“and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might.” Ephesians 1:19 (ASV)
I love walking out at night into the backyard, and looking up into the vastness of the star lit sky. Truly amazing and beautiful. I am in awe of the incredible God who put it all together, with the spoken word, in a moment’s time. I am always speechless.
It is difficult for people to understand the “exceeding greatness” of God. We may hear the stories, as a picture is painted in Genesis, and fully believe it as the truth, but do we understand the intricacies of creating something from nothing (Genesis 1:1), setting the stars in the sky (Genesis 1:16) before creating the sun to rule it (Genesis 1:14-16)?
In His exceeding greatness God created man and women (Genesis 1:26-27), all people specifically similar physiologically and yet all specifically different in appearance, emotions, intellectualism and spirituality. He created man so intricately that every cell of his body and hair on his head is specifically aligned to each other to maintain perfect oxygen levels and heart/brain/lung function to sustain life; no portion of the body is without purpose (1 Corinthians 12:12).
In this chapter and verse “Greatness” means mighty, explosive, beyond measure. It is the word from where we get the English word Megathon, which is what they measure atomic explosives with. “Exceeding” means greatly enlarged, flourishing or to grow beyond measure. Putting it together we have an event that is compared to an atomic explosion which grows beyond measure. And that explanation doesn’t even touch the completeness of it, we can only compare it to an example that we understand; it is so much less that what God’s Exceeding Greatness truly is.
In this chapter and verse, “Power” relates to His authority, power and sanction. It is far beyond Governors, Presidents, Kings and Queens. It is far beyond anything we could possibly imagine. He has the power to turn words into life. With His spoken word animals, fish, gardens, earth itself, and man/woman came to life from nothingness (Genesis 1:1-3). Nothingness. Followed by the “Strength” of His Might. “Strength” means His sovereign unlimited power and dominion over all. And He invited me to be a part of it. He invited you to be a part of it. I am so overwhelmed trying to make sense of all of that.
I don’t know why God cares so much about us, why He loves us with unmerited grace; but He does. I don’t know why He trusts us with His saving message, directing us to share it with all who will listen. I don’t know why He chooses the most unlikely people to give the strongest anointing, to reach the hurting and the sick. I don’t know why a God of such Exceeding Greatness would use His Power toward us, to give us encouragement and strength and hope to do the things He has called us to do, when He could just speak what He wants and it would come to fruition. But, He did!
God cares so much about us. We must believe that He has the Power to bring supernatural healing, cleanse the drug addict, and banish depression; and He will. He has the Strength to restore a broken marriage, bring families back together in complete harmony, and return the heart of the children to the parents; and He will. He has the Might to make a Moses, a Peter, a Paul and a David, a witness of His kingdom, in a way that only a simple and imperfect person can do; and He did.
Lord, help me look into Your eyes and see my value, in its finished and perfected form. Help me to remember the love you have for each and every one of us, so that none of us will look upon another with disdain. Help me to maintain Hope for the circumstances that surround me, knowing that it is all being held in the palm of Your hand. Help us all to stay thankful.
** A Journey Through Ephesians: Chapter 1, Part 11
Written by Linda J. Humes
10-11-14
Linda J. Humes 