How big is God's power? Big enough to answer prayer? Big enough to change a life?
If you try to describe how big God's power is, how would you do it?
In Ephesians chapter 3, the Apostle Paul tries to describe it, and something surprising happens.
He runs out of words. Yeah, Paul, who wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament,
nearly half of them. So, he starts stacking words. Abundant. Exceedingly abundant. Beyond
exceedingly abundant. It's almost like the language itself starts to break. And when we slow down
enough to notice it, we discover one of the most explosive descriptions of God's power in the entire
New Testament.
it. Hello, beloved, and welcome to Verses We Missed. I'm your host, your OG Godcaster,
Steve Webb. Every week we slow down and spend time with the quieter parts of Scripture,
The verses that hide in plain sight, the ones that reward a slower reading and a prayerful heart.
This is your midweek breath of Scripture and grace.
Today we're looking at a verse that many Christians know or at least think they know.
But like a lot of famous Bible verses, it's often quoted without really noticing what's going on in the text.
Here it is.
Now, to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the
power of work within us, that's Ephesians 3.20. Now, most of the time we hear this verse used as
an encouragement, and that's not wrong, it is encouraging. But something fascinating is
happening here in the original language. Because when Paul tries to describe God's ability in this
verse, he almost runs out of words. He tries to explain how great God's power is, and normal
language just is not big enough. So he does something unusual. He starts stacking words
together, one on top of another, almost like he's pushing the Greek language beyond its normal
limits. And the result is one of the most over-the-top expressions in the entire New Testament.
Today, we're going to look at the prayer that leads up to this verse, the incredible Greek
word Paul uses, why he stacks those words together, and what this tells us about the
power of God already at work in believers.
But first, let's step back and look at the context, because this verse doesn't just
appear out of nowhere.
Now, before we go forward, let me ask you something.
Have you ever prayed for something and then afterward thought, maybe that prayer was too
big?
Or maybe just the opposite.
Maybe you thought, I probably should have prayed for more.
Well, keep that thought in mind as we go through this passage today, because Paul is about
to challenge the way we think about prayer.
So here's the prayer behind the verse.
Ephesians 3.20 is actually the conclusion of a prayer.
Paul begins that prayer in verse 14.
He says, For this reason I bow my knees before the Father.
Then Paul begins asking God for something remarkable on behalf of believers.
He prays that they would be strengthened with the power through the Spirit, and that Christ
would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they would grasp the vast love of
Christ, and that they would be filled with all the fullness of God.
Beloved, that's a big prayer, right?
Paul is praying for deep spiritual transformation.
Paul wants believers to understand something that is almost impossible to comprehend,
the love of Christ.
And then Paul finishes that prayer.
And it's almost like he pauses.
It's as if he's reflecting on the magnitude of what he just asked God to do.
And then he says,
Let me remind you something about the God we just prayed to.
And that brings us to verse 20.
Let's read the verse again. Now, to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we
ask or think. Now, in English, that sounds like strong emphasis. But in Greek, something unusual
is happening. And this brings us to today's nerd nugget. The phrase translated as far more abundantly
actually comes from one single Greek word.
And that word is huperech parisu.
Now, don't worry, there won't be a quiz later.
But once we break this word apart, something remarkable appears.
Paul built this word by stacking intensifiers.
Well, let me show you what Paul does here.
He starts with a Greek word that simply means abundant.
That word is parisos.
Then he intensifies it by adding another piece of the word.
Now it means exceedingly abundant.
But Paul still isn't satisfied.
So then he adds another prefix that means beyond.
And suddenly the meaning becomes something like beyond exceedingly abundant.
Paul is basically turbocharging the word.
Now, when I first looked at that Greek word,
I couldn't help but think about a word that many of us heard growing up.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
You remember that from Mary Poppins, right?
In the song, they say it's a word you use when you don't quite know what to say,
but you know something is extraordinary.
And in a way, that's what Paul is doing here.
He's trying to describe how great God's power is, and normal vocabulary just isn't enough.
So, he stacks words together until the phrase basically means, as I said before,
beyond exceedingly abundant.
It's Paul's way of saying, I'm running out of language to describe what God can do.
Now, if we translated Paul's phrase extremely literally, it might sound something like this.
Now, to him who is able to do super, exceedingly, abundantly beyond everything we ask or think.
You could almost hear Paul thinking, abundant.
No, that's not enough.
Exceedingly abundant.
Still not enough.
Let's add another word.
Paul stacks the words until the language almost bursts,
because he's trying to describe something that ordinary language struggles to capture.
God's ability. So, when Paul tries to describe God's power, language reaches its limit long
before God's power does. Well, let's stop here and let me ask you another question.
When you think about God's power, do you think of it as distant? Something God does out there
somewhere? Or do you think of it as something that might actually be active in your life today?
Because Paul is about to say something that just might surprise us.
He continues,
Then all we ask or think.
Well, that sentence fragment there has two limits, what we ask and what we think.
Well, maybe prayer is limited by what we dare to ask.
Sometimes we pray cautiously.
We pray safe prayers.
But Paul says that God's ability exceeds even the boldest prayer.
But then he goes further.
God also exceeds what we think, even our imagination, even our biggest dreams,
even our most hopeful expectations. God's power is still beyond that.
Now, here's the part that people often miss. Paul says, according to the power at work within us.
Did you catch that? Paul doesn't say the power that God might someday give you. He says,
the power already at work within us. Beloved, that is astonishing. The God whose power surpasses
imagination, the God whose ability goes beyond our biggest prayers, that same power already is
operating within believers, according to Paul here. Think about that for a moment. If you are
a follower of Christ, the power of God is not just something you hope for. It's something already at
work inside you? What difference might that make in how you live this week, how you pray,
and how you trust God? What's the purpose of this power? Paul answers that in the very next verse.
To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.
Amen. So listen, God's power is not ultimately about our comfort or our success. It's about
God's glory displayed in His people and displayed in His church across generations.
So let's bring it together now. When Paul says God can do far more abundantly than we ask or think,
he's reminding us of something very important. Our prayers may be limited, our imagination may
be limited, but God is not limited, and His power is already at work among His people.
Let's pray.
and help us to remember that that same power that raised Christ from the dead
is at work within your people.
Father, may our lives bring glory to you.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Well, before we wrap up today, let me just take a moment to mention something.
Verses we missed and other LifeSpring Media podcasts are supported through your value for value support.
What that simply means is this.
If the show brings value to you, if it helps you understand scripture, if it encourages your walk with Jesus,
then I invite you to return value in whatever way makes sense for you.
Time, talent, or treasure.
That might be prayer for the ministry.
It might be sharing the show with someone or sending a note of encouragement to me, Steve at LifeSpringMedia.com.
Or it might mean financial support if you feel led.
There's never any obligation, but I will tell you that you will feel really good when you participate.
If you'd like to support the work, you can visit LifespringMedia.com slash support to find out more.
Thank you to everyone who already supports the show.
I truly do appreciate it.
And some recent donors are Chris Hamilton, who came in with $500.
Phil Colburn came in with $333.33.
Howie Sarmiento came in with $100.
Leo Bravo came in with $33.33.
Jamie Lodberg came in with $20.
Chase Jacobson came in with $20.
And Brother Michael Hainer sends $7.77 every week like clockwork.
Not to mention he streams Satoshis as he listens.
And speaking of streaming, I want to thank those of you who send boosts and boostograms.
God bless you guys.
May God bless each one of you.
Thank you so much.
Beloved, the next time you read Ephesians 3.20, remember what Paul is showing us.
The God you pray to is able to do more than you ask, more than you imagine, and more than
words can fully describe.
His power is not distant.
It's already at work in his people.
And when you remember that, Ephesians 3.20 becomes a verse you'll never read the same
way again.
And that's a verse we almost missed.
May God bless you richly.
I'm Steve Webb.
Bye.