Mornings are amazing. The first embers of light begin to dawn, followed by the orange glow of the sun in the morning sky. Then that burst of energy and beauty crest the horizon, revealing the sun it its early morning glory. Mornings are amazing!
Mornings are especially amazing if we remember that God created their beauty and power. What marvelous glimpses He gives us of His grace and truth in every sunrise.
God’s grace and truth are more fully, beautifully, and powerfully revealed in these inspired words …
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21
A Revelation of God’s Grace and Truth
In this passage, we learn of our connection to God: “from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:14; cf. 1:5). God could have designed the nature of our relationship in any fashion He chose, but what He desired was for disciples to be His children — the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22,23) — His church. What magnificent grace to allow us to be adopted into His spiritual family. Truly, “to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:21). That is the connection He graciously bestowed on us in Jesus.
Then there are these amazing, complementary, interdependent statements …
- “strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (v. 16)
- “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (v. 17)
- “that you, being rooted and grounded in love” (v. 17)
- “may be able to comprehend … the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” (v. 18,19)
- “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (v. 19)
There may be no more powerful, beautiful descriptions of the source of our strength and hope as disciples than these. Read them again … and meditate.
God’s grace and His power are revealed in this text — power beyond human comprehension used to strengthen us into what God would have us be.
Paul’s prayer for them was — and our prayer for all disciples is — “that He would grant you … to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith …” (Eph. 3:15,16, etc.).
God grants spiritual strength. We must depend upon Him for this. But not passively — in a Calvinistic way. God grants us opportunity through His Son (Eph. 1:3), instruction through the Holy Spirit’s word (Eph. 3:1-5; 6:17), and armor to wear for the spiritual war we fight (Eph. 6:10-20). Yet He forces none of these upon us. We must choose Jesus, choose the Holy Spirit’s instructions, and choose to put on and wear the spiritual armor. Accept God’s grace and power through faithful, loving, humble submission to God as your Father and Jesus as your Lord.
The hope in all this?
- A continued connection to God as our Father and Jesus as our Savior: “from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:14). What a blessing!
- The reality of spiritual strength — faith and love — growing in us that we might become more like Christ: “… filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). What power!
- A growing hope of eternal life God gives to His children/body/church: “to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever” (Eph. 3:21). What a glorious hope!
“Awake … Arise”
God’s grace and power are amazingly revealed in nature. But they are more fully revealed in His word.
“Therefore He says:
‘Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light’” (Eph. 5:14).
May His light illuminate and strengthen us through life, guiding us to eternity in heaven above.
written by Shane Carrington
bshanec@mac.com
