Ephesians 1:15-23 MSG 15-19 That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust Him—endless energy, boundless strength!
20-23 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised Him from death and set Him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from His rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the Church. The Church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the Church. The Church is Christ’s body, in which He speaks and acts, by which He fills everything with His presence.
Observation
“The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church.” The word “peripheral” is defined as something sitting on the edge, and is a synonym to such words as outermost, fringe, border, and surrounding. Because we are creatures that live by our senses, we tend to accept as real what we can see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. We can fall into the trap of letting this physical world seem to be more central to our existence, more impactful, more powerful, more substantive than the spiritual, which we can’t see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. Paul is reminding us here to keep our perspective in line with reality – the world, as well as everything and everyone in it, revolves around Jesus, Who “is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything.” He is the center of all that exists – the Word that created all and the Life that sustains it.
“God raised Him (Jesus) from death and set Him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from His rule.” Satan is an insurrectionist and wants to deceive us into allowing our physical world to be our center because then we have put him in charge. He wants to manipulate our circumstances so we depend on what we can do in our own strength to fix or improve them. He wants to get our eyes to wander and our understanding to dim so that we forget Whose we are, Who we serve, and Who is really in charge – “everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from His rule.” Jesus walked this earth as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit to show us what He intends for us to do and be in His name – individually and as a part of His Body, the Church.
Impact on Me
I confess that I have at times allowed my eyes to wander and my understanding to dim when I look at the condition of the world around me. So many families, including my own, struggle with keeping Jesus as the center. We feel the need to do something!! There are times when fear, heartache or desperation creates an urgency for me to do something to fix situations or people rather than trust in and wait on God. In times like these, I have allowed myself to drift out from the center toward the fringes. It is in those times when I don’t remember and dwell in that personal relationship with Jesus that the physical impossibilities swell to become overwhelming. It is then that I must repent for insurrection. “God raised Him from death and set Him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from His rule.” When I take matters into my own hands, am I not putting myself on the throne?
When I wake up to my insufficiency to rule the Universe, the Holy Spirit so sweetly reminds me of Jesus, Lord of the Universe, Creator of all, God’s Son, changing the course of all history by dying an excruciating, shameful death on a Cross and rising again to provide life eternal for whosoever will come – including all those I think need fixing and, especially, me. One faithful person submitted to God changed the future of nations and generations. He listened and obeyed God in the face of overwhelming circumstances. What can I accomplish in His name if I do the same? “I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for his followers.”
Prayer
Lord, God of the Universe, Creator of all, Savior, Redeemer – why do I ever neglect time with You? Why do I ever consider my ways as better than Yours? Lord, forgive me for doubt, unbelief and the arrogance of trying to usurp Your authority and throne. I embrace Paul’s prayer for me so I can become intelligent and discerning as our personal relationship deepens so I will fulfill Your call on my life and allow Your love, grace, power, anointing and hope to flow through me without any human hindrance. Make it so, Lord. I pray this in Jesus’ name.
Pressing On In His Footsteps 