Well, today we'll be in Ephesians
1 again. We'll be in verse 21. The name of the message is the
exaltation of Christ. The exaltation of Christ. We'll be in verse 21. We will go back and look at verses
19-20, but I'll read 21 first. Far above all principality and
power, and might and dominion in every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. So
last week, a couple weeks ago actually, because I was away
the other Sunday, we looked at God's great power in verses 19
and 20. We looked at how there was different
Greek words used for power there as well. And we'll read those
right now. 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 at His own right hand in the heavenly
places. So we looked at how God is almighty. He's all-powerful. There's no
one who can come close to Him. No one. He is so far above us
in power, in majesty, in might. He's God. He's God. He's sovereign too. And we looked
at how that same power that raised Christ from the grave is the
same power that regenerated we who believe. That same power. And it's marvelous. And we see at the close of verse
20, it speaks of Christ here, sitting at the right hand of
the Father. And sat Him at His own right
hand in the heavenly places. Now, I was pondering this this
morning. Not this fact, but I was pondering
something this morning. Christ was God before He came
to earth. He was God. Christ was God when
He was born in a manger. as a little baby, he never ceased
to being God. But now, one commentator said,
he's become something that he wasn't. He's man and God. But he's still God, beloved.
He's still God incarnate in the flesh. And then when he lived
that life, when he was working in the carpenter shop, He's God in the flesh. When He's speaking to the Pharisees
and the scribes and they're coming against Him, He's the God-man. He's still God. When He's dying
upon the cross for our sins, He's still God. He's perfect. Absolutely perfect. He's the
God-Man. And when He is risen in exaltation
and enters into the glories and splendors of heaven again, He's
still God. But He's the God-Man. The God-Man. The great Redeemer of sinners. So He absolutely never ceased
to be God. Never. And our sins were laid
upon Him. God cannot sin. He never ceases
to be God. He is perfect. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. So let us
keep that in mind as we look at these Scriptures here. Turn,
if you would, to Matthew 20. Now the right hand, right? He
sat at the right hand in heavenly places. The right hand denotes
power. It denotes power. Christ is at
the right hand of the Father. And He's God. He's God. Look at this in Matthew 20. And
the right hand speaks of a place of power and a place of might. Princes sat next in honor and
authority to themselves at their right hands. Look at Matthew
20, verses 20-28. And this tied in for me here
as I was studying for this message. I was like, wow, now I know what
their mother was asking in Christ's response to her. Then came to
him the mother of Zebedee's children, verse 20, with her sons, worshiping
him and desiring a certain thing of him. He said unto her, What
wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that
these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand and the
other on thy left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said,
ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup
that I shall drink of and be baptized with the baptism that
I am baptized with? They said unto him, we are able.
Oh, no, they're not. No, they're not. And he saith
unto him, ye shall drink indeed of the cup and be baptized with
the baptism that I am baptized with, but the seed on my right
hand and on my left is not mine to give. but it shall be given
to them for whom it is prepared of My Father. And when the ten
heard it, they were moved to indignation against the two brethren.
But Jesus called them unto Him and said, You know that the great
princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they
that are great exercise authority upon them. but it shall not be
so among you. But whosoever will be great among
you, let him be your minister." Now, remember in Colossians,
we saw that Paul is a minister by the dispensation of God. He's
a servant. Think of this. Our Lord is the
King of glory. And He's condescended and became
a man. Greater love hath no man than
this. What condescension, right? What condescension. But it shall
not be so among you. But whosoever will be great among
you, let him be your minister. Let us serve one another, beloved.
We're not to exalt each other. Bruce told me about a young preacher
in another church that's starting up. And I said, well, praise
be to God. And he said, yeah, we ought to glorify God. I said,
yeah, there's no competition among preachers. There shouldn't
be. There shouldn't be. We have the
same message. We're preaching Christ and Him
crucified. We should be excited when the
Lord raises up a young preacher. And whosoever will be chief among
you, let him be your servant. Even as the Son of Man, look
at this, look at this. Christ, God, the God-Man mediator. Even as the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto, right? But to minister and to give His
life a ransom for many. Oh, what a great King we have.
What a great King. So our Lord Jesus Christ has
all authority and all power, and He sits upon the majesty
on high right now. He's not waiting to rule, beloved.
He rules and reigns right now. He's King. He's King at the right
hand of the Father. And so let's go back to our text
and I'll read verse 19 and 20 along with it so we can get the
context of the verse. Verse 19, 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 sat Him at His own right hand
in the heavenly places? Far above all principality and
power and might and dominion. In every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. So
here before us, just like we saw in Colossians, we saw a very
similar statement in Colossians. Very similar statement. Turn,
if you would, to Colossians 1, 16 and 17. Now this is a topic
that's very dear to Paul, the preeminence of Christ. Very,
very dear. And if you notice in our text
in Ephesians it says, far above all principality and power. He's
talking again about how Christ is supreme. In Colossians 1,
16 and 17 it says this, For by Him were all things created that
are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by Him and for Him, for His glory belongs.
And then it says, and He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist. See, He has the preeminence.
And then back in our text in Ephesians 1, it says, far above
all principality and power and might and dominion, in every
name that is named. He's so far above. He gets all
the preeminence. All of it. All of it. And again,
this is a topic that's very dear to Paul. Very dear. And very dear to every believer
in Christ. That God in Christ is absolutely
supreme. Supreme. And if you read Paul's
epistles too, take note of this as you read Paul's epistle. Two
distinct things. I was talking to Bruce about
this too, that we continuously see. We see Paul usually combating
a specific error. He's usually combating a specific
error that sprung up in the church. And those errors still spring
up today. They still do, they still do. And think of this,
any amount of works, any amount of works pollutes the well of
free grace. Any amount of works. How much
poison does it take to pollute a well? Just a drop, right? Just
a drop, just a drop. Well, how much works does it
take for it to be no longer grace? Just a pinprick, just a pinprick. And then the second thing that
Paul is continuously bringing up is the supremacy of Christ. We were looking at it in Titus.
If you read Titus 3, you see Paul here talk about what we were before we were saved.
And then he just goes in to Christ and the glories of Christ. And
it's wonderful because that's what he always did. He's getting
carried away with the Gospel. Carried away with the free grace
of God in Christ. So he's continuously battling
works-based salvation. And then the second thing is
he's always bringing forth the supremacy of Christ. The supremacy
of Christ. And he's always bringing forth
the Gospel too. The Gospel, which is only found
in Christ. Without Christ, it's not good
news, is it? And that's what the Gospel is.
It's good news. Good news for sinners. But without
Christ, there's no good news. There's no good news. So he is
continuously setting forth Christ in His glorious power and His
supremacy. And here before us, he again
is setting forth the fact that Christ is so much higher than
princes and principalities and all powers. He's so much higher,
beloved. He's so supreme. God has raised
Christ far above all principality and power. Our text says, and
might and dominion in every name that is named, not only in this
world, but also in that which is to come. And as I said, we
looked at that statement in Colossians. It's the same statement, pretty
much. He's continuously striking that, the preeminence of Christ,
that ting, like we talked about before. Ting, he's just hitting
that musical tuning fork, getting their minds and eyes focused
upon Christ and him alone. And as we look at the Scriptures,
may we behold Christ. May we behold Christ in His glory.
May we behold Christ on the throne. He is uplifted, beloved. He sits and rules and reigns
a King Supreme. And may we draw near in awe as
we gaze on the preeminence of Christ. And we just have but
limited understanding, really. But the little understanding
we have leaves us in awe, doesn't it? Leaves us in awe. And think
one day, we're gonna see him upon his throne. That hope which
we don't see now, right? Because if you hope for something,
remember, if you hope for something, you don't see it. But if you
see it, you don't hope for it. We hope for one we don't see. But
we will one day. We will one day. Oh, what a glorious
day that will be. So may, as we ponder the preeminence
of Christ, may it just leave us in awe at His majesty and
at His grandeur. He is King. He is King. And this morning's message, we're
going to go through and see our King die upon the cross. Oh,
it's incredible. The very one. who had angels
worshiping Him, hangs upon a cross for His people. What humiliation! What condescension! What condescension! So we've
seen in our text here that it says that Christ is far above
all principality and power and might and dominion. Everything
pales in comparison. No glory can exceed Him. No glory
can exceed His. No power is as supreme as His. Governments have power and people
have power. It's nothing compared to what
our King has. Nothing. Oh, He's glorious. And this is the one who saves
us. And this is the one who keeps us. We can draw comfort from
that well, can't we? What a well. Oh, what strength
we can draw from that. And think of this too. The seraphim.
Angels. Creatures we can't even imagine
bow down before. They have to cover their eyes
in His presence. He's so holy and so righteous. What power! What power! They veil their faces while they
worship Him and glorify Him. And the glorified saints, brothers
and sisters we know, are worshiping Him right now in glory. Are looking upon Him in glory.
Oh, so let us ponder this too. That God, the God who the servant
had to cover their eyes before became a man and died on Calvary's cross.
Died on Calvary. He laid aside all His majesty. He laid aside His majesty. If
you're a believer, for you, for me, He laid it aside. Oh, what condescension. And He
saved His people from their sins. He became a servant. He became
a servant. And he was nailed to a tree by
wicked hands for my sins and for yours. Oh, what a wondrous thought. How depthless is this love. It's
depthless, boy. It's deeper than an ocean. Deeper
than any ocean. We were out at Brother Neil's
last night and looking at the sky and seeing the stars and
we're out there to watch some fireworks and seeing the stars. His love is higher than the heavens
for his people. We look at that and we're in
awe. His love is higher. Far, far higher. Far deeper than
any ocean and far higher than any heaven. is the love of God
in Christ for His people. It's an everlasting love. I've
loved you with an everlasting love. Oh, what mercy God has
upon sinners in Christ. So let us draw near to the throne
of grace and let us be in awe. Let us be in awe. He left the glories of heaven.
And if you're a believer, for you, May we never get over that. May it ever be before us. And think of the security that
the believer has. If Christ is far above all principalities
and power, right? Which He is. Think of the security
the believer has because they're in Him. You hear these folks say they
can lose their salvation. Well, they never had it in the
first place. But they say that they can lose their salvation
if Christ saves the sinner, right? And if Christ is far above all
principalities and powers, that means He's far above my power
and your power and anyone else's power, right? What security for
the believer. What security for the believer.
Now, it doesn't mean we go out the door and go crazy, does it?
Because none of us would even say that. But people say, well,
when you talk like that, you're saying you're giving people a
license to sin. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. The love of Christ
constrains us. Now, the things we hated, now
we love. The things that we loved, sin
and doing other things, now we hate them. And we hate them more
in ourselves. We don't look at other people
and go, well, look at that guy. No, we're going, woe is me. We're
like that publican. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. It's me. It's my sins. He died for my
sins. And if you're a believer, you
can say the same thing. He died for my sins. Oh, my goodness. What love. So what security the
believer has in Christ, no man is able to pluck them out of
his hand. No man. He's far above princes and principalities. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
145. Psalm 145. He is a King Supreme, beloved.
A King Supreme. Far above principalities and
powers. Far above puny men. Far above anyone who thinks they
have power. Far above. He's so far above. So far above. So far above any
other powers in the universe. He's so far above. He's God Almighty,
the great King of kings, and the Lord of lords. Look at Psalm
145. Look at verses 3-13. Look at this. Great is the Lord.
Verse 3. Great is the Lord, and greatly
to be praised. And His greatness is unsearchable.
You can search and search and search, and you're still searching. Think of the Bible. We dig and
we study, and like I say, it's like a mine that just keeps giving
jewels. It's unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy
works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak
of the glorious honor of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works. Oh, we speak of the wondrous
works that God has done in Christ for sinners, don't we? And man
shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts and I will declare
thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the
memory of thy Thy great goodness shall sing of Thy righteousness."
Oh, the righteousness of God in Christ. Perfect, spotless
righteousness. What's the believers clothed
in? Oh, my. The Lord is gracious and full
of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. Oh, God is
merciful. Merciful. He has the rain fall
on the just and on the unjust, doesn't He? Oh, what mercy He
shows. And then He has mercy on we who
believe undeserving sinners. And He has mercy upon sinners. The Lord is good to all, and
His tender mercies are over all His works. Verse 9, All Thy works
shall praise Thee, O Lord, and the saints shall bless Thee.
They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom and talk of Thy
power. What do we, what is, you know,
folks get all tied up in knots about witnessing, right? Well,
I remember in religion, you know, you had all these steps and everything
we had to do and all this stuff, but you know, do you know what
witnessing is? Telling the great things that God has done for
you. Telling of the greatness of his
power. I couldn't save myself and the
Lord Jesus Christ saved me. He did it all. Remember the Gadarene,
the demoniac, and the Lord saved him and he was seated before
Christ, he was in his right mind, he was clothed, which preaches
being clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and he wanted to go
with the Lord. He wanted to go, and the Lord
said, no, you go and tell the great things that God had done
for you. Great things that the Lord had
done for you. That's witnessing, that's all it is. We just tell
people what God's done for us. We speak of the glory of Thy
kingdom. Look at verse 11. We speak of the glory of Thy
kingdom and talk of Thy power to make known to the sons of
man His mighty acts and the glorious majesty of His kingdom. Thy kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom. It will never end. No one will
usurp Christ. No one. No one. And Thy dominion endureth throughout
all generations. Even if people don't believe
He's King, He's King. He's King, beloved. He's the King of kings. And He
is the Lord of lords. And He rules supreme. And think
of this, there is nowhere, nowhere where Christ does not rule. Nowhere. Nowhere. And the believer finds
great comfort and rest, 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 is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12, verse 2. Turn, if
you would, to Philippians 2, and we'll close with this. Philippians
2. These verses here show us the
Lord's condescension. And think of this too, what we're
looking at here. These verses here before us in
Philippians will show us the condescension and the exaltation
of Christ. Look at Philippians 2, verses
5-11. Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus. who being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation, remember he's the God of glory, and he becomes
a man, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made
in the likeness of man, and being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the
cross. Wherefore God hath also highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above every name." Right? Far above all princes
and principalities. He is so far above everything. Everything. "...that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, things in heaven, and things
on earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Why? To the glory of
God the Father. So that He'd get all the glory.
And next week, Lord willing, next week we'll finish this chapter.
Lord willing. So, I just pray that God will
use the preaching of His Gospel for His glory and His honors
and praise.