1. Right now we are hearing a lot about all the dangerous bombs, missiles, and nuclear weapons that Sadam Hussein supposedly has in his possession.
2. We think of the bombs our country dropped on Japan at the close of WW II. Think of the power it takes to lift a missile off its base and take off into space, or the power it took to send men to the moon.
3. Consider this: Our sun is 100,000 times less luminous than its brightest neighbor. The sun is 864,000 miles in diameter, consists of some 335 quadrillion cubic miles of violently hot gases, and weighs more than 2 octillion tons. It orbits the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, once every 200 million years.
4. With our naked eye we can see only about 7,000 stars. The Milky Way, however, contains about 100 billion stars and is 100,000 light-years in diameter! And astronomers tell us that there are billions of galaxies outside the Milky Way, and these galaxies are moving farther and farther away from earth. That means the entire universe is expanding in every direction.
5. Scientists refer to this as the macro-universe. The micro-universe refers to atomic power. Atoms are less than one-millionth of the thickness of a human hair. In the nucleus of the atom are numerous protons and neutrons.
6. Each proton and neutron consists of three even smaller particles called quarks. If a hydrogen atom were four miles in diameter (say from here to Hempstead), the nucleus would only be the size of a baseball. The remainder of the atom is mostly empty space in which electrons travel around the nucleus, making billions of trips each millionth of a second.
7. This is truly mind-boggling. We are considering the power of God who created this universe and everything in it.
8. Then we read in our Bibles that God’s power, "the exceeding greatness of His power," is "to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power" (Eph.1:19).
9. This is even more incredible – God’s power, His immeasurable power is "to us-ward who believe." There is no reason for us to be discouraged or defeated, God’s power is available to us.
10. God’s power is measureless, but today I would like for us to somehow try to measure God’s power according to the wonderful statements recorded here in the end of Ephesians 1.

I. ACCORDING TO THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST (1:20).

1. God the Father showed His power in raising the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and that same power is available to believers today (cf. Phil.3:10; 4:13).
2. H.A. Ironside wrote: "The wonderful thing that the apostle dwells on here is the power that did all that for the Lord Jesus is the power that works in us as believers if we do not hinder it by our frivolity and worldliness. Do not, I beg of you, ever complain again that you have no power to meet temptation, that you have no power to rise above some sinful habit. If you find yourself in that condition it is because you are out of fellowship with God. Get right with God. Judge the sin that has hindered communion and then, as when you make the electrical connection the power flows through the wire to operate the mighty machinery, so you will be in living touch with God, and divine power will work in and through you to enable you to triumph over sin and live to His glory."
3. F.B. Meyer wrote: "A marvelous lift was there! From the grave of mortality to the throne of the eternal God, who only has immortality. From the darkness of the tomb to the insufferable light. From this small world to the center and metropolis of the universe. Open the compasses of your faith to measure this measureless abyss. Then marvel at the power which bore your Lord across it."

II. ACCORDING TO THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST (1:20b).

1. God the Father not only showed His power in raising Christ from the dead, He also showed His power in setting Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places" (1:20b,21).
2. God’s right hand signifies power (Matt.26:64; Heb.1:3), privilege (Heb.1:13), delight (Ps.16:11), and dominion (I Peter 3:21b,22).
3. Notice that God’s dwelling place is "in the heavenly places" (Eph.1:20b). I will be preaching this Lord’s day on how God is going to destroy the heavens and earth and create a new heaven and a new earth, but not the dwelling place of God – His dwelling place is perfect and needs no change.
4. In the heavenly places there are different degrees of power in the angelic realm. But no matter how great their rank, the Lord Jesus Christ is "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion…" (1:21).
5. He is not only above all spiritual powers, but also all human powers – "and every name that is named" (1:21). Great generals and rulers and kings come and go, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Few people recognize this today.

III. ACCORDING TO THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST (1:22,23).

1. Most people do not recognize His Lordship, but God has "put all things" under the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ (1:22).
2. The writer of Hebrews states that at this present time "we see not yet all things put under Him" (Heb.2:8).
3. But one realm where He reigns without question is "the church, which is His body…" (1:22,23).
4. Just as God showed His power in raising Christ from the dead, and setting Him at His own right hand, He also showed His power by putting "all things under His feet" (1:22) and making Him the head of the church (1:22,23).
5. As the Head of the Church, His sovereignty and Lordship cannot be questioned. When a man fails to submit to His Lordship, you have to question whether or not he has been genuinely converted.
6. Two figures are given here by Paul:

1. The church is the body of Christ (1:23). No relationship can be closer than that of the head and the body. As members of the same body we are one in vital union and indwelt by the same Holy Spirit. Just as the head gives direction to the body, we get our direction from the head of our church, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. The second description of the church is "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all" (1:23). This means the church complements the Lord Jesus Christ, who is everywhere at one and the same time. Just as the body is the complement of the head, so the church is the complement of Christ. Consider this: Christ is omnipresent – He "filleth all in all." Is the church everywhere? This suggests that when we fulfill the Great Commission, we are also fulfilling our role as the body of Him that "filleth all in all."

7. Many people have unscriptural notions concerning what exactly the church is. It is not these vast, organized, worldly conglomerations such as the RCC, the Greek or Russian Orthodox Church, the Anglican Church, etc.
8. These apostate groups are part of Christendom, but cannot be called "churches" in a Scriptural sense.

CONCLUSION:

1. When our church truly recognizes the Lordship of Christ, there will be no lack because we will receive "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all" (1:23).
2. As the head of the church the Lord Jesus Christ imparts the strength necessary for us to accomplish each and every task (cf. Matt.16:18).
3. Let us not forget that God’s mighty power is "to us-ward who believe" (1:19).