“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
In a well-known hymn by Thomas Kelly, he writes: “Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious: See the Man of Sorrows now; From the fight return’d victorious, Ev’ry knee to Him shall bow: Crown Him, crown Him! Crowns become the Victor’s brow.” Kelly is most certainly seeking to convey to every believer, and reader, the enormity, not only of the victory of the Christ over sin, death, Satan, and self, but the greatness of the Victor Himself. If the believer would grasp something of the greatness of his salvation, and the enormity of the blessing that he has in Christ, then he must see something of this Victor, for though He was a Man of Sorrows, He did overcome every foe in order to save to the uttermost those who would come to Him, trusting Him alone for forgiveness of sins, and receiving of the Life-giving Spirit. The majesty of this Victor, and the enormity and extent of His victory, reveals to the believer something of the magnitude of the blessing, for time and eternity. God in Christ has reconciled sinful man to a holy God in order that every man should be accepted in Christ, become one with Him by the Spirit, and thus be given access not only to the riches of Christ, but enabled to receive them by faith. How much then, and how far, should these truths take the believer in the life of faith, a faith based only and wholly in Christ, and all that there is in Him? Paul makes it clear that, for the sincere seeker of Christ and his fulness, God can take him far beyond in mind, heart, and body, whatever he could ask in prayer, or think in concept, and perception. The question then must be asked, “Can a believer know Christ profoundly, and the power of His resurrection in daily life?” And, if so, what is the meaning of the great condition for it being realized, that of “Having faith in God?”
The Apostle Paul began his letter to the believers in Ephesus, declaring that God is to be blessed, worshiped and thanked, because He “…has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (1:3) He declares what is true of the Christian in Christ at this very moment, one with Christ, seated with Christ in heavenly places, complete in Him, accepted before the Father. But then Paul goes further, always further with the appropriation of Christ, and the blessings in Christ, so that His glory will be revealed “on earth as in heaven.” How is this to be so? He speaks of prayer being essential, first and foremost in the matter of worship, and communion with God. Called by God to communion with Christ, the believer is to lay hold of the fact that God is faithful to meet every need, every day, so that this communion can and will be realized. Secondly, in the revelation of Christ in the heavenlies, the victorious Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Paul gives us a vision of the powerful potential of knowing Christ, in a manner beyond what we can ask or think. The key to this faith which can, and will appropriate Christ in this abundant manner, is Christ’s power by the Spirit working in the heart. The everlasting truth of Christ, and the magnitude of the blessing, is only possible in prayer and practice, when the heart is strengthened by grace divine to believe, to lay hold upon Christ, receiving from Him all that He desires to give.
Will Christ give the power to believe effectively in answer to prayer? We have only to look at the Victor in heaven, to be persuaded that He is willing today to give such power to believe, to receive, to know Him profoundly.
Dear Father, Manifest Yourself abundantly today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.