Well, you and I have come to
the conclusion here of Ephesians chapter 1. This has been a wonderful study.
I trust that you have learned from it, that you will apply
it to your heart as God gives you grace to know these things
in your own heart and life. A sermon may be delivered. with
the eloquence of an angel. And yet, if it's not applied
to the heart, it will mean nothing. I pray that the Lord will be
pleased to effectually work in our hearts that we may experience
what the apostle was praying for here in regard to the saints
knowing the hope of their calling Knowing something about the glorious
riches of God's inheritance that was laid up for them and knowing
something about the exceeding greatness of His power. Now let's
begin here again in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 19. And he
prayed for them that they might know 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, far above all principality and power and
might and dominion and every name that is named, not only
in this age but also in the age of the world that is to come.
and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be
head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness
of him that filleth all in all." Now, the apostle tells us that
when God raised his Son from the dead and set Him there at
His own right hand, He set Him far above all of these principalities
and the powers and the might In all dominions, in all places,
Jesus Christ is above them. Now, it's a wonderful thing if
you and I think that the Son of God, in His deity, has always
been over these things. That as the Son of God, He was
the creator of these things. In a way and in a sense, this
is no marvel. He created all of these things.
We're reminded of that over in Colossians chapter 1 where he
was speaking of the Lord Jesus being the image of God, the firstborn
of every creature. And then Colossians chapter 1
verse 16 says, By Him, by the Son of God, 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. These are some of the same words
that the apostle uses over in our text, talking about these
principalities and these powers and so on. He says all of these
things were created by the Son of God. So it's no great mystery
that He's over these things, that He rules these things. But
what the apostle here is writing and teaching us, and he's wanting
the church to know and remember is, that not only is the Son
of God over these in His deity, but the Son of God is over these
things in His humanity, in His human nature. that when God raised
the Lord Jesus from the dead and seated Him there in heaven,
He did that in regards to the human nature of Jesus Christ. And this man, the Lord Jesus,
the mediator between God and man, is the very one that Today
is ruling and is far above all of these principalities and powers
and might and dominion and above every name that's named. So that's
the mystery and that's the comfort behind what is taught in these
verses. Now, as far as the definition
of these principalities and powers and might and so on, It's difficult
for us to define these words. It's difficult for me. And it's
more difficult to distinguish between them. I'm sure that they
are to be defined, and I'm sure they're to be distinguished between.
But to me, the apostle is simply saying here, by these principalities
and powers and all of this might and all of this dominion, that
He's including everything and anything that exists, whether
it's in this present world or the world to come. For instance,
He certainly included angels, whether they be good angels or
bad angels. The Lord Jesus Christ and His
humanity is far above all of these principalities. Those angels
that fight against us and those that fight with us. Those that
help us and those that seek to hurt us. Paul made mention of
that over the sixth chapter of this book, that the saints, we
wrestle against principalities, against these powers, that's
these wicked spirits, these fallen angels. But the writer of Hebrews
tells us that also these angels are ministering spirits, these
elect angels, the holy angels that never fail, nor could they
fall because God uphold them. that Jesus Christ is exalted
far above all these angels, whether they be good or bad. But He's
exalted also above all flesh. The Father has given Him power
over all flesh. John chapter 17 and verse 2.
The flesh of man, the flesh of beasts, birds that fly through
the air, of the little creeping things upon the earth, All creatures,
large and small, are under the rule and the authority and the
feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. Over all powers as individuals
or over all power collectively, whether it be one king or all
kingdoms, one man or a thousand men or ten thousand men, the
Son of God in His humanity is exalted over it all. All those planets that are out
in the universe that we can see with the naked eye, or you have
to use a telescope to see them, are those that are so far out
there that no eye could ever see. All of those fiery stars,
all of these grains of sand that blow through the air by the power
of the wind, whatever region there's any power or any might
that is in, My friend, the Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted
far above it all. He may be a little worm that
crawls and wiggles out of the ground, or He may be the most
mighty cherub in heaven in the presence of God, but Christ in
His human nature is exalted far above it all. All power is given
to me in heaven and in earth." Now, ain't that a wonderful thing?
We hear, unfortunately, thy Son preaching to us today that the
Lord Jesus is there in heaven, that He just barely made it there
to begin with, and He's sitting there, and sometimes He's standing,
and sometimes He's as though He's pacing backwards and forwards
in front of the throne, and He's confused, and He's frustrated,
and He's wringing His hands. hoping that someone will do something,
but he's not for sure if they will or not. And he's without
any power to effectually accomplish anything. Well, my friend, the
Apostle Paul says here that that concept of the Son of God in
our humanity is just not so. That God has set him far above
all principalities and power might and dominion. And I would invite you to remember
that he says here in verse 20, he's not only exalted there,
but verse 19 says that he's seated there. That's his posture. He's sitting there in heaven. Now I know this This is not implying
here that he rules there as a mere dictator of some kind, that he
rules in an arbitrarily manner, that he rules with indifference,
that he has no regard for the responsibility of man, or he
has no need to seize our plight that we're in. He's not saying
that at all. He does indeed rule as a sovereign. We know that. But this same Christ
that has been exalted far above all of these things is the same
Christ, my friend, who lived in this world. He identified
with us in our human nature, sin accepted. He was tried and
He was tempted. He sometimes cried. We hear Him
pray. We know that He feared and that
He suffered that agonizing death of the cross. He does indeed
set and rule in absolute sovereignty, and He's unshakable. He has this
absolute resolve, but He can be touched with the feelings
of our infirmities. He cares. He's mindful. He's already endured the hardships
of this life. in His humanity. And He's able
and willing to secure those who rely upon Him and come to Him. And those who seek Him for grace
and mercy, they'll find it, my friend. And they'll find it not
only from a sovereign Lord, but they'll find it from a compassionate
and tender Savior. These Scriptures like this aren't
made to make us fearful, but right the reverse. They're given
to us to make us trustful. We have a sovereign Savior, and
He's there in our humanity. You remember that man who had
the talent given to him? And he went and hid it in the
ground. And the reason he hid it, he said, was because, Lord,
I know that you're a hard man, and I fear you. You're a high,
and you're a dictator, and you're a hard man. But my friend, he's
not that way. He's not that way. This passage
doesn't tell us that God has exalted His Son to make us fearful. Oh, to make us reverent, yes,
but not tormented, so tormented that we're afraid to come to
Him. I tell you, the greatest fear any man could have and entertain
is the fear of not coming to Him and not coming to God by
Him. He's able to save us from all
our enemies that rule over us. Sin that rules over us. Flesh
that rules. Satan that rules the world. all
our sinful habits, He's willing to save us, and He's willing
and able to save everyone who comes to God by Him. The reign of the Lord Jesus Christ
in heaven has to do chiefly with Him saving us from our sins. And I tell you, the greatest
thing, the greatest aspect of our sins that He saves us from
is the love of it. the love of it. That's one of
the first things that we must be saved from, is the love of
sin. You may be here and you may be
talking about what a great sinner you are, and you may know it.
And if it could be possible that you were the greatest sinner
that this world ever knew, my friend, you can be saved from
it. Or you may be so fallen in sin that Everybody around you,
including yourself, would think that all hope of you being saved
has been gone. I tell you, if you looked at
Saul of Tarshish, and you looked at the enmity that was in his
heart, and all the wicked deeds that he was doing to the saints
there in the New Testament, why, you'd have probably thought,
that man isn't an eternal reprobate. There's no hope for him. He's
going to hell for sure. But my friend, he was saved from
it. He said, I'm the chief of sinners, but He was saved from
it. And you may be just one step from the grave and one step from
perishing like that thief was on the cross, and yet saved from
it. But I tell you this about the
love of sin. As long as a man loves his sin,
he'll never be saved from sin. I tell you, sin, if you love
it, you can let death or hell stir you in the very face, and
it will scare you out of your sin. The greatest fear, therefore,
that you and I should entertain is the fear of not coming to
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the thing that will keep us from
coming to Him is the love of that sin. Dear old John Bunyan
used to say that that's the very thing that will bind a man's
feet, it'll tie his hands, it'll blind your eyes, it'll stop your
ears, and it'll harden your hearts. As long as a man loves his sin,
he will not come to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the most
powerful principle in this world, is the love of sin. There's been men who gave limb
and life and their very souls for the love of sin. I tell you,
it's the most powerful force in a man's heart, is to love
sin. But did you know something? There's
One who can subdue that. There's One who is so mighty
that He is so exalted over this power of sin that He can subdue
it and save a man from the love of it. And I tell you, so save
a man from the love of it, a man would rather be saved from his
sin as he would to have his next breath. If you're here and you're
listening to this message, and the Lord has saved you from sin,
I bet you you would agree with this. If you had the choice of
your next breath, are being saved utterly from your sins, you would
say, Lord, keep my next breath. Let me never draw a next breath,
but save me from my sin. My friend, don't you hate sin
that way? Has the Lord not put such a holy
nature in your soul that you're so sick of it and you abhor it
and you abhor yourself because of it that you want to be saved
from it? I tell you, that's why Jesus
Christ is exalted. He's exalted over all these powers
to save us from our sin. I remember on Micah chapter 7,
he said that very thing. That the Lord will turn again.
He'll have compassion upon us. And He will subdue our iniquities
and cast all our sins in the depths of the sea. He will subdue
our iniquities. And what's the first thing He
must subdue? Why, it's this power of sin that
works in us to love it. He subdues the love of it. He
not only saves us from the guilt of it and the consequences of
it, but He saves us from the love of it. And how is He able
to do that? Well, the Apostle tells us here
that He is exalted above the power of it. All power and all
principalities and all might. He's the mediator between God
and man with all power, and He lives to exercise that power. My friends, there's no reason
to continue in your sins. And there's no reason to despair
over your sins. There's no just excuse to be
found for not believing the Lord Jesus Christ and coming to Him. He's able to save us. All power is given to me, he
said, in heaven and in earth. Therefore, go preach the gospel
to every creature, and tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save. He's a sovereign Lord, and He's
a Lord that is yet in His humanity, in His human nature, there in
heaven. I love that passage where Isaiah
said, They shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors,
and He shall send them a Savior, a great one, and He shall deliver
them. My friend, there's a great Savior.
He's exalted at God's right hand. Therefore, saint and sinner,
everyone who comes to God by Him will obtain saving mercy. Oh, when you hear of such a Savior.
Don't it encourage you? One that's so full of pity and
love and power. Don't that encourage you? Don't
encourage you just to come to Him and believe His Word and
rely upon Him? Cast all your weight upon Him
to carry you through this life and into the life that's to come?
Oh, I don't know of anything that's more encouraging to know
that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, joined Himself to our humanity
And He's been exalted there upon the right hand of God. Our humanity,
my friend, is in heaven. God has glorified our humanity
in our Savior. And now He lives there able and
willing to save us as we come to Him. Oh, what an encouraging
thing. And now He says there in the
last portion of verse 21 that He's exalted His name. of every
name, not only in this world, but in that world that's to come. God has exalted the name of Jesus
Christ. God gave Him that name. His name
shall be called Jesus the first time in all the Bible that we
read of the name of the incarnate Son of God. There would be many
that longed to know that name, and no doubt prayed to that end,
but God never revealed His name until Matthew 1, verse 21. A virgin shall bring forth a
son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His
people from their sin. I tell you, it's a common name.
Our little infants, when they just begin to learn how to talk,
they can speak that name. I've heard just little kids can
hardly say daddy, but they learn how to say Jesus. What a common
name that is. And dear old saints that's laying
in the hospital bed, or in the nursing home, or in their beds,
dying that has forgotten almost everything. But they've not forgotten
His name. And whose name is this? It's
the name of God's Son incarnate. And this is the name that God
has exalted above every name and every title. My friends,
there are some great titles in this world. The angels there
in heaven. They have the archangels and
the seraphims and the cherubims. The kingdom of darkness here
in this world has its prince and its God, its Lucifer. And
this earth has its king so-and-so and its president so-and-so and
its governor so-and-so. But who are these people? who are all these great titles,
someday all of them will come and take the crowns and their
titles from their head and cast them at the feet of the Son of
God and say, there's one name that's above every name, and
that's Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior. At that name, every
knee will bow. Things in heaven are going to
bow, and everything on this earth and everything under the earth
will bow to the name of Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Now, God didn't send the Lord
into this fallen world saying, you know, you go down there,
my son, and I want you to teach them a thing or two. I want you
to teach them something about my authority and my power. And
this is the way I want you to do it. I want you to get you
up and arm it. And I want you to arm them to the hilt. And
I want you to subdue the nations and rule over them with a sword
and with fear and slaughter. And keep those rebels under your
thumb. Make your name to be dreaded in every country and every city. Make every house and every heart
dreadful of your name. My friend, he didn't do that
at all. When God sent His sons to this world, He sent Him to
us, but how did He send Him? Oh, He sent Him through the womb
of a virgin. And I tell you, a poor virgin,
in fact, living all the way up there in northern Israel, up
in Galilee. Can any good thing come out of
Galilee? And when God sent Him there,
He laid Him in a manger, makes Him dependent upon others. Gives
him no house to dwell in, no bed to rest in, no table to eat
at of his own. He subjects him to these horrible
temptations, temptations of men and devils. He gives his back
finally to the smiters and his holy cheeks to those who pluck
off the hair they're of. And finally, he hangs him on
a tree outside the city of Jerusalem. And you know something else?
Not one time did He permit him to lift up his voice in the streets
and cry and complain and murmur. And yet it's this very name that
God has honored and exalted above every name and every title in
this world and in that world that's to come. And what is it?
Jesus. the name of Jesus. His name shall
be called Jesus, for He shall save His people. Oh, He's the
Lord. He's always been the Lord. He's
God. He's God now, and He's always
been God. But I tell you, His name, when
He came into this world to save us, His human name is Jesus. You know where God's chief glory
is? It's in this name. You know what
God's chief concern is? It has to do with His title.
You know where the heart of God is to be seen and found? You
know where the love and grace of God is to be revealed? It's
all in this name. It all has to do with this blessed
name. Jesus, His name tells us of His
title, Savior. It tells us of His work. Jesus
is God's mercy incarnate. Jesus is God's grace. Jesus, God's love. Jesus, God's
salvation. Jesus, hope of heaven. Jesus,
the hope of eternal bliss. My friend, this name carries
eternal consequences. The name of Jesus. What a lowly
name, one dear man said. because it's Jesus of Nazareth. What a cherished name, Jesus
Savior. Oh, what a hopeful name, He shall
save His people. What a fear-dispelling name,
Jesus who saves His people from their sins. What a name to appeal
to our most teeming hearts, Jesus. the Lamb of God. Who could be
fearful of a Lamb? Why, a child could come up to
a Lamb. Wouldn't it encourage a name?
Wouldn't us to God? Jesus the Door. And what a life-giving
name. His name is called the Word of
God. Oh, His name, His blessed name. He charms our fears. And it bids
our sorrows cease. How pleasant to a guilty conscience
is the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior. What a name to plead. Jesus. And now Paul comes here to verse
22. And he says he's put all things
under his feet and given him to be head over all things to
the church. Now, the Amplified says that
he has appointed the universal and supreme head of the church. But I don't think that's what
this verse is saying here. We know that he's the head of
the church. We know that he's the supreme
head of the church. That's taught us in other places,
even in this book. Christ is the head over the body.
He's the head of the church. But here's the comfort in the
way this verse says this. Not only is Christ head over
the church, but He's head over all things. That is, these principalities
and powers and might and so on. He's head over all of that for
the church, for the good of His church, for the protection of
His church. How's His church going to get
through this world? How is she going to be successful in this
world to accomplish the will of God? Well, everything in this
world, from devils to the little worms, is subject to Jesus Christ. And He reigns over it, not just
because He's personally satisfied to do that, but He reigns over
it for the comfort and for the present and for the eventual
and eternal good of His church. Now, my friends, I find a great
deal of comfort and reassurance in this, especially as you and
I look around us today. We listen to the news and we
watch it. We read about what's going on in our nation and around
the world, and it seems to me that even in our lifetime that
you and I may face some dangerous times and dangerous situations
and circumstances. And our Lord tells us that in
the last days that these perilous times would come, these dangerous
times will come. He tells us that men's hearts
would be fell on them for fear of looking at what's coming on
this earth. That there would be distress
of nations and perplexities. Men, even our leaders, not knowing
what to do. Men having doubtful hearts. And
that's probably the day in which you and I are beginning to see
now come to pass. But the Lord Jesus tells us that
when we do look around and see this, He says, then lift up. Lift up your eyes and your redemption,
it draws nearer. So instead of the children of
God being fearful about the time and the time that may be coming
upon us, I tell you, in one sense of the word, it's somewhat exciting
because now is our salvation year than when we first believed. And it's very reassuring to know
that Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior, that He rules and
He controls all of these times. All of these events and all of
these circumstances that we'll be faced with, all the people
that's involved in it, all of these great powers, even these
spiritual powers and these nations, The Lord Jesus rules over these
things. It's even said here that they
are under His feet. He has His feet upon their necks,
and He can put pressure upon them and make them submit for
the glory and the good of His church. I think if I looked around
me today, hearing all the bad news and all these perplexities
of the nation, I'd be fearful if I didn't realize that my Savior,
who saved me, lives today to reign over all of these powers
for my good. Poor, little, weak me. He does it for my good, the good
of all His people, the good of His church. He rules over all
of these powers, and He rules united to His church. Look what He says in verse 23.
The church is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in awe. And what the Apostle is teaching
us here is the unity of Christ and His people. The unity, the
oneness of the body, and the head. He's the head, and we're
the body. This is a blessed truth that's
taught throughout the scripture, that Jesus Christ is one with
His church. He's one with her, but how in
the world can our poor, fine-out minds grasp such a thing? You know, there's some metaphors
that's used, and let me give these to you just in closing,
and you'll have to look at them yourself. They're in the 15th
chapter of John's Gospel. The Lord Jesus gives this metaphor
of the vine and the branches. He said, I am the vine, and you
are the branches. And the branches and the vine
are one. If the vine has life, and the
branch is united to the vine. The same life that's in the vine
is in the branch. And the vine continues to live
and prospers and is fruitful because of the life that it gets
from the vine. So the vine and the branches
are one. Christ and His church are one.
And then in the Scriptures also, even in here in the second chapter
of Ephesians and other places, Christ is called the foundation
And the church is the building. Paul tells us that in the book
of Corinthians also. That he's laid the foundation,
and that foundation is Christ. And the church is the building. And you know something about
the foundation and the building that's upon it? They're one.
A man don't lay a foundation, and pour a foundation, and then
not build upon it. Our Lord said, that's a shameful
man. That's a poor man. And people's going to mock him.
But Jesus Christ is the foundation, and the church is built upon
Him, and the church is one with Him. And the foundation supports
the building. If the building is going to give
way, it's because the foundation itself gives away. But you know
something, my friend? This is a tried foundation. He's a sheer foundation. God
laid Him Himself. And He said, upon this rock I'll
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. For the church to fall, then the winds have got to wash away
the foundation, and then the churches fall. But my friend,
the church will never fall nor fail, because she's one with
this foundation. And then, of course, here in
the fifth chapter of Ephesians, he gives this metaphor of the
husband and the wife. The husband is the head of the
wife, and he's one. He's one with her. From the very
beginning, back over in the book of Genesis, when God made male
and female, he brought the woman to Adam, and they were joined
together, and God said, you're now one. You're not two, you're
one. You're one person. And what God
has joined together, let not man put asunder. If you look
at a man and his wife, husband and wife, and consider their
oneness, their unity, then you and I can know that this teaches
us that Christ and his church are one. And then, of course,
he has the metaphor of Christ being the head over his body,
as he tells us here. It's his body. The head is in
heaven. The body is upon this earth. But they're one. You can't sever
the head from the body. You know, if you look at your
hand, you can hardly tell where the hand is joined to the arm. It's one. And your foot to your
leg and so on. And our bodies to the head. We're
one. We're all one body. The reason these terrorists Sometimes
they decapitate a man or a woman that they kill because it's the
ultimate insult, they tell us, for a head to be severed from
his body. Well, you know something, my
friends? The Lord Jesus, who is the head, will never be severed
from his body. He'll never suffer that humiliation. He has won with his church, and
he'll never lose one member. Can you imagine the Son of God
there in heaven someday? One of his little elect children
didn't make it? One of his sheep didn't make
it? And he's missing a finger? He has a body that's not complete?
Wow, that's almost blasphemy. No, it is blasphemy to think
about such a thing. No, the Apostle Paul is right
in concerning our union with Christ. And he's doing so that
these saints here may understand that they are indeed one with
Christ. And my friend, I just believe
that a man who knows himself to be eternally united to Jesus
Christ will not take advantage of that. He will not go out there
and live in such a way to dishonor his head. But he will live in
the assurance and confidence that he is indeed one with Christ,
and this relationship will never be severed. God's word to your
heart.