Experience God's Life-Changing Power

Ephesians 1:18-2:10
Related Sunday School Lesson, Family Bible Series, October 9

Paul's prayer, which actually begins in verse 17, is centered on three things that he wants every believer to have a heart knowledge of. He wanted them to 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" (vs.18, 19a).

These three privileges are available only to true believers and are made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The unbeliever can hear testimonies of these privileges, enjoyed by believers by the hundreds, but until he believes in Jesus for his own salvation he will never comprehend what Paul is talking about. It will be foolishness to him.

God's Power in Christ (Eph. 1:18-23)

It was Paul's desire that every person experience life-changing power found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. To know what Paul is talking about requires that the unbeliever's spiritual eyes be opened by God so that he can see what he has not, thus far, been able to see (18a).

This power can only be experienced when a personal call is extended by God to the unbeliever, offering him hope in a relationship with Jesus (v.18b). This calling that Paul refers to insures the believer of a future inheritance and guarantees the availability of resurrection power for living the Christian life (v.19).

Many believers believe that this power is only for the "super saints," but Paul gives us no reason to believe such. He wants us to know that it was this resurrection power that enabled each of us to be saved, and it is this same saving power that enables us to live a life pleasing to God.

There are those who are tentative about becoming Christians for fear that they will not be able to live pleasing to God. This would certainly be true if living the Christian life was dependent on one's own abilities or grit, but it is not. That is the reason Paul prayed this prayer.

He wanted the believer to grasp the truth that God supplies enabling power for salvation and Christian living to every believer. He describes this power to be of the same nature and kind that raised Jesus from the dead (v.20).

Life Without Christ (Eph.2:1-3)

In these verses we discover why an unbeliever cannot live the Christian life and how God views him. To explain this Paul addresses the spiritual state of a believer before he experienced the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

The unbeliever's first and greatest barrier to living the Christian life is that he is spiritually dead to God but fully alive to the lures of sin. This spiritual deadness suggests alienation from God and His life-giving power.

In no way could one controlled internally by the sin nature and externally by the practice of sin ever expect to save himself or live the Christian life (v.1).

Not only is he spiritually dead but he is controlled by the devil who is the master of those who disobey God (v.2). Paul, like every other sinner, lived life in a very self-centered way, always trying to satisfy the desires of the flesh and mind.

Those who live out this life of rebellious unbelief are referred to as sons of disobedience and children of wrath. The idea being communicated is that people who live such lives of sinful rebellion are presently under God's wrath and are headed for the final day of judgment (v.3).

Life With Christ (Eph. 2:4-10)

The wonder of it all is that God would have anything to do with such a rebellious lot of sinners. The words, "but God," should be shouting words for the spiritually dead. The words that follow are almost too good to be true.

They describe God as being so merciful, that in spite of our sinful standing before Him, He loves us anyway and has provided the way for us to have spiritual life (v.4). Spiritual life is what Jesus was talking about when He said that He had come into this world that we "might have life and have it more abundantly".

This life is made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus. When God convinces a sinner that Jesus is the hope of eternal salvation, and the sinner repents and places his faith in Jesus for salvation, the Bible says that he is "made alive in Christ" (v.5).

In a parenthetical statement, Paul declares that this new life that he now has means that he has been saved.

This spiritual union, according to verse 6, gives us a positional relationship with Jesus that is described as being raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places.

Such a spiritual union, brought about by our gracious God, is only the beginning of all the rich and gracious manifestations of kindness that He has planned for those who trust Him to be their Savior (v.7).

Paul makes sure that we understand that salvation is a work of God, not man. He emphasizes that any claim of human effort being useful to bring about salvation is out of the question and boasting of such to God would be absolutely ridiculous (v.8). Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and is without question a gift provided by God alone (v.9). Such a gift deserves an immediate response by the sinner.

Once a believer has been saved, God begins to lead him into a life of Christian works that He planned for us to live (v.10). The practice of these works also demand God's grace, our faith, and God's enabling power.