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Daily Devotions

Ephesians

Ephesians 
Day 
Day 53

"Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places."

Text: Ephesians 1:20

DEMONSTRATION OF THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD

What do you think about when you dwell on the thought of God’s power? Do you think of Creation?

To the apostle Paul, one of the mightiest demonstrations of God’s superlative power was in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes, the resurrection of Jesus is taken so much for granted that we do not see God’s power in it much.

AN IMPORTANT RE-THINK CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

Let us ponder anew how Paul came to his understanding of the mighty power of God displayed in the resurrection of Jesus.

“Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead”

Paul used a most interesting word when he described God’s work in our life. Let us compare these two phrases.

“According to the working of His mighty power..”
EPHESIANS 1:19

“Which He worked in Christ…”
EPHESIANS 1:20

The same word is used both times. The word “work” (“energeia”) is where we get our word “energy”. Paul sought to convey the idea of God pouring in “energy” to bring about the resurrection of Jesus. He employs that same energy in all of us who believe in Him. But wherein is that energy to be seen?

Two things may be highlighted in particular:-

1. In subduing the power of the Devil (Cf. Hebrews 2:14-15)

2. In subduing the power of sin in our life (Cf. Romans 6-7)

It is erroneous to imagine that all God needs to do is to snap His fingers and all our problems are resolved. God has to work within our very human context. And in this context, we will need all His power and energy to help us defeat the powers of Sin and Satan. We must never lose perspective of the context in which God works. Our daily struggle against the powers of Sin and Satan ought to convince us that God’s power is indeed badly needed. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He effectively demonstrated His power over sin and the devil. Thus Paul exulted triumphantly in another text,

“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:55

“And seated at His right hand in the heavenly places”

This aspect of God’s power will probably never be completely and fully understood. But nevertheless it must be stated. One can only imagine the rage and frustration of the devil and his demonic hordes when God appointed Christ Jesus to sit at His right hand. To the rebellious angels who dared to imagine they could usurp the throne of God, God raised Jesus from the dead, to show them the greatness of His matchless power!