Scripture reading: Psalm 100.

Sermon text: Ephesians 1:15-23.

In June, as the group with which I traveled to Israel topped the hills leading down to the Sea of Galilee, I thought of Jesus’ journey to Capernaum to begin His ministry in Galilee. The beauty of the region nearly overwhelmed me, and the thought came to me: Jesus ministered here not only because the Holy Spirit led Him here, but also because He loved the beauty of the area. (I also pondered that Jesus probably thought, as He stood on top of the hill and looked down at Capernaum, “I still have a long walk ahead of me!”.)

I wonder if the disciples ever noticed Jesus’ reaction as He reached the top of the mountains surrounding the lake. Did Jesus ever stop and scan the area as we did? I suspect some disciple once thought to himself: “Jesus looks like a king surveying His kingdom.”

If so, that disciple saw Jesus as He truly was, and is: The King of All, both seen and unseen.

Today, on the last Sunday of Pentecost, the Church celebrates Jesus’ lordship over all Creation. In the sermon text today, St. Paul describes Jesus’ reign and its importance to the Church today. I love this particular text, from the book of Ephesians, as much as I love any text you’ll find in Scripture, because Jesus’ reign promises us blessings and joy beyond anything we can possibly imagine.

St. Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians during his imprisonment in Rome around A.D. 60. St. Paul had spent 2 years ministering in Ephesus during his third missionary journey (Acts 19), so he left behind a thriving church in one of the Empire’s greatest cities. This letter was probably circulated to all the congregations throughout the province of Asia Minor after it arrived in Ephesus. This letter contains some of the most joyous words you’ll find to describe our salvation and the life we should live after we are born again. Our spiritual lives exist because of Jesus’ influence and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

St. Paul had already described Jesus’ gracious call to believers in the first part of this chapter and assured his readers of the Holy Spirit’s guarantee of our salvation (vv. 13-14). The sermon text opens with the words “for this reason,” pointing back to the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Even while he lived under house arrest in Rome, St. Paul had heard of the Ephesians’ faith “in the Lord Jesus,” coupled with their “love toward all the saints.” Their salvation, and the lives they lived as members of the Church, had given the Ephesians Christians a reputation throughout the Empire.

St. Paul thanked God for the Ephesians in his prayers. He also prayed that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,” would impart to the Ephesian believers “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.” Like most citizens and subjects in Asia Minor, the Ephesians, under the influence of Greek philosophy and culture, treasured wisdom. St. Paul prayed they would receive Godly wisdom that would constantly reveal God’s will for their lives. The Ephesians would never attain this wisdom on their own; it came only “in the knowledge” of God, a knowledge that only the Holy Spirit would give.

Godly wisdom  would “enlighten” them so they would “know what is the hope to which” God “called” them. The word St. Paul used for “know” here implies an experiential knowledge, not merely a book knowledge. The Ephesian believers would not merely know about the hope God gave them; they would experience that hope on a daily basis. The word for “hope” in the Greek doesn’t imply a wish or a desire, but instead implies a certainty or a fact. God had “called” the Ephesian Christians to a great fact: They would join all believers, throughout both time and space, in experiencing “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”

What does this inheritance entail? St. John, detailing his vision in the Revelation, would later write:

1. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’” (Revelation 21:1-4)
   

Christians will inherit a new Creation, free from the effects of our rebellion against God in the Garden of Eden. Unlike many inheritances in this life, our inheritance from God will last for all eternity.

Not only do believers confidently hope for an eternal inheritance; we also experience “the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe.” God demonstrated His power “according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead.” The resurrection of Jesus from the dead demonstrated God’s great power over sin and death. Nothing in existence — not even death — can overcome God’s power. The resurrection proves God’s omnipotence.

After His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven, where He now sits at the Father’s “right hand in the heavenly places.” Jesus now holds the place of honor in eternity, at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, Creator of all that is, seen and unseen. Jesus had submitted to human authority in His life here on earth, but He now sits “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.” No human power or authority will ever constrain Jesus or His work in the redemption of creation from the effects of rebellion and death.

As God the Father brought Jesus back into heaven, “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.” Jesus now serves as the Head of the holy catholic Church, the body of believers of all time and location. The Church, filled with the Holy Spirit, serves as the representative of the King of all, Jesus, our Head and Lord.

This passage would have encouraged and excited the Ephesian believers, especially in the circumstances they found themselves. Word of St. Paul’s arrest would have spread throughout the Empire to the churches he founded and nourished. Many churches would have worried about the consequences of St. Paul’s arrest. If the foremost missionary of the Church disappeared into the Roman justice system, what could happen to them?

Many believers today need to hear these words because of similar circumstances. The Church suffers persecution in many nations on earth. Some nations either actively persecute the Church or passively allow others to persecute believers. In many cultures, belief in Jesus is seen as a betrayal of national or ethnic heritage, leading believers to suffer ostracism, violence, or even death.

We don’t face this at New Hope, but we still need to hear St. Paul’s words. We still need reminding that we serve a King, not a crucified criminal.

We serve a King because we have faith in the Lord Jesus; we have confessed Him as Lord, believing in His resurrection. As a result, we have been born again and indwelled by the Holy Spirit, who serves as the guarantee of our eternal inheritance. The Holy Spirit serves to strengthen us and bring us into fellowship with other believers.

This benefits us in many ways. For one thing, we find the spirit of wisdom within the Church. We come together weekly to worship Jesus for His sacrifice and love for us; we come together weekly to study the Bible, the word of God, to learn God’s wisdom for living. The Bible enlightens us and teaches us how to live in a way that will bring others to believe in Jesus and confess Him as Lord of their lives.

The salvation lifestyle empowers us to live in this life. Jesus’ love for others will pour out of us and into others’ lives, leading us to serve others in His name. We have the sure and certain hope we will conquer everything in the name of Jesus and inherit a glorious eternal creation.

I can’t emphasize this enough: Jesus’ resurrection proves God’s power over all that could threaten us. Death lost its power over believers in Jesus’ resurrection. Everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord, believing in His resurrection, will experience the power and joy of eternal life. We live in a kingdom ruled by a gracious and merciful Lord with the power to conquer death. We live in a kingdom where our King doesn’t treat us as subjects but as co-heirs (Romans 8:16-17). Our King never calls us to go into places He wouldn’t go Himself; He even went to the grave for us. For centuries, martyrs have faced death with a courage that befuddles their executioners, and believers have faced persecution with a boldness that has won countless persecutors to the faith. When death loses its power, we gain the power to overcome anything in life.

Christian, you serve a King, a King worth serving. Unbelievers, you, too, can overcome even death through belief in Jesus, the King of all.