I am sorry space does not allow me to tell of the very real conflict with the powers of darkness and of the glorious victories. We won them through faith in the Word of God, by the anointing of the Holy spirit. But one thing I must share is this: the divine authority of the ministry.

I am not referring to a professional ministry, nor of a self-appointed ministry, nor of mere skillful preaching or great oratory. I am speaking of the authority of the ministry that is appointed by Christ in His Church today.

This concept of the divine authority of every God-called ministry was impressed deeply upon me during those hours and days spent alone with the Lord.

What follows is a little of this revelation of the authority which God has vested in the gifts of ministry. These have only been imparted to the true servants of God in the Church of Jesus Christ

This is not authority over people’s lives, nor authority of office in an organization, but the authority of Christ over the devil and all his works. This is the authority to do the works of Christ, to build His church, to perfect the saints and prepare them for the day they will be presented to the Lord.

It is an authority that makes the ministry effective and productive. It is an authority that makes each different kind of ministry fruitful in its own sphere..

1. Ministry-Gifts Given By Christ

These Christ-given ministries are listed for us in Ephesians 4:11 as follows: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers.”

Here we have a complete list of the ministry-gifts of Christ bestowed on certain persons in His Church. There are many other gifts which may be received by leaders. Some of these may serve to equip them.

But this list covers the major types of ministry which stem from Christ Himself for the benefit of His Church.

Let us consider them in a little more detail.

a. Apostles. The word means ” a special messenger,” a pioneer, one who is called of God to restore some new facet of truth, to inspire a new vision, and to establish and oversee local Christian Churches.

b. Prophets. This ministry conveys the mind of God to the Church in order to meet the needs of specific occasions, exercising the gifts of the Word of Wisdom and the Word of Knowledge, and exhorting the Church with inspired utterance.

c. Evangelists. Those who bear this ministry-gift are called to proclaim the gospel of Christ, bringing men and women to salvation, with a message usually confirmed by supernatural signs.

d. Pastors and Teachers. These ministry-gifts are so closely linked together that some consider them to be one gift. Whether one gift, or two closely allied gifts, these ministries are effective in shepherding and instructing local churches

While these gifts overlap and  dovetail with one another, each is distinct in its own nature and each is the impartation of divine enablement by the living Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

These gifts of ministry represent the full orbed ministry of Christ Himself, that His works might be continued and His blood-bought victory enforced over Satan and all his evil power.

We have considered three important keys of authority, namely:

• the authority of Christ,
• the authority of the believer, and
• the authority of the Word of God.

These represent our authority of access to the abundant provision of God for all believers, and our authority over Satan and his works of darkness. We can release captives from the works of the devil.

All believers in Christ have the privilege of using these three keys of authority. However, there are certain ones whom the Lord has called and equipped for a specific ministry, both to the Church and to the unsaved.

A call to a ministry-gift is more than being a personal witness. It is the ministry of Christ in and through certain chosen vessels. Through these, Jesus continues to build His Church and prepare a people for the day when He will come again.

Every person called by God to a ministry-gift must sooner or later acknowledge this: “I need to be equipped with super natural power from Heaven to fulfill my commission and the purpose of God in my ministry.”

Faced with this challenge, the church leader will either harden his heart and close his ears to the cries of the bound, or he will seek from the Lord the supernatural ability that he needs to reproduce the ministry of Christ and to set the captives free.

Such a challenge came to my own life in 1955.  

I had been seeing some encouraging results in the ministry. Many testified to the reality of God’s healing power. Some had been delivered from demons which had afflicted the body and tormented the mind.

Yet it seemed that whichever way we turned, we were confronted with people whose problems seemed to defy solution. For their deliverance we seemed to lack the necessary power.

In those days we had people staying with us in our small rented home, so that we could minister to their needs. Consequently, I could not escape the challenge. I came face to face with it day by day. I met with it at meal times, when people whose lives were bound sat at the same table.

It was at this time in 1955 that the Lord so wonderfully provided for the purchase of a larger house, so we might have enough space in which to conduct this work and enlarge our ministry.

Yet, despite the blessings of God and His miraculous provision for the work, I continued to live each day under the pressure of the needs of men and women. I was continually aware of the inadequacy of my ministry.

Looking back at that time, it seems that for more than a year I spent as many mealtimes away in my “den” seeking the Lord, as I spent at the meal table. I spent as many nights in that ” den” as I did in my bed.

It was not a matter of counting meals missed or nights spent in prayer, but a question of how to live with the burden. it was a burden I did not seek nor even desire; but it seemed to be laid upon me by the Spirit of God.

It  was obvious to me that one could not live in this state of pressure indefinitely. Very necessary work had to be completely neglected. The demands placed upon me by a rapidly growing work of God had to be deliberately ignored.

It was apparent that this was yet another crisis in my ministry. Looking back over the years, I clearly see how the Lord was preparing me to receive another key of authority. This was not only for myself, but also to share with others in the Lord’s work.

The eternal truths of the Word of God which were unfolded to me and impressed deeply on my spirit during those hours and days spend alone in my “den” have become a part of my ministry since.

Space forbids a detailed exposition of all these gems of truth. Neither is it possible to tell of the probing and exacting tests that I was called upon to embrace. I cannot tell you the rash vows I made to the Lord in hopes He would honour the ministry he had given. I begged God to make it an effective force for His glory.

FUNDAMENTAL FACTS – Part -2

4. Believers Are Given The Word Of Authority And Power

Jesus spoke God’s words: “The words I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10).

Moreover, Jesus gave those authoritative, powerful words of God to us: “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me” (John 17:8)

What words do we speak?

Jesus said: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God ” (Luke 4:4).

Solomon said: ” A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Prov 18:20,21).

Again Jesus said: “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matt 12:37).

Jesus lived and ministered by the power and authority of the words the Father gave Him Little wonder, then, that the people were amazed and said, “What a word is this!” and in awe and bewilderment the officers of the chief priests and the pharisees, went to seize Jesus, came back and said, “Never man spoke like this man” (John 7:46).

My friend, these words of God are given to us. We, too, may speak them. We, too, may live by their authority and power.

As those words of God dwell in our hearts and are spoken by our lips, they become bread and fruit to us. We shall be filled with their power. We shall be changed and transformed by them. They will justify us, heal us, empower us, and give us victory.

5. When We Accept The Authority Of God’s Word We Prove Its Power

Why doesn’t the Word of God work?

Surely the question should now be – “How does the Word work?”

“Why” seems totally irrelevant! Almost like an echo from Eden: “Hath God said?”

That night, as I paced the floor with an open Bible, it seemed God was saying to me: “The moment you unreservedly accept the authority of My Word, you will experience its power.”

Mentally I accepted the authority of the Word, but my heart had struggled and staggered before its challenge.

But now I knew that the moment our hearts unreservedly accept the authority of the Word, it will work! It may not immediately materialize (be fulfilled), but it immediately becomes a creative and productive factor in our lives.

The God Who, with authority and power, said “Let there be light, and there was light…” has also said:

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Cor 5:17). I am in Christ – therefore I am ” a new creature!”

“Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor 5:18) – and it is so!

“I am crucified with Christ …. Christ liveth in me “ (Gal 2:20). I accept the Word of God to me – and it is so!

“And they that are Christ’s [and I am Christ's] have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal 5:24). I accept the authority of the Word of God and I experience its power!

Yes, my friend, the God Who said “Let there be a firmament … and it was so” (Gen 1:6,7), has also said: “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” (Jas 5:15).

“They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18).

“I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exo 15:26).

And the God Who said “Let the earth bring forth grass… and it was so” (Gen 1:11) had also said:

“The God of peace shall bruise Satan beneath your feet shortly” (Rom 16:20).

“We are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom 8:37).

“I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 Jn 2).

And so, on and on, promise after promise, declaration after declaration, assurance after assurance, truth after truth, revelation after revelation!

Bow humbly before the authority of the Word. Then arise and go forth in its power. God declares that your “old man.” The old sinning nature, with all its bondage, limitations, deception and defeat, “is dead, crucified with Christ.”

Believe it! It is so.

God declares that you have been raised to new life in Christ, complete in Christ, indwelt by Christ. Believe it! It is so.

God declares that you can do all things by the in-wrought power of Christ. Believe it! It is so.

A thousand thoughts may arise in rebellion against the authority of His Word … but God said …it is so!

This is the key to victory, to healing, to deliverance, to the supply of all your needs.

No longer ask, “Why doesn’t God’s Word work?”

Wholeheartedly accept its authority,

“And God said..”

You will surely prove its power: ” AND IT IS SO!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ7wyQd4DLI

 FUNDAMENTAL FACTS – Part -1

Now let me set forth a few of the great fundamental facts concerning the Word of God and how it works for all who choose to believe it.

1. The Word Has Divine Authority

In Genesis 1, God spoke authoritative words: “Let there be…” and there “was”.

This earth about us is the product of the authority of the Word. The Theory of Evolution is not so much a challenge to God’s power and ability as it is to the authority of His Word.

God made man and brought him immediately under the authority of His word: “And the Lord God commanded the man” (Gen 2:16).

In the coming age, Christ will rule by the authority of the Word: “Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations” (Rev 19:15), and ” he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isa 11:4).

Between Eden and the Millennium (thousand-year reign of Christ on earth), there is being waged a fierce contest over the authority of God’s Word. Satan asked Eve, “Hath God said?” (Gen 3:1). Today, in this hour of earth’s deepest spiritual darkness, that question is well established in the minds of the masses. It is a subtle, satanic challenge to the authority of the Word of God.

But the authority of God’s word is backed by His very being. His very character, His eternal throne. it stands unshaken and unshakeable by the onslaughts of devils or men. Though heaven and earth pass away, the Word of God will prevail throughout countless ages to come (Luke 21:33). Hallelujah!

2. The Word Has Divine Power

Not only did the atoms come together at the authoritative command of God, but they stay together by the power of that Word: “By him, all things consist …. [hold together]” (Col 1:17).

Molecular scientists have confirmed that the smallest known atomic particles have no negative-positive element. This is what is needed to hold things together. From a scientific point of view, the whole Creation should be flying apart. The Bible says Jesus holds it together!

Behind all Creation there is the mind, thought, word, power and life of God.

Note the words of the angel to Mary (Luke 1:37): “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” the literal translation is : “No word of God shall be void of power.”

Little wonder Mary responded, “Be it unto me according to thy WORD.” The angel had declared a promise requiring supernatural fulfillment, but the “Word of God” has in itself the super natural power to materialize (that is bring into existence) that which has been spoken!

3. Jesus Spoke The Word Of authority And Power

When Jesus cast out the unclean spirit from the man in the synagogue, the people were amazed and exclaimed: “What a word is this! For with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out” (Luke 4:36)

The words of Jesus contained not only the authority of God, but the power, life, energy and ability of God. We see the divine authority of His words when He cursed the fig tree – and it obeyed and died. Again, when He commanded the wind and waves to hush and be still-and they obeyed and gave place to a great calm.

Then we see the power of His words when he took the five loaves and two fishes – sufficient only for a little boy’s lunch – and said to His disciples, “Give ye them to eat!” (Luke 9:13). Acting on those words, which were so powerful and pregnant with creative energy, the bread and fish multiplied, and the disciples found sufficient to feed five thousand men. Afterwards, they gathered up twelve baskets full of leftovers!

Jesus claimed both authority and power. As He looked down upon the palsied man, He said: “Which is it easier to say.. thy sins be forgiven thee [authority], or to say, Arise, take up thy bed and walk [power]?” (Mark 2:9).

Yes, Jesus personified the divine Word of authority and power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Kqt2p2uXs

How can we make god’s Word come to pass? How can we make it WORK? this was the problem that was pressing upon my heart and mind during the winter months of 1953.

As mentioned in our previous chapters, we had experienced seasons of great blessing in our ministry. Yet I was to face another crisis – another period of dissatisfaction and feeling utterly inadequate and frustrated.

Again and again I would read the startling promises and declarations in the Word of God concerning us as believers – our position in Christ, our victory, our power, our freedom from the carnal nature, the promises of healing and deliverance and of the supply of all our material needs.

But were they happening in my life?

In brief – the New Testament portrayed a life of glorious reality in Christ. I was personally confronted by a lack of supernatural power in many facets of my own life and ministry.

As a pastor, I was too well aware of my own inability to meet the challenging needs in the lives of many people in my assembly.
If only the mighty truths of the Word of God could be made to work, all this would be changed.

A. THE WORD WORKS BY FAITH

For weeks this debate went on in my heart and mind. I would stop, pick up my New Testament, and read – and read again. I would then lift my heart to the Lord and ask, “Why doesn’t it work?

I would awake during the night, take up my Bible and read again the tremendous promises and declarations for every believer and for the Christian Church in general. Then I would hold the Bible up toward Heaven and ask the Lord why His Word was not working in my life and in the lives of my congregation.

Then one night, after I had left my bed and was pacing the floor with my Bible open on my desk, I was asking the same old question- “Why, why, WHY?

Suddenly, something changed inside of me. A river of faith and assurance seemed to well up from my innermost being. A veil seemed to be torn away from my understanding. From my lips broke forth, not the old question of unbelief, but the expressions of faith and conviction:

“The Word works! It works by faith, and I HAVE faith! What the Word says about God is TRUE! What the Word says about ME is true! What the Word says I am in Christ, I AM! What the Word says I can DO through Christ, I CAN DO!”

And so, in these and similar expressions, I gushed forth the deepest convictions of my heart. I believed, and I KNEW I Believed. God had given me a Gift of Faith (of believing) (1 Cor 12:9).

What a difference it was to preach now. I wanted to open my Bible and shout from the housetops. With boldness I could say to the people:

“What God says about you is true – you are born of God, a new creature in Christ, indwelt by Christ, and you can do all things through Christ!

Your feelings may tell you that you are defeated, frustrated, struggling against overwhelming odds. But the WORD says you are more than a conqueror, a devil-defeater, master in all circumstances, and standing on the threshold of unlimited possibilities – in Christ – and through faith in the WORD.”

Instead of looking to the old Adamic nature with its hopeless futility and frustration, and asking “WHY” doesn’t the Word work,” I now had a picture in my head of myself as a new creature in Christ.

Taking hold of the immeasurably vast and powerful declarations of God concerning my standing in Christ, I boldly cried: “AMEN! Thy Word is TRUTH! Hallelujah!”

And now true it is that “faith comes by hearing the Word of God” (Rom 10:17), for the preaching of the positive truth of God’s Word wrought mighty results in the lives of those who heard it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvf2j6997Ow

OUR AUTHORITY IN CHRIST

Because we are declared by God to be in Christ, all that is said concerning Christ is said also concerning us.

In eulogizing Christ, the Father eulogizes (says very complimentary things about) us in Christ.

1. Authority Over The Power Of The Enemy.

Christ has all authority (Matt 28:18). Therefore we have authority (Luke 10:19).

“Behold, I give unto you power [authority] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power [ability to do damage] of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

2. Authority Over Satan

Satan was bruised (fatally wounded) beneath the feet of Christ (Gen 3:15). Satan is also bruised beneath our feet:

“The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom 16:20).

Satan is legally placed beneath the feet of Christ – that is, subject to His authority (Eph 1:22). And Satan is placed legally beneath our feet, too. The psalmist declared, “Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet” (Ps 91:13).

3. Authority As Christ’s Ambassadors

As Christ was sent into this world, so are we. Jesus said to the Father: “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world” (John 17:18).

Thus we are ambassadors of Christ, going forth with is authority, speaking and acting in His behalf (2 Cor 5:20)

There is given unto us the power of attorney – that is, the authority to act in behalf of Jesus Christ. with His authority we preach the gospel. With His authority we lay hands on the sick. With His authority we cast out devils.

4. Authority In God’s Kingdom

Jesus is heir of all things, and we are “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17). We share His throne-rights here and now, and shall rule with Him in His Kingdom in the coming age.

5. Take God At His Word

Friends, surely here is a key that can transform your life. Believe this. It will open to you the inexhaustible resources of the Kingdom of God.

In Chapter 1 we considered the key of The Authority of Christ. Here now is a second key. It is the authority of the believer in Christ – or, should we say, the authority of Christ in the believer.

Let us cease justifying failures and let us convert our excuses into testimonies. Let us lay hold of the key that is offered to us, believe it, use it, and prove it.

From the time these keys were deeply impressed upon me that night in 1951, I have never ceased to thank God for this key of authority. I have continued to urge every believer to dare to take God at His word and exercise the privilege of being a relative of Christ.

This is your privilege. Exercise it!

A brief look at salvation by grace by faith in Jesus Christ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrYRwy_TyzE

OUR UNION WITH CHRIST

Apart from Christ we are dead in trespasses and sins. However, God calls upon us to picture (envision) ourselves as being in His Son.

He then asks us to believe that we are crucified with Him, buried with Him, and raised with Him. This union of the believer with Christ is seen in two aspects: our legal position (as a relative of His) and our vital indwelling.

1. Our Legal Position

1. This is our legal standing before God. The moment we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are justified. We are given a judicial position, a legal standing before a holy God.

In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul prays that we might be spiritually enlightened concerning our legal standing in Jesus. Paul prayed:

“I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great his power is to help those who believe him.

“It is that same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in heaven, far, far above any other king or ruler or dictator or leader.

“Yes, his honor is far more glorious than that of anyone else, either in this world or in the world to come.”

Then in Chapter 2 Paul declares that God has “quickened us [raised us from the dead] together with Christ, and has taken us up to heaven and enthroned us together in the highest heaven in Christ Jesus” (vss 4-6 lit).

In the mind and purpose of God, when Christ died – we died in Him; when He was raised – we were raised in Him; and when He ascended to the Father’s right hand – we also ascended and sat down with Him on the throne at the right hand of God the Father.

These are some of the “good utterances” of God concerning us. They represent a divine declaration of our legal union and privilege because of being with Jesus Christ.

Paul urges us to “reckon [count it as done] ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:11).

The natural mind rebels against such supernatural revelation. It is only as we partake of the mind of Christ that we can grasp these truths.

Then they become the way to power and personal victory over problems, sin, disease and demons.

2. Our Vital Indwelling

God has given us legal standing in Christ (which we must accept by faith). He has also produced a vital experience in us by His Spirit.

Writing to the Galatians, Paul says: “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father”(Gal 4:6).

Our Adamic nature is dead to God. But, since our new birth, we are indwelt by the Spirit of divine Son-ship. Paul says, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor 6:17).

Again the Apostle Paul testifies in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Paul did not live his day-by-day life nor conduct his tremendous ministry by personal power or wisdom. He functioned by the divinely inspired concept that Christ lived inside him by His Spirit.

The Apostle John also understood this truth: “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4). The same Apostle wrote in John 1:16: “Of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace”. This means that we believers are indwelt by the full potential of the life of Christ. He puts His love, His joy, His peace, His long suffering, His gentleness, His goodness, His faith, His meekness and His temperance (or self control) inside us (Gal 5:22,23). All these are the fruit of His indwelling Spirit.

By faith, we accept the legal standing that is reckoned to us by God (that is, our legal standing in Christ). The indwelling Spirit of Christ responds to our faith and produces the nature of Christ in us.

In these two ways – [1] our believing and [2] the Spirit’s enabling – our union with Christ interacts. These empower us to live in such a way that others see Christ in our lives.

In the midst of the turmoil and pressures of this world, let us never forget that we have within us an “inner sanctuary.” Christ dwells there. From Him we derive resources that are more than adequate for every need and every situation. Thus “in all things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom 8:37).

Part 4 of the Discipleship series.
2012 01 01

GOD’S GOOD WORD

In Ephesians 1:3 we have a verse that is a favorite of may…

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

There is a deep truth hidden in this verse. The words “blessed” and “blessing” come from a Greek word from which we get our word “eulogy.”

This same Greek word is in Romans 15:29 where Paul says: “I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ,” or literally, “the fullness of the good utterance of the gospel of Christ.”

In Romans 16:18 we have the same word used, but this time in insincerity. Paul speaks of those who “by good works and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

However, God’s “fair speeches” concerning us are genuine and sincere.

Now read Ephesians 1:3 with a better translation of its meaning…

“Well spoken of be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath spoken well, or highly, of us with every good utterance in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Yes friends, this is the startling truth! God eulogies (speaks complimentary words of) us as He sees us in Christ. He speaks highly of us. He makes good utterances concerning us.

1. God Speaks Well Of Us

God does not eulogize us in our unregenerate, Adamic state; but inasmuch as we have accepted Christ, God sees us in His Son and speaks highly of us.

a. Adamic Nature Dead. He declares that our Adamic nature is dead, crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6-11).

b. New Creatures In Christ. He declares that we are new creatures in Christ. Old Things have passed away and all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17).

c. Raised With Christ. He declares that we are raised with Christ and enthroned with Him in heavenly places (Eph 2:6).

d. Complete In Christ. All that Christ did was not for Himself, but for us. God now sees us complete (whole, perfect, without blemish) in Christ.

2. God Encourages And Helps Us

This is God’s method of encouraging and helping us. It has always been the same. He gives His Word and calls upon us to believe it and act upon it.

a. Don’t Be Deceived By The Devil. The devil borrowed this method. We see him using this approach in Genesis 3. When he gave his lying word to Eve, he enticed her to believe it, and act upon it.

If Eve had believed God’s Word and acted upon it, she would not have fallen nor dragged the human race into her ruin.

b. Follow God’s Way. God still approaches man in this way:

1. He gives us His good Word; and
2. calls on us to believe it with all our hearts; and
3. act accordingly.

c. God’s word Has Power. In fact, if we do believe God’s word sincerely, He gives us power to act accordingly. God’s Word contains life in itself and has power to materialize (become what has been spoken).

A seed that is planted in the ground will spring forth with life and form as God designed it. The seed of God’s word received into our hearts will also bring forth life and form in us.

That is why God eulogizes us as He sees us in Christ. He knows that if we will receive and believe His Word, it will materialize (be seen in visible ways) in our lives. This is the divine formula for Christian victory.

Dec 25, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxRlpqP4by8

OUR POSITION AND CONDITION IN CHRIST

The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians falls naturally into two sections: the first three chapters is a positive presentation of the believer’s position in Christ. This section concludes with this inspiring promise of blessing…

“Now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3:20,21).

The second three chapters deal with practical consideration in the believer’s life.

We might say the first section sets forth our legal standing before God, the second the actual state (condition) of our Christian life.

The first deals with our wealth, the second with our walk

The first shows us our rights, the second our responsibilities. The first is doctrinal, the second practical.

1. There Is A Divine Order

It is important that we observe the divine order: first our standing, then our state.

So many Christians are trying to perfect their state in order to gain a right standing with God. This is contrary to God’s method. First He gives us a right standing and asks us to believe it; then He gives us power to live accordingly.

Our standing, our position, our wealth, our rights and privileges in Christ are all by the grace of God alone. They represent the favor of God upon all believers.

2. We Must Accept Our Position

If we want to cure for our state, our walk, our responsibilities in our daily life, we must first accept what we have become when we were placed in Jesus Christ.

We must truly believe this divine revelation, as set forth in the first three chapters in Ephesians. This will give us the power to “walk worthy of our vocation to which we are called” (Eph 4:1), as required of us in the second three chapters.

Friends, this is the way God always encourages and helps us. First He shows us what we are in Christ. He gives us the bold declaration of His grace (enabling power). Then He tells us, “If you will believe, then what I have declared will become a practical reality in your life.” This is the way faith works. We believe before we see.

Sanctification and holy living by any other means becomes a natural law of works. Even the good works of the flesh are fleshly. The only works that are pleasing to God are those that spring forth as a fruit of His grace (divine enabling) operating through our faith in His Word.

Let us see how this truth shines forth in Ephesians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46fCZ0lU7xk

For six days two leaders and myself had been seeking the Lord in prayer and fasting. We had been invited to use a partly built house near a beach some 20 miles from Adelaide. This was during the winter of 1951.

All three of of us had felt the need to draw aside from our pastoral activities. We wanted to seek God for a fresh anointing of His Holy Spirit on our ministries. Day after day we ministered to each other through the Word, studied together, prayed together and often roamed over the sand hills. We also enjoyed times of personal fellowship with the Lord.

We were conscious of the blessings of God in our hearts. We were building up our spiritual life.

But now the last night had come. We were to leave for home the next morning. I felt that I had not received all that I had been looking for.

We retired to our beds. I soon found that, instead of sleeping, my mind became alert to certain truths in the Word of God. Hour after hour the entire Book of Ephesians came to my memory. The great truths in that thrilling book were powerfully impressed upon me.

I knew Ephesians well, and loved to preach from it. But this time old truths came with a new significance. New truths came with a new significance. New truths leapt into my heart and mind under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Next morning my friends, who had slept in another room, asked me what had happened to me during the night. Apparently, my frequent prayers and praises had disturbed them!

Next Sunday when we met in our services, I said to the people: “Many of you know that we have been away seeking the Lord through the past week. You expect me to open my bag and bring out a revival. that is exactly what I intend to do.”

I produced a bag, opened it and pulled out my Bible and declared: “Its all here. Here is the secret of revival and victory and power with God. All we need do is receive it, believe it, and act upon it. We need to know who we are, what God says about us, and what our authority is in Jesus Christ.”

Let us briefly survey some of these precious truths the Lord burned into my soul that night. These truths have prominently characterized my ministry ever since, proving to be another key to revival and Christian victory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76paI3zHCac

WE MUST BELIEVE IN CHRIST’S AUTHORITY

 The five points outlined above are but a few glimpses, a few facets of this brilliant diamond of truth. As a doctrine, all Christians accept the authority of Christ. Intellectually, all believers give their assent to it. But the key is not in our knowledge of the authority of Christ, but in the revelation of it, in the inward conviction of it, in the burning passionate faith in it.

It must illuminate our hearts and spirits as well as our minds. It must fire us with a zealous dedication to its truth and a whole hearted application in our lives and service for the Lord.

1. It Can Bring Victory

Our faith in the authority of Christ should be an incentive to victorious living. It should inspire us to successful service. It should make all God’s promises effective in our lives. It should challenge the Church to a victorious revival.

Little wonder that the apostle John on the isle of Patmos “fell at his feet as dead.” He saw the risen Lord and heard His triumphant words:

“Fear not; I am the first and the last; I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Rev 1:17,18)

Many the authority of Christ become the key in the hands of His people that will drive out the enemy and release God’s glorious power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSP27VJBBJ4

THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST

1. Was Given By The Father

The Greek exousia means a delegated authority, and that is the word that was used by Jesus in Mathew 28:18: “All authority [exousia] is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

We see that authority exercised by Jesus in His earthly ministry. “But when the multitudes saw this, they were filled with awe, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men” (Matt 9:8). It was the authority with which Jesus spoke and ministered that amazed the people.

Yet Jesus said that both His words and His works were given to Him by the Father (John 14:10,11).

2. Encompasses Heaven And Earth

Having died on the cross and been raised by God to the right hand of His throne, Jesus is given “all authority in both heaven and earth.”

Paul declares in Philippians 2:10 that every knee in Heaven, in earth and under the earth must bow to the Name of Jesus. Every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

He has been eternally the Son by nature. But there has also been vested in the son the authority of the Godhead. “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell” (Col 1:19). “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily” (Col 2:9).

a. Authority Over Angels. In Hebrews Chapter 1, Christ is set forth in His exaltation above the angels by virtue of both His divine nature and His glorious office. Thus we read, “And let all the angels of God worship him.”

To none of the angels has God said at any time, “Sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” But Christ will reign until the last enemy is destroyed and all things are brought into subjection unto Him. the angels do His bidding.

b. Authority Over Principalities and Powers. We read in Hebrews 4:14 that Jesus “passed into the heavens.” A more literal translation reads that in His ascension He passed “through all the heavens.”

How many heavens are there above us? some say three, some say seven. However many there may be, Christ has passed through them all to be enthroned in the highest seat of authority in the whole universe

That is why Paul could say that God raised Christ from the dead “and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power [authority], and might, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world [age], but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and have him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all” (Eph 1:20-23).

Although Satan is the “god of this age” and the “prince of the power of the air,” he is located beneath the feet of Jesus and must submit to the authority of the exalted Christ. Did not Christ, in His atoning death, spoil principalities and powers and make a public victory parade of them (Col 2:15)? Did He not defeat Satan and his hosts by shedding His blood and rising from the domination of death with the keys of authority in His hand?

This same Christ is today seated on the throne of universal dominion with all authority given unto Him.

c. Authority Over the Church. In Colossians 1, Paul sets forth the preeminence of Christ over all Creation. This includes that which is seen and unseen, in Heaven and in earth. He has authority over thrones and dominions and principalities and powers. then Paul boldly declares, “He is the head of the body, the church”

A similar picture is presented to us in the Scripture from which we have already quoted (Ephesians 1), but with one significant difference!

In Ephesians we are told that Christ has been made “the head over all things to the church which is his body. “So we see that Christ is not only the authorized “head of the church,” but that He is also head over all things for the church’s benefit.

Not only is the Church compelled to submit to the authority of Christ; it is also privileged to share the results of Christ’s dominion over all things in Heaven and in earth. Should not the Church on earth mirror (reflect) this supreme authority of Christ?

How tragic to behold a church defeated, ineffective and powerless before the onslaughts of Satan.

The true Church is actually the visible Body of the enthroned Christ Who holds universal authority and dominion!

Should we not accept the challenge to be faithful ambassadors and true representatives of the King of kings?

d. Authority to Save And To Judge. Jesus declared that the Son of Man had authority on earth to forgive sins. Peter proclaimed: “There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Yet this same Christ has authority also to judge all men.

Believers will stand before Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Unbelievers will face Him as He sits on the Great White Throne in the final judgment.

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father” (John 5:22,23).

Again in verse 27, the Father “hath given him [the Son] authority to execute judgment.” Hear Paul preaching at Athens: “Because he [God] hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained [Jesus]; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

What awesome authority has been delegated to the Son of God!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G8ZNWcJ4VE