Note: The Lord’s Supper meditation is tacked on at the beginning because it went along with the sermon

Lord’s Supper and Acts 19:11-425/4/14

It was a question from my daughter Lauren early this week that set the trajectory for both this time at the Lord’s Table and the sermon to follow.

I think it was Monday when Lauren asked, “What’s the sermon about this week Dad?”

Well I’d been thinking through the “big idea” of the passage and I said, “It’s about how the kingdom of God comes in power…you know there’s the story about Paul’s head band and work apron being taken to sick and demon-possessed people and God healing them…” and before I could continue she replied, “Why doesn’t that happen today?”

Why doesn’t that happen today? It’s a great question isn’t it? Let me tip my hand up front here—I think it does happen today. I think God’s kingdom does come in power today. And I’m convinced that as citizens of God’s kingdom, God’s power is active in our lives in ways that we don’t even know. And perhaps God will drive home that point as we give attention to His Word.

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As we prepare to participate in the Lord’s Supper, think with me about God’s power as expressed in the gospel.

Romans 1:16, a very familiar verse, perhaps an overly familiar verse, tells us that the gospel (the good news of what God in Christ did for us on the cross) is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Paul in 1 Corinthians 1, says the same thing, ‘we preach Christ crucified…Paul’s basically saying we preach the gospel…we preach the good news… a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles….but to those who are called… the power of God and the wisdom of God.

We’ve been focusing a lot on the gospel lately. The gospel we’ve said is good news, good news about the infinite resources (dynamis, “spiritual ability”) of God to save us, to deliver us who believe.1

When the gospel is proclaimed—and the Lord’s table is a great time to proclaim the good news that Christ died for your sins and mine… see here the bread and juice symbols of Christ’s body broken and Christ’s blood shed for you…see here symbols of God’s love for you—when the gospel is proclaimed, God is actively at work in the hearts of listeners.

God works in the hearts of unbelievers to draw them to Himself. God works in the hearts of believers to remind them of the infinite resources of God to completely save them, to utterly save them.

So as we begin to ponder the power of God this fifth day of May in the year 2014, some 2000 years after the events of the first century, let’s be reminded that God’s power is present in our lives in the powerful gospel. It is a present power, a sufficient power, an unceasing power to

1 Witmer, J. A. (1985). Romans. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 441). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

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justify us (once and for all delivering us from the penalty of sin), to sanctify us (progressively delivering us from the power of sin in our lives) and to glorify us (one day removing us from the presence of sin.)

Why doesn’t God display his power today? He does in the gospel. His power is constantly working to bring us home to Him. Would you take a minute and thank the Lord for His powerful gospel?

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God’s Kingdom Comes in PowerActs 19:11–41

In the book of Luke there’s one particular story where Jesus cast a demon out of a man and some in the audience attributed his powerful work to Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus replied this way…

“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”

The point in Jesus’ reply was that it was absurd to suggest that Satan was working through Jesus to undermine his own kingdom—a divided kingdom just can’t stand.

And then Jesus said this… But if it is by the finger of God--and that phrase at least for me recalls a scene from the plagues in Exodus2 where Pharaoh’s magicians realize that the true God of heaven has personally intervened and is behind the plagues3… they exclaim “It is the finger of God”—well Jesus says But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you….and then paraphrasing the rest of what Jesus said….and one stronger than the strong man, Satan, is dividing his spoil.

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We return to the book of Acts this morning in Acts 19 and God’s powerful kingdom has arrived in Ephesus and One stronger than the strong man, Satan, is dividing his spoil.

This morning I want to double back and look at some of what we covered three weeks ago in Acts 19 and then we’ll move into some new territory and finish the chapter.

Here’s my suggestion for the ‘Big Idea’ of the passage we look at this morning…

2 Exodus 8:193 Water, M. (1998). Bible Study made easy (p. 61). Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd.

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POWERPOINTBig IdeaGod’s Kingdom comes with power and nothing remains the same when it comes.

Last time we were together in Acts we said that Paul had a remarkable three year ministry in Ephesus. It involved, look at Acts 19:8, a three month ministry in the synagogue—a longer ministry in the synagogue than any other city he visited. Paul reasoned with those in the synagogue (dialoguing and responding to their questions and challenges), and he persuaded them (convincing them by argument)4 about the kingdom of God. Inevitably Paul taught them that the kingdom of God had come through the person and work of Jesus Christ and that people entered the kingdom through salvation. Inevitably he taught them that upon being saved they were delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to Jesus’s kingdom.5

Over the three month ministry in the synagogue however, verse 9, hearts hardened to the gospel,6 and those in the synagogue began to speak evil of the Way in front of the congregation and so Paul moved to a secular school. He began reasoning daily in the Hall of Tyrannus…the word hall is the word “school” and Tyrannus means ‘our tyrant’…we chuckled with John Stott three weeks ago when he wondered aloud in his commentary if this was a name his parent’s gave him or a name his students gave him.7

Whether Paul rented a room there or used the hall when it was free, we don’t know. An ancient source8 suggests that Paul may have lectured there during the heat of the day from say 11:00 am – 4:00pm (during the siesta hour so to speak) and many scholars are inclined believe this very well could be the case. And that would probably mean that he did his tent making in the morning and then went to the lecture hall of Tyrannus during the heat of the day. This went on for two years and the message of the gospel was spreading like wildfire.

Acts 19:10 tells us that ‘all the residents of Asia heard the Word of the Lord.’ We can imagine this was in part because many people traveled to Ephesus and encountered Paul there and because some of Paul’s colleagues took the gospel out to surrounding towns. But clearly God’s kingdom came to Ephesus with power.

Let’s look at a map of Asia on the screen.

4 MacArthur, page 172-1735 Colossians 1:136 MacArthur, page 173 “The imperfect tense of the verb shows that the hardening was a process.”7 Stott, page 3068 The Western Text

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You can see Ephesus on the map.

It was probably during Paul’s time in Ephesus that the churches in the Lycus Valley were planted by Epaphras. The black oval encompasses the cities of Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis, and the churches there were believed to be planted by Epaphras.

And it’s conceivable that the seven churches mentioned in Revelation were planted during this time—you’ll see the locations of those churches illustrated with large dots on the map.

All the residents of Asia heard the word of God…God’s kingdom had come with power and everything was different.

Well look at verse 11…11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

You wouldn’t think that the word miracles needed an adjective but Luke uses one anyway…God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul…‘special’ (AV), ‘singular’ (NEB), ‘remarkable’(JB)9 miracles…

Notice it was God who was doing the miracles.And notice it was by the hands of Paul…And what was God doing through Paul? Handkerchiefs and aprons…probably items of clothing associated with Paul’s work and which had touched his skin were carried to people who were diseased and demon-possessed and they got better.

9 Stott, page 306

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Now what was God doing here? …And as unusual as this was, we encountered people being healed by Peter’s shadow back in Acts 5, and in Jesus’ ministry a woman was healed when she touched the hem of his garment… but was God doing here in Ephesus? Clearly the kingdom of God had come with power. I think we could say that God was accommodating himself to the mentality of the people in Ephesus. Or as one author said, God was accommodating himself in a dramatic, absurd way in order to communicate to a fallen and absurd people.”10

You see Ephesus was headquarters for what we would call the occult. The city was “renown as being something of a center for magical practices in the Mediterranean world.”11 And in a culture heavily influenced by magic (where the symbolic was important), God used symbols to reveal himself to the people12 so that they would listen to His Word as preached through Paul.

Ephesus’ reputation as a headquarters for magic was perpetuated, in part, by the so-called ‘Ephesian Letters’ which were actually six secret names inscribed on Artemis’ statue in the temple of Artemis.13 (And we’ll talk more about the temple of Artemis later in the message). These names were actually thought to be laden with protective power for warding off evil demons. These letters, these names supposedly possessed potent charms. There was a story that was circulated about a traveling Ephesian wrestler who traveled to Olympia to compete in the games. The wrestler wore the ‘Ephesian letters’ on an ankle bracelet while he competed and was winning every match. Finally an opponent discovered the bracelet and the officials removed it. The Ephesian wrestler lost the remaining matches.14

So Ephesus was a magic-infested city within a magic-infested culture. It was a headquarters of sort for the occult. And that’s why Paul had what some call ‘power encounters’ with demonic forces. And I think that’s why the story of Ephesus includes such extraordinary miracles.

The next story here in Acts 19, verses 13-17, has a similar feel. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you (to adjure means to command one solemnly or under oath) by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” The traveling Jewish exorcists were syncretists—they would find any name that seemed to have power and incorporate it in the words they would exclaim over a demon-possessed person. Paul’s ‘spell’ in Jesus’ name seemed effective for him, so they gave it a try… saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

10 Conrad Gempf as quoted by Fernando, page 52111 Arnold, page 19512 Fernando, page 52013 Arnold, page 195, the six names were askion, kataskion, lix, tetrax, damnameneus, and aisia14 Arnold, page 195

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Archaeologists have found magical papyri that illustrate this syncretistic ‘use-any-name-in-case-it-might-have-power’ tendency.

One says “Hail God of Abraham, hail God of Isaac, hail God of Jacob, Jesus Chrestus, Holy Spirit, Son of the Father.” Another papyrus in a Paris museum says, “ I adjure you (I command you solemnly) by the god of the Hebrews, Jesus…”15 Still another papyrus scroll calls upon, “Hor, Hor, Phor, Eloiei, Adonai, lao Sabaoth, Michael, Jesus Christ. Help up and this household. Amen”16

Verse 14 tells us that 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. Because there is no evidence of a Jewish high priest named Sceva, it’s believed that this man was a ‘self-appointed’ high priest.17 Why would one ever think to appoint himself to the position of high priest so far away from Jerusalem? To increase his prestige. You see the Jewish high priest was the only man who was authorized to pronounce the name of God on the Day of Atonement.18

Well it was easy to fool the Ephesians but not the demon… 15 But the evil spirit (scornfully) answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

The sons of Sceva were soundly humiliated. They tried to use the name of Jesus as a magic formula and “like an unfamiliar weapon wrongly handled it exploded in their hands.”19

Look at verse 17…17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. ..this failed exorcism was being whispered from house to house in the city of Ephesus, a city thought to be as large as 250,000….And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.

What an incredible result from an unlikely event! Now why would a failed exorcism in the name of Jesus cause the name of the Lord Jesus to be extolled?

Well the show down between the Sons of Sceva and the demon possessed man showed that the name of Jesus wasn’t a name that one could trifle with. It showed that “Jesus is a power

15 Bock, page 603-4, magical papyri known as Paris papyri 4, in PGM 4.3019-20; written in the third century16 Arnold, page 19617 Bruce, MacArthur and others argue this point18 As quoted in Bruce, page 368, Mishnah, Yoma 5.1; 6.219 Bruce, page 368

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that cannot be controlled…he won’t act as a lackey (a servant) for just anyone who calls on his name.”20 And as the people of Ephesus heard about the failed exorcism by those who didn’t believe in Jesus, they realized that there is supernatural power connected with the name of Jesus.21

But there’s more… 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.

It seems that many of the new believers still had a foot in their magic-infested culture. It seems that they still practiced magic along with their new found faith. “Perhaps they kept some scrolls in which spells were written as an insurance policy, in case their newfound faith proved to be inadequate!”22

Well having seen the powerlessness of magic they came forward confessing their sins and disclosing the fact that they used magical spells. In their confessing they may have also revealed their spells and according to magical theory, the potency of a spell was bound up in its secrecy; if the spell was divulged it became ineffective.23

19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts…or sorcery… brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. …if the piece of silver was the drachma which was a day’s wage…then the value of these papyri and scrolls with magical spells was worth a tremendous amount…

It really is a stunning picture of how entrenched the Ephesian people were in sorcery and magic arts before the gospel set them free. They really were captives in the domain of darkness and by faith they had been transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved son.

20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. One of the many progress reports in the book of Acts.

Now in verses 21-22, it seems that Paul began to realize that his time in Ephesus was over, so he began to think ahead in the Spirit.

20 Peterson, page 54021 Schnabel, page 79822 Peterson, page 54123 Bruce, page 369

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21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia (that would be another visit to the churches of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea) and Achaia) (which would be a visit to the church in Corinth and a visit to the church in Athens if there was indeed a church there…and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus24, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

Continuing in verse 23, follow with me as I read, verses 23-27… 23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named

Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

Now let’s just wonder out loud if this disturbance possibly had its origins the unseen world of demonic forces. What do you think? The text never says that that’s the case but given all that we’ve learned about Ephesus, doesn’t it make sense that demonic powers would do all that they could to hinder the progress of the gospel in Asia?25

And before looking at the passage in more detail, we would be remiss if we didn’t do a little background work here because the worship of Artemis (the Roman name for her was Diana) and the presence of her temple in Ephesus had a bigger than life influence on the city.

One Greek writer suggested that Artemis was worshipped more widely than any god he knew.26 There were some 33 shrines to Artemis throughout the Roman Empire. Strabo, the ancient geographer wrote that she “received her name because she made people artemeas, that is safe and sound.”27 She was worshipped because of “her lordship over supernatural powers. She was a virgin who helped women in childbirth,(and) a huntress armed with a bow, (and) the goddess of death.”28 Over time she morphed into the great mother goddess.29 “As the mother

24 Erastus could be the city treasurer of Corinth, Rom. 16:23. Schnabel goes to great lengths to assume that he is this man, and that he is the same Erastus who is referred to in a pavement inscription in Corinth.25 MacArthur makes this point, page 18326 Pausanias as quoted by Arnold, page 19827 Strabo as quoted in Peterson, page 54428 Peterson, page 54529 Bruce, page 374; Arnold, page 198

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goddess, Artemis possessed fertility and reproductive power that caused the earth to blossom with life of all kinds. She was the goddess of childbirth and a nourishing mother to all. Animals and wildlife were also part of her domain and under her control.”30 She definitely was a ‘one-stop-does-all-idol’!

Here is an artist’s representation of her temple.

POWERPOINTTemple of Artemis

The giant marble temple, four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens, was supported by 127 pillars, each of them sixty feet high. It stood a mile and a half northeast of the city.

It was considered the seventh wonder of the world. Antipater of Sidon, who compiled the list of the Seven Wonders, describes the finished temple:“I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus ; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, "Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand".

The temple functioned as the banking center for the province of Asia. Large amounts of money were deposited and borrowed from the Artemision. One of the calendar months was named after Artemis—the month of Artemision and during this month an annual festival was held in her honor.

“The worshipers of Artemis regarded her as supreme among all the gods and goddesses. The honored her as ‘first among the thrones’, ‘savior’, ‘Lord,’ ‘Queen of the world’, and “the heavenly goddess’.”31 Those who worshipped Artemis believed they were devoted to an awesome, unrivaled deity who could not only help them in their daily affairs of life but could also provide them from protection from evil powers.

So what’s the point in all of this? Artemis was a major player in the world of idolatry; she was ‘savior’ and ‘lord’ to the people of Ephesus but God’s kingdom had come with power.

Well it all began, in verse 24, with a man named Demetrius who was a silversmith. Demetrius either employed a number of skilled men who made silver shrines of Artemis32 or he may have been the head of the silversmith’s guild.33

30 Arnold, page 19831 Arnold, page 19832 Peterson, page 54433 MacArthur, page 183

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These silver shrines of Artemis were probably miniature replicas of the temple or the part of the temple where the deity stood.34 The people would buy them and bring them to the temple and offer them to the goddess.35 Archaeologists have found clay replicas but not silver ones.

In verse 25, Demetrius gathered the other craftsmen who were involved in making shrines to Artemis and he began tell them why they couldn’t sit idly by as Paul and the Way convinced the people of Asia that ‘gods made with hands are not gods’. It would affect their pocket book, verse 25….from this business we have our wealth.

And in verse 26, Demetrius gives testimony to the power of the gospel in Asia. “You’ve seen it and you hear that throughout the entire province of Asia, Paul has turned away many!”

And how has Paul been so successful? By arguing that ‘gods made by hand are not gods’. But really Paul had been so successful because the kingdom of God had come with power. That’s such a funny line isn’t it? But it shows how deceived the people of Asia really were—they were convinced that gods made by hands really were gods….and I suppose every Buddhist and Hindu in the world today would believe the same thing.

Well in verse 27, Demetrius gives three reasons why something must be done. First there was the danger that “silver smithing shrines” would come into disrepute. Second there was the danger that the temple of Artemis might be discredited, that it might be counted as nothing. And finally there was the danger that Artemis should be deposed or cast down from her greatness. Our great goddess, Demetrius argues, will no longer be great!

Much was at stake, Demetrius argued, for the silversmiths and for the population of Ephesus as a whole.

28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel.

Here’s a picture of the ruins of the city of Ephesus…. you can see the theater built into the hillside.

34 Peterson, page 54535 Arnold, page 199

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POWERPOINTRuins of EphesusThe theater could hold some 25,000 people and was used for theatrical productions as well as civic and religious meetings.

Here is an artist’s rendition of the same theater.

POWERPOINTEphesus’ Theater

So the theater is now filling with an angry mob and two of Paul’s traveling companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, have been caught up in the riot and are in the theater. Could we imagine perhaps some 3,000 to 5,000 people are in the theater?36

30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater…. Asiarchs were likely civic rulers or leading men from the upper class who worked with the city administration. That Paul had such friends shows his influence and impact in Ephesus.37

32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. More of Luke’s humor.

33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. It seems that the Jews wanted to dissociate themselves from the member of the Way and so they put forward a fellow Jew named Alexander. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, (they shouted Alexander down) and for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Can you imagine what that was like?

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd…the town clerk was the highest civic official in the city. He operated much like a powerful city manager. And he was the cities’ liaison to the Romans.38 So he was on the hook to the Romans when a riot went awry. 35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd…he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Arnold suggests ‘thousands’37 Bock, page 610-1138 Bock

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The sacred stone that came from the sky was probably a meteorite. A scholar, John Polhill writes this:

“Meteorites were often associated with the worship of Artemis. The most famous of these was the sacred stone taken from Pessinus to Rome in 204 BC. A meteorite also seem to have been associated with the cult of the Taurian Artemis….”39 The claim of such a miraculous event—a meteorite coming from heaven—could explain why Artemis was so revered in Ephesus.

36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here –apparently he’s speaking about Gaius and Aristarchus who are there on stage with him… who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. In other words there are legal ways to handle such issues. And if that’s not adequate, verse 39, there is the assembly (which met three times per month.) 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

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Now as we close let me return to the big idea of the passage….

We saw the big idea in our passage in how city of Ephesus (and the entire province of Asia) was impacted by the kingdom when it came.

39 MacArthur, page 189

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We saw God’s kingdom come with power in the extraordinary miracles that were done with Paul’s handkerchiefs and aprons.

We saw God’s kingdom come with power indirectly even in the failed exorcism even as the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. But we also saw God’s kingdom come with power as that story was whispered around the city of Ephesus and many believers were moved to confess and repent of their magical practices. God’s kingdom had come with power and nothing remained the same when it came.

And in this last story about Demetrius and his riot –wasn’t that all about the kingdom taking over?

God’s kingdom comes with power and nothing remains the same when it comes.

So in response to the question, “Why doesn’t God’s kingdom come with power today?,” in our Lord’s supper time we said that God’s kingdom does come with power today in the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. In other words the gospel is the power of God that justifies us (declaring us innocent and free from the penalty of sin ), the power of God that sanctifies us (that day in and day out power that sets us progressively free from the power of sin) , and the power of God that will one day glorify us (setting us free finally from the presence of sin) God’s kingdom comes with power and nothing remains the same when it comes.

Well as I was thinking about this, pondering the kingdom of God coming in power, I was reminded that the book of Ephesians is all about the power of God. Specifically, Paul prays a couple of prayers in the book of Ephesians—written about 5 years after our story in Acts 19 —that help us see how the kingdom of God comes with power today.

Turn with me to the book of Ephesians and let’s look at those prayers. The first prayer begins in in Ephesians 1, verse 15…Ephesians 1:15

15 For this reason, …and in the previous verses Paul’s been highlighting God’s sovereignty and the blessings that we have in Christ…For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…and as we come to verse 17 we come to the first bit of content in Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians… 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,…I think we could paraphrase verse 17 very simply this way… I pray that God through the Spirit will help you know Him better… 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know…

… and he’s going to list three essential truths that he hopes the Ephesian believers will come to know as they get to know God better… 1) what is the hope to which he has called you, 2) what

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are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints….and here’s the one we’re looking for… 3) the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe….

So let me back track and summarize what has happened so far in his prayer...

…verse 16…I don’t stop giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, …verse 17 that God by means of His Spirit will help you know Him better …verse 18 that you would really know the hope of heaven, that you really know the riches of being God’s inheritance (because He’s looking forward to enjoying you forever)……verse 19 and that you would really know the immeasurable greatness of his power toward you who believe.

Now in verses 20-23, Paul tells the Ephesians and us what God’s power toward them is like…it’s like the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead.. the power that seated him at the right hand of God…far above every other power…

So we’re left here at the end of this prayer in chapter 1 knowing that we need help knowing the greatness of God’s power toward us…Why doesn’t God’s kingdom power show up today? Oh it does…it does….we just need help to see it…. and it’s the Spirit who helps us know the greatness of God’s power toward us…as people pray… but we have no shadow of a doubt that His power toward us is immeasurably great, inexpressibly great.

It’s the second prayer in Ephesians, Ephesians 3, where Paul tells us how God’s power is operative in our lives today.

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory…don’t miss the immeasurable resources which provide the answer to Paul’s prayer…according to the riches of his glory…. he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being…notice that Paul is praying for a display of power in our inner being, in contrast to our outer man which decays… Why? Why does he want a display of power in our inner being? 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—Carson puts it together this way… we need power to make a suitable residence for the risen Christ out of our lives40… in other words we need power to be holy, power to walk in godliness, power to please Christ in all we do…that’s what Paul means when he prays that the Ephesians will be strengthened with power in their inner being so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith…

40 Carson, A Call To Spiritual Reformation, page 188

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….but we need power for something else, verse 18, we need power to comprehend the limitless dimensions of Christ’s love for us… we need power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge….that’s a paradox isn’t it? that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. …that you may mature. We can’t grow up in Christ unless we know how much God loves us. And we need power to know how much God loves us. And that power comes when people pray…

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In answer to the question, “why doesn’t God’s kingdom come in power today?” we answer that His kingdom does come in power today just like it did in the first century.

God’s power is present when the gospel is preached. And Paul’s first prayer in Ephesians 1, reminds us that God’s immeasurably great power is always with us, it’s always toward us every day. The kingdom expands in our lives and God’s power is present in our lives; we just need spiritual eyes to see it.

And Paul’s second prayer in Ephesians, there in Ephesians 3, reminds us that it’s God’s power (the immeasurably great power mentioned in chapter 1) that helps us live godly lives today and that it’s God’s power (the immeasurably great power mentioned in chapter 1) that helps us understand and know the limitless love of God for us. And we need to know about God’s love for us if we are ever to mature.

God’s kingdom comes in power and nothing remains the same when it comes.

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