Ephesians 3: ¹⁶ I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, ¹⁷ and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. ¹⁸ I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 

The apostle Paul has a way of saying a lot in a relatively few words. This passage is a great example. I could easily write on this one passage for a week or more. But today I am drawn to v.16, “he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit…”.

As was true for many of the church communities of Paul’s day, the Christians in Ephesus were often under duress for their faith. Some people simply tired of the struggle and left the church, but others did not. It seems it’s these persons who refused to leave that Paul addressed here, particularly in v.16.

Hardship wears people down physically, emotionally, spiritually – as many people have experienced during the worst of the pandemic (which I pray is mostly behind us). Most people can put up with strain for a while, but when it goes on and on and on with no end in sight… it can be overwhelming.

“I pray that… (God) may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit…”

There’s the saying, “Suck it up buttercup!” Lots of people, then and now, can suck it up for a time before we are overwhelmed. I wonder this morning how you are doing, dear reader. Are you overwhelmed in some area of life? Out of gas mentally, emotionally, spiritually? LOTS of people are, including me. V.16 holds a word of promise for us.

First, it is God who grants power. It’s not something that is earned, or that is reserved for the “good” people. God’s power is given as a gift of love from God the Father.

Second, the Greek word translated as “power” is “dynamis” from which we get the word “dynamite”. It refers to supernatural power given by God to people. The source of this power is not of this world, but of the heavenly realm.

Third, it isn’t the kind of power that makes you physically stronger. It’s an inner power, what we might call “resilience”. It’s the ability to endure long after our human resources are spent.

Finally, this inner power in given “through his Spirit”. This is the Spirit that dwells in all believers, the third person of the Trinity (as in Father, Son, Spirit). It is the presence of God’s Spirit within us that gives us power on the inside to endure whatever life throws at us. I need some of that “dynamis” today friends, as I’ll bet do you.

Lord let it be so. Amen.