We have been studying Ephesians in our
ABFs (Adult Bible Fellowships) at
Valley
Church. The passage we studied from Ephesians 1
today is:
...having the eyes of your hearts
enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called
you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the
saints, according to the working of and what is the
immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, his great
might that 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 rule
and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is
named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And
he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things
to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in
all," (Ephesians 1:18-23, ESV).
We land smack dab in
a middle of a prayer of thanksgiving as Paul was remembering the Church
at Ephesus, and his prayer for them as he intercedes on their
behalf. He prayed that the eyes of their hearts would be
enlightened - that their knowledge wouldn't be just a head knowledge,
but heart knowledge as well. That they would have intimacy
with the Father. That they would realize the hope that they
have in Christ, that they would understand God's power for those who
are in Christ. We who are in Christ need to realize this as
well.
Power. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said to His
disciples that, "... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The Greek
word for power in Acts 1:8 is dunamis. It is where we get our
word dynamite. It is explosive, mighty, and
awesome. Dunamis is used again in Ephesians 1:19.
The power working in the lives of Christians is great!
Why? Because it is the same power that raised Christ from the
dead and seated Him at the right hand of the Father, (Ephesians
1:20). In our flesh we can't live the Christian
life. It is impossible. We can't be the witnesses
that Christ calls us to be in Acts 1:8. With this God's great
power within us we can. Jesus confirms this when He said,
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
by itself, unless it abides in the vine neither can you, unless you
abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for
apart from me you can do nothing, (John 15:4-5,
ESV).
So when we face trials, temptation, &
anxiety, we need to have our hearts enlightened and realize that we
have God's power to overcome that temptation, to pull through that
trial, and the ability to give that anxiety over to God (which He
promises to give us peace in Philippians 4:6-7!). Also
remember that we serve a Risen Lord who has dominion over all
things! Does that give comfort? Does this bring
peace? It needs to be more than head knowledge, but heart
knowledge that is believed and acted upon.
This is a
great reminder for me to place my faith in Christ and His power and not
my own strength or ability when facing temptation, trails or different
things in life that tend to cause anxiety for me. The power
of God is bigger than all of
that.
Dynamite!
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Comments (1)
Amen. Hey have you signed the petition on my site about abortion yet? If and when you do, pass it on. God Bless You. -Derek-