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The Ephesian Connection
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may 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. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
The Church today faces the same issues as the Ephesian believers. Did God really raise His Son from the dead and seat Him at His right hand in the heavens? Is Jesus now reigning far above all earthly and demonic authorities? If so, then the same power operative in raising Him from the dead is now in us. The same power that established the throne upon which the King of kings reigns is now present to bring about Heaven’s plans in our generation. God is actively fulfilling His purpose today just as He was two thousand years ago.
Do we struggle to believe this? Are we intimidated by the age we live in? We see wars, genocide, political unrest, and are tempted to think that God is somehow far away and uninvolved. When we see powerful individuals affecting the course of nations and thus the direction of history, we find ourselves asking, “Is the King of kings really ruling behind the scenes?” It seems sometimes that the most influential world leaders are those who speak the least about God. So, it takes real faith to proclaim that Christ and our relationship with Him is the most significant matter confronting the earth. Indeed, it goes against the mind-set of this age.
But God has called us to live according to the initiative of Heaven. He calls us to speak with authority about this King who reigns invisibly as supreme ruler of the universe. The enemy tries to persuade us that we are irrelevant to the issues of this age. And if we believe him, we will mute our voices when we should be proclaiming the word of the King. What Jesus has to say is more important than anything decided at the United Nations. What is on His heart is more significant than front page news. Simply put, He is the world’s most relevant person. And the only ones on earth who have the authority to declare what is on His mind are His people, His Church. That makes us relevant. The enemy has repeatedly attacked the Church’s significance, and as a result, one of our tendencies has been to try and become relevant. But the Scriptures do not teach us to try and be relevant to society.
When we see Him as He really is and ourselves as His Spirit-filled people, we can then live with Heaven-inspired confidence and impact those around us. In contrast, if we focus on becoming relevant, we will lose the sharpness of our prophetic voice. Many believers have succumbed to the enemy’s influence in this matter. In reacting to his lies, we have tried to substantiate our significance through social, political, and religious activities. We have examined our ministry to people’s needs and then drawn from our service and from society as well a sense of identity and relevance. But it is not what we do either for men or for the Lord that makes us relevant. It is who He is – the King of the universe, and also the fact that we are His people that makes us relevant whether we know it or not.
We must stop trying to attain a certain status in response to the enemy’s lies and also the pressure of well-meaning people and simply come to rest in what the Lord says both about Himself and us. God has revealed His power and raised Jesus from the tomb and has seated Him at His right hand in the heavens far above the whole creation. The tomb is empty and the throne is occupied. And the same power that raised Christ is now given to us who believe on His name. As we embrace this truth and its implications, we will impact our generation.
We will not be the salt of the earth in an effective way by trying to become what people think they need. Our effectiveness comes from being to people what God says we are. How He identifies us is far more important than what men think we are or ought to be. As we understand God’s view of the world and of His Church, as we are more influenced from the heavens than from the newspapers, economists, or politicians, we will successfully fulfill our mission. We gain insight into our true identity and function by seeing our heavenly source; we are from God. We are born of His Spirit; He is alive in us. To the extent that we are influenced by men, we will fail to express Him or our true identity accurately. If we become a people marked by earthly thought and philosophy, we will calculate our relevance from what men think and say of us rather than what God has said. We desperately need Heaven’s perspective in these days. We need our Lord’s prophetic voice in our midst to keep us on track. Without it, we become molded by the world even while we try to influence it for the better. Again, we do not have to prove anything to society; we do not have to defend God’s Name. He is big enough to defend Himself and to protect us in the process. We are simply to be His people, His possession in full view of the world. Then as others see the effects of His presence in our lives and hear the truth concerning His love relationship with us, many will be persuaded to choose Him.
Our priority is not to try and be a force for change in the world but simply be an expression of Heaven’s force for change in us. Jesus is on the throne. The government rests on His shoulders, not ours. We do not “call the shots” concerning our service, He does. He has an eternal plan concerning the needs of man. It includes Calvary, His being exalted to the highest place of authority in the heavens, and then His personal commissioning of each of His people as ambassadors to represent Him on earth.
The issue is not what we are doing to address the needs of man, but do we reflect the kingship of Christ. Are we implementing His plan? Or are we doing in our own strength what seems relevant? It is possible to have a seemingly successful ministry that meets the needs of many. But God is extending His kingdom on earth. His power is available to us who believe, not to do what seems best, but what He says, for that is best.
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