EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY
Wednesday – December 14, 2016
Greetings from Eastern Gate Ministries International and The Three Minute Word publications. It is Wednesday and once again time to be amused, inspired, and even convicted by our camel on hump day. I will now continue with our Bible Study of Ephesians.
Ephesians 3:17-21 (KJV)
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
I want us all to recognize here that the limitations in our lives are not imposed by God but by ourselves. This Scripture tells that He is able to do well above anything we have asked for or even thought of to this current time. This all circles back to having Christ dwell in our hearts by faith rooted and grounded in love. At that very point we can enter the fourth dimension, the supernatural realm and operate in a Spiritual knowledge that is beyond our carnal worldly knowledge. The indwelling Christ by faith rooted and grounded in love brings us to an overflowing of God, the Holy Spirit in our life. Then and only then is God released to do the “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”. This is when you ask for ten and get thirty. We must be God inside minded, that the same God that made all that we can see and touch is in us and that same capacity can flow through us for the glory of God.
This passage ends with Paul telling us that this mighty release of Power, abundant expression of God into the natural realm, will show the goodness (glory) of God and it is shown through and in the church of Christ Jesus. That does not necessarily mean in a Church building but by individual member of the Church. And that is not just for this age but for eternity. I will now move this teaching into the next chapter.
Ephesians 4:1-6 (KJV)
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
When this text was written it was not written in chapter and verse form but like you and I might write a letter to a friend or someone we are mentoring. As we start off this fourth chapter the Apostle Paul tells us that he is a prisoner of the Lord. Let me ask a question, how did this imprisonment take place? Does the Lord forcibly put anyone in prison? Paul is trying to make clear that to the extent that he is able, he, Paul, is completely submitted to the will of God. This of course is a place that we all should seek to be. He is saying walk in a way that makes your Heavenly Father proud. There is a calling on your life, a special purpose for which the Father has equipped you to accomplish for the Kingdom of God with ease. The ‘ease’ goes away when we are doing it our way. Let’s look at this verse in the Amplified translation of the Bible.
Ephesians 4:1 (AMP)
1 I THEREFORE, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s service,
Verse two tells us to do that which the Lord has called us to do with humility, gentleness, and patience, putting up with one another in love (agape). Let’s think about this, putting up with one another in love. I am sure that you are well aware that life is messy and Church can be real messy therefore we have to be prepared to put up with or just plain overlook stuff that we would like to react too that does not reflect humility, gentleness, or patience. These are our neighbors and we are to treat them as we would want to be treated and that is in humbleness, gentleness, and patience. Remember love is to obey the Word (John 14:21).
Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV)
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Kind of looks like if we ball these up we are in deep kimchee. Think back to Ephesians 3:17 and being rooted and grounded in love. One is rooted and grounded in love by becoming a slave to the Word of God with great joy.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
