For Holy Week in anticipation of the celebration of Jesus’s Resurrection this Lord’s Day, we’ve been asking the question, “What does it mean that resurrection power is at work in us?” Now this post is a bit long, so feel free to skip this lengthy post and come back Friday or Saturday for more on why this resurrection power matters—or jump in with us and swim in Scripture a little.
We’ve looked at the movement from death to resurrection life in Ephesians 2:1-10 and have started to dig into the OT to find out how God used this sort of power in the past. In the previous post, we noted that God’s power bringing life to the lifeless ties into creation in Genesis. In this post we’ll look at an important passage on resurrection from the OT, Ezekiel 37.
In Ezekiel 37:1-10, the prophet sees Israel as a valley of corpses whose flesh has completely eroded, so that nothing is left but dry bones bleached by the sun. Israel is dead-in-Exile, under the curse of their sin and trespasses.
But despite their condition, God puts Spirit/breath back in them and restores them to life in their land (37:12, 14), just as God gave life (Spirit/breath) to Adam and Eve and put them in the Land of Eden. He also promises to cleanse them so that they will serve him as his people, living in his presence in holiness and obedience (37:23-24), just as Adam and Eve were to serve God in his presence. In Ephesians 2:1-3, humans are dead, under the weight of their sin and trespasses. But God himself restores people to life and to obedience: a life of good works that he himself created.
Just as it was gratuitous grace (to be intentionally redundant) on God’s part with Israel in Ezekiel 37, so it is here: WHILE WE WERE SINNERS—not after we’d gotten part of our act together—we were raised with Christ. The resurrection, no less than Jesus’ work on the cross, is an act of sheer grace on God’s part.
There are at least three ways in which Ephesians 2 (and the rest of the NT) expand on Ezekiel’s vision.
(1) Ezekiel mentions and then shortly moves into a vision of a NEW TEMPLE (Ezek 37:27-28, chapters 40-48), God’s presence with his people in his world that is so much bigger in scale than the original Temple in Jerusalem. This same movement from resurrection and restoration to a “new temple” occurs in Ephesians 2, but instead of a building, God’s family is the place where he dwells and reigns; we’re his temple, house, and body. In Revelation 21 and 22, the New Jerusalem needs no Temple, because God’s presence fills everything, and everything is holy.
(2) Ezekiel 37:15-22 shows the house of Israel coming back together in unity; Ephesians 2:11-3:6 emphasizes global unity as God knits Gentiles and Jews together into one Temple, one Body: “the mystery of the gospel” (3:4-6).
(3) Ezekiel 37 also speaks of a Davidic king ruling over Israel, and in Ephesians 2 we are reigning with David’s Son, “seated with” the Messiah, King Jesus (2:6).
Going back to our original quest: What is “resurrection power” in Ephesians 1:19-22? Paul identifies resurrection power as ascension and enthronement power, not just resurrection power. So the ultimate goal of the working of God’s “resurrection power” is the ultimate goal of God’s plan for the sons and daughters he has brought to life: “They will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).
In the next post, we’ll talk about why “resurrection power” matters. Have a blessed Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, knowing that Sunday’s Comin’…
Go At A Walking Pace 
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