… being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might …
Summary: To understand this passage we need to stop and take our bearings. Then we can gaze with wonder at the scope of Paul’s request for us.
Paul’s sentences can, at times, seem like tall grass. We can see where we are if we stand upon a stump or a rock, but when we walk through it, we find ourselves lost in grass too high to see through. Perhaps it would be wise to stop and review where we are.
Paul started his sentence in the middle of verse nine. He prays for God to fill us with the “knowledge of his will.” He explains that the Spirit of God provides this knowledge through “wisdom and understanding.”
Why?
Paul wants us to please God and live a life “worthy of the Lord” (vs 10). The sign that we are learning to please God is found in our “fruit.” The Spirit teaches us the knowledge of God that guides us in doing good works.
Perhaps we look at “good works” as reading our Bible or helping our neighbors when they are sick, and those are both good things to do. They honor God and show love to our neighbor. The problem is that they do not generally require “great endurance and patience.”
The kind of “good works” Paul has in mind probably have to do with suffering. Suffering occurs when we are confronted by people who do not put God first and do not love their neighbors as they love themselves.
When Jesus was confronted by suffering, he responded with “great endurance and patience.” Whether being driven into the wilderness without food for forty days (Matthew 4:1-11) or being crucified at the hands of the Pharisees and Romans, Jesus endured by the power of God.
Both of these examples required extraordinary patience and endurance. Paul is asking that we might be strengthened with the same power that Jesus leaned on to accomplish God’s will.
“What kind of power is that?” you ask.
The word Paul uses for “power” is a Greek word that suggests miraculous power. It is a power that humans are not capable of on their own.
When Paul writes that we are to be strengthened “according to [God’s] glorious might,” he uses a word that suggests all the mighty power in all of God’s dominion.*
Imagine that!
Application: Do not rely on your own strength. Practice relying on God.
Food for Thought: Why would God trust us with “all power?”
*”G2904 – kratos – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (niv).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 6 Oct, 2024. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2904/niv/mgnt/0-1/.
As we grow in faith, in our hearts and in the evidence of our life, “all power” is demonstrated through us by the Spirit. We place our trust in God, through Christ, and as God see’s our hearts, He entrusts us to call on His power. I believe Paul is speaking to the relationship between a follower of Christ and God. That for a heart that seeks and obeys the will of God, that is in tune with God’s will, “all power” of God working through them becomes a natural attribute of the relationship. I believe also this is an encouragement by Paul, that we don’t need to worry about where our strength will come from, that God will give us the strength to carry out His will from the one who holds “all power.”
So when you ask “Why would God trust us with ‘all power?’” I believe it falls under the same consistency found in the Bible. That we grow in grace and knowledge, increase in faith, and God works in greater measure through us. He certainly doesn’t set us up for failure, and we never “achieve” some kind of status of “power.” His power becomes our power when we live and act in trust and faith in Him.
Matthew 25:23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Well said, Chris!
I especially like the Matthew 25:23 reference. That verse applies to many things and certainly applies well here.
Good thoughts CH. And thank you for the devotional Jeff.
I think it is not so much God trusting us with all power, but us trusting Him and relying on His power rather than our own (as you point out in the devotional). I tend to want all power to control my life. I think God is showing me that I don’t actually have that kind of power. I need His power and I need to trust Him in all things.
Zechariah 4: 6: So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Thanks, Rich!
Yes, I agree. When we trust in God’s power we somehow, at the same time, have to let go of trusting in our own.
Great question and responses, Rich and CH!
Why would God trust us with “all power?”
Look to Jesus.
Born to a woman out of wedlock, born in a barn, laid into the feeding trough for cattle, from Nazareth a town of poor reputation, a carpenter, building things for others as He accumulated no property of this world for Himself, did not marry, had no children, endured humiliation at the hands of those He came to serve, physically beaten, mentally abused, and nailed to a cross where He gave His life for the salvation of His creation. His power came from God, who He served.
Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
2 Corinthians 12:9, And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Matthew 20:26, Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.
We all receive the power of Christ as we humble ourselves before God, as we grow as believers, living in lifelong submission to God’s will over our own. Becoming small so He can become Big and spread His message to the world around us. He will give each according to their ability to handle as well as direct our paths into the ministry He has chosen for us before the creation of this world.
Thank you, Ron.
Your thoughts on Jesus’ life reminds me that the power God gives us is over the demands of our flesh rather than control over others.
Yes indeed Brother!
Believers receive the power to serve others, not control them.
Keep writing!
Will do! 🙂