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Sabbath Afternoon

Read  for This Week’s Study: Ephesians 1:15-23; Ephesians 3:14-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Deuteronomy 9:29; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22; Psalm 110:1.

Memory Text: Through the Holy Spirit, believers may know “what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:19-20, NKJV).

Human beings, it seems, are always reaching for more power. Auto manufacturer Devel Motors, for example, showed off the prototype of its Devel Sixteen, a vehicle with a 16-cylinder, 12.3-liter engine producing more than 5,000 horsepower. Or, if that is not enough, consider the Peterbilt semi-truck that sports three Pratt & Whitney J34-48 jet engines. Boasting 36,000 horsepower, the truck does a quarter mile in 6.5 seconds and regularly hits 376 mph before deploying its two parachutes.

In contrast, Paul prays that believers in Ephesus, under temptation to admire the various powers and deities of their culture, will experience through the Holy Spirit the immensity of the power God makes available to them in Christ. This divine might is not measured in horsepower, or magic, but is seen in four cosmos-shifting, salvation- history events: (1) the resurrection of Jesus; (2) His exaltation at the throne of God; (3) all things being placed in subservience to Christ; (4) Christ being given to the church as its Head (Ephesians 1:19-23).

In considering these four events, believers may begin to grasp — and experience — the vast scope of the power God exercises on their behalf.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 15.

Sunday–>

Amen!(1)

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