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 3:20-21
I. Love. This. Verse. I could meditate on in for years and not even begin to garner the depths of its import. My husband taught it to our daughter, Rebecca, at two or three and when she got to the exceedingly abundantly part she would say "exceedingly a bumblebee...and of course, that made "me" remember it forever. But, truly, what a comfort it is!
In the verse prior, Paul prays that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. We, as believers, can be filled with all of God's fullness!!! We share His life! We are partakers of His divine nature. What power and strength we have in these fallen bodies! To be filled with all the fullness of anything means to be totally dominated by it. I, for one, do not want to be totally dominated by anything but God...not by sin or self, or rage, or hatred, or bitterness. (sin and self actually covers the gamut) I want to be emptied of self and totally dominated and directed by God's indwelling Spirit. I want all of Him and none of me or as John says in his gospel..."He must increase, but I must decrease." Remember the power that lives inside you the next time you feel weak and vulnerable...the next time you are ready to give up or turn in cowardly surrender. He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world!
In the verse prior, Paul prays that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. We, as believers, can be filled with all of God's fullness!!! We share His life! We are partakers of His divine nature. What power and strength we have in these fallen bodies! To be filled with all the fullness of anything means to be totally dominated by it. I, for one, do not want to be totally dominated by anything but God...not by sin or self, or rage, or hatred, or bitterness. (sin and self actually covers the gamut) I want to be emptied of self and totally dominated and directed by God's indwelling Spirit. I want all of Him and none of me or as John says in his gospel..."He must increase, but I must decrease." Remember the power that lives inside you the next time you feel weak and vulnerable...the next time you are ready to give up or turn in cowardly surrender. He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world!
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly...forever and ever" is for me one of the greatest doxology's in Scripture. John MacArthur writes this about it:
"When the Holy Spirit has empowered us, Christ has indwelt us, love has mastered us, and God has filled us with His own fullness, then He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think."
I don't know about you BUT THAT IS WHAT I WANT!! I do not want to limit my God. I want my God to use each and every situation in my life for my good and His glory...and I want to see it. I want to be a part of it. I want all I do to be in the power and the strength of my God. In His power, there is nothing that is within His will that I cannot do. Beloved, yield to Him...watch as He does exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think according to His power that works in us. In surrender is victory.
