Articles
Plugging Into God’s Power
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know…the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” (Eph 1:18-20)
In his epistles, Paul often emphasized core ideas by constructing a “monument” of multiple words with similar meanings. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul used these words to emphasize the all-encompassing and super-superlative nature of God’s power available to us:
- power – dynamis – ability to accomplish
(verb form = “I am able”)
- working – energeia – power at work,
not potential but active power
- strength – kratos – power that rules
- might – ischys – inherent potential strength
Paul then adds the ultimate expression of the intensity of God’s power toward the believer: God’s power in us is like the power He demonstrated when He resurrected Christ from the dead. Now that’s power!
What does it look like when one is plugged into the amazing power available from God? Consider the activities of the apostles described in Acts.
Despite being arrested, threatened and beaten for preaching Jesus, these men (who just weeks before had been reduced to desertion, denial and hiding in fear) not only stood up to their accusers – “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) – they left the courtroom “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” (Acts 5:41-42)
I can plug into the power of God the same way as did the primordial Christians of whom we read about with awe and respect: I must truly believe that nothing – no abuse, no threat, no death, no person, no government, nothing – will prevent God from exerting His awesome power and resurrecting me just as He resurrected His Son.
Now, that’s power. Plug in!
