Previous
Part
This Article
Index
Mobile
Home
Next
Part

Count Your Blessings

Part 17

Blessing 26. THE EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF HIS POWER

There is an exceedingly great power in Ephesians which Paul wants us to be enlightened about. He prays

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give you ... eyes of your heart which have been enlightened, so that you may know ... what the exceeding greatness of his power is in us who believe, according to the action of his strong might, [Eph 1:17-19]

The exceedingly great power is not an earthly power, nor is it related to this creation. Creation is a certain demonstration of God's power:

For the invisible attributes of him, from the creation of the world, are understood and caught sight of in the things made: his perpetual power and deity, so that they are without excuse, [Rom 1:20]

But God has got power beyond physical forces known to man. The exceedingly great power of Ephesians is the power

which he exerted in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the upper-heavenly places, [Eph 1:20]

This is a different kind of power, and is invisible to the world at large. This power is available to us now. Paul says in Philippians:

so as to know him and the power of his resurrection [Phil 3:10]

This is the power that should be driving us in our daily lives. It enables us to live in the new nature, and to share sufferings like Christ's, as the rest of the above verse in Philippians indicates:

Phil 3:10 and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death,

Christ defeated death not with a show of force but by suffering death Himself. But He was raised up by a phenomenal power. This power has been given to us, enabling us both to suffer in a similar way to the way Christ did, and to have everlasting resurrection life, which started when we believed in Christ and were born of God. Although we will die, in the resurrection our newness of life will continue without any disturbance from our old nature (or anyone else's).

This Article
Index
Next
Part