“…that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…” Ephesians 1:20
Just the other day, I found myself discussing internet speed with a friend of mine. She was getting cable television installed at her house, and I was asking her how much she paid per month for her cable and internet. I quickly learned that she was paying much less than we were, and I remembered that when we signed up for internet service, my husband wanted to get the highest speed internet that they offered, which was also the most expensive. I proceeded to tell my friend how I didn’t really think it made much of a difference, but seeing as my husband was the one to use it most because he does a lot of work from home, I didn’t argue. It wasn’t more than a few minutes later that my friend needed to search for something online, and we were both shocked at how slow her internet speed was. And then it dawned on me…your power source determines your speed.
We’ll spend the next few days finishing up Paul’s thought in this prayer of his for the Ephesians, and today we find him further explaining the power that we studied yesterday. We have been given power as believers, whether we live aware of it or not. Just in case you aren’t convinced yet of this power that God has given us access to in Christ, Paul defines this power in further detail for us today. If you were tempted to believe that “this power” is some sort of superhuman strength, something mystical, or even superstitious, you can toss those theories out the window right now because God makes it very clear whom the source of this power is and what kind of power it is.
Even if you haven’t retained a single word yet today, DON’T MISS THIS:
The very same power that God Himself exerted when He raised Jesus from the dead and when He lifted Him by ascension back into Heaven is THE SAME power that He gives to every believer.
He makes this abundantly clear here. You don’t need to be a Greek or Hebrew scholar to see this truth in Ephesians 1:20. You don’t need to do a word search to determine if the same word for power is being used. Not in this case. Why? Because this is exactly what He says here in Ephesians 1:19-20 – THE SAME POWER.
So, what does this mean for us today? It means that everything that we have studied together so far is true. It means that we are capable of being WHO God says we are in Christ. It means that life transformation and heart change are possible. It means that you don’t always have to be the way you once were. It means that there is nothing too difficult for God, and it means that we can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens (or empowers) us. (Philippians 4:13) I obviously do not know what kind of power it would take to raise someone from the dead, but I imagine it was a lot. I don’t know how much power is needed to lift Jesus by ascension back to glory so that He could assume His rightful place next to God, but I would think it was a lot. To be honest, I cannot imagine anything more difficult to accomplish that raising Christ from the dead or causing Him to ascend into heaven, but the beauty of it all is that THIS VERY POWER is at work within us.
This power, when used, is a dangerous and powerful weapon against the enemy. The truth that God is calling us to walk in today is not only knowing and believing that we’ve been given power, but that this power is supernatural, equipping and enabling us to do any and every thing that God would ask us to do. If we only knew the power that we have access to. If we only knew all that we could accomplish for the Kingdom with this power. We would live lives of freedom. We would be ushering others to that same freedom. We have been empowered with God’s divine power. Embrace it. Use it. Walk in it.
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