The Authority of the Kingdom of God.

I'm reading Jack Davis' Meditation and Communion with God: Contemplating Scripture in an Age of Distraction, and have begun practicing a few of his recommended disciplines.  This morning I was meditating through the second half of the first chapter of Ephesians and had an interesting thought, which I want to share.



The author of the letter to the Ephesians writes that he is giving thanks to God on account of their faith and love, and that he is praying for them.  He is praying that they will know, among other things,

what is the immeasurable greatness of his [God's] power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked 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 above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things 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.

(Ephesians 1:19-23; italics added for emphasis)

I connected this passage to Matthew 28 when, immediately after his resurrection, Jesus tells his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20; italics added for emphasis).  The primary mission of the Church is to relate to people, through both honest word and deed, the message of the gospel: that Jesus is Lord and wants us for his kingdom purposes (which includes teaching those kingdom purposes--"all that I have commanded you").



Again in the gospel according to Luke Jesus says, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:19-20).


Above, in Ephesians 1 (and elsewhere), Paul tells us that Christ has been bodily resurrected (as he appeared in Matthew 28, referenced above), and that since this is the case, He has authority over everything.  Paul then tells us that the Father has given the risen Jesus to the Church as our leader.  Thus, the Lord over all is the true leader of the true worldwide Church.  He is the head of the body.

Imagine you're just a head with no body and you're watching the world around you fall to pieces.  You are powerless to change anything.  But if you have a body, you can clothe the cold and naked, feed the hungry, visit the prisoner, bring justice to the oppressed.  We, the Church, have as our head, as our center of will and power, one who has been put in charge of everything, and one who keeps that charge in gentleness and love and justice.  God has chosen to use people--simple, broken people--to act on his behalf in the world.

I ask where is God.  Do I have hands?
Am I a part of a community which is functioning as the body of the risen Lord of love and justice in the world?

There's my answer.

We are the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

We are the fullness of Him.

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (plural "you"), He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your (plural) mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (plural)" (Romans 8:11).

Don't wait till heaven to live humbly, love gently and seek justice.  He has given us the power to change the world.  Believe it.  Jesus is Lord.  You must not act alone.  You must be in community; a hand does no good without an arm, nor an arm without a shoulder.

I, with Paul, am praying that you will know what is the immeasurable greatness of his [God's] power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked 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 above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things 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.

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