Ephesians 1:19-23 WHAT PRAYER REVEALS The first prayer recorded in the book of Ephesians is not one in which requests are obscure, and the words are too big to grasp their meaning. Paul wanted the saints to lay hold of hope for themselves and understand there was something for God when referring to the riches of His glory. Also, he wanted the believers to recognize the greatness of God's power that comes from Him to us. We are not powerless to do what God wants or to bring glory to Him now and in the future. God's mighty power has been directed to those who believe in Him. In the plans of God, the Church has been placed with Christ in the heavenly places, accepted in Christ, and through the saints, God is demonstrating the fact that His will is being done on earth as well in His people. The Holy Spirit is demonstrating God's power to the world through His people, and also in heaven, the Church is associated with Christ in His glory. Angels look on and see evidence of the Headship of Christ in those who obey Him.
The hope we have is real. The inheritance we have is real. The power to bring all of this to pass in a display of God's sovereign electing grace has already been seen in a great demonstration of power. God's "exceeding great power" was seen when our Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead in spite of the feeble attempts of men to keep Him in the grave. In Christ's resurrection, the final part of victory over sin, death, and hell was accomplished. The saints "who believe" are being made aware by God to whom this petition was raised that we have been redeemed by the same mighty power, preserved in this world by the same mighty power, and will be glorified with Christ by the same "exceeding" great power. Imagine millions upon millions of people who have been saved and kept by the power of God will be raised from the dead by this same power, and together with changed believers still living will put on public display the riches of God's grace and the glory of His grace. All of this will be done in perfect unity and harmony because of our relationship with Christ, the Head of the Church.
Christ has not only been raised out from among the dead, but He has been placed at God's right hand of the throne of the universe. Justice has been done legally by Him. Sin has been dealt with righteously by Him. We have died in Christ vicariously. A new nature has been given to us morally. The grace of God has been displayed universally, and we are raised and seated with Christ eternally. Our position in Him is established and will not be compromised in any way. "Mighty power" indicates there is no stopping that which has been done for us. No government, no force of demonic opposition, no authority can overcome that power which has been directed toward us and establishes and keeps us. God is all-powerful, and our Lord has been raised in the power of endless life. "Because He lives, we shall live also."
The Lord has also already been glorified above everything or every personage that has ever been or ever will be known. All the ranks that are held by angels or men fall far short of where our Lord is established in His gracious, just, and holy position. No exceptions to His universal authority will ever be given, not even in the "ages which are yet to come." In that position in which He has been placed, not only are people and authorities put under Him, but every created thing. Everything we associate with creation: gravity, magnetism, atomic power, earthquakes, tsunamis, water power, and powerful animals - every kind of power that is uncontrollable as far as man is concerned, is under the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even more astounding is that He has been given to us, as Head over the Church. What the head is to the body, He is to the Church, which He has purchased with His own blood. There is a bond, a relationship that unifies every member of the Body to the Head. Every person saved by God's grace from the day of Pentecost until the Lord comes for His Church is in this union with Christ. Every part of the Body has a role to fill, and every one has the ability to function perfectly without any lack, if that part so chooses to do so. The Lord fills every part so that it can be to "the praise of His glory." He knows what is needed and fills that need through willing body members.
Our Lord is head over all things, and He alone is the Head of the Church. He has filled the Church with the gifts needed so that the Body would function as a complement (fullness) of Him. He fills all things and yet uses those He has brought as members into His Body to share with Him and accomplish what He has planned. The Body is working today in God's work in the world, but it is not His intention that we be freelance individuals doing what we want independently. He intends us to be working "according to the counsel of His will" in coordination with all other parts. We have the problem now with people who are thinking their own personal way is best, without considering or submitting to what God says in His Word. The Body only properly works when all its activities are directed from the Head, who reveals what He wants through His Word and His Spirit.
The Body is established on the foundation of our Lord's sovereign design. We have been "predestined to be to the praise of His glory." When looked at through eyes that see what God sees, this new creation is a "glorious Church," a unified Body that displays the glory of God in a limited way now, but will be seen in the future in all its glory with the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head.
There are a lot of things we can't see here because of human limitations. But on a coming day, we will see Christ's Church brought out from all the nations To be seen by every eye of man, of angels, and of demons - That which God has made is "one new man" for His sovereign reasons.
The Church will not be looked upon as mere individual humans. It is, and will be seen as a body with the Head working through them. Each part is different from the next, but all work in coordination Under the authority of the Head as He pleases in each situation.
We can't see that Body now, as most of it has gone on before. To a certain extent, we can see enough to grasp here what is in store When the dead are resurrected, the living are changed, and the Body becomes as one To be the bride of the Lamb and be presented to God's Son.
One thing is obvious about a body: in it, there is diversity. When each part is functioning properly, there's a special unity. That which makes the difference, so the body is able to bless - Is the yielding of all parts to the Head, as controller of all the rest.
Yes, I know there is confusion now; one part contradicts another. A glimpse of what God intends to be is seen locally when we gather As members of one body under the Holy Spirit's divine control. When each one uses the gifts God gave, there is comfort to the whole.
So, the universal Body is still in the process of being built - not complete. We pray for the hope that is to come, and for needed power at the mercy seat. We know the day is coming when all will be just as God desires. Working toward that glorious day is what our souls inspire.
"Heavenly Father, seated at Thy right hand is our hope and our joy. We joy in our Lord Jesus Christ. The revealed Word is sure an inspiration and challenge to me that I greet each day with hope of promised blessings, and the reality of life as it a time of preparation - and I praise Thee, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."