EPHESIANS 1:15-23 PRINCETON CHRISTIAN CHURCH 18 AUGUST 2024
In the year 1710, in the city of London, England a cathedral was built. It became known as St. Paul’s Cathedral. The builders placed a cross on the top of the dome of the cathedral. And I understand it is still there.
So, for more than 300 years, a cross has dominated the London skyline. Some noted that for all those years a cross has been on the roof of London.
That is one way of saying that Christ is above all.
Many years ago, following a war between Argentina and Chile, they melted down the cannons and made a statue of Christ holding a cross. They mounted it on a mountain that separates the two countries.
People also say that there is a cross on the roof of South America. They see it as Christ above all.
Sir Edmund Hillary climbed to the top of Mt Everest, the world’s highest mountain. He left a crucifix there on the mountain. And people have said there is a cross on the roof of the world.
Now, these may be symbolic ways of saying that Christ is above all. But the Word says it best and with full truth and power.
Christ Above All is also the theme of all four Gospel writings and the triumphant theme of Revelation.
Ephesians 1:15-23 CHRIST ABOVE ALL!
For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Verse 21 says Christ is above all powers. All things are in subjection under His feet, and He is head over all things in verse 22. All rule, authority, and power are His.
Jesus is the Head of all things in the Church
1. He is above All - Military Power
The soldiers in His army are able to conquer the world without weapons of war. The war is won through the grace of God's love of His Son.
More peace has been accomplished with the spreading of the Gospel than all the wars and weapons of war put together.
The Gospel achieves more than anyone has ever achieved with destructive weapons.
The Gospel reaches farther with the sword of the Spirit than anyone could ever do with the sword of carnal warfare.
2. Christ is Above All – Economic Power
Think about this: Jacob Fugger was rich enough to buy the Holy Roman Empire for King Charles V.
Jesus had to borrow a boat to cross the sea.
But whose empire lasted far longer than the other? The answer, of course, is that Jesus’ empire lasted longer – in fact, it still lasts today!
A man named Croesus was rich enough to pay for the pillars of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the world.
Jesus didn’t own a house or a shop.
The Rothschild family was rich enough to prevent wars by lending money to the kings of Europe.
Jesus never owned a business or had a bank account. But hear what the Psalmist wrote about Him. Psalm 46:9:
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two.
He is the Pillar and the Ground of Truth, and His Spiritual Temple is still standing many centuries later.
3. Christ is Above All - Political Powers
An old hymn, Onward, Christian Soldiers, includes a line that says,
“Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane, but the Church of Jesus Christ constant will remain.”
Even worldly monarchs are aware of the power of Christ. For example, Every British monarch is crowned in Westminster Abbey. Before the high altar, you will find these words: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever
4. Christ is above The Final Power – Death
Paul says He – Jesus – must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
Death is the monster who interferes with our plans and shatters our life’s dreams.
Death is the tyrant who stalks us in our path, darkens our days and robs us of sleep at night.
Death is the last enemy, but Christ is even stronger than death.
There are various kinds, types, and sources of power. When Paul thought about power, he always found it in Christ. He always found it in the Resurrection of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As he writes in 1 Corinthians 15, he emphasizes God’s mighty power as He raised Jesus from death.
We all know the hymns: “Jesus Saves” and “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” – both written by William J Kirkpatrick. The story is told that one night, when Mrs. Kirkpatrick went to bed, Mr. Kirkpatrick said he was going to stay up and go to his study. After midnight, Mrs. Kirkpatrick woke up and found the light still on in his study. She found her husband at his desk, dead – pencil still in his hand.
There, on his desk, were the words to a song he had just written:
“Coming home, coming home.
Nevermore to roam.
Open wide, Thine arms of love,
Lord, I’m coming home.”
What a great way to die! But you know, he could die like that because he had lived with the truth that Christ’s power over death is such that we do not need to fear it. It is really “going home.”
That is an example of the truth that allows us to know that Christ’s power over even death is larger than any of our problems.
Sometimes, I think we tend to see Jesus as living a perfect life – which He did, of course – a sinless life. But what we tend to forget is that during His earthly ministry, He confronted every possible sort of problem.
Sickness, handicaps, hunger, loneliness, storms, grief, and even death.
He proved His power was adequate for every problem any human would encounter. And that didn’t stop after His death, burial, and resurrection. He still today proves that.
Sometimes, we get so bogged down with our problems of daily living. How can we solve them? How can I manage to get through these difficult times? We can’t always solve our problems, but we can learn to manage them. We know the Head Manager – it is Christ who enables us to manage our difficult problems.
5. Christ is Above All Priorities
Let’s look at Ephesus for a moment. The people knew about priorities.
The temple of Diana, one of the wonders of the world, was in the city. People came from their homes to worship at the temple of Diana.
Then Paul came preaching Jesus Christ. Those who believed and followed the way to salvation in Christ no longer worshipped Diana.
That cut into their livelihood – the idol business. Acts 19:23-27 READ
About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”
Remember that old song with the words: The Old Time Religion? It was good for Paul and Silas, good enough for _________ (fill in the blank), and good enough for me.
Those who believed Paul’s message of Christ could have sung that song as an excuse to continue worshipping Diana. But they didn’t.
These Ephesian Christians had to set Christ above all other priorities. It was hard to go against custom, but Christ must come first.
Then there was the issue of family. Some in Ephesus tried to prioritize family over following Christ.
When Jesus was still on earth teaching and preaching, one man came to Him and said he would follow Him, but he had to go bury his father first. The thing about that was that the man’s father wasn’t dead yet. Now, we are not told that in Scripture, but in that culture, the body was buried the same day it died. The man told Jesus, “When he is gone, then I will follow you.”
Some individuals may have the desire to follow Jesus, but they may find that other important obligations and commitments in their lives take precedence over their ability to follow Him wholeheartedly.
Then, there is the priority of wealth. We know that labor and business are powerful realities in this life. They are necessary. They help us sustain our lives. These situations were present in Jesus’ day as they are today.
Still, we must know and practice the truth that following Christ has a cost. It has been said that “if your Christianity has never cost you anything, you may not have any.”
That is where we are going to leave off today.
We know Christ is above all :
Military Power Economic Power Political Power Death Priorities
And we know as well that anything so valuable to us must be very costly.
Next week, we will look at the cost of experiencing Christ Above All.
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