For several months last year, our benediction at corporate worship was from Ephesians 3:20-21. It reads, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
This was always a passage that seemed beyond my realm of comprehension. Perhaps this was, in part, due to the sheer magnitude of such a statement, for it makes an incredible claim about the character and work of God. But I think that at the root level, I struggled to with this passage because of unbelief. Functionally, it’s easy to live as if we don’t believe these verses are true.
It has been said before that “expressed belief + actual practice = actual belief.” So the question is: do we actually believe Ephesians 3:20-21? Do we really believe that God is able to do far more than we can even ask or think? Do we minister to the physical and spiritual needs of others with such faith in God’s character and work?
If this passage is true, then it changes everything.
If it’s true, it should change our outlook for ministry. It should leave us unsatisfied with anything less than a God-sized vision of impacting our communities. It should also change how we pray. It should lead us to pray for God to move in such a way that can only be explained by his hand at work.
If God is indeed able to do far more than we can ask or think, and if it is his power that is at work within us, then we now have great impetus to do as William Carey said – “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”
So what are you praying for? And what is it that you expect God to do through you? Our answers to these questions must be shaped by the truth of Ephesians 3:20-21.
If God is able to work through us to do things far greater than we can imagine, then let us live with such faith in the God we proclaim. And if God can and will do far greater things than we can imagine, then may we not settle for anything less.
by Clint Barefoot