that we have a saviour seated on the right hand of the father,
indeed in those heavenly places. far above all principality, and
power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. It
means, really, that things of this world, however great, however
important they may seem to be, they pay into insignificance
when we are able to understand, in some measure, the greatness
of God, and the power of the work of his Holy Spirit, that
everyone must come in due time, if not before when they die,
to stand before the judge of all the earth. And so the Apostle
speaks so very beautifully in this way. And he tells us, and
hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head
over all things to the church. Well I trust he is our head. He is the one who we desire to
bow down to and worship. He is indeed to us the head over
all things to the church. There's no nobody else can come
at all close, all are very small, insignificant by comparison with
the great and glorious Saviour that we have. And therefore all
things are under his feet and gave to him to be the head over
all things to the church. The Father gave him all things. What a wonderful merit there
was in what the Lord Jesus Christ had done. Because he fulfilled
all that his father gave him to do. He did not fail. That
work, that glorious work of salvation, he carried out to a glorious
completion. But as we view that, let us never
underestimate the cost of our salvation. Let us realize it
cost the Lord Jesus Christ his life. in order to ransom our
souls. And it's this great and glorious
Saviour that by faith we view today, seated in the right hand
of the Father in glory, there to intercede for us. And it's
Him that the Lord God Almighty has put all things under His
feet. He rules and reigns. He ever
will. No one will supplant His position. He has paid the price for our
sins and he therefore is worthy to occupy that place in glory. And he says, which is his body?
The Church is his body. We read together in that chapter,
it illustrates so clearly the necessity of each part being
important. And it's very humbling to think
that in the Church of God there are those who all have a different
part to play, a different part to occupy. The Lord uses them
in different ways. And therefore we should never
think, well of course I haven't been, I'm not doing that and
I think I should be. You see, the Lord calls us each
to fulfil His will, to fulfil that which is ordained for us. And the great blessing is to
be found a member of this church, and to be found in Christ, indeed
the hope of glory, and therefore to think that we are part of
Christ, we are joined to him, and that he therefore looks upon
us in this way, which is his body, the fullness of him that
filleth all in all. There is a fullness in Christ
to answer our need. Everything that you and I can
need is to be found in Christ. And it's a blessed occupation
to be able to come aside and meditate upon the fullness which
is in Christ and nothing lacking. He is complete and he is a great
and glorious saviour and he is the almighty God. And so tonight
let us bless God that we have such a Saviour. You know, David,
when he wrote the Psalms, he refers to this situation a number
of times, but in the 110th Psalm, in the first verse, he says,
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I
make thine enemies thy footstool. Well, all of God's enemies are
made his footstool. What a blessing it is, then,
to come tonight realising We have such a God. And as we are
favoured to meet together for prayer, may it be so tonight
that our prayers enter in to the holy place. And we pray in
faith, nothing wavering. And then may we be found waiting
and looking for answers to our prayers. Amen. Joseph, will you pray please?