All Things in Subjection

Introduction: The Focus and Measure of God's Power to Believers

0:03 We are continuing our studies in this section of the Word of God containing or comprised of this profound prayer of the Apostle Paul. And I refer, of course, to the prayer found in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 15 through 23, or the end of the chapter. Briefly, by way of review, I would remind you that the focus of his prayer is the petition of verse 17 that the Father of glory, that God who is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would give to the Ephesians a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of himself, that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened. In other words, his prayer is that the Father would grant an increased measure. The Spirit's graces and operations as the Spirit who opens to the people of God the mind and the will of God. And he desires that gracious work of the Spirit to the end that the Ephesians may have this inward experiential knowledge of three distinct blessings of grace.

1:18 First of all, the hope which derives from their calling. Secondly, the riches of grace. Thirdly, the glory of the inheritance, which is the object of the hope. And thirdly, the exceeding greatness of the power of God, by which all who have the hope in the inheritance will actually be brought to the enjoyment of that inheritance and the realization of their hope.

1:45 And we are presently studying this third commodity, the exceeding greatness of the power of God directed to believers. The third has...

1:55 Having, of course, the most complete treatment in the passage. Thus far, we have seen that the characteristics of this power towards believers, the characteristics are called exceeding great and the working of his might. The recipients of this power are believers. All believers are the objects of this power.

2:22 We don't have different levels of believers. We have the scriptural. We have the scripture speaking about growth in grace and babes and young men and old men, those strong in faith, weak in faith. But we have no idea of a multi-structure to those who only have the first blessing and those who have the second and some who have gone on to something else.

2:42 No. All who come within the orbit of God's gracious work, leading them out of a state of unbelief into a position of faith and becoming the believing ones. They are the recipients. They are the recipients of this power.

2:57 But only they are the recipients of this power. So, by saying that it is the power of God to us who believe, it is both inclusive and exclusive. And now, presently, we are studying the measure of this power. Paul longs for the believers not only to know that the power which is directed toward them, particularly to preserve them until they come to the inheritance, he wants them to know that it's not...

3:26 Not only exceeding great and that it is the working of God's might, but he wants them to know the measure of that power in terms of that which God did to his son in these four redemptive acts bound into two little couplets. There is the resurrection and the session of our Lord, the power which he wrought in the Christ when he raised him and when he sat him. We studied that first couplet. And we have seen that in those two mighty acts, the power of God was exercised to bring the Lord Jesus from the depths of a position of shame and ignominy, dying the death of a common criminal, the mighty power of God was exercised to raise him to a place of supreme honor and supreme glory. He has raised him from among the dead and has set him in his own right. He has raised him from among the dead and has set him in his own right hand far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. Now the second couplet, the final two things that Paul mentions as the measure of the power of God directed to believers, he does so in these two concepts.

4:48 First of all, the concept of verse 22, the subjugation of all things to Christ. And he put all things under his feet, the second part of the couplet, and gave him, and it should be translated, as head over all things to the church. So you not only have the power of God exercised in Christ in the subjugation of all things to him, but secondly in the presentation of Christ to the church. So the first couplet.

5:26 The second couplet is resurrection and session, bringing Christ to a place of supreme honor and glory. The second couplet is the work of subjugation and presentation, giving to Christ the supreme place of authority and of power. And would you put it all together, the vision in the mind of the apostle is the power of God thus raising Christ to a place of supreme honor and glory, and giving to him a position of supreme authority and power. And he says, take all that together, and all the power of God wrought to accomplish it and to sustain it now and in the world to come.

6:10 And he says, believers, that's the power of God directed to you. That's the measure of the power. Now I will attempt this morning, and I trust the Spirit of God will greatly assist us all, to open up the phrase, and he put all things in subjection under his feet. In other words, the power of Christ towards believers measured by the subjugation of all things to Jesus Christ.

Opening the Phrase: Who Did the Subjecting?

6:41 To think our way through our study, I will first of all seek to open up the phrase. We will have the phrase opened. Secondly, the phrase applied to the context, and then if time permits, the phrase applied to other areas of vital concern to the people of God. First of all, then, the phrase opened.

7:04 When it is said that the measure of the power to usward is the power wrought in thee, Christ, when he put all things in subjection under his feet, what precisely did Paul mean? Well, if we're to understand it, we must think of four vital questions, these words before us. First of all, who did the subjecting? Secondly, what was done in the subjecting?

7:33 Thirdly, what was the extent of the subjecting? And fourthly, when was the subjecting effected? And it's all right here in the phrase. First of all, then, the measure of the power to believers in the subjugation of all things to Christ is to be viewed in terms of...

7:54 of the Father who did the subjecting. For notice, the text has the indefinite pronoun, He put all things, and when we ask the question, Who is the He? We go back to verse 17, where we have this clear delineation of the Father. He prays that the Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of the understanding and light, and they may know what is the hope of His calling, that is, the Father's calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, the exceeding greatness of His power to us when we believe, which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. You see, the whole context indicates that the activity of the Father is in focus in this text. And I repeat what I emphasized four lessons ago, that this is within the framework of the economy, the economy of redemption. And within that economy, Jesus Christ, acting as the God-man, the appointed mediator of His people, is found in implicit trust with relationship to His Father.

9:11 He's found in a relationship of unquestioned obedience, and this is not to in any way detract from His intrinsic glory as God. It is part of His glory as the God, the God-man, Philippians 2, that He should take upon Himself the form of a servant and being found in fashion as a servant, be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And so in answer to the question, who did the subjecting of all things to Christ? The answer is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father who is characterized by glory.

Opening the Phrase: What Was Done in the Subjecting?

9:51 And He did this within the framework of the redemptive mission of Christ, beautifully described in Philippians 2, in which Paul says that this position of supreme authority and power is the reward to the Lord Jesus for His willingness so to suffer, so to humble Himself, so to die as a common criminal. Having considered who did the subjecting, we must look in the second place. At the question, what was done in the subjecting? And to understand that, you must understand, first of all, the meaning of the word itself, and He put all things in subjection, and then secondly, the little phrase, under His feet. Now the word itself is one word in the original, and He put all things in subjection, we could translate it, and He subjected all things under His feet. What does the word mean? Well, let me give you several instances of its usage in the New Testament, and I think you'll catch the flavor of its meaning.

11:02 In Luke 2.51, speaking of our Lord, it says that after that incident at the temple, He went back to Nazareth and was subject to them. Now what did it mean for the Lord Jesus to be subject to His parents? Well, it meant that their word became law for Him.

11:22 Their wishes became His subjects, His commands. Their directives became the regulative principles of His life. It's the word used in Luke 10.17.

11:33 When the disciples come back, having been given special authority and power, and they say, Behold, even the demons are subject to us. When we speak, the demons recognize that we're the boss. When we speak in Your name, the demons submit to us. They obey us.

11:52 They recognize in us rightfulness. They recognize in us faithful authority. It's the word used in that familiar text often quoted from this pulpit. Romans 8.7 The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. What's the disposition of the carnal mind? It may recognize the authority of God. It may recognize the right in the law of God to direct and to govern, but it will not comply with it.

12:22 It is not submissive to it. God's law is not rule for the carnal mind. In fact, the evidence that a man has a carnal mind is the more he knows of God's will, the more his anger and his antipathy against that rule is manifested. It's the same word used in Romans 10.3 of the self-righteous Jews who would not submit themselves to the righteousness of God. Here's a righteousness completely worked out in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And one of the essential ingredients of saving faith is gladly submitting to a previously provided righteousness. They would not submit.

13:06 They would not allow that righteousness to become regulative in terms of their hopes of finding acceptance with God. One final example, Romans 13.1 and 5. Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, the relationship of a citizen to his government.

13:23 Now, can you tie it all together? What's the meaning of this word submit? When it says that the Father put all things in subjection to Christ, what did He mean? Well, I think you see the relationship.

13:37 It's one in which one governs and another is governed. One commands, another obeys. One is sovereign and another is subject. Now, having understood the meaning of that word, now look at the little phrase.

13:53 He subjected all things under His feet. Now, this is obviously a figure of speech. And it amplifies the nature of the subjection of all things to Christ. Paul could have said, and he subjected all things to Him.

14:19 But to make the picture more vivid, he uses this phrase, rich with Old Testament roots, rootage and significance. He subjected all things under His feet. Now, we could look at a number of references in the Old Testament, which were probably in the Apostle's mind and molding his thinking. But the two most frequently quoted passages with reference to this concept are Psalm 2 and Psalm 110.

14:49 Between them, these two Psalms have sections of their contents quoted, no fewer than about a dozen times in the New Testament. And particularly the phrase, under His feet. Psalm 2. I'm sorry, Psalm 8.

15:08 I didn't mean Psalm 2. We'll come to Psalm 2 later. Psalm 8. Speaking of man, verse 5, For thou hast made him but little lower than God, and crownest him with glory and honor.

15:21 Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under His feet. And it's interesting that the New Testament writers apply this not to man in general, but to the true man, Christ in particular, in the book of Hebrews and in 1 Corinthians 15. And then in Psalm 110, and this is probably the more predominant imagery in the mind of the Apostle, Psalm 110 in verse 1, the passage by which our Lord confounded the Jews.

15:56 And he said, who's David talking about when David says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, we looked at that phrase last week, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Now in the whole concept of something beneath the feet of Messiah, something being made the footstool of Messiah, it's speaking of a subjection that is to be contemplated not in the sense of military conquest.

16:37 Some of the commentators have missed the boat here. And they've taken some analogies from the Old Testament, such as Joshua, who when he conquered those kings, he brought them out and set his foot upon their necks. And they've said, this is a picture of the conquering general. No, no, the context is the enthroned king, is the enthroned Christ.

16:55 Remember, we studied last week the things which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and sat him at his right hand, and in that position he put all things beneath his feet. All things were made the footstool of Jesus Christ. Now then, what does that imagery convey? And the most helpful statement I've found, bringing it all together in short compass, I found in John Brown's commentary on this phrase found in Hebrews, and I read it to you this morning.

17:29 For these enemies to become the footstool of Messiah is plainly equivalent to their being completely subjected to his dominion, entirely deprived of all power to oppose his purposes. The figure here is not that of a warrior in the field of battle, triumphing over his foes, but a prince, secure upon his throne, his enemies being so far from being able to disturb him or overturn his throne that they were, as it were, his footstool, so completely subjected to him that he can employ them in any way he pleases, however degrading to them, which may be subservient to his dignity or to his comfort. You get the picture of a footstool? You come in at the end of the day and you're weary and you kick your footstool in front of your chair and you lean back and you stick your feet on. You may even want to take your shoes off and the poor footstool is subjected to the terrible smell of your sweaty feet.

18:34 You may keep your shoes on and the footstool is subjected to the grime and to the soil that you brought in, but the footstool has no choice in the matter. It's there to subserve your own designs of comfort and ease. And there's the picture. What was done when the Father subjected all things to Christ?

18:54 He brought all things to a position in which the Lord Jesus can regard them as his footstool. He brought them under his feet. All of his enemies, all principalities, all powers are subject to the God-man as the exalted Lord of the universe. Psalm 2 is so rich here.

Opening the Phrase: The Extent and Timing of the Subjecting

19:17 In spite of all the raging and the scheming and the vomiting out of their unbelief and opposition, he that sits in the heaven laughs and says, Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. So then we have, who did the subjecting? God the Father. What was done in the subjecting?

19:40 All things were brought into a relationship of submission to Christ into what we might call a sense in which they are almost passively submitted against their own purposes they are made his footstool. Now in the third place to open up the phrase, what was the extent of this subjecting? And look at the text. The power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him and when he put all things in subjection under his feet.

20:16 Now whenever you find the word all in the Bible you've got to ask yourself, does all mean every last single thing? Some of us who've wrestled with the doctrine of the extent of the atonement have found how necessary to interpret the word all in its context and in its general relationships. Some commentators say the all means all but the Father himself and the church. For we read later on that the church is his body.

20:47 Well the Apostle Paul very clearly in dealing with this subject in 1 Corinthians 15 makes it evident that when it says all things are subject to Christ the one exception is the Father. Now remember we're in the relationship of the economy of redemption in which the Father gives direction and the Son obeys and it's within that framework that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 27 for he hath put all things in subjection under his feet the same word. But when he saith all things are put in subjection it is evident that he is accepted who did subject all things unto him. That's the Father.

21:30 So the one exception according to Paul to this phrase which denotes the extent of the subjection is the Father himself but every other created thing is ranged under Jesus Christ and placed at his feet. Hence though the figure changes in the next verse and we find the church constituted as the body of Christ the extension of Christ the fullness of him who filleth all in all there is no incongruity between Christ being the head and sovereign over his church and the church being his body for the same word is used in chapter 5 wives be subject same word to your husbands. Now that doesn't imply that the wife is the enemy whom the husband is conquered. No, no. Doesn't mean that at all.

22:26 So we must never think that the subjecting submissive relationship somehow brings us into the climate of a sovereign who crushes his enemy against their wills alone but it takes in all things but the Father and the Spirit. So the extent of this subjecting according to the very words of Christ all authority in heaven and in earth has been delivered unto me. Now the fourth question we address ourselves to and all we're trying to do is open up the meaning of the phrase this is just teaching now haven't preached yet but I hope to come to that. When was the subjecting effected?

23:09 Now some would tell us that that's yet future. We're waiting for the day when the Lord Jesus will come back to earth and then he will speak and set up his kingdom. Then he will have all things subject to him. Will you look at the text carefully?

23:27 What does it say? The power of God to believers is to be measured by the power wrought in Christ when he raised him a fact of past history. When he set him an accomplished fact. When he put it's already done when he gave him.

23:50 You don't have tense in the Greek language like you have in the English. The kind of action is more dominant in the verbs than the time of the action and Paul uses a verb here that means he has set him once for all and he has put once for all everything beneath his feet. When was this subjecting effected? It was effected on the coronation day of the Lord Jesus Christ.

24:22 When he raised him when he set him and then he raised all things in heaven and earth beneath his blessed feet. Ah, but someone says what about 1 Corinthians 15 24 to 26? We see not yet all things under his feet. And if you didn't say it I'm going to warn you because sooner or later you're going to be reading there and you might question the exegesis this morning.

24:49 So I want to plug up the hole before you find it there. Before you find it yourself. Alright? 1 Corinthians 15 verses 24 to 26.

24:59 Here we have the similar phraseology. Then cometh the end when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God even the Father when he shall have abolished all rule and authority and power for he must reign till he hath put all his enemies under his feet the last enemy that shall be abolished is death. And then he goes on to say the things that we read earlier. Now what's the answer to this?

25:26 We do not yet see all things under his feet is the language of Hebrews 2. Here we read that the last enemy has not yet been abolished. Well is everything under his feet now or is it not? Now follow closely.

25:41 Everything is under the feet of Christ now by an often secret but powerful providence by which he thwarts the plans of his enemies causes their wicked designs to accomplish his own purposes so that they are always under his feet really and powerfully though to us often secretly and mysteriously. You see it? Let me repeat it. Everything is presently under his feet really and powerfully though to us secretly and mysteriously.

26:23 But a day is coming when visibly and even geographically every enemy shall be banished from heaven and earth and the new heavens and the new earth shall be ushered in wherein dwelleth righteousness. But that will not be the accomplishment of the putting of all things under his feet. It will simply be the final mopping up manifestation of what is already true. Let me illustrate.

26:55 A king goes forth to battle and on the battlefield he conquers his enemies and he takes some of the choice men specimens of solid humanity who can serve him in his palatial structure and so the news goes out that the king has conquered and all of the people in the area of his kingdom line the roads as he comes back a conquering king with his army and he drags behind him in chains and manacles those whom he has chosen to bring and make subject to him and he brings them into his walled city and into the walled courts of his palace and he assigns to one a certain task and to another and under the constant surveillance of his own guards these men are accomplishing the designs of that particular king but his purpose is to allow them this quote liberty only until a day in which he has appointed their execution. And while they are within those walls they seem to be free men and very active but everything they do is under the directive of the king accomplishing a specific design of the king and then the day for their execution comes and the summons goes out to his whole kingdom that in such and such a time and place all of these enemies of his scepter shall be openly and publicly executed and so the summons goes out

28:23 and the trumpets blare and they are and the heralds go through the kingdom and these men are dragged out again in their chains and taken to a place of public execution and put to death. Now my question is this when were they under the king's feet? Well it's obvious they were under the king's feet from the moment he conquered them and brought them subject to his rule and when he executes them publicly it's simply the final manifestation of the conquest gained previously. And this is the teaching of the word of God that when Jesus Christ died and rose and was seated at the right hand of the father all the powers of hell were brought captive. Listen to the words of the writer to the Hebrews he destroyed him that had the power of death. Listen to the words of Paul in Colossians 2 he made an open show of principalities and powers triumphing over them in his death. Listen to the words of Paul in Ephesians when he ascended on high he led captivity captive the whole imagery from the Psalms that the conquering general comes back with his enemies chained to his chariot wheels and now the devil is a bound enemy and all the host of hell oh but you say they are very active ah yes but not active beyond the decrees and purposes of a Christ who has them at his footstool.

29:51 Now the devil is a bound enemy and all the host of hell oh but you say they are very active ah yes and the time is coming when all that is purposed in this mixed state of affairs will be accomplished and then you read the last part of the book of the revelation when the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire and all the wicked are summoned before that throne of absolute inflexible justice and they too are cast into the lake of fire that's God's execution day when the present enthronement and triumph of Christ will come to its final and climactic manifestation. When was this subjecting effected? It was effected on the coronation day of the Lord Jesus Christ. So then in summary as we've tried to open up the phrase word by word the measure of God's power to us who believe is that power wrought in elevating Christ to the supreme place of authority and power as the Lord of the universe in order now follow close in order to carry out his peculiarly designated task as the mediator of the new covenant in that capacity and in that position according to the language of Psalm 110 he rules

The Present Reign of Christ and Its Purpose

31:21 in the midst of his enemies the great shepherd is calling in his sheep against all the ragings of hell and the ragings of their unregenerate heart for instance Saul of Tarsus breathing out threatenings and slaughters against the church in with him and behind him and around him all the decadent apostate system of Judaism and what does King Jesus do? He says time to get him time to get him time to bring one of my sheep in the prejudice of that Pharisee's he is driven out in a moment when the Lord of Glory reveals himself to Saul of Tarsus he's ruling where in midst of his enemies and those same wicked Judaizers those who perverted the word of God what happened? well after Saul's conversion he became the object of their wasn't without the permission of the one whose footstool they were. So that Paul can look upon all the opposition and all of the persecution and bless God for it.

32:43 And write to us the words, and we know that all things are working together for good. Why? Because all things are beneath the feet of King Jesus. If there's one thing that isn't beneath his feet, that may be the thing that has sneaked up behind me and whacked me.

33:03 All things work together for good. Because all things are beneath the feet of him whose goodness has been displayed in his bloody baptism upon Mount Calvary. That's why. And the meaning of this passage is beautifully described by our Lord in John 17.

33:23 Listen to his words. Perhaps some of you have thought of this, even as we've been seeking to open it up this morning. In John chapter 17, verses 1 and 2. These things spake Jesus in lifting up his eyes to heaven.

33:38 He said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee. Even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, to do what? That to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life.

33:57 Authority over all. Authority over all. Authority over all. Authority over all.

33:59 Authority over all. Authority over all flesh, with a distinct end in view, that governing all things and all people, he might infallibly give to those whom the Father hath given him. He hath put all things beneath his feet. And the purpose of the present reign of Christ is not yet judgment.

34:26 It is still the day of salvation. It is still the day of his mercy. The day when he beckons from a throne of sovereignty. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.

34:42 And in the accomplishment of his redemptive purposes, in its present manifestation, it seems as though many of those put beneath his feet are not beneath his feet. But they are. The most wicked man is at the end of the tether of King Jesus. He takes no strength.

35:03 He takes no strength apart from him. The very breath he breathes is given by that sovereign Lord. This, I submit, is the meaning of the Apostle's words. The power which he wrought in Christ when he put all things in subjection under his feet.

Application to Believers: The Power That Draws, Preserves, and Glorifies

35:24 Now, in the second place, how is this phrase to be applied to the context of Paul's prayer? For Paul was not giving a dissertation. Paul was not giving a dissertation on the subjugation of all things to Christ as an end in itself. We come back to the burden of his prayer.

35:41 He is praying, Father, give them the spirit that they may know not only the hope that derives from their calling, the riches of the glory of the inheritance that awaits them, but the exceeding greatness of your power that will bring them there. And Lord, give them to know the measure of that power as wrought when you subjected all things under the, under the feet of your own dear Son. Now, what kind of power was necessary to obtain this position for our Lord? What kind of power was necessary to maintain this position for our Lord?

36:18 We'll go back to Psalm 2. How do men view this position of God's anointed? Well, it starts out with the question, why do the nations rage and the peoples meditate? Meditate a vain thing.

36:35 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, now notice the point of their controversy, let us break their bonds of thunder and cast away their cords from us. Ah, you see what they rage against? They rage against the sovereignty of Christ. We will not be the footmen, the footstool of anyone.

37:05 We will be the masters of our own fate and the captains of our own soul. Their raging is against Jehovah and His anointed.

37:17 Now, just think of all the raging of all the ages. There's been the intellectual raging of men who said, God is not a necessary ingredient to understand life and man and the purpose of man. Very refined people, who even talked about a God, some kind of cosmic force, but who were not about to say, I am darkness, full of darkness. I am sin, full of sin.

37:45 I have no light, no liberty, unless God is pleased in His Son to give me light and liberty. Oh, how humbling for the proud philosophers, the intellectuals of any age. And they rage against God's anointed, who's enthroned to bring every thought captive to Himself, who says that every thought, is contradicting His, His sheer ignorance. For He is the wisdom of God.

38:13 Thinking of the raging of atheists, who say the only way to understand life is to positively rule out God. And I couldn't help but laugh, I hope it was the laughter of God, when visiting in Geneva, just a few weeks ago. We went down the little street where the Baptist Church in Geneva meets, in a second, in a second room, second floor, and I've got slides, I hope eventually to show you, in a lovely little room, and they pack in about 70 or 80 people. And three doors away from there, there's a plaque up on the wall.

38:49 This is the place where Voltaire once lived. A man who raged against the Christian faith, raged against the knowledge of God. And he that sits in the heavens laughs, and there he has a people who meet to praise that God, and to worship Him, who've been rescued from the clutches of the devil. Think of the power of God exerted to break through all the rage of the intellectual, all the rage of the atheist, all the rage of the libertine who so loved his sins and hated the accusing conscience that he tried to rule out God and drown the very voice of God in conscience with his own abandonment to sin.

39:33 Take all the raging of all the men of all the ages, and then add to it the raging of that foul fiend the devil himself, the prince of the power of the air, who bared his fangs in Eden, and who's had them, as it were, dripping with venomous hate to the Son of God and the seed of the woman. And all who are part of that seed take all the rage of the devil, all the rage of all the imps and powers of hell, and put them all together. And God, by one act of power, takes and shapes and molds and plunks them down at the feet of Jesus and said, Rest your feet on them, son. Rest your feet on them, my son!

40:17 He that sitteth in the heaven shall laugh, and he shall vex them, and say what? Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Thank God! Dear child of God, this was the power exercised to put him there.

40:34 Ah, but listen. There needs to be an exertion of power to sustain him there. Think of what's happened since God placed him there. All the voices raised, all the movements launched to destroy the knowledge of Christ and to strip away the glory of Christ as the enthroned one.

40:54 And the power of God that obtained that position is the power that sustains him in it. And now listen. Child of God, that's the measure of the power which is operative towards you. That's the power that drew you.

41:11 Why are you a Christian if you're a Christian this morning? It's because the Lord Jesus rules in the midst of his enemies. There were a thousand influences within your own grasp and in the world about you that would have kept you from the knowledge of Christ, that would have sealed you in an eternal ignorance of Christ. There were a thousand influences within and without that would have kept you wedded to your sins and to your pride and to your self-righteousness.

41:36 Why do you sit here this morning saying from the depths of your heart, I have nothing. I am nothing. I can do nothing. And I stand in need of Christ for all things.

41:45 Why? Because King Jesus has ruled in the midst of his enemies. And in the world that lies in the lap of the evil one, 1 John 5, when you were a very child of the devil, he put forth the rod of his strength and you, one of his people, became willing to be a child of the devil. And you, one of his people, became willing to be a child of the devil.

42:06 And you, one of his people, became willing to be a child of the devil. And you, one of his people, became willing in the day of his power. That's the third verse of that 110th. And the power that drew you is the power that is preserving you.

42:23 Because if you and I could see this morning visually, if God would allow every influence in our own hearts, in the world, the devil and demon powers, if he would allow them all suddenly to be materialized so we could see them, I think many of us would drop dead from fear and fear and fear right, right here in this place. If you could see what remains within you of the possibility of sin and evil, if God would suddenly visually conceptualize it and flash before your mind all of those little flirtings with sin that you've entertained and he allowed you to see what their logical and natural result would have been, and all the subtle plottings of the devil for the scripture says your adversary goes about as a roaring lion and the devil goes about as a roaring lion and the devil goes about as a roaring lion and the devil goes about as a roaring lion and the devil goes about that is the color of the- all the martial arts force, so that's what is not converter and and Then I might have no idea what was of the devil from all the other itself I'll put behind a few big Old churches show itself, he was sleeping when he should have been praying. But Jesus said, I have

43:49 prayed for thee, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Thank God for a power that preserves me even beyond my discipline and my use of the means of grace. Or is that to say we should be presumptuous? No, because a Christian is not willfully and perpetually presumptuous. But looking back, you know and I know that if we stand in faith today, it's not because we've been 100% faithful to the means of grace from the day we were converted. Who among you would dare to make that claim? Your own claim would be a lie to mock you. Who among us has been watchful in the midst of temptation? Some of us at times have walked in where angels would fear to tread, who have no inbred corruption, and we've put ourselves in the midst of temptation. We've put ourselves in the midst of temptations that could have swallowed us up and utterly destroyed us. What was it that in the midst of that suddenly brought us to our senses?

44:50 The power of God which is to us. Kept by the power of God is the phrase of Peter. And thank God the measure of the power which subjugated all things to Christ is the power that not only drew us and is preserving us, but it is the very power which will glorify us. I don't know about you, but I know, living with this grace and character, that there's got to be yet a tremendous exertion of power that this mind will be utterly free from every sinful thought. These affections will be utterly free from every devious desire. This bodily free from all of its inordinate appetites and all of its indisposition to do the will of God. I don't know about you, but I know about me. Though I may lie about myself, at present and in futureemployment, I will be calm, at yesterday's events aglow, not unashamed. God, on the good days of the human nature, will not let me clamps upon my thinking and No, I stand today only because a mighty power has been exerted in me.

45:48 I know I never stand before Him unless a lot more power is exerted in me. And Paul says the measure of that power, child of God, that will bring you to such a glorious inheritance is the very power that reigns all things beneath the feet of Jesus Christ. But oh, I'm conscious there are fellows and girls and men and women here this morning who are not in Christ.

Application to Unbelievers: Kiss the Son

46:22 And listen, you are right now part of Christ's footstool. You don't like it. You don't acknowledge it, but you are. And unless you become a willing part of that footstool, that is bowing before Him as Thomas saying, My Lord and my God!

46:43 There's a time when the Lord Jesus will rise from the position of sitting, and with feet of brass He will crush to powder everything that comprises His footstool. That's why the psalmist says in Psalm 2, Kiss the son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way. We don't hold before you today some pathetic, anemic, bloodless Jesus who hopes that you will somehow capitulate to His pathetic, whimperings to accept Him.

47:22 We preach to you an exalted Lord of the universe who sits upon a throne, who came to that throne by way of the womb and the cross and the open tomb, and as Lord of the universe, He's a king and a priest upon His throne. And He says to rebel sinners whom He could crush this morning, Kiss my feet. Acknowledge me to be your rightful son. Acknowledge me to be your sovereign.

47:51 Acknowledge me to be your only Savior.

47:56 And I will receive you. Confirm mercy and grace upon you. But my friend, He will not be in that position forever. For He will rise to come into head-to-head conflict with all His enemies and crush them.

Application to the Church's Evangelistic Mandate: Comfort, Confidence, Constraint

48:16 Time will not permit any enlarged application in the third area. Having opened up the phrase, having shown the application of the phrase to the content, there are several general areas in which this principle needs application. For you see, this is one of those truths that though Paul takes it and uses it for a specific purpose, he in no way exhausts the meaning or the implications by that purpose. Did any of you draw any correlation between our study a week ago with our studies in Romans 8.34?

48:50 In Romans 8.34, Paul takes the session of Christ as the ground of our justification. Who is it? He that condemneth.

48:57 Christ died, Christ rose, Christ is seated. In Ephesians 1, he takes the session of Christ as an illustration of the power to believers, showing that the one act, Christ being seated, has many implications to the people of God. Likewise here, he is not exhausting the implications of the power of God wrought in Christ when He put all things in subjection to Him. He's taking one facet of it, but it has many other legitimate applications.

49:25 Time will permit me to... I'm going to touch on just one this morning, and it's in this whole area of the evangelistic mandate of the church.

49:33 What perspective is to be dominant in our minds, not only as we think of ourselves being preserved for our inheritance, but while we're here, proclaiming the message of salvation to others. Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 28 and verse 18. How does that commission passage begin? Here are the words.

49:54 All authority inheritance. Heaven and in earth have been delivered unto me. Going therefore, make disciples. What is to be the overriding, overarching perspective of the evangelistic mandate of the church or of the church as she fulfills the mandate?

50:15 What's to be in our minds as we go to our neighbors, our loved ones, our children, our friends, the people on the street, as we go to preach the gospel, to share the knowledge of Christ, with a view to making disciples. What's to fill our minds? This is to fill our minds. God has put all things in subjection under His feet.

50:37 All authority has been given unto Him. This is what gives me comfort. This is what gives me confidence that the gospel will conquer. This is what constrains me to go.

50:49 All things are beneath His feet. What is it for Him to take the rebel will of a sinner and to turn it? What is it for Him to take the rebel will of a sinner and to turn it? What is it for Him to take the rebel will of a sinner and to turn it into a submissive will?

50:58 What is it for Him to take the blind eyes and open them so that they can behold the very glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ? Oh, you young men preparing for the ministry, whenever you stand to preach, remember who sits as Lord of the universe. Remember who sits with all things as His footstool. And it gives you great confidence in your own mind and spirit.

51:27 And then it has great implications in the evangelistic mandate, not only in our own minds for comfort and confidence and constraint to obedience, but in the content of our message.

Application to Evangelistic Preaching and Methods

51:39 Never preach Christ as though He were pathetically still in the days of His humiliation.

51:47 He's in the state of exaltation. And all that He ever was in His humiliation in terms of compassion to sinners, touching lepers, bringing little children to sit upon His knee, He is now, but He is in His exalted state. It's the Lord of glory who now touches poor lepers and cleanses them from their sin.

52:13 One of the curses in the evangelistic preaching in our day is that Christ is not preached as the one under whose feet all things are in subjection. Everything is out there in the future. Christ will be king someday, but He's the Savior now to sort of mop up the mess you've made and fix you up. No, no, my friend.

52:36 He's a sovereign on the throne and all who come within the orbit of His forgiveness come under the influence of His scepter. And we must make it clear to men if there's no bowing to the scepter, there's no cleansing by the blood. And that it has great implications with our methods.

52:55 We'll do nothing to lower Christ. We'll never think we have to help Christ get people by overlooking certain of the demands of discipleship, by using cleverly conceived, psychologically cultivated methods in order to get people to make their decisions. We realize that when men saving me respond to the gospel, it's not because we've been more clever than they. It's because the king has put forth the rod of his strength in the midst of his enemies.

53:30 And his people are willing, not in the day of my cleverness, but in the day of his. In the day of his power. And if you can get converts on the basis of anything other than that the king has put forth his scepter, they aren't his converts.

53:47 And the church is filled with them.

53:51 No, no. We stick with the basic, simple methods of the scripture. Prayer, godly living, preaching, embodying the gospel in our corporate and individual and family lives, pleading with God, proclaiming the message, giving out tracts, sharing a word, a testimony, bringing people under the preaching. But we will never, never deviate from the God-ordained methods because we too are at his feet, not like his enemies, at his feet against their wills, but at his feet because he's transformed our wills.

Conclusion: Facing the World with Confidence in Christ's Sovereignty

54:30 And we will do nothing but what he has authorized for the accomplishment of his own designs. Oh, child of God, pray that the spirit will help you to know the exceeding greatness of the power which is to you. Even the power wrought in Christ when he put all things in subjection under his feet. And to face this crazy, mixed-up world in the knowledge that we know who's lord of the universe.

55:06 Not Mao Zedong with a third of the world's population.

55:12 Not our own government with all of these overtones of double talk and dishonesty that shames every sensitive Christian. Thank God. Take Mr. Nixon and Mr. Mao Zedong and Brezhnev and all the others and they're his footstool today. And he's their sovereign.

55:35 And all that transpires is because he deigns that it should be so. Thank God that all things are in subjection under his feet. Let us pray.