Ephesians 3:20: The Power That
Works in Us
God wants us to
clearly perceive the exceeding magnitude and excellence of the power He can
exert for those of us who believe. He demonstrated this power when He raised
Jesus Christ from the dead and placed him in a position of excellence far above
any other power. This tells us that there is no other power more excellent than
God’s, and no authority on earth greater than the authority God has given us in
the name of Jesus Christ….
by The
Way
As we reach out to others with God’s
prevailing Word, we sometimes encounter challenges that seem overwhelming.
We may wonder whether we can bring the same
kind of deliverance to these situations that Jesus Christ was able to bring to
those he encountered.
At times like these, we must go to God’s
Word to get the strength and encouragement we need. Ephesians 3:20 is a
tremendous go-to verse in these situations.
Ephesians 3:20:
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”
This verse explodes with power and
abundance! But how do we tap into this power?
How do we unlock, unleash, and “upload”
this power to a greater degree in our lives and in helping others?
Let’s focus on Ephesians 3:20 to engrave
two great realities into our thinking:
(1) God can do, and
(2) we can do.
Strengthened with these truths, we can put
our believing into action as we see it big, dare to do, and walk valiantly for
God.
Like the believers in the first century, we
can believe and utilize the superlative power God has freely given us to see
His Word prevail, changing people’s lives for the better in our day and time.
First let’s focus on God can do. He is the
source of our power.
Ephesians 3:20:
“Now unto him [God] that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think….”
The first part of Ephesians 3:20 describes
God’s unlimited ability to supply all the power we need in order to manifest a
superior spiritual quality of life.
First, it mentions God “that is able to do.”
The Greek word translated “to do” means to
make, form, or produce something tangible.
The Greek word translated “that is able” means to have (inherent
and moral) power. It is also translated “can” in the Bible.
I like to think of it as saying “God can
do!” To those of us with military backgrounds, “can do” communicates that
nothing is too hard, no matter how big or tough the mission is.
Our God is a can-do God!
How able is God? What can He do? Well, the
Word tells us that with God, nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:37).
Things that are impossible with men are
possible with God (Matthew
19:26, Mark 10:27, and Luke 18:27).
Anything that God has promised, He is able
to perform (Romans
4:21),
and He has given us hundreds of promises in His Word to claim.
Ephesians 3:20 goes on to express the
magnitude of God’s can-do ability as “exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
Not just “above,” not just “exceeding
above” — God can do “exceeding
abundantly above” all that we ask or think, when we ask and think according
to what He has promised in His Word!
This “exceeding
abundantly above” can-do ability was demonstrated in Genesis 1 when God
created the heavens and the earth.
Do you know how big the universe is? No one
knows for sure, but to give you an idea of its vastness, astronomers have
calculated that the Andromeda Galaxy (a huge mass of stars in the northern sky)
is 2.4 to 3 million light-years from earth.
A light-year (the distance light travels in
a vacuum in a year) is almost 6 trillion miles (nearly 9.5 trillion
kilometers).
If it is 3 million light-years away from
us, then the Andromeda Galaxy is about 18 quintillion miles (almost 29
quintillion kilometers) from earth. That’s the number 18 (or almost 29) with
eighteen zeros after it!
This distance alone almost exceeds
comprehension. Yet, the Andromeda Galaxy is considered a local galaxy, only a
fraction of the distance astronomers have observed into the universe.
The size of the universe God created is
greater than we can comprehend. It is astronomical!
Within the universe, astronomers estimate
there are billions of galaxies, many of which contain several hundred billion
stars.
This demonstration of God’s power in
creating the heavens and the earth shows us His can-do ability is exceeding
abundantly above all we can ask or think!
Therefore, the power that He is able to
supply to us is capable of accomplishing astronomically above anything we could
ever want or need according to His Word.
Ephesians 1 also describes God’s can-do
ability as follows:
Ephesians 1:19-23:
“And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to
us-ward who believe, according to the working [energeia, energizing] of his
mighty power, Which he wrought [energeō, energized] 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, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. ”
God wants us to clearly perceive the
exceeding magnitude and excellence of the power He can exert for those of us
who believe.
He demonstrated this power when He raised
Jesus Christ from the dead and placed him in a position of excellence far above
any other power.
This tells us that there is no other power
more excellent than God’s, and no authority on earth greater than the authority
God has given us in the name of Jesus Christ….
This
is an excerpt from the May/June 2016 issue of The Way Magazine.
For
more information on subscribing to The Way Magazine, Click Here
About
The Way International
The
Way International, a global, nondenominational Christian ministry headquartered
in rural Ohio, is dedicated to bringing the accuracy of God’s Word to the
world. Established in 1942, The Way International has evolved into a Biblical
research, teaching, and fellowship ministry that spans over thirty countries.
The
Way recognizes that many people suffer from a lack of understanding regarding
what God desires for their lives. As a result, followers of The Way are devoted
to Biblical research in order to understand and teach what God originally
intended when He had His Word written. Because the Word of God is the will of
God, The Way teaches people of all ages how to understand the Bible
for themselves and how to bring God’s promises of abundance and power
into reality in their daily lives.
https://thewaymagazine.com/ephesians-320-the-power-that-works-in-us/
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