Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20

I’ve been pondering this Scripture lately. It’s been stirring me to search my heart and question myself. Am I allowing the Lord to work his power in me, or am I obstructing his working through me to others?

Do we all have God’s power working in us? Let’s dig deeper by doing word studies of the bolded words in the verse above.

Now: this word in Greek does not just signify a moment in time. It can also mean “but, moreover, and, also.”

Able: the Greek, dunamai, means “to be able or possible, be of power, powerful, to have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources or through a state of mind, through favorable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom.”

Immeasurably: the meaning of this word is multi-layered.

Power: the Greek word, dunamis, which comes from dunamai, means “force, miraculous and inherent power, strength, ability, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth.”

Work: energeo (a linguistic cousin to the English word “energy”) means “to be active, to effect, efficient, be fervent, be mighty in, work, work effectually in, to be operative, showing oneself active or display one’s activity.”

But what is the “more” implied in this verse? To discover that, all we have to do is look back at the previous verses:

“that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19, emphasis mine).

If we were to rewrite Paul’s exhortation, it might go like this:

According to God’s riches, as Christ dwells in our hearts through faith, perceiving his endless love and increasing in our knowledge of him, we are filled with God’s fullness. Moreover, he is then powerful, having the ability to do more than necessary, over and above all we ask or imagine, according to his dynamite, miraculous power and strength that is active, effectual, and operative in us.

In other words, he can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine if we trust his power to work within us.

Having this dynamite power in us does not necessary mean it is working efficiently. If our pipes, so to speak, are clogged with sin, it acts as sludge to contaminate our sense of his Presence, and gis power will not flow. We must be cleansed and surrendered to God’s Spirit for his miracle-working power to operate in us.

I wondered if his dynamite power was working efficiently in me, so I asked myself:

When Jesus sent out the disciples, he gave them “power and authority” (Luke 9:1) to cast out demons, preach the good news of the kingdom, and heal the sick.

The Greek word used here for power is, again, dunamis. Exousia is the word used for authority and also means “privilege, force, mastery, token of control, delegated influence, jurisdiction.”

That same power and delegated influence has been given to us, if Christ lives in us. Isn’t that an awesome thought?

If we are “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit,” (Ephesians 2:22, NKJV) then his living power and energy resides within us, working as we obey, trusting him to accomplish his works through us.

Oh, if only we could begin to grasp the magnitude of his dynamite power and allow him full reign in our hearts! How much immeasurably more could we do for the Lord?>

*all definitions used from Strong’s Concordance, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, and Thayer’s Greek Lexicon (Abridged)

Photo Credit: Kevin Gessner