Now Unto Him
Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”
“That is Able.” This is the first thing to consider.
But today it is so often changed into: “Who probably could if He really wanted to.”
This is the way we act, even if we say we believe He is able.
But what does “Able” mean?
Able to give us just enough to squeak by? No! That is not what the Scriptures say.
Able enough to just get us to heaven? No!
Able here, means that God has the power to do anything…..the knowledge to do it righteously….and the will to perform for the good of His people.
“Able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”. God is not bound by anything, but His Will.
What is His Will for you?
He will not give you power to do anything that will eventually harm you, or your relationship to Him.
He will do more than we can ask Him for, or even think about, when it comes to His Will for you, “according to the power that worketh in us.”
According as we are allowing the Holy Spirit within us to work;
according to that measure of yielding,…..He will give you power,….and power above all that we ask or think.
Jesus said the same thing to His disciples when He was here:
Luke 11:11-13 “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”
The Holy Spirit is the power within us, bringing about God’s Will in us.
Enabling us by His grace to have the fruit of the Spirit within the circumstances of our individual lives, no matter the provocation. (Galatians 5:22-23)
And enabling us to make the changes in our lives that He wants.
But He won’t give us look alike answers to our prayers.
And that is what the Lord Jesus was talking about:
A stone for bread.
A serpent for a eel.
A rolled up scorpion for an egg.
A father would not do this. And our Heavenly Father would not give us look alike answers,……for the things we need.
How much of that Power is at work in us? Making us what we ought to be?
Is it enabling you to deny yourself and pick up your cross and follow the Lord in your life? (Matthew 16:24). In your everyday….go to work….go to school….drive in traffic….life?
How much of that Power is at work in us, saving you from yourself and sin, with His sanctifying graces?
For Christ came to save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)
How much of that Power is at work within us, to give us subjection to His Will for our lives?
For it is God which worketh in us both to will and do of His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)
There is a vast reservoir of Power by the Holy Spirit, open to all of us;…..if we follow His way to have it.
And His Way is….that it has to work within us…..first.
Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
God’s Name is glorified here, in us;……only in the proportion in which His Kingdom comes to us,….and His Will is done by us.
God can not be honored in us, until we submit to His Rule over us.
For nothing dishonors His Name more than self-will.
Rebels despise His Kingdom within,…….seeking to make it mean only the kingdom which will come;…..and nothing for now. (Which is what they object to)
But it says “in earth”.
Yes, He will come and establish His Kingdom on earth one day (Hallelujah for that!)……but here, in this prayer, it is His call to His disciples to pray for the things of our lives,now….the things He gives us grace (the unmerited favor of power)….for….now!
We are to pray for His kingdom to come within us.
We are to pray for “daily bread”; for forgiveness, as we forgive.
We are to pray that we will be kept from temptation; and for deliverance from it, if we fall into it.
These are all things of here and now for each individual follower of Christ….for He is working HIs Will in us….now.
God is Able. And more, He is willing.
What will we do?
Let us yield…..for when we do…..we will see what God will do for us
….for it is to each of us He speaks.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 