TEXT: Ephesians 1:15-23

SUBJECT: Resurrection

If you were arguing for the almighty power of God, to what would you point for proof?

I asked this question of Stephen Charnock, a 17th Century English Divine. He answered with the Puritan's customary thoroughness, writing 103 pages on the subject. As you might expect, the act of creation figures prominently in Charnock's treatment. He writes,

What do we make of the Puritan's argument? Does creation point to an Almighty Creator? Yes it does. Cornelius van Til would say the created order has God's fingerprints all over it. He was right, of course. But I don't think creation--as great as it was--is the final proof of God's power. Psalm 8:3 calls it "the work of [His] fingers". Work done with your fingers may demonstrate your craftsmanship, but says very little about your power.

Another man I consulted was Arthur W. Pink, a writer who died in 1952. He urges us to

Is Pink right? Yes he is. The judgments of God are awesome displays of His power. But I wonder if they're the ultimate proof? I don't think so. "The LORD sat enthroned at the flood, the Lord sits as King forever" Psalm 29:10 has it. The Flood, it seems, was so easy for God to send that He didn't have to leave His seat to do it. He but spoke a word and it was done.

Miracles provide a third alternative. To the Modern Mind, nothing is harder to accept than the miracles of Scripture. If they're true--the argument goes--so is the Scripture. For they prove that our Lord Jesus was no ordinary man; the wonders indicate that He is Who the Church says He is: "The Mighty God".

What do we say to this? We agree with it. "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works' sake", said our Lord. But I don't think miracles--as great as they are--display the fullness of Divine power. Read the New Testament and you'll be struck at how effortlessly they were performed. He feeds five thousand as easily as He would five. He walks on the water as if it were land. He raises the dead as though He were waking up a friend. The miracles, therefore, are works of Divine Might--but not the ultimate proof of God's power.

If not by creation or judgments or miracles, how would you prove that God is Almighty? To what event should you point? Paul provides the answer in vv.19-20:

"And what is the exceeding greatness of His power

Toward us who believe, according to the working

of His mighty power which He worked in Christ

When He raised Him from the dead..."

To Paul's mind, nothing demonstrates the Almighty Power of God than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He understands it as an act of greater power than the creation itself! It is easier to call all things out of nothing than to bring this Man out of the grave!

Observe the words Paul chooses: "Exceeding greatness of His power...the working of His mighty power". Vocabulary inflation is a certain sign of a small mind. Whenever you hear someone say something like this: "That was a totally awesome game", you know you're talking to an ignoramus.

But Paul is a cultured and learned man; he prefers understatement to exaggeration. Therefore, when he writes of the "exceeding greatness of His power" and of "the working of His mighty power", you know he what he means: Real power on display.

Think of what was arrayed against Him. The power of nature. You needn't be a scientist to know this much: When a man dies he stays dead. We've all been to funeral gatherings; we haven't been to resurrection parties. Job asked, "If a man dies, shall he live again?" The iron laws of nature say "No".

Think also of the governing authorities who put Him in the grave and intended Him to stay there. From the bottom up, we recall the Jewish Council. It was from envy that they crucified Him; but fearing His power, they stationed some guards at the tomb and set a seal on the stone blocking the entry way. But neither could prevent the resurrection. The guards were alert and the seal was unbroken--but somehow or another--the Prisoner got out and "showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs".

Above the Council stood King Herod. He brutalized the Lord and consented to His death and thereby mended fences with his former enemy, Pontius Pilate. Behind Herod and Pilate stood the Roman Empire. Daniel described Rome as "Dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong". A Beast with "huge iron teeth, devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling [the other kingdoms] with its feet". But this ferocious creature--for all of its earth-shaking power--could "keep its Prey".

Behind the Roman Empire, Herod, and the Hebrew Council stood Satan. He's called "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now energizes the children of men". Yet his energy--in all of its malignant fullness--is "spoiled" as the Lord Jesus "makes a public show [of it] triumphing over [it]" as Paul puts it in Colossians 2:15.

The resurrection of Christ, therefore, is the final proof of God's Almighty Power. If men bowed in reverence at the parting of the Red Sea, let us bow more reverently at the Empty Tomb. Nowhere has God been mightier than in the raising of His Son from the dead.

This is a good story; a true story. But how does it affect us? Here's how: "the mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead" was not worked in Christ alone. In v.18, this very same power is evident elsewhere. Where? "The exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of His mighty power!"

The power that once raised Christ from the dead has been given to believers. In fact, we are believers because of "the working of His mighty power".

What does this teach us? It teaches us that faith in Christ is a product of Divine power. But the power is not given only to get us to believe, but remains with us as we believe. Believers, therefore, have access to the Almighty power of God. This power keeps on pardoning our sins; it keeps on renewing our character; it keeps on resisting temptation; it keeps on pursuing holiness; it keeps on and on and on...till it "conforms us to the image of [God's] Son".

This is not given to "super-saints" alone, but to everyone who believes in Christ. The believer, therefore, has a bright future--even the weakest believer. At the moment, things may be dark, but "joy comes in the morning". This is not optimism, but faith. For recall how dark those "three days and three nights were". A dead body lies in a sealed tomb, supervised by a team of security agents. The disciples are heartbroken; men are "beating their breast" in grief; the women are waiting for the dark Sabbath to pass that they might care for their departed Friend's body.

Sunday morning dawns, the ladies make their gloomy trek to the cemetery. The come to the tomb--and alas! He's not there. Mary turns to a gardener to find the whereabouts of the body. Only to find that Body "alive for evermore!" The secret power of God had been at work. The Dead Man was alive.

In our sorrows, losses, and disappointment, the same secret power is at work in us. At work in us to kindle faith in Christ which promises "a life that now is and is yet to come".

Let us, therefore, celebrate the Lord's resurrection by recalling "He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you".

"The Lord is risen indeed" was the disciples' exultant cry. At the time, they thought only of Him. But can you imagine the glory and comfort that dawned on them when they recalled His previous words: "Yet a little while and the world shall see me no more; but you see Me; because I live, you shall live also".

"I am the resurrection and the life;

He who believes in Me, though

He were dead; yet shall he live;

And whoever lives and believes in

Me shall never die".

This is the promise. But then comes the challenge: "Do you believe this?" May the Lord provide an answer of peace, for Christ's sake. Amen.