It was the greatest moment in all eternity… greater than creation… greater than any sign, wonder, or miracle… greater than Jesus’ conception… greater than His birth… even greater than His death… the singular moment when everything changed…
THE PIVOT-POINT OF ETERNITY
This mystery, to which I am referring, is the pivot-point of eternity… the Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, the Living Son of the Living God!
God’s Word tells us that, as believers, we are RECIPIENTS of His resurrection life by His grace, and PARTICIPANTS in His resurrection triumph by our faith.
Just as we died with Him, we were also made alive with Him, and we rose with Him!
His resurrection was our resurrection!
⁴ “But God still loved us with such great love. He is so rich in compassion and mercy. ⁵ Even when we were dead and doomed in our many sins, He united us into the very life of Christ and saved us by His wonderful grace! ⁶ He raised us up with Christ the exalted One, and we ascended with Him into the glorious perfection and authority of the heavenly realm, for we are now co-seated as one with Christ!” (Ephesians 2:4-6, TPT)
Now my question is a simple one: What happened? One moment I was dead in the tomb of my sins and trespasses. The next moment I was snatched from the jaws of the deepest hell, and made alive together with Christ!
What happened?
The Apostle Paul received the answer to that question from the Holy Spirit, and then communicated the revelation to us.
EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF HIS POWER
¹⁵ “Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. ²² And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:15-23)
There is so much revelation knowledge in this entire passage, but we will only focus on one verse, that is, Verse 19.
There are five distinct Greek words that Bible translators have translated as “power” in the New Testament.
One of them is the Greek word “exousia”. This word means “authority, or lawful right”, and should never be translated as “power”.
A quick look at one example: Luke 10:19, which says, ” Behold, I give you exousia (authority, the legal right ) to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the dunamis (power) of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
So, we are left with four Greek words that actually mean power… and all four words are contained in one verse. You guessed it… Ephesians 1:19.
Let’s examine these four words closely, with the help of our Teacher, Holy Spirit:
● DUNAMIS = INHERENT POWER
We get our English words dynamo and dynamite from this Greek word. It means power that is stored up in something.
We might see a weight lifter with big bulging muscles and say, “That guy looks powerful.” That’s a picture of dunamis.
● ENERGEIA= DISPLAYED POWER
We get the English word energy from this word. If our weight lifter single-handedly moved a large boulder that was blocking a mountain road, we would say, “Yep, he has power (energeia)!”
● KRATOS = RULING POWER
We get the word democracy (demos + kratos = people + ruling power) from this word.
● ISCHUS = ENDOWED POWER
A king has this kind of power. It is power that is his simply because of his position. He is endued with it because of His lineage, his crown, and his throne.
Now back to our verse to see how this all fits together.
“… and what is the exceeding greatness of His power (dunamis) toward us who believe, according to the working (energeia) of His mighty (kratos) power (ischus)…”
(Ephesians 1:19)
You say, “I still don’t get it. What happened? What does it all mean?”
Here it comes, and I suggest you put on your seat belt, and hold onto your hat, not because of any great teaching on my part, but because you are about to receive a deeper revelation of the great love, mercy, wisdom, and power of our Almighty God. Here it is:
There was a time when ALL of God’s ruling power, ALL of His endowed power, and ALL of His inherent power was displayed in the form of spiritual energy.
When did that happen? The next verse tells us:
“… which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…”
(Ephesians 1:20)
RESURRECTION = UNLIMITED POWER
More of God’s power was demonstrated on that day, the day of Jesus’ resurrection, than had ever been displayed before in the entire history of the universe.
We’re told in Psalm 8:3 that when God created the universe, He accomplished it with just His fingers.That’s all the effort it took for God to create the universe.
We’re told in Hebrews 1:10 that God laid the foundations of the earth with His hands.
Those two verses, taken together, tell us that God took more time and expended more energy to perfectly design and create the earth than He did even in creating the universe, all because He wanted to make the earth a perfect home for His family.
Now, here’s the summit. In our salvation, (the resurrection of Jesus) the Bible tells us that God used, not just His fingers, not just His hands, but His mighty arm, as He conquered sin, sickness, death, and the devil!
SALVATION REVEALED TO THE BELIEVER!
In the great redemption chapter, Isaiah said,
“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
(Isaiah 53:1)
Here’s the answer: His arm, which is the “exceeding greatness” of His power, has been revealed to “us who believe!”
(Ephesians 1:19)
On the day that Jesus was raised from the dead, all of God’s ruling power, all of His endowed power, and all of his inherent power was invested in Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit burst forth out of the throne room of heaven, flew through the atmosphere of Earth like lightning, then broke through the gates of hell.
There He found Jesus, “in the belly of hell”, paying the penalty for our sins. (Jonah 2:2) Holy Spirit came upon Jesus, flooding and filling Him with more power than any man had ever known. And that awesome power exploded right in satan’s face.
Jesus shattered the shackles of sickness, sin, and shame!
He cut away the chains, and broke through the bars!
He transformed death from a prison to a passageway!
²⁵ Jesus said: “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
He demolished and destroyed the devil’s domain, then snatched the keys of death and damnation right out of satan’s hands!
“Christ stripped the demonic rulers and authorities of their power…”
(Colossians 2:15, Translator’s N.T.)
“He exposed them, shattered, empty, and defeated, in His final glorious triumphant act!” (Colossians 2:15, Phillips Translation)
And the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now lives in us! (Romans 8:11)
Happy Resurrection Day!
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Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
It’s that simple. Jesus suffered and died to free you from sin. He was raised so you could receive resurrection life, eternal life in Him.
If that’s the cry of your heart, please pray this prayer with me:
“Jesus, I want to know you. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. My old life died there with you. And I am ready now to begin a new life, a resurrected life with you!
I declare that you are my Savior and my Lord. I invite you to enter my life right now and live in me by your Holy Spirit. By the authority of your Word I declare that I am now saved! I am now born-again!
Father, thank you for your love and mercy. Thank you for the gift of eternal life you have given me. I will live my new life in union with Christ. I am your child, and you are my Father, for all eternity, beginning now! Amen!”
Welcome to God’s family! Your new life in Christ is now beginning. Please click on the tab entitled “Next Steps” on our home page, and start your adventure in faith! And please, leave us a comment, telling us about your decision.
May God bless and keep you! May He cause His face to shine upon you, and give you peace!
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