God’s Power for You
Scripture — Ephesians 1:17-20 (NRSV)
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.
Focus
Not only is God’s power given to us through the Spirit, but also God’s power is consistently working to help us participate in God’s work in the world. The more we know God, the more we will know that God’s incomparably great power is for us, for our good as well as for the good of all things.
This devotion is part of the series: Why Easter Matters.
Devotion
In yesterday’s devotion, I considered the implications of Paul’s enthusiastic use of language when he prays that we will know God’s power. Paul uses four synonyms to underscore the incomparable greatness of God’s power: power, working, might, and strength.
Today, I want to focus on one little word, the seemingly unimpressive word “for.” It appears in the English translation of verse 19 as Paul prays that we will know “the immeasurable greatness of [God’s] power for us who believe.” If you were to dig down into the original language of this phrase, you’d find that “for” translates the Greek word eis. Then, if you were to look up this word in a Greek-English dictionary, you’d find a wide variety of options for translation, including: “into, in, toward, to, for the purpose of, for.”
What is Paul trying to say about the relationship between God’s power and us by using the Greek word eis? Many commentators see an emphasis here on the location of God’s power. It is “in us.” Later in Ephesians, Paul will say explicitly that God’s power is working “within us” (Greek en hemin; Ephesians 3:20). In Romans, Paul explains that this power is the presence of the Holy Spirit “living in” us (Rom 5:11). So, there’s no question about the fact that God’s power is indeed in us.
But the use of eis in Ephesians 1:19 seems to point, not so much to the location of God’s power as to the fact that God’s power is for us, for our benefit, for our salvation, for our empowerment to participate in God’s work of redeeming all creation. Not only is God’s power given to us through the Spirit, but also God’s power is consistently working to help us participate in God’s work in the world. The more we know God, the more we will know that God’s incomparably great power is for us, for our good as well as for the good of all things.
Reflect
In what ways have you experienced God’s power being “for you”?
If you really believed that the power of God was at work in your life, what difference might this make in how you live each day?
How do you need to experience God’s power today?
Act
Pay attention today to see if you can observe God’s power at work, in you, in your workplace, in the people around you, or in the world.
Pray
Gracious God, how I thank you for the exercise of your power. You have done and are doing wonderful things with your might. What’s even more amazing to me is that your power is at work “for me,” not against me, but for me. You are doing what is best for me. What an astounding truth! What an astounding reality! Thank you! Amen.
Banner image by Alexander Jawfox on Unsplash.
Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: The Power of the Kingdom of God.
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Mark D. Roberts
Senior Strategist
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders,...