The Power of God - Pt 4

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his 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 1:15-23 ESV). Fourth, Jesus did not die to raise our moral standard. This statement might be a bit surprising to some; however, it is an essential part of this greater truth. The moral standard doesn’t need to be changed. God has had the same moral standard since the beginning of Creation. He has revealed himself and this standard in both direct and indirect revelations of his will and purpose. Adam and Eve were given the simplest of instructions about morality. Their problem was not that they needed to raise the standard of their morals. They needed the power to overcome their unwillingness to obey. They had a sin problem; not a rule problem. Look around the churches of our day. Don’t you wonder how many people are there for morals rather than salvation? How many want law rather than grace? Isn’t it more acceptable to get a list of things to do than a principle of life? I have often heard it said that the problem with grace is that it’s not useful. It’s not marketable. It’s also not too complicated, and oh yeah, it’s free. Can you think of anything less American? And yet, grace is all we need. Our religious, pharisaical hearts scream for us to add our “Do” to Jesus’ “Done.” But he doesn’t need it. Somehow we’ve fooled ourselves into believing that it is our spiritual resumé that will make us acceptable to God. We get comfortable with a moral standard to which we can attain, and then pass judgment on all those that can’t. Our pride and self-righteousness are just as offensive to God as the sins of the murderer and the terrorist. And they both have one thing in common: they need the redemption that is found at the foot of the Cross. Jesus didn’t die so we could amass a spiritual resumé of good works, but so that we could rest in his righteousness as we obey out of love and humility. Jesus died for things much, much greater. That is the power of our God!