while today

I wonder if you realize that there is tremendous power available to you for your life.  God has made His power available to us to overcome sin in our lives, to bear up under difficult situations, to serve and not grow weary, to comprehend the deep things of God, and to grow in wisdom and in love. 

The apostle Paul prays for the church in Ephesus that they would know “what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.  These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might…” (Ephesians 1:19 NASB95) God has directed his immeasurable, boundless power toward us who believe in Him.  If only we could more fully realize the power that is available!

Paul continues in chapter 3, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…” (Ephesians 3:20 NASB95) There is power that works within us! Through that power, God is able to do far more within us than we could ever ask or even comprehend. 

From where does this tremendous power come?  How does God deliver it into our lives?  It comes through the Spirit of God who dwells in our hearts.  Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian brethren is “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…” (Ephesians 3:16 NASB95) You see, power flows from God into our inner being through the Holy Spirit.  As you continue reading in Ephesians 3:17 and following, you can see God’s intended purpose for this flow of power:  that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith (verse 17); that we would be rooted and grounded in love (verse 17); that we would be able to comprehend the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge (verse 19); and that we would be filled with all the fullness of God (verse 19)!

All of this power is only available to us through the Holy Spirit.  A “natural man” (one who does not have the Spirit) can read and understand some things about the word of God, such as what Christ did for them, and how to be saved, but it is only when the Spirit comes into the heart at the moment of salvation that the power of God in the inner being is made available.  Thank God for His power that He has directed toward us, and which works within us!

—Scott Colvin