17)
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him:
18)
The eyes of your understanding being
enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19)
And what is the exceeding greatness of his
power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
20)
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised
him from the dead, and set him at his own 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 world, but
also in that which is to come:
22)
And hath put all things under his feet, and
gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23)
Which is his body, the fulness of him that
filleth all in all.
|
I |
t
is necessary to our spiritual “survival” that we understand just what the Lord
has done for us. The reality of what has been done is that the Lord has
purchased all that is necessary for our success. Jesus’ death on the cross and His subsequent burial and resurrection,
allowed Him, before His ascent, to pave the way for all believers.
In
Him, we are not dealing with One without experience or
the necessary understanding, but He was acquainted with all that could tempt
The
power that we receive through the Holy Spirit is not just for us to call ours,
or work our own “miracles.” You see, the Power belongs to the One to whom the
name belongs. Therefore, the power belongs to Jesus and Jesus is the Power. To
appropriate that Power unto ourself, it is necessary
that we approach the Lord for spiritual understanding about Who He is. It is
only through this means that we will grown and be stable in the Lord.
For
anything to grow, a seed must fall into the ground,
die and then fruit springs up. As we approach this Resurrection season, we
celebrate the fact that Jesus died, was buried, and through His resurrection,
brought new life to all.
Though
we speak of this fact often, this principle is really not understood. Yes, to
gain salvation, we are buried with Jesus and “resurrected” from the water. But
frequently, we fail to put on the “new man” and walk in that new life.
Therefore, we remain non-productive. Without a change from old to the new, it
is impossible to be productive, for productivity is a hallmark of the new life,
not the old.
How
often do we really recognize that no matter what we knew and did, before
salvation, we were “lifeless.” This means, then, that
whatever “life” we have been granted, has been through the Spirit of the
Almighty God. It is, therefore, to Him that we owe the life and it is He Who
“owns” it.
Oftentimes,
we find the children of God professing “confusion.” In all cases, if examined,
we would see that this confusion is a result of trying to retain one’s own mind
even after adopting Him. When one remains unclear about exactly whose life is
being lived, he will be unable to distinguish what is coming from himself and
what comes from God. Therefore, he continues with what is most familiar.
How
could it be that the One possessing the name “above every name that is named”
is insufficient to solve our problems? In truth, of course, He is well able,
but if we approach situations as if we are personally responsible to “as”
something have sorrow, rather than joy.
For
too long, the people of God have focused upon their problems rather than
the solutions to those problems. God is a god Who
allows the problem that He might supply the solution, thereby securing for
Himself the glory that He deserves. If one is unable to look beyond the fleshly
to the spiritual. He will be unable to see anything but impossibilities.
We, then miss the probabilities and surety of God’s intervention.
We
must begin to accept our culpability in the failure of many to come to the
Lord. Art of the problem (along with not putting our difficulties into the
hands of the Lord) is that we spend too much time telling Who God is, rather than showing it.
Evidently,
we do not recognize why, as we focus on what we don’t like, we fail to give God
praise. You see, in order to praise Him for all things, we must recognize that
He is in all things.
So
many of us are so far behind, yet we seem not to realize why. When we are
obedient to the Word, we receive the revelation of God. How else would one advance
in His program without possessing His revelation of it? We need a clear
knowledge of why we are called and this available to us only through becoming a
part of Him and being identified with Him.
The
name of Jesus (and the understanding of Him that the name confers and
represents) does carry with it power The power comes
through possessing the knowledge of the truth. The power that He gives goes
beyond speaking in tongues, shouting, preaching, “delivering”
souls and prophesying. The most important things that are conferred upon us are
the power to stand, subdue flesh and live saved in a wicked world.
It
is futile and tragic for us to persist in insisting upon solving our own
problems when we have been touched by the One identified by the name “that is above
every name is named.” We knew before salvation, but seem to forget, afterward,
that the problems that we had in the World were solved by nobody but Jesus. We
can (and did) go to the doctor—and find no help! We can go to the psychologist,
lawyer and legislature—and find no help. We must look for help where it can be
found. We must look to the hills!
Jesus,
and Jesus alone, was able to, and paid, the price required for our redemption.
If such a price were required, it stands to reason that nothing would go unredeemed.
If is up to us to stand up, stand out and accept the fact that only does God
love us, but He has made sure to anticipate our every need. So, how long will
it take for you to stop looking problems and start looking for blessings.