The Power Within
Bible Reading: Ephesians 3:20-21
Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
The life and ministry of the believer in Christ lies in the realm of the miraculous. It is impossible for us to do that which God calls upon us to do in the power of the flesh. It is foolhardy enterprise to suppose that we can do anything of spiritual value through human wisdom or self-effort. But by the Spirit, people are miraculously born again and made to be new creatures in Christ. By the Spirit, these new creatures in Christ are miraculously transformed from glory to glory into Christlikeness. And by the working of His miraculous power, their lowly bodies will one day be transformed to be like his glorious body. These are miracles. And God is doing such things every day. By His grace. By the Spirit. To His honor and glory!
Our text speaks of a power that works within us. God is able to do far more abundantly through the working of this power. It is not a power that rises from within ourselves, it is the Spirit of God working in us and through us, even as Jesus explained: “It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63).
Every believer in Christ is indwelt by the Divine person of the Holy Spirit. It is a work of the Spirit to transform the believer into Christ’s image “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). All that we are given to do, as believers, is to be done—and can only be done by the Spirit: We are convicted of sin by the Spirit (John 16:8); We are born again by the Spirit (John 3:6-7); We are baptized into the body by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13); We understand and comprehend truth by the Spirit, who is, by the way, the Spirit of Truth (1 Corinthians 2:12); We put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Romans 8:13); We are transformed from one state of glory to the next by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Thessalonians 2:13); The spiritual fruit of Christlike virtue, the fruit of the Spirit, is born in us by the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23); By the Spirit, we are given assurance of our identity as the children of God (Romans 8:16); We are gifted with spiritual gifts by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7); We don’t know how to pray as we should, so the Spirit “helps our weakness,” and intercedes for us (Romans 8:26); This list goes on, but the point is this: all we’ve been given to do is to be done “by the Spirit.” We should never expect to see a work that is far more abundant beyond all that we ask or think if we endeavor to do the things we do in our own wisdom and strength. That’s why it’s essential that we be filled with and be walking by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:16).
It is an amazing thing to consider when you stop to think about it. The Divine Holy Spirit, the third member of the trinity, is indwelling you. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. With His indwelling, all the resources of the Godhead are literally at your disposal when it comes to the fulfillment of God’s purpose in you.
Hudson Taylor put the matter this way: “How often do we attempt work for God to the limit of our incompetency rather than to the limit of God’s omnipotency… Many Christians estimate difficulty in the light of their own resources, and thus they attempt very little, and they always fail. All giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His power and presence to be with them.”
God is able to do far greater than we think possible, but that work is a work that He does in and through us, as we are led, empowered, and transformed by the Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
TRUSTING JESUS
Simply trusting every day,
Trusting through a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Refrain: Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by;
Trusting Him whate’er befall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Brightly doth His Spirit shine
Into this poor heart of mine;
While He leads I cannot fall;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Singing if my way is clear,
Praying if the path be drear;
If in danger for Him call;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Trusting Him while life shall last,
Trusting Him till earth be past;
Till within the jasper wall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
LookingtoJesus 