God Can Do Exceedingly Above All That We Ask Or Think

Ephesians 3:14-21, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 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, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”

My pastor taught on Ephesians chapter 3 today and I want to share with you some of his wisdom. This is a tremendous passage of inspired Scripture. Keep in mind that the Apostle Paul is incarcerated behind bars in prison while writing this remarkable epistle.

I love verses 14 and 15, which teach that every Christian believer is named after Jesus Christ, of whom the whole FAMILY in Heaven and earth is named. You may be an abandoned orphan here on earth dear friend, but if you are a born again child of God you have a surrogate FAMILY in Heaven and upon earth in the local New Testament church. More than anything else, I love going to church to be around my Christian FAMILY in the Lord.

Verse 16 speaks of being strengthened in might by the Holy Spirit in the INNER MAN. When you attend a funeral and view the deceased body in the casket, that is the outer man, not the inner man. The inner man is the soul and spirit when returned to God at death. Ecclesiastes 12:7, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Death is a separation of the soul and spirit from the mortal body.

Verse 17 says that Christ dwells in our hearts BY FAITH. This is not speaking about the new birth, which is also by faith. From beginning to end, the entire Christian life is lived BY FAITH. 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” Although a seemingly small passage of Scripture, this single Bible verse embodies the entirety of Christianity. We are saved by faith alone without works (Ephesians 2:8-9). And by yielding to the indwelling Holy Spirit by faith, Jesus lives the Christian life through us (Galatians 2:20). We walk by faith, not by sight. If we stop praying because we don't see the results we expected, then we are walking by sight instead of by faith. If we walk by faith, we will continue to pray unconditionally.

Verses 18 and 19 speak of Christ's abiding love, which PASSETH ALL KNOWLEDGE. I love that! So oftentimes in life we cannot understand why things are the way they are, but the love God supersedes all things, so that regardless of what circumstances life may throw at us, we can always be at peace in Christ's love.

I love these next verses. Ephesians 3:20-21, “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, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” What a remarkable Bible verse!!! I have received so many emails from discouraged saints, who tell me that they THINK God has abandoned them. They THINK that God is unfair toward them. They THINK that God doesn't answer their prayers. But this tremendous passage teaches that GOD IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK in our prayers. What a beautiful statement from the inspired Word of God!

The inspired Holy Bible teaches that God is able TO DO exceedingly above all that we think. God's omnipotent power is no limited by our finite human imagination. The moment we got saved, God indwelt us with His Holy Spirit. No one has any more of the Holy Spirit than anyone else. But the Holy Spirit may not have as much of us as He wants. It is you and me who limit the Holy One of Israel, and not God who is limited. It is our lack of faith that hinders the power of the Holy Spirit in our ministry.

Put another way, Jesus never turned anyone away empty handed, except those who came full of themselves! If a glass is already full of water, then there is no room for oil. In order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we must first empty our self of our own selfish ideas, ambitions and thoughts. I want to be as narrow-minded as the King James Bible! The reason why our American society is in such a mess today is simply because people refuse to yield to God's Word. Instead of obeying the inspired Holy Bible, the vast majority of American society reject, blaspheme and ignore God's Word, to their own destruction.

Our great God is able to do EXCEEDINGLY ABOVE all that we ask or think. What an awesome Scripture passage in Ephesians 3:20! I don't know about you dear reader, but that encourages me to pray more. Whether God answers or not in visible ways is not my concern. God knows what is best and I trust Him. I have prayed all my life, and I admit that I haven't seen many answers to prayer. However, God continues to take care of me and bless my ministry labors online since 2002. So, I am not going to place God on trial in my mind, as the heathen world so often sinfully does. I echo the words of Job in Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”

God Comforts Those Who Are Cast Down

2nd Corinthians 7:5-7, “For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.”

I read our wonderful text passage of Scripture today from the inspired King James Bible. I had never noticed this passage before. The Bible teaches that God comforts believers when we are cast down (depressed). The Greek word for the phrase “cast down” in this verse is tapeinos, which literally means, “depressed, that is, figuratively, humiliated.”

The Greek word for “comforteth” is parakaleo, which means, “to call near.” That is, when we are cast down in our mind and feelings, God draws near to us to solace our grieving soul.

Also, one of the ways that our good God comforts us as saints is with another believer (in this case Titus). 2nd Corinthians 7:6b, “God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus...” I love that! This Scripture passage confirms the precious truth God sometimes uses other saints to comfort us in our humiliation and depressed state of soul. The Holy Spirit works through believers. This is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25).

Don't Become A 'Dead Sea' Christian

One of my favorite sermons by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) is titled, 'FILLED WITH HIS FULNESS.' In his sermon, Dr. Hyles teaches the biblical truth that God doesn't give the fruit of the Holy Spirit TO ME; but rather, THROUGH ME to give to you. That is a beautiful truth!

God never intended for us to become DEAD SEA saints. Let me explain. The Jordan River in Palestine flows downward into the Dead Sea, but the Dead Sea has no outlet. That is why the Dead Sea is so, well, dead. The Jordan River is a fast moving river, which makes it very muddy. You might remember the Old Testament story of Naaman the leper, whom the humble prophet Elisha told go bath in the muddy Jordan River seven times to be healed. Naaman was angry and humiliated, preferring to bath in the Damascus River that was clean. The reason why the Jordan River was so filthy is because it flows fast down south into the Dead Sea.

“What makes the Dead Sea dead? Because it is all the time receiving, never giving out anything. Why is it that many Christians are cold? Because they are all the time receiving, never giving out anything.” —Pastor D.L. Moody

The Dead Sea (997 feet deep) has the highest salt concentration of any body of water in the world (34%). The Dead Sea is so salty that you can easily float on its surface without even holding your breath. You don't want to become a Dead Sea Christian, where you take in blessings all the time, but never pass on any of those blessings to others. A mature Christian walks in the indwelling Holy Spirit, so that God can love, care and help others THROUGH that believer. That is why we read in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Jesus lives the Christian life through us as born again children of God, by His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9).

God Comforts His Hurting Children

What a beautiful passage. 2nd Corinthians 7:5-7, “For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.” The Apostle Paul spoke praises that not only had Titus comforted him and his companions, but the church at Corinth had comforted Titus when he was among them. We need encouragement and comfort in the Lord from each other as Christian believers.