The “Exceeding Greatness of God’s Power Toward Us…”

Ephesians 1:17-19 (New King James Version)
¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your ^[a]understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

A well-known minister of the gospel recently did an extended teaching series on the greatness of God’s power. The primary scripture reference for the series was Ephesians 1:17-19. The introductory point she made was that these scriptures plainly state God’s will for our lives from His perspective: 1) that we may know the hope of His calling – who we are in Christ; 2) what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints – all that we have in Christ; 3) what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us – all we can do through Him (our authority).

Her focal point throughout much of the series was on the third point, “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.” The richness of that passage is sometimes missed or overlooked because the focus is often on the first part of this “Pauline Prayer” as it has come to be known.

The expansiveness of this phrase, “the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward us who believe” cannot be overstated. Keep in mind, all Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16). Look at the words Holy Spirit chose – exceeding and greatness. Wouldn’t it have been enough to just say “God’s power?” Yet He chose to include “exceeding,” which means “great in extent, quantity, and duration.” And, He chose to use “greatness,” which means, “denoting more magnitude or extension than of something else.” Why did Holy Spirit choose to add these words to “God’s power” which would seem to have been enough? Perhaps it is because He knew that answers to our challenges in this fallen world do not always come quickly. Perhaps it is because Holy Spirit knew we would need reassurance while waiting for our miracles to manifest. During those times of waiting those words redirect our thinking to what really matters – the Truth of God’s Word.

If that were not enough, this passage clearly states where that power is directed – toward us! This promise  can become a part of our walk with the Lord by doing one simple thing – by receiving it into our lives. Someone once said that the four most important words we can speak in our walk with the Lord are, “I believe I receive.” We got saved by receiving and we get everything else available in the Kingdom by receiving. Like any promise of God, it must become personal to us to be released.

How do we “receive” this promise? This minister used a great visual that will help us in receiving. She compared the promise of the “greatness of God’s Power” to a piñata at a child’s birthday party. All the contents of the piñata are available to the children in the room. But the contents are not released until someone connects and breaks the piñata with a stick/pole.  For the believer, our faith, released through our mouth, is the “pole” that connects to God’s exceeding great power. We speak and declare, “The exceeding greatness of God’s power to me (make it personal) is released in this situation in my life.

When we focus of the “exceeding greatness of God’s power to usward,” we realized that every other power is a lesser power. Greater power always trumps lesser power, when received and released through faith.  That means the bad report from the doctor, the financial bills adding up, and the broken relationships all are lesser powers subject to being dominated. When we focus on God’s perspective – how He sees things – everything changes. Ephesians 1:19 could not be clearer on His perspective about how He wants to use His power on our behalf!

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