“…Whereunto I also labor, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.” Colossians 1:29
When we look at the Apostle Paul, we are apt to compare ourselves to him since he was a believer, and we are also. But, when we honestly look at the experience, and life of the Apostle, and how God called him, revealed to him not only the fact that he had been chosen by God to “…bear Christ’s name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel, (Acts 9:15), but that he was charged to bring a message, even the meaning of God’s mystery hidden from ages passed, but now revealed. This message was the knowledge of the miracle of Christ’s indwelling in the believer, the believer having become one with Him by being placed IN Him by the Father, from there to derive his life. For Paul to accomplish his mission, learning at the same time to abide in Christ, and thus, living by the power of His indestructible life, there had to be a key, or keys, by which Christ’s power could be known. Paul did not only know about this power but experienced it by the mighty working of God in him. How can a believer, who does not have the calling of the Apostle Paul, nor the measure of the grace of God for the accomplishing of that calling, also know the power of Christ in his life?
First, there must be a grasp of several truths, in order to lay hold upon the Lord by them. The first of these is that, like the Apostle, every believer has been placed into Jesus Christ, into an indissoluble, unchanging, eternal union with Him. This was the Father’s work by the Spirit at the moment of the new birth, Christ in the believer and the believer in Christ.
Secondly, one must understand that the Spirit of God is one Spirit, not just one for the Apostle, the Lord Jesus, the disciples at Pentecost, but also for every believer. One is born by the Spirit, sealed in Christ by the Spirit, lives and walks by the Spirit. All in Christ is known only BY the Spirit of God revealing Him to the heart and soul, and through the life in His power.
Thirdly, if one is to believe God for that which only God can do, then Paul’s words written to the Ephesian church are crucial. He wrote: “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that was ask of think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (3:20,21) When Jesus promised abundant life to every believer, that they might have it “more abundantly,” and when He used the illustration of fountains, streams, and rivers of living water, to not only quench the soul’s thirst, but reveal the presence and power of God in the life, His vision was far greater than we could ever grasp. With this in mind, the believer is called upon to believe God to do that which he could ever ask, or even think. This is important because we do not know how small and limited we are in understanding God, His power, and His purposes. To not completely commit to God the liberty of doing all that He desires to do, whether we can understand it or not, is to limit Him, for He has called us to live by unbounded faith in Him.
Paul was a man who was brought face to face again and again with his own need, as we see in Romans chapter seven, when he cried: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (v.24) This is the same man who, being brought to see his helplessness, and constant need, because of a “thorn in the flesh,” was taught by Christ: “My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9) Power is only received by faith.
Dear Father, Fill us with strength. In Jesus’ name, Amen.