Ephesians 1:10;19-21, “And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and earth. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else – not only in this world but also in the world to come.”
Paul used verse 10 as the core concept and vocabulary that will be repeated throughout the book of Ephesians. All things – “everything in heaven and earth” become one in the Messiah – Jesus Christ. That is God’s plan and could not be understood until Christ rose from the dead. All will someday answer to Jesus as a Savior or Jesus as a Judge.
The gospel, which was God’s plan, gives us help and confident hope. It gives us discernment as we receive the light of truth through reading, meditating on God’s Word, and praying. How do we get to know God personally? It requires spending time with Him. In verse 17 of Ephesians 1, Paul talks about praying for the believers to know God so they would have a better understanding and knowledge of God. So how can we do that – to have insight and know the incredible greatness of God’s character and His almighty power? I think it takes reviewing and remembering the attributes of God in order to shut out the fearful doubts that bombard our minds when situations arise. I have listed them here:
- Wrath -Rom. 1:8 -God’s wrath is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Don’t ever doubt this.
- Mercy -God gives His undeserved kindness and goodness to those who don’t deserve it and to those who are suffering. Matt. 5:7 – “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
- Holiness – 1 Pet. 1:15-16, “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
- Omnipotence – God’s power is inexhaustible and God is Sovereign and works all things according to His will and plan – Ephe. 1:11. Jesus is Lord and God is in control.
- Omniscience – God has complete knowledge of everything. God never faces any of the limitations we face and knows what we need to solve our problems. He knows what we are going to say before we say it and knows my-your thoughts right now – Ps. 139:1-6.
- Omnipresence – God is always present everywhere and is always there for us. We can never hide our sinful actions from God because He is always with us. This should be a cure for any loneliness because God’s presence is more important than any other person we might want to be with – Ephe. 4:15-16.
Remember, God is right here with you wherever you go today. He has a plan as He would tell you, “For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. But the LORD is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him” Habakkuk 1:5b; 2:20. God declared this to Habakkuk, and it is true for us as well today.
The gospel gives us hope in our glorious future of eternal life, freedom from sin, perfected bodies with no health issues, and Christ’s justice once and for all. Meanwhile, here on earth, think about God’s character and remember we have the mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead available to us, which will never have a power outage in our Christian life – ever!
Listen to Cece Winans – Come Jesus Come (Official Audio).