Paul the
apostle told the Ephesian church members that “the whole family
in heaven and earth is named” to “the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ” to whom Paul bowed his “knees”. In
chapter three and verse sixteen of his letter, Paul prayed that the
Ephesians would be “strengthened with might by” God's
“Spirit in the inner man” where we read:
That he
would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,
to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
The
verse begins, “That he would grant you, according to the riches
of his glory,...” Paul began with the words, “That he
would grant you” which means “give, bestow, supply, furnish,
give over and deliver” “according to” or “down from,
through out, toward and along” “to the riches” which
means “wealth, abundance of external possessions, fullness and
plentitude” “of his glory” or “opinion, judgment,
view, praise, honor, splendor and brightness”.
The
verse goes on to say, “...to be strengthened with might
by his Spirit in the inner man;” Paul
added, “to be strengthened”
which means “made strong, increased in strength, empowered and
increased in vigor” “with might”
or “strength, miracle, virtue, ability and inherent power residing
in a thing by virtue of its nature of which a person or thing exerts
and puts forth” “by his Spirit”
which refers to “the third person of the triune God, the
Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son”
“in the inner man”
which refers to “the internal soul and conscience”.
When
we meditate upon Paul's words, we see his desire for the “family of
God” to be “given” “the riches”
of God's “splendor” and “strength within” by
His “Spirit”. The
Ephesians needed “inner” strength and “glory”
to function in this world, and we do as well. May the “Lord Jesus”
“grant” these same desires
to us, and may we live with a full witness of God's “glory”
every day of our lives.
Next
time Paul desires for the Ephesians to “dwell in your
hearts by faith”, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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