Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21)
Paul has just made a crazy request of God. He's begged the Lord to give his Ephesian friends supernatural strength to do three things. One, Jesus would make Himself at home in their hearts. Two, they would be able to wrap their brains around the incomprehensible scope if Jesus' love. Three, God would fill each of them to the brim with every bit of His total Godness. This is one ridiculous request.
But the apostle knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's taken his plea to the right place. "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen" (v20-21). We can't out ask the Him. We can't out imagine Him. Not even close.
God will blow your mind. Just ask.
After Paul makes his preposterous request, he suddenly erupts in praise to God. He can't contain himself. He realizes that his prayer isn't too big but too small! That's because he worships a God who loves to show off. He worships a God who loves to astonish us. He worships a God who loves to drop our jaws. The apostle explodes in worship. He just can't hold it in. In many ways, it's a lot like what happened back in the opening of this letter. The apostle begins to list the amazing things God has done, is doing and will do for us in Jesus (Eph 1:3-14). The result is a cascade of praise. One long, run-on sentence. Once Paul gets started, he can't stop. A Tsunami of Praise. And it happens again here at the end of his powerful prayer for power.
God will blow your mind. Just ask.
From his cell in a Roman slammer, the apostle pleads with these Ephesian believers to understand who Jesus is, what He's done and who they are in Him. He knows that identity is the key. His identity. Our identity in Him. Once we understand that, no counterfeit gospel, no false teaching, no demonic deception can touch us. Once we realize that we already possess everything we need in Jesus, we won't fall for anything less. That's entire purpose for this letter.
Paul knows that God is "able" (v20). I'm sorry, but I don't think this word carries the oomph of the original text. The Greek verb here is dunamai. It means to be strong, possess great power and endowed with incredible might. "Able" seems kind of, well, wimpy. The apostle is blown away at the God who ripples with energy. The word he uses is the source for such English words as dynamo. God is powerful. God is mighty. God is forceful.
Paul's explosion of praise rips apart this prayer when he realizes that God has the supernatural power "to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think" (v20). Literally, "exceedingly abundantly." The apostle is so blown away by God's unlimited might that he actually makes up a word. The Lord's strength and ability is so stunning that there isn't a word that exists to describe it. He mashes up three different terms to try and get his idea across. The result is huperekperissou. The only place you'll ever find this word in ancient writings is from the pen of Paul. It means super abundantly. Beyond extreme. Immeasurably more.
OK. Sit back and try to think of the the wildest, craziest request you can ever ask God to do. He can do it. He can do SO much more than that. Take another shot at it. What did you come up with? He'll blow that request out of the water. As a matter of fact, that's just a sliver of His strength and ability. Get the idea? I can't begin to wrap my brain around His power. God surges with strength. And He can do super abundantly more that the chunk of gray matter can comprehend.
God will blow your mind. Just ask.
And He'll do that through "the power at work within us" (v20). In other words, the strength of God's Spirit that's living inside every follower of Jesus. Over and over and over again, Paul writes of the mind-bending idea of the energy of the Trinity in each of us. "According to the riches of His glory, He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being" (Eph 3:16). "The immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might" (Eph 1:19). "You were also raised with Him through the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Col 2:12). "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27). "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Rom 8:11). That's the power IN YOU that can do things that will blow your socks off!!
Take that all in for just a minute. What's life thrown at you? What are you facing? A broken marriage. Loss of a job. A knee-buckling diagnosis. In the face of the insurmountable, ask God to do the impossible. Let your mind run rampant with the craziest and wildest ideas. He'll shock you with His power. He'll stun you with His love. He'll astonish you with His grace.
God will blow your mind. Just ask.
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