| |
Book: Ephesians
 Print ( PC Only )
Ephesians 3:20
I. Paul is extolling Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we can ask or think.
A. As we shared last week it is important that we know that He is
able.
1. We should never measure problems by our capacity to
deal with them.
2. Difficulty must always be measured by the capacity of
the agent doing the work.
B. What is the agency doing the work? "According to the power that
worketh in us.
1. Here we have this Greek word dunamis again. The power.
2. In going back in Paul's prayer verse 16, he was praying
that they would be strengthened with might by His
Spirit in the inner man.
a. As we pointed out the word translated might is
the same Greek word dunamis.
b. Note that it is might or power by His Spirit.
c. How desperately we need to recognize the need
of the power of the Holy Spirit working in our
lives.
3. So often our spiritual defeats come from our self
reliance.
4. We are in a spiritual warfare, we wrestle not against
flesh and blood as Paul will tell us in chapter 6.
5. The flesh is warring against the spirit and the spirit
against our flesh, so that we cannot do the things that
we would.
6. As Jesus recognized in Peter, "The spirit indeed is
willing but the flesh is weak."
7. Paul acknowledged the weakness of his flesh. "I know
that in me, that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good
thing I need to acknowledge that and confess that my
flesh is weak.
a. In Romans 7 Paul speaks of the war between his
flesh and his spirit. He speaks about doing
things that he does not allow, and not doing
the things that he desires to do. Even hating
the things that he does.
b. He declares that the desire to do the right
things is there, but he lacks the ability to
perform that which he desires. The good that he
would do, he doesn't do, and the evil that he
does not want to do he is doing.
c. He discovered sort of a perverse law at work,
that is when he wanted to do good, evil was
present with him.
d. He recognized that this was because of the
power of the sinful nature.
e. The law of God was working in the inward man,
but the law of the flesh was warring against
his mind.
f. He saw that there were two laws at work, the
law of his mind, and the law of his flesh, and
that the law of the flesh was stronger than the
law of his mind.
g. Making up your mind to be better is not going
to make it. Note how many New Years resolutions
are broken within the first week of the new
year.
h. Recognizing this Paul cried out in desperation,
"O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me
from the body of this death?"
i. Note Romans 8:2 the third law, "For the law of
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me
free from the law of sin and death."
j. This is why Paul prayed that they would be
strengthened with power by His Spirit in the
inner man.
C. The power of the Holy Spirit in me is able to do exceeding
abundantly more for me than I could ever do for myself.
"According to His power that worketh in us."
II. The power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
A. The power to be His witnesses. Acts 1:8 "But you will receive
power, after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you
will be witnesses unto Me."
1. Here Jesus promised the disciples that the power that
they would need to be witnesses of Him would be given
to them when the Holy Spirit came upon them.
2. We see this fulfilled in Acts 4:33 And with great
power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of
the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
3. Paul was able to write in Romans 5:19 Through mighty
signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God;
so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum,
I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
4. The prophet Micah cried,
MIC 3:8 But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of
judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression,
and to Israel his sin.
a. The Spirit gave him the power to witness
against the sins of the people of God.
B. Power to do the work of God.
1. When Zerubbabel was looking at the mountains of rubble
and wondering how the walls of Jerusalem could ever be
built again the word of the Lord came to him saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the
LORD of hosts.
2. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until
they were endued with this power from on high. They
were not to endeavor to do the work of God until they
had received the power of the Spirit to accomplish it.
3. We find the book of Acts records concerning Stephen,
And Stephen, full of faith and power, (dunamis) did
great wonders and miracles among the people.
4. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, And my speech and my
preaching [was] not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom
of men, but in the power of God.
C. And as we have noted earlier, The Holy Spirit gives us the
power to do and to be, what we desire to do and be for Christ.
III. Unto Him be glory in all the church.
A. In the psalms David said,
PSA 29:1 Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and
strength.
PSA 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the
LORD in the beauty of holiness.
PSA 72:19 And blessed [be] his glorious name for ever: and let the whole
earth be filled [with] his glory; Amen, and Amen.
B. The prophet Isaiah had a vision of heaven and he saw the
Cherubim about the throne of God and they were saying, Holy,
holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full
of his glory.
C. When the angels announced to the shepherds the birth of Christ,
they said, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace
good will towards men."
D. Paul tells us that one day every knee shall bow and every
tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father.
E. Jude in his classic benediction declared, To the only wise God
our Savior, [be] glory and majesty, dominion and power both now
and forever, amen.
F. In the book of Revelation John takes us into heaven and there
we see and hear the glory that is ascribed to God and the
declaration of His worthiness to receive it.
REV 4:9 And when the cherubim give glory and honor and thanks to him
that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
REV 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the
throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast
their crowns before the throne, saying,
REV 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power:
for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are
and were created.
G. Glory should be given to God now in the church, and that glory
shall be given to Him forever.
H. Note the glory is by Jesus Christ, and is to continue
throughout all ages, world without end.
When I saw the cleansing fountain, open wide for all my sins, I
obeyed the Spirit's wooing when He said, wilt thou be clean.
I will praise Him, I will praise Him, praise the Lamb for
sinners slain, give Him glory all ye people, for His blood can
wash away each stain.
|