Ephesians 3:20-21

Day 28

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to Him
Paul concludes this prayer with a doxology.  “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond…” Thinking back on what Paul has said thus far consider the prayer and praise of this statement.

Now to this God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm in Christ…
Now to this God who chose us before the foundation of the world… 
Now to this God who predestined us to become His adopted children…
Now to this God who redeemed us through the death of His Son…
Now to this God who forgave us in Christ and granted us an everlasting inheritance in Him…
Now to this God who sealed us, marking us as authentically His, through the Holy Spirit…
Now to this God who gave us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our future inheritance, a taste of that glorious, eternal reward that is ours in Christ…
Now to this God who made dead sinners come alive through faith in Christ and raised us up with Christ and seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms so that our eternal status is forever secure in Christ…
Now to this God who is rich in love, grace, mercy, and kindness, and who pours out on us all of these marvelous attributes for our eternal joy…
Now to this God who takes broken sinners, saves us from our sins, frees us from death and wrath, and then puts His attributes on display forever and ever in each one of us because we are God’s forever grace on display…
Now to this God who takes sinners and saves us on the basis of faith so as to maximize His glory in our salvation and to provide unending joy for us…
Now to this God who created good works for each one of us to do so that as believers in Christ Jesus we might bring Him honor even beyond the grace He has shown us in salvation…
Now to this God who tore down walls thus providing us access to His presence and brought us near to Him by overcoming the just judgment against us in the Law…
Now to this God who sent Jesus Christ into our broken world in order to completely satisfy the Law’s requirements and thus bring all people, both Jews and Gentiles, into one relationship with God…
Now to this God who established the church, building our lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ and the ministry of His apostles and prophets so that we would know all about His amazing attributes, His plan of salvation, His love for us, His everlasting inheritance preserved for us, His amazing plan to make Jews and Gentiles into one church, His will for our daily lives, and all the other beautiful truths about our Triune God and His works…

Now to this God…be all glory in the church and in Christ Jesus.

Far More Abundantly
Now to this God, Paul told the Ephesian church, who can do even more, be all glory.  Imagine this claim by Paul.  Considering the enumerable blessings that have already been articulated in Ephesians 1-3, here Paul tells us that there is even more that God can do, more than we can even comprehend.  It boggles the mind.  Maybe heaven will generate new and greater revelations than we’ve already seen and experienced.  Maybe that gathering with all of the saints with Christ Jesus will be even more spectacular.  Paul also prayed for them in their daily lives.  Likely what Paul addresses here is not just a future hope but a daily hope.  The Triune God who brought about salvation is still working in the church to do even more.  God is still at work. Paul wanted the church at Ephesus to live with expectations of the revelation of divine glory beyond what had already occurred.  There is even more because God is still at work.  He is at work in our individual lives, in the church, and in the world.  To this God who can do even more than we can imagine, to this God who is still working and still demonstrating His amazing story, to this God who loves the prayers of the church and loves to answer those prayers.

Suggested Prayer:  Be glorified in my life, in the church, and in Christ Jesus.  You have already done more than I can fathom.  Your attributes and Your works demonstrate Your beauty.  Please take my life and make it an instrument of Your grace.  Take my life and bring honor to Your name.  Amen.

Ephesians