We invite you to join us on Sunday, April 12 at 7:00 am for a joint Easter sunrise service with the Millville Advent Christian Church and the Trinity United Methodist Church. David Buchanan of the Advent Christian church will be preaching and Cooper Stinson and Trinity will bring special music.
This joint service will be hosted in the courtyard of Immanuel Baptist Church. Immanuel will have other morning services as usual.
Genesis 25:19-36:43
This sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the evening service on March 22, 2009. Continuing our series through the Old Testament, in this message we focus on Isaac and Jacob.
The following resources are available from this service:
Presentation notes
Handout on Genesis 25:19-36:43
Ephesians 1:19-23
This sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the morning service on March 22, 2009. Continuing our series in Ephesians, Pastor Chris wrapped up chapter one with a look at the power and authority of Jesus Christ.
Introduction
Well we have been absent from Ephesians for a couple of weeks now, after today we will be away for a few more weeks, returning to Ephesians after Easter. But today we will wrap up chapter one and with it the prayer Paul offers for the believers in Ephesians 1:15-23. Since this is all one prayer and we’ve been away for a few weeks let’s read the whole prayer, but our focus this morning will be on verses 19-23.
In this prayer there are three specific things Paul is asking God to reveal to the Ephesians: (1) the hope to which he has called you; (2) the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints; and (3) the immeasurable greatness of his power. In our last two sermons in Ephesians we looked at one and two. Today we will look at the third item.
Exposition
God’s favor toward his people
One theme Paul repeats throughout his letters is the favor of God for his people. If you are his then you have his favor. Keep in mind that you are not his because you were charming or clever or faithful or obedient. You are not his because you chose him. You are his because he chose you and he will never let you go. God’s favor for his people is unchanging, never ending. At times in our lives we feel like we do not have God’s favor. The repeated assurance is that God works for the good of his people and once you are his you are always his. In this passage Paul speaks of the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe… Remember also Romans 8:31-39 which ends in verses 38-39 with the words: For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can separate you from God’s love. If you are his then his favor toward you will never end.
There is a flip side. If you are not his then you do not have his favor. If you are not his then you are subject to his wrath. There is a notion out there that God will do good things for everybody, that everyone is somehow deserving of God’s blessings. No one is deserving of God’s blessings. There are two things God will give people. To everyone God will give justice. To some God will give mercy. Everyone receives his justice. For the believer justice is received through the punishment paid in the blood of Jesus Christ. For the unbeliever justice is received through their own everlasting punishment in Hell.
God’s power at work for your good
Paul described God’s favor in verse 18 when he spoke of the hope we are called to and the riches of his inheritance. What Paul wants us to see in verse 19 is the favor of God expressed in the power of God. Paul prays that you may know… what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe…
All humans face turmoil and trouble. Some have said that pain and suffering is the only promise life keeps. But the promise and assurance for believers is that suffering has a purpose. God is doing something with this world. He is not impotent. There are no accidents, no random events. God’s power is everywhere at work and it is working out God’s perfect plan. And you, believer, are on the receiving end of his goodness. Back to Romans, Romans 8:28 tells us that we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. All things work together for good. Someone might say, “But God wasn’t watching when this terrible affliction hit my life! This is just random! Just an accident! My cancer is just biology! There is no plan, no purpose in this!” Would you deny God control over his creation? He is the sovereign Lord over all things. No detail escapes notice, nothing evades his control.
Believer, this omnipotence, this unending, unweakening power is at work to bring you good. Do you trust him with your trial, trust him to use his power in the best possible way? Hear the assurance Peter gives in 1 Peter 1:6-9: In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The power of God in the exaltation of Christ
In verses 20-23 Paul expands his description of God’s power. He really wants you to see how powerful God is. We have a problem any time we try to talk about God. He is so much more majestic than anything our minds can fathom that trying to describe him with words is simply inadequate. One of the great theologians in Christian history was a man named Thomas Aquinas whose book Summa Theologica continues to be influential. Aquinas never fully finished that book. He had an unusual experience with God that overwhelmed him with a sense of the greatness of God and the miniscule proportion of man. He said his words were less than dust and he never wrote again. Nonetheless, words are what we have to work with this morning and in the printed page words are what Paul has to give us. Let us pray for the work of the Holy Spirit to turn these words into experience in our hearts. This is what Paul wants. He has not prayed that God would give us head knowledge about God’s great power. He wants the eyes of our hearts opened and filled with this revelation. May the eyes of your heart be opened as we continue to look at God’s power.
It wasn’t enough for Paul to describe God’s power as having immeasurable greatness. He wants us to have an example of just how great that power is. The best example Paul knows is what God did through Christ.
The first example from Christ is of his resurrection from the dead. The Father resurrected the Son, overcoming death. In our experience what is more final, more definite, more absolute than death? And yet in a moment God cancelled death and brought life back to his Son, the God-man. Christian, there is a double encouragement in this for you. First a demonstration of how great God’s power is. He is powerful! He can raise the dead! Who else can do that? Have hope now, assurance now, God’s power is at work for your good and remember, this is the one whose power is so great he can even raise the dead. The second encouragement points us to the future. Death is not the end. Even when we approach death we have hope that extends beyond the grave. The Father resurrected the Son! And in the Son we have also been raised from the dead! Death is not so final, so definite after all.
After his resurrection Jesus was exalted. We read this in verses 20-23: 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… This puzzled me for a while. I don’t mean a few minutes, this puzzled me for years. We find something similar happening in Hebrews chapters 1 and 2. The language indicates that Jesus was low, humble, little authority and was then lifted up, exalted to a place of authority. Now here is the puzzle – if Jesus is God how can he be exalted? God never loses his place as the highest, most excellent, most magnificent being. God never ceases to have authority over all creation. So how can God be exalted? Where do you lift him to if he is already infinitely exalted?
I think the answer is found in two observations. The first is from Philippians 2:5-8: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being fond in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. The first observation is that Jesus humbled himself. He made himself lowly. He placed himself lower than the angels, as Hebrews 2:7 puts it. How did Jesus the Son of God do this? How can God be anything less than God? This leads to the second observation which is also in the text: Jesus took on human flesh. He became a man. He had a body. He had blood, a brain, a heart, arms, legs – all of it. He was fully God but also fully man. Just recently I tried to explain the trinity to my 3 year old and it didn’t happen. Just wait till I try to help her understand how someone can be two completely different things at once! God is not bound by our notions of paradox. Jesus Christ was and continues to be God in the flesh. As God he was exalted over all creation. But he humbled himself and took on flesh. The created thing is lower than the creator. Jesus is a great paradox, creator and created joined as one. But we accept it and move on. So Jesus, though God, was lower than God because of his incarnation in the flesh. When the Father exalted him he was exalting the God-man Jesus Christ, restoring to a place of authority and sovereign rule one who was once just the Son of God but is now the Son of God in flesh.
The reminder behind all of this is that you who follow Jesus are following the one who has authority over everything that exists. You don’t have to be afraid of anything, your Shepherd is in control. The power of God is at work for your good. This is the same power that rose Christ from the dead. This is the same power that exalted Christ to his rightful position over all creation. This is the same power that made you alive together with Christ. This power is now wielded by Christ himself and Jesus Christ sits in the place of authority over all creation. Christian, do not give in to your fear!
The authority of Christ over all things for his body
In verse 22 Paul says that God has put all things under his feet. This reminds us of the scale of things. Ants fit under your feet. Worms are under your feet. A man could speak of a mountain being under his feet but it is the mountain holding him up, not him holding the mountain down! Jesus Christ has all things under his feet in the same sense that worms might be under ours. He is supreme, he is mighty and nothing in creation comes close to his authority and power. All things are under his feet. But once again Paul gives us further encouragement in verses 22-23: 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. Nothing comes close to the scope of the power of God and yet that power and authority has been given to Jesus for our good. This is what Paul means when he says God gave him as head over all things to the church. Jesus is head over all things in such a way that good comes to his body.
When you are tempted to despair over the state of things in the world just remember who is supreme, who is sovereign. Is any trouble or turmoil greater than the power and authority and control of God? Jesus is head over all things. And do not despair of what his headship means for you – know that it means your good, if you are his. If you are not his there is awaiting you only fearful wrath and judgment. If you are his then everything is being worked out in a way that will glorify God and bring you good.
There is some interesting language used in these verses to describe the church. Verse 23 has caused countless discussions, debates, and disagreements. At the end of the day I’m with Dr. R. C. Sproul who has said, “To be honest with you, I don’t know anybody who can say with absolute certainty what Paul means here in this verse.” It is a confusing verse. In 2 Peter 3:16 Peter says about Paul’s writings that there are some things in them that are hard to understand… This verse is one of those places. But here is my take. As Jesus is the head we are the body. A head needs a body or the head is incomplete. We are the body of Christ, so in this sense we complete him and are his fullness. Some people protest that Jesus, being God, is never incomplete. God needs nothing! They are correct. God needs nothing outside himself. Everything necessary for God is provided by God. It is God who arranged things so that Jesus would be the head of the body so God has made a people to be the body of Jesus. If we were responsible for creating the body then God would have to depend on us to fulfill a need and God would not be God. But God has provided a body for himself and we are that body. God has established it so that the Son needs the body to be complete. One commentator has said “What consolation is it for us to learn that not until we are along with him does he possess all his parts, or wish to be regarded as complete!” He goes on to add “His wish to be filled, and, in some respects, made perfect in us, arises from no want or necessity; for all that is good in ourselves, or in any of the creatures, is the gift of his hand…” God ordained that Jesus would need the body to be complete and God created a body for Jesus.
We are his fullness, his body. And he is described as the one who fills all in all. The phrase all in all is simply an expression meaning he fills everything. Nothing escapes him. Nothing evades his authority.
There are two ways Jesus can be said to fill all in all. First through his authority. His sovereign rule extends to every facet of creation. Furthermore, as John 1:3 says, everything that exists exists because of Jesus. He fills all by ruling over all things, holding all things together, exercising his divine will and plan over all things.
The second way he fills all things is through that which is described as his fullness. He fills all things with his church. We will say more about this in a moment so I won’t spend any longer with it here.
Application
Let me wrap things up by giving you three implications of the text, three ways to apply this text to your lives.
The first implication, do not let your fear of the world or things in the world keep you from serving God. Fear God more than your circumstances in the world. God is the most glorious being in all the universe and the Son has been given authority over all creation and he is using that authority for your good. Do not fear the pains of the world but trust the hand of God to bring you good even through trial.
Second, remember how great is your God and how small you are. The fact that Jesus, God in the flesh, was exalted says something about human nature, it is beneath God. When God himself takes on flesh he is humbled. We who come into being as fleshly creatures, how lowly we are. And yet we rear our heads as though we were the center of creation. You are not. God is. This should not lead you to despair but to wonder and marvel. Lord I am nothing! And yet you love me. You loved me so much you sent your Son to give up power and position and to take on human flesh in order to rescue me from my own filthy rebellion! You love me so much that even now you have appointed Christ as my head for my good. Be humble before the Lord your God.
Third, live your life in a way that brings glory to God. Always remember what you are in Christ – you are his fullness. This is what we saw in verse 23. He is head over the church and the church is his fullness, his body. He is filling everything with his presence. His physical, earthly ministry came to an end at his ascension. But it also continues through his people. He has called us to go to all corners of the earth, to spread the gospel everywhere. Everywhere we go we take Christ, filling the world with his presence.
Conclusion
Child of God, be faithful to Christ without fear. All things are under his feet, nothing escapes his rule, and he is working out all things for your good. He loves you and you will never lose his favor. Let God use you in good times and bad, in times of joy and times of sorrow. Glorify God in your life and rejoice that no matter what takes place God is in control of all things and Jesus our head will ensure that it all works out for our good.
Unbeliever, you have none of these assurances. Be sure you know where your allegiance lies. Are you of God or of Satan? There are no other teams, no other sides. Either you serve Christ or you don’t, either you are purchased and made clean by his blood or you aren’t. Where are you before him? Without Christ you have no hope for good. Without Christ there is only darkness and damnation. Turn to Christ in faith and trust. Receive him. Call on his name. Accept him as your savior and Lord and receive forgiveness and new life in him.
We’re hosting a community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 11th at 9:00 am. Please help us prepare by donating plastic eggs and bags of individually wrapped candy (no chocolate please!). There will be a collection box located in the fellowship hall. Plan to join us on this day and bring a friend!
The following is our menu for the Wednesday evening fellowship meal on March 25th.
Hamburger Steak
Mashed Potatoes
Squash
Butterbeans
Dessert
Roll
The meal will begin at 5:30 in the fellowship hall. Those unable to attend can still come at 6:15 for the prayer time and Bible study.
Cost for meals is $5.00 per adult or $3.00 per child.
Our Night Baptist Women will meet Thursday, March 26, at 7:00 pm in the home of Ruth Andrews.
Baptist Men’s Breakfast will meet this Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 7:30 am in the church fellowship hall. Speaker will be Phil Kirkland, a pastor in Holmes Co. who is also employed at Arizona Chemical.
Our next monthly meeting will be the second Tuesday in April.
We are then planning to go and take the bus on May 9th to the Baptist College of Florida. They will present “Big River”, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Tickets are $5.00. Let me know if you would like to attend.
Be involved in our upcoming spring activities.
Martha
Do you read good books? Not just interesting books or entertaining books but good books? A good book will help you grow, it will show you things you haven’t seen before, ultimately it will point you to Christ. Not all good books are Christian books, there are many good books that have nothing directly to do with God or the Bible. But I want to encourage you to read good Christian books.
There are a host of great books out there to help you grow as a follower of Christ. Some people have avoided from Christian books, citing 1 John 2:27 as proof that a Christian needs only the Holy Spirit. Such people tend to forget that the verse they cite was itself written in a letter and sent to believers for their instruction. The Holy Spirit does indeed teach us, and he often teaches us through the words of others.
Find some good Christian biographies and be encouraged by the faith of men who have gone before. Read a church history book and learn about your fathers in the faith. Take up a devotional classic for growth and encouragement. Challenge yourself a little and read through a commentary or pick up writings from men in the past. You will grow both spiritually and mentally as you read books like Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers by the old Puritan John Owen.
Take up and read. First and foremost, make sure you regularly read the Bible. Then read books that will challenge you and help you grow. If you have difficulty reading, get hold of some audiobooks. God will very often use the writings of others to help us through the challenges in our lives. Take advantage of these gifts from the Lord.
There were 29 who enjoyed our luncheon meeting this past Tuesday. As always we had a very good Bible Study time. Bob continued his teaching in the book of Luke – this time we looked at the parables in Chapter 15.
Dick Lovejoy presented our program. He and Reba had made a trip to Mexico and he told us about the trip and shared many pictures. The presentation was very interesting. The customs of Mexico are so much different from ours.
Be involved in our upcoming activities as spring approaches.
