Living by Christ’s Provision and in His Power

Pastor Kurt Gebhards of Harvest Bible Chapel, Hickory, gave a two-part sermon the past two weeks on Ephesians 1:15-23:

15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

God has given us unlimited resources and unlimited, eternal riches…and we aren’t using them! First we need to understand God’s Word. We have to know Him. We have to know His promises. Then we can claim them.

Pastor Geghards pointed out that the book of Ephesians followed a pattern that Paul utilizes in his epistles. In chapters 1 – 3 he writes the Doctrine of our position in Christ. In chapters 4 – 6; the duty of our practice in Christ. Doctrine proceeds doing. What we do must be founded on what we know of Christ.

Paul’s prayer in this letter is that they know. Christianity is for those who want to know, think and understand. And verses 18 and 19 tell us what those things are:

1. To know the hope of His calling
2. To know the riches of the inheritance
3. To know what is the surpassing greatness of His greatness.

You can’t know Christ outside of His Word. To be effective for Christ you must be reflective of Christ. Christ is the wisdom that God has given us. All has been revealed.

Christianity is what God has done for us and our response in gratitude and love because of this. We rejoice in the prospect of living in Christ’s steps.

John 17:3 says, Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.