“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Ephesians 6:10
From the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, to this very day, because of the effects of sin, specifically man dying spiritually, he has had a desperate need for strength and power. There are times when God in His sovereignty gives physical, moral, and mental strength to men, in times of need. This is the blessing of God. But when it comes to the matter of man’s spiritual need, whether to be born again of the Spirit, or the believer’s walk with Christ, and the imperative of being filled with the Spirit, there needs to be the receiving of another kind, and quantity of strength, or power. We see this when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river, and the Spirit of God came upon Him like a dove. That blessed moment of the Father’s affection for, and faithfulness to His Son, was for the purpose of providing Him with everything by the Spirit, to accomplish the will of God, in particular His mission, culminating on the cross. For this He would need the very power and strength from His Father by the Spirit, a strength and power which would overcome all temptation, opposition, and rejection. This power coupled with the everlasting, depthless love of God, would be the key for Jesus’ accomplishing His perfect work of redemption, making a certain way for sinful man to be saved from sin, Satan, the flesh and the sinful world system. The power would be a quiet one, somewhat like the quiet coming of a dove, as seen when the Spirit came upon Jesus at His baptism. Though quiet, tender, and gracious, this power would not only be present in Christ, and through Him, but outwardly manifested by His victorious life, overcoming every obstacle to glorify the Father by the doing of His will. What is then the pattern that Christ has set for us to see, and to know, with regard to receiving this power? And how is the believer to know it every day?
The first thing to see, and grasp, is the inherent power IN Christ, which He had by virtue of His union with the Father. Christ, being absolutely dependent upon His Father for this power, knew it, because it was His by the work of the Father. Christ was as He declared, in the Father, and the Father in Him. He lived by the Father, receiving all from Him by the Spirit. The believer, by virtue of his union with Christ, being one with Him, belongs to God, and God to him. He too is called to live in absolute dependence, and faith in God the Father, by the Spirit. Christ is His life, and so is Christ’s strength. This is why when God calls the believer to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, he is calling the believer to exercise faith in Christ based upon His finished work on Calvary. Belonging to God by virtue of the new birth, having been made one with Christ and the Father, the call is to believe God, partaking of Christ by faith.
Secondly, it is imperative to see that prayer is essential if faith is to be exerted. The believer has ALL in Christ, every resource at every moment, and in every place. But his receiving of those resources are only his in experience as he appropriates them, or actively trusts God for them. This is apparent because Jesus commands that the believer is to pray in faith for “good things,” and for the Holy Spirit. The measure of God’s blessing in the life is according to faith in God’s faithfulness. Hence, it is imperative to ask, in order to receive. It is one thing to have the Spirit of God, but quite another to receive the fulness of the Spirit. Faith, by prayer, is the means by which God gives the Spirit in His fulness. The strength and power of God are known by faith.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to believe. In Jesus’ name, Amen.