THIRD QUARTER 2023
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #3
JULY 15, 2023
“THE POWER OF THE EXALTED JESUS”

 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16, NKJV).

 

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, NKJV).

 

This week’s Sabbath School lesson themes would be a boon for preachers who love alliteration. They could be listed like this - Sunday through Thursday:

 

•  Prayer - by faith expressing appreciation for the promised blessings of the gospel.

•  Perception - receiving the Holy Spirit as the professor, the teacher of God’s righteousness.

•  Power - participating personally in the power of God in the cross and the resurrection.

•  Position - living presently with what we have in Christ, seated with Him in heavenly places.

•  Presence - submitting to God’s intent to dwell in us personally and as a body of believers.

 

Thursday’s lesson asks this very pertinent question:

How can we believers know the exalted Christ and experience God’s power in our lives? 

 

The answer is found in the cross of Christ.

 

The Power of the Cross

Here E. J. Waggoner expounds beautifully:

 

The promise of Jesus is, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am sat down with My Father in His throne." Revelation 3:21. Now let us read how "the Man Christ Jesus," "the firstborn among many brethren," was elevated to his position "on the right hand of the Majesty on high," "angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him." We read the Scripture in full. It begins with the Apostle Paul's prayer for us, - 

"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; 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, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 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; and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." Ephesians 1:17-23. 

It was by the resurrection from the dead that Jesus was raised to the throne of God; but the resurrection is included in the death of the cross; for Paul, who preached Jesus and the resurrection, rigidly confined himself to Christ in Him crucified; and Jesus laid down His life only to take it again. Therefore, we are justified in saying that it was the cross that elevated Jesus to His high position. This is corroborated by the words which Jesus used in describing the manner of death that He should die: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." John 12:32.  

Not merely did the cross elevate Jesus to the throne of God, but the cross was itself the throne. There were no accidents in Christ's life. All that "Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel" did to Him was no more than what God's hand in and counsel had "determined before to be done" (Acts 4:27, 28); and therefore, the placing of a crown upon His head, and an inscription above it, calling Him king, exactly indicated the rank which He held on the cross. It was a cruel mockery that the crown was placed on the head of Jesus was made of thorns, but it indicated a truth which those who did it did not understand, -that the cross is the throne of God, and the thorny way is the way of glory. 

If we recall the figures and descriptions of God's throne, we shall see the cross of Jesus fills all the conditions. Let us take a hasty glance at some of them. The thing for which the ancient tabernacle, and afterward the temple, were especially built, was the ark in which were the tables of the law. This ark symbolised God's throne, for God said to Moses: "There will I meet with thee, and there I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." Exodus 25:22. God dwells between the cherubim. Psalms 80:1.  

Again, Mount Sinai, the place of the law, was God's sanctuary when He came down upon it with all His angels. See Psalms 68:17. From that mountain flowed forth, even while it was the embodiment of God's law, a stream of living water for the people. Even so it is with God's throne in heaven (Revelation 20:1), which is a living throne. See Ezekiel 1. This stream came from Christ, the Rock, the living Stone (1 Corinthians 10:4), from whom the "pure river of water of life, clear as crystal" springs; for the Lamb slain is in the midst of the throne. Revelation 5:6. 

We see that God's throne contains the living law on living stones, and sends forth a stream of life. All this we see in Christ and Him crucified. In His heart was God's law (Psalms 40:8), and from it flowed the blood and water which, uniting, formed one stream of life. John 19:34; 1 John 5:7, 8. 

Jesus is still the crucified One. It is no mere figure of speech, therefore, when sinners are invited to "come to the cross;" for in obeying the exhortation to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16), we do literally come to the cross of Jesus. 

From this we learn that the good old hymn so often sung,

 

"Nearer my God to Thee,

Nearer to Thee;

E'en though it be a cross

That raiseth me."

 

expresses the truth, but not the whole truth. It seems to imply that one may get near to God in some other way than by the cross, and that the cross is the way of last resort, whereas it is the only way. "In Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Ephesians 2:13. It is by the blood of Jesus that we have boldness to enter into the holiest, into the secret dwelling place of the Most High. Hebrews 10:19. So we may amend the hymn, and sing with glad submission:  

"Nearer my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee;

Although it is the cross

That raiseth me."

 

Thank God, the cross does place us upon the throne of God, by the side of Jesus Christ; for "you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; . . . and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace are ye saved), and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:1-6. 

God says of His anointed, "His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon himself shall his crown flourish." Psalms 132:18. Contrary to all human calculation, the "root out of a dry ground" blossoms and buds, and fills the face of the world with fruit; the crown of thorns blossoms as the rose. Every drop of blood drawn by its sharpness is a fadeless flower, and the dry, unsightly instrument of torture becomes "a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” 

From all this it appears that the child of God is always on the throne, and can always give thanks to God, who "always causeth us to triumph in Christ." Nothing, not even a defeat at the hands of our enemy, can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Though sin cover us with shame, we may know that all sin and shame are on the cross, and that the cross is the throne, and so out of defeat we win in victory. At these two extremities of His life, both of which were times of absolute helplessness,-when he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger, and when He hung on the cross,-Jesus Christ rightly received the homage due a king; for he was the King. Both the manger-cradle of weakness and the cross of shame, are the throne for the conqueror. The victor over sin is king.—E. J. Waggoner,  Present Truth UK, July 3, 1902 , pp. 417,418, emphasis supplied here and below.

 

Politics and Power

 

How is the power of the exalted Jesus to be applied here on earth? Many Christians today struggle with the battles against evil we face in society at large and wonder what to do. Waggoner here weighs in on the temptation to use political power:

 

“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, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 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.” 

Who is it that has all this? - The man Christ Jesus. And you also hath he made alive in Christ, and hath raised us up with him, and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, but he has to us; and that is the reason why the angels cannot preach the gospel. The heavens belong to the Lord our God; but the earth hath he given to the children of men. One man lost it; Another came and regained it. And he was lifted up; and you hath he lifted up to sit with him in the same place, "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world [that is a small thing], but also in that which is to come.” 

How much of an idea can a man have of the dignity of his position as a prince of God, an heir of God, and joint-heir with Christ, sharing what Christ has of the world to come, sitting with Christ in heavenly places, if he spends time digging around in the muck-heap of the politics of the world[?] These two things do not go together. You would not think of the President of the United States running for town-clerk, while still President of the United States. Think of the President of the United States coming down and taking part in a village caucus or running for office in a school district; yet there is a congruity in that, because it is all a part of the same dominion. But here is a man quickened, made alive in Christ, in possession of the power of the world to come, and then taking hold upon this world, from which the Lord said he must be delivered. He says, I know God has made me a ruler over the world, but let me play with this bubble a little while. I know that I am going to leave it, but there is something so inspiring, so thrilling, in the beat of the big drum; so let me play a little while before I leave it. 

Brethren, we do not begin to appreciate what the Lord has for us. That comes by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. We need to pray for the Spirit of God; praying that we may know the high calling and the riches of the glory of the inheritance. The man who has found a diamond mine, and knows the value of it, does not have to be pleaded with not to put clay in his pockets, in place of the diamonds. But the trouble with us is, we have gone daft. We have not come to our senses. We have not received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, so that we can appreciate the inheritance that God has given us. 

The things that are seen, are not real; they pass away in a little while. But the things that are not seen, are real. God has given to man only eternal things to deal with; he gave him the eternal world. The center of man's dominion was the garden of Eden; that was his home. No defilement came upon that, so that has continued unsmirched until now, and will so continue to all eternity. The central part, the homestead itself, has never been lost, never been cursed or defiled. And that is the thing we have to deal with; that is where our citizenship is. Some people think that Christians are the ones best qualified to rule in this world, but they are just the ones who are not. This world does not pertain to them, and they should leave the government of it to those to whom it pertains - to those who are of it. God has not given us any citizenship here; he has not given us anything to do with this world, except to get out of it, and take as many people along with us as we can: because it is a sinking ship, and going to perdition, and we are safe here only while we are saving or helping somebody else out. — E. J. Waggoner, General Conference Daily Bulletin, February 17, 1897, pp. 57-58.

 

Personal Power

 

Waggoner further outlines the power we have in and through Christ:

 

Christ came to restore that which was lost; He redeems us from the curse; He hath redeemed us; therefore, the liberty wherewith He makes us free is the liberty that existed before the curse came. Man was made a king. It was not merely the one individual first created who was made king, but all mankind. "In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him; male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam," that is, man. Gen.5:1,2. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion," etc. The dominion, we see, was given to every human being, male and female. 

This dominion was universal. When God made man, He "put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him." Hebrews 2:8. The dominion was not confined to this planet; for when God crowned man with glory and honor, He set him over the works of His hands (Hebrews 2:7), and we read, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine hands" (Hebrews 1:10). This shows how free man was before the curse came; for it is self-evident that a ruler must have absolute freedom, at least as far as his dominion extends, else he is not ruler. 

It is true that now we do not see all things put under man; "but we behold Him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9, R.V.), and thus redeem every man from the curse of the lost dominion. "Crowned with glory and honor." A crown implies kingship, and Christ's crown is that which man had when he was set over the works of God's hands. Accordingly, Christ (as man, mind you, in the flesh), just as He was about to ascend to heaven after the resurrection, said: "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore." Matthew 28:18, 19. This indicates that the same power is given to us in Him; and this is made certain by the inspired prayer that we might know the exceeding greatness of God's power in us who believe, "according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 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; and hath put all things under His feet;" and this prayer is followed by the statement that God has made us alive in Christ, and "raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 1:18-22; 2:1-6. 

Christ has tasted death for us as man, and through the cross has redeemed us from the curse. If we are crucified with Him, we are also risen with Him, and made to sit together with Him in the heavenly places, with all things under our feet. If we do not know this, it is only because we have not allowed the Spirit to reveal it to us. The eyes of our heart need to be enlightened by the Spirit, that we may know what is "the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." The exhortation to those who are dead and risen with Christ is, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." Romans 6:12. That shows that we are masters. We have authority over sin, that it shall have no dominion over us. 

We have redemption through the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of sin (Ephesians 1:7); and when He "washed us from our sins in His own blood," He "made us kings and priests unto God and His Father." Revelation 1:5,6. Glorious dominion! Glorious freedom! Freedom from the power of the curse, even while surrounded by it; freedom from "this present evil world,"--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life! The freedom of the universe (power in heaven and on earth), so that neither "the prince of the power of the air" nor the "rulers of the darkness of this world" can have any dominion over us! It is the freedom and authority that Christ had when He said, "Get thee hence, Satan." And the devil immediately left Him. It is authority "over all the power of the enemy." Luke 10:19. It is such freedom that nothing in heaven or earth can coerce us, to make us do anything against our will. God will not attempt it, for we hold our freedom from Him; and no one else can do it.— E. J. Waggoner, Glad Tidings, 1900, pp. 200-202.

 

How should we then live and experience this power? What should we expect?

 

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. 

The injunction to fear God and keep his commandments, is based on the fact that God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, and derives its force from it. Therefore, the text quoted is proof that the law of God has to do with every work and every secret thing. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. But we are not left to draw conclusions in this matter, for Jesus has told us plainly that murder may be committed in the heart, and that a single impure look and desire is a violation of the seventh commandment. See Matthew 5:21, 22, 27, 28. Solomon tells us, also, that "the thought of foolishness is sin." Proverbs 24:9. 

These few texts are quoted for the purpose of showing the nature of sin, that we may the better understand the power that is required to save men from it. In addition to these we might note the Saviour's statement that evil thoughts flow naturally from the human heart (Mark 7:21), and the words of God through the prophet, that the "heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Jeremiah 17:9. As showing the loathsome nature of sin, and how completely it has fastened itself upon men, we quote the words of the Lord through Isaiah: -  

"Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters; they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more; the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment." Isaiah 1:4-6. 

To save people from their sins is to change all this. It is not merely to forgive the sins of the past, but it is to save from sins in the future, by changing the heart and the whole being, -to make a man entirely new. It is no less a work than to cleanse a man "full of leprosy," or to raise the dead. The man who is saved from sin is saved from doing that to which his whole being naturally inclines. There is no earthly power that can do this. No man can change his own nature so that good thoughts will come naturally from the heart in the place of evil thoughts; no man has power to resist the fierce temptations that come through the lusts of his own heart, and that have been strengthened by long practice. Nothing but the power of God can do that; and that power is manifested in the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. Many doubt the efficiency of even this power, for they say it is impossible for them to overcome. "The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18. 

It is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from sin. He "was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." Romans 4:25. In this the power of God to save believers is manifested. The death and resurrection of Christ show not only the great love of God, but, also, his power to redeem. Note the words of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians, to whom he wrote that he ceased not to pray for them, -  

"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; 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, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.” 

From this we learn that if we believe God, we shall know the exceeding richness of his power, even of that power which raised Jesus from the dead. The death and resurrection of Christ is God's pledge to us that he will save us from sin, if we believe in him; and it shows the power that will be put forth in order to effect this. This was the thought in the mind of Paul when he wrote that he counted all things loss if he might win Christ, and be found not having his own righteousness, "but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith; that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Philippians 3:9-11.

 

To know the power of Christ's resurrection, is to experience the working of that same power, in the removal of sin, which God wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead. Who could fail with this strength?

 

It is of this power and its results that the apostle Peter speaks, when he says to us: "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:2-4. This is an assurance that the divine power of God, exhibited in the resurrection of Christ, is amply sufficient to enable one to overcome all the lusts of the flesh This is what we are taught also in the following: -  

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5.  

What is it that will bring to us this mighty power? Faith in Jesus Christ. Let the sinner but have an intense desire to be freed from the bondage of sin, and let him have the faith that the man "full of leprosy" had when he said, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean," and the Lord will say to him, as he did to the leper, "I will, be thou clean." If Christ dwells in the heart by faith, the soul will be strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit, according to the riches of the glory of God, and may "be filled with all the fullness of God." See Ephesians 3:16-19. What greater power could one ask for than this? And the possession of this power is a sure antidote for sin, and a preserver against it, for sin is the working of Satan, and the resurrection of Christ from the dead marked his victory over Satan. He had entered into Satan's house and bound him, and had taken all his armor wherein he trusted, so that when he ascended into Heaven he could say, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Matthew 28:18. 

And this power is continued so long as the person has faith. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth. The same power that forgives the sin, and that changes the nature, will still remain to keep the soul from sin. Says Peter: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5. The power of God is the gospel of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ has begotten us unto a lively hope, because we know that the power of the gospel is the same power that brought Jesus from the dead, and is able to keep us, through faith, until the Lord returns. 

Let none say then that he cannot overcome any evil habit. "But it is a part of my nature, and I have no power to resist it." Exactly, but the power of God can change the nature, and make a new man. It could change a leper, so that his flesh became like that of a child. It could give power to the man who was impotent from birth. More than this, it could raise the dead, even after the body had undergone decomposition, as in the case of Lazarus. All these things are done by the same power that raised Jesus, which is a pledge of all things that we need. Romans 8:32. The same Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead, will, if it dwells in us, strengthen us with the same power against sin, and, having kept us through faith unto salvation to be revealed when Christ comes, will quicken our mortal bodies, so that as we are now in spirit made to sit in heavenly places in Christ, we shall then be made to sit at his right hand, clothed in glory according to the riches of his grace. "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift." —E. J. Waggoner, Sign of the Times, March 11, 1889 EJW, pp. 150-151.

 

May our prayers be filled with praise for what is ours in Christ and petitions for the Holy Spirit in greater measure to bring us the fullness of this power in our experience!

~Todd Guthrie