Bulletins - Dishman Baptist Church (Spokane, WA)

Good morning and welcome to Dishman Baptist Church. Fall is upon us and I know many of you are happy for that. How quickly this year has gone. Please turn in your Bibles with me to Ephesians 1, Ephesians 1.

Psalm 2 CSB
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and his Anointed One: “Let’s tear off their chains and throw their ropes off of us.” The one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them. Then he speaks to them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath: “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” I will declare the Lord’s decree. He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with an iron scepter; you will shatter them like pottery.” So now, kings, be wise; receive instruction, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling. Pay homage to the Son or he will be angry and you will perish in your rebellion, for his anger may ignite at any moment. All who take refuge in him are happy.

Ephesians 1:19–23 CSB
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength. He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens— far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
Paul is going to continue his thought in verse 19 regarding the power of Christ that is at work in every believer
Christ’s Position, Christ’s Preeminence, Christ’s Power

Christ’s Position
The greatest demonstration of God’s power was not in creation, was not in parting the Red Sea, was not in closing the mouths of the lions but in the resurrection of Christ from the dead
God takes an active role in making this happen - the verb here is energeo - the same verb that Paul used to describe the mighty working of His strength toward those who believe
What a marvelous contemplation that the same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work within me
And not only raised Him from the dead but exalted Him - there were people raised from the dead before Christ - the widow of Nain’s son, Lazarus, the widow’s son by Elijah but all of them died again. Christ is the only person to be raised from the dead who never tasted death again.
M.J. Harris in his book Raised Immortal writes:
The Letter to the Ephesians 3. God’s Mighty Strength Shown in Raising and Exalting Christ, 1:20–23
‘The Resurrection proclaims “He lives—and that for ever”; the Exaltation proclaims “He reigns—and that for ever”
He continues - Christ’s ‘resurrection has its corollary, a natural progression, in his exaltation, for whenever the New Testament describes the present state of Christ he is portrayed not merely as an inhabitant of heaven but as an enthroned monarch’.
A place of honor

A place of satisfaction or completion
Christ is sitting at God’s right hand because His work is complete
And He has done all things well
Unlike the priests of the Temple who were constantly at work
Christ’s work is complete
2,200 Quotations from the Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon: Arranged Topically or Textually and Indexed by Subject, Scripture, and People (Jesus)
God is more glorified in the person of his Son than he would have been by an unfallen world.

Hebrews 10:11–14 (CSB)
Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins.
But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.
He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool.
For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.
Christ’s work is accepted - God gives Him the seat at His right hand showing that He is satisfied with Christ’s work and by Christ’s work

Philippians 2:9–11 CSB
For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Christ is seated at the right hand of God in the Heavens - demonstrating Christ’s preeminence over all things
Christ’s Preeminence
Christ is not simply exalted but He is placed far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given
Emperor worship - every title given
Occult practices prevalent in Ephesus
Acts 18:18–19 CSB
After staying for some time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and debated with the Jews.
The titles ruler, authority, power and dominion are primarily references to the powers that operate within the spiritual realm
Paul also probably had in mind an alliance - unwitting as it may be - between earthly political leaders and the powers that work in the spiritual realm
Common sense missing
A governor who praises his attorney general for signing an amicus brief requesting the Texas law banning abortions be put on hold - ensuring free and unhindered access to abortions and the continued killing of our most vulnerable
A president who authorizes the withholding of life saving medical care for thousands over the political stand of the affected states
A government that allows and even encourages children to change their gender (something that is impossible)
Dustin Benge recently tweeted
Destroy church buildings
Christ will build His church
Suppress religious freedom
Christ will build His church
Arrest pastors and laypeople
Christ will build His church
Governments, tyrants, ideologies, and dictators can’t stop Christ from building His church
Christ is preeminent now - and in the age to come
He is the center of time - all ages revolve around Him and Christ holds power now and forever
Unlike fantasy novels where the cycle of good versus evil repeats itself
Wheel of Time series - the idea that the struggle between good and evil never really gets resolved. In some ages good wins, in some evil but the struggle never ends
Christ came and is victorious - His victory is complete and final, never to be challenged
And He subjected everything under His feet is a quotation from Psalm 8
Psalm 8:6 CSB
You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
Psalm 8 demonstrates the authority of man over God’s creation and His sovereign representatives on earth
Psalm 8:6 demonstrates this saying that he is ruler over the works of your hands
Man was charged in the Garden with subduing the earth - and this Psalm develops a link between the humans and God in the exercising of sovereignty
Many in the Roman Empire believed that Caesar was sovereign over everything - “Rome, the ruler of all, your power will never die.”
Paul says that this sovereign power only resides within Christ and that everything is subject to Him - all of man, all of human governments, all of the supernatural world, there is not a part of the universe that is outside of His control
Colossians 1:18 CSB
He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.

Christ’s Power

I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church.
If you look around at the church today this quote from Spurgeon would seem to bear itself out
Sexual abuse
Ignorance of Scripture
Worldly practices
But this would be to overlook the good that is happening
IMB missionaries
Disaster relief
We have forgotten who we are - and whose body we are - when we look askance at the church that God has given and when we try to fix it in our own ways
2,200 Quotations from the Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon: Arranged Topically or Textually and Indexed by Subject, Scripture, and People (Church)
Never think of the church of God as if she were in danger. If you do, you will be like Uzza. You will put forth your hand to steady the ark and provoke the Lord to anger against you. If it were in danger, you could not deliver it. If Christ cannot take care of his church without you, you cannot do it. Be still, and know that he is God.
Paul tells us here that the church is Christ’s body and the fullness of the One who fills all things in all things in every way
Just as God was pleased to have His fullness dwell within Christ
Colossians 1:19 CSB
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
The church is the clearest demonstration of and the vehicle through which His power impacts the world
The clearest demonstration
The church would not exist without the power of God
The gathering of believers around the throne, the universal church, the local church - all of these are in view as all are a demonstration of the power of God
The second greatest demonstration of God’s power is the redemption of His church through the Gospel
Romans 1:16 CSB
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.
Eleven men - the most unlikely crew you would ever choose - are charged with carrying the greatest power that has ever been known to the world
You and I are the current iteration and demonstration of that power
The vehicle
Christ came. He lived. He died. He rose from the dead and now resides at the right hand of God.
The church is the vehicle, the method through which God’s power impacts the world today
No one else has the promise that we have, no one else can share the hope that we have
Not the rulers or authorities, not the powers or dominions
We are to carry His power into the world and impact it for His glory
Our work doesn’t/shouldn’t remain confined to this building
And the good news is that He who has all things subjected under His feet and exercises dominion over everything has shared that authority with us
There is no arena in which we should not be speaking and working as God’s ambassadors
But we cannot forget what our primary mission is
300 Quotations for Preachers from the Modern Church (The Primary Purpose of Our Work)
We must always bear in mind that the primary purpose of our work is not to get people to join the church, or to give up their bad habits, or to do anything else than this, to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, the one who bore their sins in His own body on the tree, and the one through whom they can have immediate and entire forgiveness.R. A. TORREY*
Paul is going to tell us in the ensuing chapters how we became saved, how we became a united church and how we should be going about the business we have been assigned.
Here he wants to remind each of us that we are not weak and frail but a militant body, captained by a magnanimous and powerful Head who has demonstrated the immeasurable greatness of His power and that that power is at work in us. The same power that raised Christ from the dead and then exalted Him to the right hand of the Father is at work in us - as His representatives to carry forth the mission that He has assigned to us.
- - Psalm 2NIV2011
- - Ephesians 1:19–23NIV2011
- - Philippians 2:9–11NIV2011
- - Acts 18:18–19NIV2011
- - Psalm 8:6NIV2011
- - Colossians 1:18NIV2011
- - Colossians 1:19NIV2011
- - Romans 1:16NIV2011

Christ’s Position

Christ’s Preeminence

Christ’s Power

Psalm 2NIV2011

Ephesians 1:19–23NIV2011

Philippians 2:9–11NIV2011

Acts 18:18–19NIV2011

Psalm 8:6NIV2011

Colossians 1:18NIV2011

Colossians 1:19NIV2011

Romans 1:16NIV2011