Living
The Source of God’s Gravity
Scriptures: Ephesians 4:15
by Jacob Abshire on September 16, 2021
Physicists theorize that gravity is made up of tiny, unseen particles that emanate gravitational fields. They are called gravitons. Each bit pulls on every piece of matter in the universe. However, no one has ever found one. Modern science doesn’t have the technology to see them, assuming they are actually there.
Einstein predicted gravitational waves over a century ago. In his theory of general relativity, these waves were basically ripples in spacetime generated by massive objects in the cosmos. Imagine a rock being dropped into a deep puddle of water and seeing the ripples emanate outward. In space, these waves are little particles of energy being carried away from the source. Since we can already measure waves, and waves are made up of particles, physicists believe if we can find a way to read these waves, we can find the gravitons.
Another theory, and a slightly more mystical one, revolves around the idea of “dark energy.” The energy, or ether as some call it, is a substance at a quantum level that envelops and fills everything. It is sometimes considered to be a conduit for the life-giving force of the universe—sort of like midi-chlorians from the Star Wars space opera.
Other theories exist, but none have been able to provide any reasonable, concrete evidence in any direction. Gravity continues to elude the sharpest minds of humanity and most advanced technology we have created. Maybe one day we will discover the source of gravity. Or maybe not.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:15-16
God’s Unlimited Supply
We noted the preeminence of Christ in our prior lesson. He is supreme because of who He is and what He is. But, Christ is also supreme because of when He is—or more specifically, when He was. Speaking of God in terms of time is not easy. He is not bound by time. Rather, time is bound up in Him. He is “the Alpha and Omega,” the beginning and the end, the one “who is and who was and who is to come” (Rev. 1:8). Before time existed, God existed.
This might be what Moses meant when he said, “in the beginning, God” (Gen. 1:1). It is certainly what the psalmist alluded in his stanza, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Ps. 90:2). Of course, wrapped up in God’s famous name, I AM, is the premise of an eternal being who has never changed, nor will ever change—ever. He is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore (Heb. 13:8).
By definition, this means that God is the source of everything that exists. Because He is limitless, He can remain the source of everything that exists, continually and forever. This is why Paul greeted the Ephesians with wishes of grace and peace “from God” (Eph. 1:2). The saints of the church are faithful “in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1). Christians are described as being chosen “in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). Make no mistake, the prepositions “from” and “in,” though small, carry a whole lot of power. They are like the gravitons of God’s force.
These little bits are all over Ephesians. “In him we have redemption” (Eph. 1:7). “In him we have obtained an inheritance” of eternal life (Eph. 1:11). “In him” we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). All good things are in Him because they are from Him. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).
We are generators of nothing good. Even our faith to believe God came from Him (Eph. 2:8). Only the unchanging, eternal God can supply an unlimited amount of energy to maintain everything. This is where our focus text leads us. While “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom” we are all joined and held together (Eph. 4:15-16).
God’s Provisional Supply
God is the source of all things, even the purpose of all things. It is His right not only to assign purpose, but also to assume the authority to make sure all things meet the purpose He designed. It just comes with the territory. This is why Paul called Christ the “head” (Eph. 4:15). The head tells the body what to do. Christ’s design for us is that we draw from His unlimited resources. He tells us to lean on His power, not our own.
The church in Galatia was guilty of trusting in their own energy. They were duped into thinking they could pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. Paul, writing a rather forceful letter to them, set them back on course. “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3). What God begins, He finishes (Phil. 1:6). The power that brought you into Christ will bring you all the way to heaven.
“Be strong in the Lord,” Paul said (Eph. 6:10). We are to find strength in His strength, power in His power. We are to draw from His unlimited resources. For He “will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). We will never lack. God’s storehouse will never empty. But we will empty, and we will need replenishing. For this reason, we are to draw from the spring of Christ. He is ever-flowing, and we must ever drink from His waters.
Conclusion
Charles Spurgeon said “prayer is the grandest power in the entire universe; that it has a more potent force than electricity, attraction, gravitation, or any other of those secret forces which men have called by names but which they do not understand.” He understood the key that unlocks God’s power—prayer.
Prayer is powerful because it is the yielding cry from a beggar who lives on the promises of God. And God, who has unlimited power, always performs His promises. This is why the whole armor of God should be accompanied by and put on through “all prayer and supplication” (Eph. 6:18). God’s power flows through His people as a life-giving force to join and hold us together in Him. Will you not seek His power?
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