Ephesians 3 v 15 – 19

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

The church in Ephesus were drawn by culture.  After all, they were based in the heart of the cultural metropolis of the world at that time, filled with thinkers, Greek thought, countless ‘gods’, even one with no name!  They were a busy town, a trading town with people travelling from far and wide, bringing their own belief systems with them.  They knew strategy, they knew authority – but they didn’t live with authority realised or released in their lives.

“…out of His glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”

All power and authority comes from God, not from status, strategy or strength.  All power and authority is God’s, and any power and authority comes from God’s glorious riches as a gift to us, entrusted to us to use for His glory.  Notice that the power and authority God gives us is for our inner being, so that Christ may dwell with us.  Too often we associate power and authority with success or positions, but this verse is clear, that God gives power and authority that we may be strengthened in our walk with Christ.

Notice v18 – they were rooted and established in love, but seemingly had not received power from the Holy Spirit.  We must always be a loving church, rooted and established in love.  This love of God, for God, and for one another will hold us together in these shaking times.  But we also need God’s power.  Notice Paul also writes that this power is “…together, with all the Lord’s holy people”.  The power of God is not an individual thing, but for the church collectively, the communion of saints across the world.  God’s power comes to us as a body, when we are, and act, as part of His glorious body.

God is waiting to pour more of His power out upon us today.  But maybe the issue is, we often want the power, but don’t seek His Presence.  We desire to pray and see miracles happen, we desire the greater gifts, yet we don’t partake in the Presence, wait in worship or abandon in awe.

The power mentioned here wasn’t the kind of power the Ephesian society would have been used to, it was a power to know the love of Christ, to know how wide, deep and high it is, to know His love the surpasses all other, as we love one another in the church, and share God’s love with the community around us.

May you have the power to know the love of Christ, and the power to grow in the love of Christ.

Pastor Lee