All right, let's start with a word of prayer. Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your sovereignty, your dominion, your rule. We thank you for that you created us. We thank you for that you put us in this nation that has freedom to assemble and look at your word. And we thank You for that Word and the power that it brings to our lives and understanding of eternal things, Lord. We just ask that You'd be with us in the next few minutes. We ask You to sing in Jesus' name, amen. Okay, so I'm going to try to rush a little bit today. get through more than we usually do, so you're probably going to be a little frustrated with your ability to look up verses. Maybe not, I don't know. We're going to try to get all the way through the rest of this Ephesians 1 passage. Ephesians 1.18, 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. And He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Now last week we were looking at seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places, and a couple of points about what that signifies. And the first one we did was that he is, the signification of him seated at the right hand of the Father was rest in the finished work. Like it's the authentication of the finished work of Christ that he is seated at the right hand of the Father. And secondly, that he is given a new administration, okay, a new job, a new purpose that is be, different than what he was when he was here, but his work is continuing in a new way. And we looked at a bunch of verses on those things. So now the third thing is that it conveys him being seated at the right hand of the father, conveys honor and dignity. Kings sit and subjects stand and minister, right? So, it is a declaration of honor and dignity. Also, those that judge sit in judgment, and those who accept the judgment or who are judged stand for that judgment. So, there's that. Let's start in Daniel 7, 9. This is Daniel's visions about the future. It says, I kept looking until thrones were set up and the ancient of days took his seat. His vesture was like white snow and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames. Its wheels were a burning fire. a river of fire was flowing and coming out from before him, thousands upon thousands were attending him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before him. The court sat and the books were opened." Okay, so they're seated on a throne, okay, and myriads and myriads, okay, are standing. So this idea that subjects and those that he's ruling are standing or ministering to him, And the one that's honored is seated. Matthew 25, 31. And when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with them, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him. Oh my goodness, what an amazing statement, right? All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goat. So there's the judgment and the administration of the king being exercised there. Do you think the nations want to be gathered? Right? That's a forceful gathering, I would say, right? At the command of authority. And then 2664, Jesus said to him, You have said it yourself, nevertheless I tell you, thereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. So Christ quoting Old Testament and that he is that one who will be sitting at the right hand of power and then coming on the clouds of heaven. Matthew 28, 18. And these are just all verses that are tied to his being exalted, there's the word, being exalted by the Father to this most high position. 28, 18, and Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. You know, this is just something that has popped up into my head as I've studied these things, and I think about the way we, me, think of and present the gospel. Okay, I don't know how you guys do it. I can only say me, but it's sort of this progress into Christ died on the cross and rose again, and it's sort of, that's kind of where we end, at least in the presentation of the gospel. I think we, I'm thinking that the story really shouldn't end there, right, with the presentation, because it's as if, for someone who doesn't know any better, as if that's the end of the story in a way, of the important part of the story, let's say. But it isn't. I mean, if he is then magnified, made most high, you know, and all things are put into subjection under his feet. I don't know, I think it's an important part of the message that this Christ that died for you is then exalted and then the further revelation of what that means for eternity. I'm trying to think how that, I think it is important and how do you fit that into the message of salvation, let's say, for me. Revelation 20, 11. Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them. I think that's evidence that it's not a voluntary assembly. And I saw the dead and the great and the small standing before the throne. So their standing, a throne, is something you sit on, okay? And books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. Okay, so that's third point. Fourth point is the continuance of his rule. So for that, Isaiah 16, five. A throne will be established in loving kindness and a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David. Moreover, he will seek justice and be prompt in righteousness. Every once in a while, you'll hear a story, or you'll catch a news article. It'll say something like, so-and-so was convicted of, or pronounced not guilty, whatever, but the court proceedings happened yesterday from a crime committed in 2017. And you're like, what, we're just now getting to, you know, that doesn't seem like just, quick, I love this, that he talks about prompt, you know, the promptness of, there's a part of righteousness and justness that needs to be prompt as presented here. I think we're missing that in our system along with other things. Yeah, it is, probably based, this doesn't happen, yeah. The King James of that, I'll read it, and in mercy, shall the throne be established," which I think is great, wonderful, something to think about, that in mercy the throne is established. And he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judging and hastening righteousness." I think there's a lot there that maybe is different ideas than are first exposed by the NASB. There's a little bit of a different emphasis in the way it's written there. Daniel 7, Daniel 7, 13. Okay, so then again in 13, I kept looking in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven, just down from where we started off, one like a son of man was coming and he came up to the ancient of days and was presented before Him, and to Him was given," how much does this sound like the Ephesians verse, dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. I don't know how you could say it any stronger, right? It's above everything, everything is subject to it, and it lasts forever, and established by God. Okay, and then Revelation 22 has some similar... 22.3. There will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bondservants will serve Him," 22-3, "...they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads, and there will no longer be any night." They will not have any need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun because the Lord God will illuminate them. and they will reign forever and ever." That's one we looked at last week with reference to the illumination, the representation of God as light, dwelling in light. Then John 5, 23. So that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Great verse for Christ's divinity, great verse for his time here on earth, but then this other aspect of it is this equivalency in heaven and this glory that's given by the Father. Okay, then move down to verse 27, and He gave him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man. I'm sure there's a deep study that could be done on this, that His authority in judgment has something to do with that He is the incarnate man as well. It's like he's not someone who doesn't know our struggles we know from scriptures. So as fully man and fully God, he's uniquely qualified, right, we might say, to be given authority and to execute judgment and It clearly says here that it's because he is the son of man, that there's a unique attribute that makes him uniquely qualified, is the way I would say it. Okay, now, moving on. The next verse is, 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. Now, if you'll permit me, I will read where I have synthesized what he's praying for and pulled it out of the full verse in order to have you see what Paul is praying for. Here it is. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is the surpassing greatness of His power which He brought about in Christ when He seated Him 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 age to come. Paul is praying for this and then he lists so many things that we forget that he wants us to know something. chosen to take that part of the scripture and then just tie it to each one of these statements so we can understand that he wants us to understand God's power and that it's demonstrated in all these places. But by the time we get four verses down, we've forgotten that it's a prayer that God wants us to have some knowledge of something. So that's why I'm doing that. And I think it's helped. It's been helpful to me. Here is a verse that we've looked at almost every week, but, you know, got to keep doing it. Philippians two, verse seven. In this case, 7 through 11, just same, it's like another summary of what we're dealing with here. But emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant, that's Christ coming as a man, being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient, there's his three-year ministry, to the point, well, his entire life, really, on earth, to the point of death, so now his crucifixion, even death on a cross, for this reason also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so complete, utter preeminence, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, for those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. I'll just jump completely out of context of what we're talking about. Isn't it amazing how all these verses, to me, what, 66 books, how many authors? Over 40 or something, 40 authors? And these truths are communicated so what over thousands of years right and these truths are duplicate and Unique revelation yet To me, they confirm the authenticity of God's hand in inspiration of Scripture, where we're in Revelation, and we're reading the same thing, and we're back in the Old Testament, we're reading the same thing, that He's gonna be exalted. In prophecy, we read the same thing, and then once it happens, we read that it happened. It's like, what an amazing testimony to the truth, or at least the divine fingerprint It actually should be said stronger than that, but I'll leave it at that. Divine fingerprints of God all over this word. Hebrews 7.25. Yeah, Hebrews 7, 25 and 26. Therefore he is able also to save forever those who draw near to him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Yes. For it is fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. So it's other, example of His exaltation after resurrection. And then we get it again in Hebrews 1, of which I'd like to, I think, read the whole chapter. So I think Hebrews is a great, this Hebrews 1 chapter has all these points that we've been talking about. So here we'll hit it. God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days, has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." So we've got creation. He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the word of His power. When he had made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high." I mean, that's what we're looking at in Ephesians. Having become as much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they, so there's that name above every name that's there in Ephesians. For to which of the angels did he ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you, and again, I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. And when he again brings the firstborn into the world, he says, and let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels, he says, who makes his angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire. But of the son, he says, your throne, O God, is forever and ever. and the righteous scepter is the scepter of his kingdom, you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, therefore, God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. I was thinking of that, the idea of hating lawlessness, and I really think it's the, the thing that a lot of us bristle at when we look at what's going on in the world, right? Well, the lawlessness that then is accepted by those who are tasked with enforcing the law or at least setting priority for enforcing the law, so the executive branch, the judicial branch, it seems that this isn't what's going on, right? Nine, thank you. What a strong advocacy of order and lawfulness that Christ is given. The righteous scepter is the scepter of his kingdom. It's almost as if you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, therefore, right? Like this is a prerequisite to being king, right, is to hate lawlessness, okay? Therefore, God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. And you, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you remain, and they all will become old like a garment. Like a mantle you will roll them up, like a garment they will also be changed. But you are the same, and your years will not come to an end. But to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? I mean, in this Hebrews 1, obviously trying to say angels aren't the thing here, but in it he's revealing so much about everything that is reinforced about the preeminence of Christ and his exaltation. All right, 1 Peter 3, 22, another one that echoes the Ephesians verse. We'll start in 21, corresponding to that, baptism now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to him. I don't know that you could, well, I know you can't find a category that isn't addressed, that isn't subjected to Christ. The creation, beings, unseen and seen, you're right, everything. Which, getting back to my other statement, how do we include that into the gospel? Because it's important. This isn't just, you know, the guy that died on the cross to cover your sins and that's it. Aren't you glad your sins are taken care of? Like, no, this is, he bought you and now he's king and everything is subject to him. Like I said last week, after reading the pink passage that talked about seeing Christ as more than in the manger, on the cross, and not to devalue any of those things, but continuing the message to his exaltation and the power granted to him. And then I told you that after I finished reading that passage, I thought of the Catholic crucifix, which seems to be a. a stopping point in time for their theology, so to speak. I mean, all the honor and glory seems to go to the human, the overseers here in time, the Pope and the bishops, seems like the glory goes to them and Christ is still stuck on a cross in this most pathetic image that is communicated through that. I mean, I just, I bristle every time I see a crucifix crafted at the hands of men, let's say. He is advanced above all else and then all are put in subjection under his feet. The next verse is, and he put all things in subjection under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church. That's Ephesians 1.22. Now, if I bring in what Paul's praying for, it sounds like this. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, that you will know what is the surpassing greatness of His power, which He brought about in Christ when He gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Okay, Ephesians 5. Now, some may not like what I'm about to do, but I'm going to do it anyway. I want none of you to think about your own relationship with your husband in any negative sense, like your failure to do it right. And I don't want any of you husbands to think of your failure to do it right in the relationship to your wife. And I want you to only, only look at this verse, this passage, okay, with respect to what Paul is talking about when he says, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. And I'd want you to read just for once, let's say, try to put out of your head the thought, do I treat my wife that way? Like, am I doing it right? And I wanna just say, we just wanna read this only as what we learn about Christ and the church, the relationship to the church. If this is possible, it may not be possible. I couldn't do it as I read it. I was like, oh man, I failed my husband. Okay, but let's try not to and just say this is Christ and the church and what can we learn from it? All right 522 Why be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord for the husband is the head of the wife as okay as Christ also is the head of the church, in that way, that Christ is head of the church. He himself being the savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be subject to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. Okay, that's what this is about, okay? It's an illustration when done right as to what the church, it's a clear illustration of what happens in reality with Christ in the church, okay? 26, so that he might sanctify her. So Christ setting apart the body of Christ, sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. Christ cleansing the church, the body of Christ, by the washing of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. So it's all about Christ making the church the bride of Christ, the body of Christ, holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. So to understand how this works, think of your own body. This is how Christ is working within the church, that intimately, okay? He who loves his own wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church. So in the same way that you get up and brush your teeth, in the same way that you scrub and clean your own body, in the same way that you are concerned when something is amiss or injured or needs attention on the body, in that same way, just as Christ also does the church, in that same way Christ does it. Now, because we are members of His body, for this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wife. and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to the Christ and the church. This is what I'm talking about. This thing that's going on with marrying and having wives and the authority structure within that institution, This is the best illustration for Christ in the church. That's what I'm talking about is showing you how it works for Christ in the church. And I will end there. Now, I'm not gonna read verse 33. Now, I want you to think also of that he's on his throne and everything is subject under his feet. I mean, the contrast, The position that we get as believers is a privileged one. When you're comparing it to that this is the king, that everything's put in subjection under his feet, and then you have these words that is this intimate husband and wife relationship. It's an understatement. The mystery is great, right? Oh my goodness is the mystery great, right? When we hear of everything that the power displayed and having the entire creation all underneath his feet, in his power, under his scepter, and then you get these words of close, Intimacy, I mean, it's comparing it to an intimate relationship, you know, is a mystery. And a glorious one at that. Okay. We're going to look at others, but we'll keep going with this. Colossians 2.10. This is one we've been over to, but just gives that duplicate information that we find in Ephesians. And in him, You have been made complete and He is the head over all rule and authority. Again, that complete sovereignty over it all. Then 1 Corinthians 12, 12. I just wanted to say one other thing. I've been listening a little bit to Dennis Prager is doing the Rational Bible, Orthodox, well, not Orthodox, Jew, and has some great, great work. But as I look back at that, if the one we just looked at about the relationship between Christ and the church, Judaism doesn't have that. It doesn't have this revelation of this mystery, of this tight relationship in eternity for God's people, you know. I mean, I love what Dennis Prager does because he's got the truth, he just doesn't have the whole truth, right? But anyway, 1212. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of the Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many." So this understanding the church, And then go down to 26. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. If one member is honored, all of the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body and individual members of it. I was thinking, using this illustration, which we're supposed to do, is sort of use the body as this metaphor for reality of the body of Christ, and certainly each member does suffer in the periphery, but what else is intimately engaged with suffering on the body? The head. Right? Isn't that the way a body actually works? And he's telling us to think of it as a body with a head and members, and we're the members, and it's tied to Christ as the head. Certainly, when I smash my finger, my head really gets involved in that. I mean, a lot of things get involved in it, but the head does as well, which I think is something to consider. Okay, more on the body that Christ is over, Ephesians 4, 11. And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to build up the body of Christ. until we all attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man, to the fullness of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." As a result, we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all respects into Him who is the head, even Christ. and from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. So this, again, complete picture of Christ as the head, the body, and that the growth of the body, like we aren't going to be presented to Christ as a immature body, right? Not like as a five-year-old body. We're going to be a matured group of individual members, complete and fully formed, let's say. All right. That is my conclusion of the Ephesians 1, 20-ish area prayer, with the exception of, I want to read a passage that is pink that I thought was worth bringing up. The salvation of the church was the direct design of the whole of Christ's mediation, of Christ's mediation. For her, he voluntarily suffered humiliation and death. For the promotion of her interests, God exalted Christ and now employs for her benefit the powers which have bestowed on him. So he gets all this power and then he benefits the church with the power. though raised so high, he has neither lost his love for his sheep, or relinquished his purpose concerning them." You can imagine the illustration of a shepherd being elevated to king and not considering his flock that he left, right? I mean, in this sort of metaphor of a shepherd promoted to king that might forget his sheep in the field on some distant country, okay? So he's saying that though raised so high, he has neither lost his love for his sheep nor relinquished his purpose concerning them. All hearts are now in his hand, by him king's reign and prince's decree justice, Proverbs 8, 15, yet he is exercising his dominion in subservience to his purpose of grace. disposing all the affairs of the universe for the good of his church. To the accomplishment of that, the whole series of events which form the history of individuals and nations is directed and subordinated. Yet how faintly That is realized by any of us, that Christ is over men and angels, demons, and Satan himself. This world is under the control of the one whose hands were nailed to the cross. Christ rules and overrules, for the good of his church, the deliberations of the Senate, the conflict of armies, the history of the nations, the Nero's, the Charlemagne's, the Napoleon's, the Hitler's, who for a brief season proudly strut upon the stage of this world's drama are but puppets in the hand of the enthroned Christ and are made to accomplish his purpose and serve the highest and ultimate interests of his people. Even when the nations are convulsed like the angry sea, and things appear to be quite out of control, the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, quote from Nahum 1.3. Then there is nothing for us to be alarmed at. I just thought that was quite appropriate for the days we live. when a good description would be when the nations are convulsed like the angry sea. Our Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the truths communicated in your word and that we are not adrift in an angry sea, but truly right where we're supposed to be in your hands and willing to be persecuted because we're not willing to denounce you or what we believe to be true. We just thank you for, again, your word and your love of us and the truths of you communicated. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.