Under His Feet—Eph. 1:15-23
As we consider the writings of the Apostle Paul, we see that it’s unique, separate, and apart from the writings of the disciples. Most of the other apostles who contributed to the epistles did it from the perspective that they walked with Christ. But Paul at the time of Christ’s living was outside of the ark of safety. He was a part of the Sanhedrin court. He was a Christian hater and killer. He had not committed his life to Christ. So all he knows about Christ he knows thru revelation. Being converted later everything he gained in insight about Christ he did because of prayer. So when you hear aboutPaul embracing Christ, prayer is the umbilical cord by which he knows Him.
Three Dimensions of Prayer
In verses 17-19 of this letter he is talking in three dimensions of prayer. First, he prays that the “eyes of their understanding might be enlightened.” Meaning to receive light on the inside; being able to perceive with the heart what you can’t see with your eyes. Being able to receive, relay, and remind yourself what the heart says over what the eyes sees until they come together on one accord. Second, that you might know the riches of the inheritance of the saints. There is a tremendous investment God has in you. Goddidn’t save you just for you but also because of the tremendous investment buried in your earthen vessel. The more cognizant you become that you are a carrier of a treasure more significant than you, the more your confidence, attitude, and awareness will change. You are a seed planted by God. He has you in His pocket until the time is right. He procures, proclaims, and plants it. The third thing he prayed is that you know the exceeding greatness of His power to us wards that believe that He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. The pivotal point of our faith hinges on the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Paul says if we don’t believe He is risen from the dead then we are men most miserable. Our greatest foe was death, a derivative of sin. If Christ couldn’t conquer death it would always separate us. So it’s necessary that our faith and hope goes further than death but to life on the other side.
Exceeding Greatness of His Power
Paul made a profound statement when he said that we might know the exceeding greatness of His power. It’s almost like a plea. He’s saying Gods power is endless, if we only knew how powerful our God really is. Anybody else in the room we could measure your power by intellectual prowess by your IQ, physical power by your dexterity. But when it comes to Gods power its difficult to measure because we’ve not found anything greater than His power. If you weigh 500 lbs and the scale only goes to 300, we would never be able to tell how much you weigh because your weight exceeds the greatness of the scale.
When you start talking about God, hell has never manufactured a scale that is greater or even comparable to God’s power. Satan has never come up with a curse, hex so strong that Gods power can’t exceed it. Everything the enemy ever did God is beyond that. We can’t find the limits of His power. He is from alpha to omega, everlasting to everlasting. So if He is in you then there is no weapon formed against you that will prosper because greater is He that’s in you…
In The Beginning God…
The scope and ramifications of Gods power is so perplexing that when I read the 1st chapter of John I have to pause and gather my thoughts. Before there was anything that was there was God.God stood out on nothing and created something. He thought of something and out of the gross depths of His thoughts He spoke and out of the power of His words it became what He spoke. Because He had the power to make that happen.
While heaven was standing in awe to what happened. He came down and walked on what HE created. Then He scooped the dust of the earth and breathed Himself into it and exceeded the greatness of His power. Then He put the man to sleep and pulled out of his womb a woman and exceeded the greatness of His power. Then the enemy plotted to find something that exceeded the greatness of His power. He brought a curse of what God loved, but the voice of the Lord walked thru the garden in the cool of the day and made an animal die in place of the man so the man might live, and exceeded the greatness of His power.
God is The “I Am”
God is so powerful that when He talked to Moses about liberating His people He said tell Pharaoh that the I am sent you. Because I’m too powerful to be confined to one name and one realm of existence. Tell Pharaoh I can turn into flies, frogs, turn water into blood. Tell my people that if they believe me and step out on that belief that I will sustain them while I train them. Tell them if they worship me I will show them the exceeding greatness of my power by becoming manna from heaven, water from a rock, a cloud by day, fire by night. When you get to the Red Sea I will show you exceeding great power by getting in the wind and parting the red sea. I know it was God in the wind because it blew so hard and so long until the ground was dry. They were delivered on dry ground. When they came through the wilderness God said I want you to build me a house. So they gathered the cedar from Lebanon and built Him a temple. David gathered the cedar but Solomon built the temple. When God came down to church the priest were trying to minister and have a normal service but something began to happen. The ushers couldn’t usher, the choir couldn’t sing, the preacher couldn’t preach. When His power showed up something happened.
Power in Love
When you get in trouble and go to people for help they can only help you according to the resources they have to help. No matter how much they love you they can only help you with what they have. They can either help you or direct you to someone else that has the power to help.I appreciate the love but when I need help love doesn’t always do it. Because I’ve been loved by people that couldn’t help me. But when you talk about the power of God, He loves me and has the power to work on my behalf. You get happy talking about the love of God, but I get happy talking about the power of God. Where I’ve been it took God’s love and power to bring me out. Momma loved me but she didn’t have the power to bring me out.
Lesser Powers
Suddenly I began to realize why people who don’t know the exceeding greatness of His power need other powers. I know now why nervous people need a cigarette, depressed people need a drink, burdened people need a joint. Because they need something that has some power in it to get them through the day or deal with a bad situation, or lessen the blow of life. They use these lesser powers because they have not encountered a greater power. If you ever encounter a greater power the lesser powers won’t hold you anymore. They cease to be exciting to you.
If you ever realize the power of God you can’t go back to what you used to use to get you by because it can’t hold you down like the power of God. Once you’ve had the best you can’t stay with the rest. I know you have ride or die friends but after they have left you God will be there. Can’t nobody do you like Jesus.
The Keys
He was obedient to death so He could get to His ministry. Death wasn’t His ministry just a doorway to get to His ministry. When He died on this side He showed up on the other side. The lock on the gates of hell wasn’t powerful enough to keep Him out. In fact He took the keys to the locks. Now He has the key to locks of your dilemma. Whoever has the key has the power. You need to know that God has the key to everything that has ever been locked up, shut down in your life, your child, any sickness, malady, or whatever you go through.
When He got down into hell he had to take out the strong man. All of a sudden satan saw a flash light in hell. Satan whipped out his resume and showed Jesus all that have come before Him which had power until they died. Abel, Seth, Cain, Noah, Shem, Ham, Japeth, Eli, Hophni, Samuel, David, Solomon, Amnon, Tamar, Jacob, Joseph, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Malachi, all were locked up in death and couldn’t escape because they didn’t have the exceeding great power.
He Got Up
But early Sunday morning Christ bust out of the grave with all power in His hands. The alarm system started going off in hell. Satan popped up and said death I thought you stung Him, he said I did but He yanked the sting out of death. Grave I thought you were holding Him, he said I was but He had more power than I did.With His exceedingly great power He got up. If He hadn’t gotten up there would be no gospel message or power. But because He got up I can get up. Now I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation to him that believes. Because He got up whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Under My Feet