Ephesians 1:19-23 NKJV
Revelations 19:6 NKJV
From the Beginning
In the first part of God Omnipotent we studied Ephesians 1:15-18. Paul used the words MAY YOU KNOW (the Greek word for KNOW is eidenai). In the second part of verse 18 and that knowing is Paul’s prayer and desire for his readers.
In Ephesians 1:18b, says “that you may KNOW what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
In Ephesians 1:19-23, Paul wrote, “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
In addition to our inheritance from God and our inheritance for God, in Ephesians 1:19 we are told that as believers we are given an abundance of power.
To Break down the list from Ephesians 1:19-23 we see the list includes:
-May you know there is exceeding greatness of His power toward all who believe
-May you know according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places
-May you know He is far above all principality and power and might and dominion
-May you know (remember they are included) that every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come
-May you know He put all things under His feet
-May you know God has given Him power to be head over all thingsto the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
One of the puzzles about having power is that there are times when we either don’t know we have power or we don’t know how to access the power.
In this case, we may know the Power of God is available but we may not know how to access that power. I know in my life I’ve known a few people who understood the power of God and they utilized it for good.
I’ve also known people who pray a lot and yet they aren’t sure their prayers are being heard. Some would say that’s because they do not possess the faith. Certainly Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
I suspect that many who want to believe who want to have faith, are thinking faith is a feeling, much like many think forgiveness is a feeling.
Forgiveness is not a feeling. It’s a matter of telling God you forgive someone.
In the same way, if we stop thinking that faith is a feeling and we say to God, “I believe and I give this to you,” it puts the matter into God’s hands.
In the case of Ephesians 1:19-20 those who know that God did have the power to raise Jesus from the dead and place Jesus at His right hand will believe that God has the power to do anything. They will believe that God does have the power to place Jesus far above every principality and power and might and dominion.
We cannot raise someone from the dead or put someone above every principality and power. It’s not about our ability or our faith in our ability to raise someone from the dead or control the principalities and powers. It’s about our believing that God possesses that power.
Do you see the difference? I believe, not in my ability to believe…I believe that God is able.
Another case of believing scripture is found in Mark 9:14-29. A man’s son was ill and the disciples had not been able to heal him. Jesus told the man to believe, and in Mark 9:24 the man said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Then Jesus rebuked the unclean Spirit and the boy was healed.
The man could not heal his son, but Jesus knew there was an unclean spirit and Jesus healed him.
There simply are times when we say to God, ‘I believe. Help me with my unbelief.’
We must also remember that God is not Santa Clause. We cannot command God to do our bidding. God knows the future and we do not. When we pray and we ask, we need to surrender the matter into God’s hands and let God be God.
The remainder of Paul’s prayer and hope for us said:
May you know every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come
May you know He put all things under His feet
May you know God has given Him power to be head over all thingsto the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Knowing someone’s name and calling them by name means something to them. Paul is telling us that God knows our name and He calls for us.
Because we are important, and our name matters to God, having everything under the feet of Jesus tells us He has and will conquer all things that could harm us. In addition to that, Paul said that the power of God will be given to Jesus who will be head of the body of believers and God’s love and power will fill all believers to overflowing.
Finally, in Revelation 19:6 we read, “Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.”
From the beginning and in the fullness of time, our God Omnipotent reigns!
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: The Power of God
Let the power of God flow in you.
In God, Deborah
acrazyjourney.com
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