“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him (enthroned) at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to
come.” Ephesians 1:18-21
In the 1st chapter of Ephesians there is a remarkable passage that talks about power. In
particular, it refers to the type of power that Christian’s possess as a result of their union with Jesus. I guess the question for me is what is that power? What does it look like? The text is emphatic; it is spectacular. As a matter of fact, Paul uses four different words, synonyms, to describe how dynamic that power is. What it is compared to in the text is the power that raised Christ from the dead and enthroned Him as King. That’s significant power (as I wrote that last sentence, my voice unsurprisingly deepened and got louder like Moses in the movie, “The Ten Commandments”)!!!
Historically, that power on a practical level has been construed as demonstrations of the supernatural. In the contemporary church these
demonstrations might look like “speaking in tongues” or “healings” or “prophesy” or something even like raising a gob of money (“Look at this money – see how powerful God is!”) or growing a big church. My point is not to contend that these types of manifestations are not legitimate and shouldn’t be included here. They may. In the Kingdom, however, while I do not hesitate to affirm the idea of miracles, the power suggested in the text may be manifested in some very counterintuitive ways. Paul says in another place that God’s power was made perfect in his weakness. Huh? Weakness = power! I think the world definitely needs to see the dynamic and spectacular, but my guess or presumption is that God’s power is manifested most profoundly in our humility. I very much doubt that it is manifested well in our self-assertion or our personal aggrandizement, but in our ability to self-efface and resist the desire to exert power. That historically has been a very real problem for the church. Perhaps it is in these personal or institutional displays of power, the church has found itself the least like her Savior.
The people I know who are not Jesus followers are seemingly indifferent to testimonies of supernatural stuff (at the least incredulous), but they seem not only interested, but also drawn to Christians who have abandoned the idea of entitlement or culturally persuasive sway. We the church must discover and exhibit a humility that represents the Christ who said, “Take my yoke upon you for I am gentle and humble of heart.” Humility is one of the most challenging and counterintuitive virtues for people to have. It is however, if not the, one of the most favored and “powerful” virtues in the Scriptures.
Peace,
r