Ephesians 1:17-23; 2:6; 4:8-11

Colossians 2:14-15

I Peter 3:18 Hebrews 4:17-20 

   The lift-off of the space shuttle is a great sight. The burst of enough power to lift thousands of tons off of the launching pad and send it into outer space is nothing in comparison to the mighty power of God. “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,”

    When God created the universe He used only His voice. When He created the angels He just simply breathed them into existence. Psalms 33:6 “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” But when He resurrected Christ from the dead He used one hundred per cent of His power. This has to be the greatest exhibition of the power of God. Christ was dead and buried. The only hope of a sin cursed world lie silent in the grave. “But God raised Him from the dead.” God turned on the power and in one great motion brought Jesus all the way from the very bottom to the very top. So many things were accomplished in that brief time that it’s humanly impossible to list them all. This was a clear and clean cut victory.

    The question sometimes arises-did Jesus go to hell? The Bible says that He descended into the lower parts of the earth before He ascended. He did not go to hell like a sinner goes to hell. He entered into hell in the same sense that a warden enters his prison with his keys. Jesus went to hell under full power and when He got there He was in complete control of the entire situation. How the prisoners of Hades must have trembled at His very presence!

    Suppose that you kill one of your enemies and put him in a concrete tomb with a steel door. You lock the door and destroy the only key to the vault. You then weld the door shut and leave it heavily guarded. Then you go home and lock yourself in your house. And three days latter the man you killed shows up at your front door with the keys to. your house. How awesome!

    How the inhabitants of hell must have trembled when all of a sudden Christ showed up at the front door of hell with the keys to death, hell, and the grave. I Peter 3:18-20 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” With His presence Christ was saying you didn’t do me in. You failed! I won the victory! Christ’s sermon to those spirits in Hades must have been a victory sermon because this was the first leg of His victory march into the presence of God. This was Christ’s first step in spoiling principalities and powers. It’s show time!

     One of the reasons Christ went to hell was for the purpose of leading captivity captive. In ancient times when a king was victorious in a foreign battle He would chain all of the prisoners of war together and march them into his home country under guard. He would make a big show of his victory. Christ had just won the battle of the ages. He had won the battle for the universe. More than this He had won the battle for the souls of men. Why not make a big show. Jesus pulled the spoiled principalities and powers behind Him and made an open show of them in the spiritual realm! Christ was saying with His actions the battle is over and the eternal victory is won. What a celebration!

   As the king lead the procession he would distribute the spoils of war to the citizens along the roadside. As Christ ascended He gave gifts to men and to His churches. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” What a royal possession this was before the angels of God. Churches are still enjoying some of the spoils of the greatest war ever won.

    At the same time Jesus was doing the work of our Great High Priest. The high priest of Israel always carried the names of the tribes of Israel into the Holy of Holies on his chest and on his shoulders into the most holy place in the temple. As our Great High Priest Christ carried His blood and sprinkled it on the mercy seat in the very presence of God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:” John 20:17 “ Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”

    I haven’t been to heaven, yet! But Christ has carried my name on his shoulders and next to his heart as He ascended into heaven after His resurrection. As He approached the Most Holy Place in Heaven He stepped in and sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat. God always showed His approval with the shekinah light. The shekinah never shone brighter! “There is power in the blood.” With this one great act He sealed forever the eternal security of every believer. Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” All you timid folks leave your timidity behind and come bravely into the presence of God.

   While Christ was doing all these things He was also doing the duty of our forerunner. Hebrews 4:17–20 “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

    In ancient times small row boats were carried on the ships. If a storm came up before a ship could make into the harbor a forerunner was placed in a row boat with the ship’s anchor. If that forerunner made it to the harbor he would tie the anchor rope to something solid. Then the ship out in the ragging storm could survive because of the solid anchor. Jesus our forerunner has already ascended into fair havens. He has anchored the soul of the saved. The child of God may live in a stormy world but his soul is anchored in heaven. Let the wind blow. Let the waves rage. Let the devil rant and rave. For we have an anchor that keeps the soul sure and steadfast in the midst of the worse storm. Some say how can you believe in the security of the believer? How can you not believe in the security of the believer? Just give that old anchor rope a pull. It is fastened to the Rock of Ages on heaven’s serene shore. The forerunner has already made it to heaven in great fashion!

    The saved are seated in heavenly places. Ephesians 2:6 “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” For now we are on earth. That’s our situation not our position. For we are positioned in Christ because of His redemptive work and His power to lift us up.

    This fullness of power, the power that accomplished so many things, was also placed in the church. This is what Paul wanted us to believe and understand. We are not helpless little Baptist. Every local church is the body of Christ which is “the fullness of Him that filleth all in all!” The church has the same power that raised Christ from the dead. This is the same power that He used to conquer hell, that enabled Him to ascend into heaven leading captivity captive, that spoiled the powers of darkness, and that raised Him from the bottom to the top. He ascended from hell and the grave to the top side of the universe. With this much power why are we sitting on the launching pad instead of occupying the northern heights???????