A sermon preached on Easter Sunday at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas on April 5, 2026.
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:15–23).[1]
On this Easter morning, we gather not merely to remember an event, but to celebrate a victory. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not an isolated miracle, nor is it simply a comforting doctrine. It is the public declaration that something miraculous took place in time and space, a decisive event in history—something final, something cosmic, something eternally consequential. This is not pastoral hyperbole.
So consequential is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to the Christian faith that the Apostle Paul says that were it not true, then we have believed a lie, our faith is worthless, we should be pitied, and we remain condemned in our sins, eternally unforgiven.[2] If the gospel is good news, absent the resurrection, it’s the worst news ever. “But in fact,” Paul goes on to say, “Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20), a witnessed fact in history and a glorious testimony to the power of God.
In his classic work, The Cross of Christ, John Stott refers to Christ’s death and resurrection as “his conquest confirmed and announced,”[3] which I like because the word “conquest” connotes a mission victoriously accomplished. John Stott goes on to explain, “We are not to regard the cross as defeat and the resurrection as victory. Rather, the cross was the victory won, and the resurrection the victory endorsed, proclaimed and demonstrated.”[4] The cross achieved the victory, and the resurrection revealed it, vindicated it, and displayed it before heaven and earth. And these are the themes that I want us to consider in looking at these nine verses in the first chapter of Ephesians, a text that we don’t typically associate with Easter, but one in which we see the application of Christ’s resurrection to the Christian life.
Victory Endorsed
The apostle begins, with thanksgiving and prayer: “For this reason . . . I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…” (1:15-16). He has heard of the church’s faith and their love—faith in Christ and love for the saints—the unmistakable marks of genuine Christian life. And this is a beautiful testimony, and it is a fertile environment for what Paul wants them to comprehend.But Paul wants them to comprehend what they possess in Christ, praying “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ… may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened…” (1:17-18).It is the Holy Spirit who gives us new life in Christ through faith, and he is the one who opens our eyes to behold wondrous things in his Word.[5] Paul is not praying that they would receive something entirely new, but that they would understand what they already have. He wants them to perceive what they have received in Christ.
What specifically? He wants them to comprehend their hope of God’s calling, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and the immeasurable greatness of his power. The Chrisitan’s hope is not rooted in what we do or do not do but in the sovereign grace of God. And he who has bestowed his grace upon us claims us as his inheritance, a sovereign act ordained, accomplished, and applied according to “the immeasurable greatness of his power.
Note Paul’s vocabulary: greatness, power, working, might, strength. These are not abstract, theoretical words but concrete words of victory. Paul is describing something that has been accomplished in history by God for us. So, when we consider and contemplate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, for example, our minds are to be consumed with the greatness of God. Our hearts are to be humbled by his grace bestowed. All of which leads us to, for example, where we are and why we are here today. When we rightly consider Christ’s resurrection, it leads us to worship.
In contrast, the world denies it, mocks it, seeks to undermine it, but Scripture reveals that Christ’s resurrection was God’s endorsement of the victory achieved at the cross. It was his divine “Amen” to the Son’s “It is finished.” As the Apostle Peter preached at Pentecost, “Jesus of Nazareth… you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death…” (Acts 2:22-24). Note the contrast: Human beings crucified him; God raised him. The resurrection was God the Father’s endorsement of God the Son’s finished work upon the cross. The world saw defeat; God declared victory.
And this is why Paul prays that we might comprehend what God has done in Christ. Because left to ourselves, we would misinterpret the cross. We would see the cross as only weakness, suffering, and shame. But in the light of the resurrection, we see that the cross was the very means by which sin was atoned for, judgment was borne, and Satan was defeated. The resurrection, then, is not the reversal of a tragedy—it is the revelation of a triumph.
Victory Proclaimed
Christ’s resurrection from the dead then was a kind of proclamation, a historical event and a public demonstration of “the immeasurable greatness of God’s power” (1:19). In the ancient world, a military victory was not a private matter. A battle might be won on the field, but the triumph was publicly declared. So it is with the resurrection. The cross was the battlefield where Christ conquered sin, death, and the devil. The resurrection was the public declaration that the victory has been won.
Again, Peter’s Pentecost preaching is instructive here: “God raised him up…because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). What was not possible? For death to hold him. Why? Because death had no rightful claim upon him. He had borne sin though not a sinner. He had entered death but not subject to it. And so, in raising Jesus, God proclaims to the world: The sacrifice has been accepted; the penalty has been paid; the enemy has been defeated.
And we see this in our conversion, don’t we? In our repentance, we turn not only away from sin but to Christ, from “darkness to light,” “from the power of Satan to God,” “from idols to serve the living and true God.”[6] We are rescued “from the dominion of darkness” and brought “into the kingdom of the Son God loves.”[7] Such is the miracle of the new birth, accomplished in us through faith in Christ who resurrected from the dead to life that we might be brought to life in him.
Is it no wonder then that Christians gather on the day of Christ’s resurrection? And every time we do, we affirm the resurrection. And every time we proclaim the gospel, the victory of Christ is declared anew.
Victory Demonstrated
The good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ does not stop with the resurrection, however, but points onward to his ascension, as God has “seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places…” (1:20). The resurrection leads to the ascension, and the ascension to exaltation. Christ is not only alive; He is enthroned, “…far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named…” (1:21). The resurrection is not only proclaimed but demonstrated. Christ reigns over every power: political powers, spiritual forces, visible and invisible authorities. There is no rival to His throne. There is no limit to His authority.
It is also never-ending: “…not only in this age but also in the one to come” (1:21). It is an eternal kingship under which has been put not some but “all things” (1:22), including death. As Isaiah prophesied, “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces…” (Isa. 25:8). Death has been “swallowed up,” defeated today and absent in eternity.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul refers to Christ’s resurrection as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20), referring to the surety of the future resurrection of all believers who have died. And if Christ’s resurrection is the firstfruits, then his reign is the guarantee. It is not as if Christ is hopefully making his best efforts to win in the end. Death is already under his feet. All powers are subject to him. And just as Christ resurrected from the dead, so will all who trust in him, because his resurrection is not a one-off miracle but the first fruits of a new creation.
Our passage concludes with a remarkable statement, that “[God the Father] gave [his Son] as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (1:22-23). Consider carefully what Paul is saying: Jesus Christ, risen and reigning, is given to the church. Mind the prepositions. He is not merely over the church but given to the church. Yes, “he is the head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:18), but the church is “the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:23). What does this mean? It means that he has chosen to reveal his “fullness” through his visible church.
What does this mean for you and me today? First, it means that we are to live as his people in light of his victory. Yet, how often do we live as if the battle has not yet been won? How often do we struggle with doubt and fear, as if the outcome were uncertain. But the resurrection reminds us that victory has been won. We do not fight for victory but from victory.
Second, because Christ was victorious, we proclaim it to the world. It is not good advice but the good news: Christ is risen; Christ reigns! The world needs to hear the gospel, shared through you and me.
Third, we are then to be a witness to Christ’s resurrection and a visible demonstration of his reign. Even your presence here this morning is telling. Why did the first Christians gather in worship not on the Jewish Sabbath but Sunday, “the Lord’s Day,” as they called it? Because that is the day of Christ’s resurrection. Why do Christians continue to worship on Sunday? Because, the celebration continues!
And, as Christ’s church, we display his reconciling power in our unity, his transforming power in our holiness, and his indwelling presence in our love. Perfect this side of glory? Never. Truly Christ’s church? Forever.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the conquest confirmed and announced. At the cross, the victory was won. In his resurrection, it was endorsed. Through his resurrection, it was proclaimed. In his exaltation, it is demonstrated and displayed through his church.
Our risen Lord now reigns over all things for the sake of his church. Let us believe it. Let us proclaim it. Let us live in the good of it. Amen.
[1] Unless referenced otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
(Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2001).
[2] 1 Cor. 15:15-19
[3] John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 231.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ps. 119:18
[6] Acts 26:18; 1 Thess. 1:9; Col. 1:13
[7] John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 231.
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 