Alive To Christ

Tonight I would like to sharewith you God’s predictions for all eternity. And that specifically for God’s sons and
daughters who are dearly beloved in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:17 - The text reads “...may give unto you the spirit plus, that is to say, wisdom
and revelation in the acknowledgement of him.”
Ephesians 1:18 - is for this reason: understanding - that you may know 1) what is the hope of his calling, 2) what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and 3) what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe. Now, at this point (in verse 19) there begins a parenthesis. The parenthesis goes all the way to the end of the chapter. Then, in 2:1, the “And you” is outside of the parenthesis. The text would read “Even you.” Then a parenthesis. And this one terminates after the word “sins” in verse 5. Then at the end of the verse you have another parenthesis which is in King James already. This is singularly significant and very remarkable. What I am going to teach you tonight, I knew 12 years ago and then forgot about it. It just never crystallized within me again until I was in New York. I had been working on it because we are doing Ephesians with the Corps this year, and I was trying to find again the documentation that at one time I had. And about two or three weeks ago I found it, and I prepared it and shared it with our wonderful people in Albany. It is simply electrifying.

In these verses, 17, 18 and 19, there are some great truths that I want to set and show you and then we will put this whole thing together in a wonderful way that will really bless you. There are three things that you are to know - 1) the hope of his calling which deals with the return of Christ, 2) the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and 3) what is the exceeding greatness of his power, which is greatness plus of his power, to usward who believe. (Then go to 2:1.) “Even you” (go to verse 5) “quickened together with Christ.” That is the whole context.

Now, the reason that this is so significant is because all of us thought that Ephesians 2:1 read “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in-trespasses and sins.” We teach our people from the integrity of the Word that the Word interprets itself in the verse, in the context or where it has been used before, and every word has to be understood in the light of the verse
and so forth. This whole thing deals with the church. It ends up in verse 23 of chapter 1 talking about the church “which is his body, the fullness of him who filleth all in all.” This high calling of the church is indicated in that verse, and it goes right on with “Even you.” “Hath he quickened” is in italics in the King James.