Every believer has access to God’s power, yet few live in its reality, because divine provision must be understood before it is applied. Writing to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul prays that they will grasp the power of God available to them. He writes, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18). The believer’s riches in Christ must be understood before they can be lived. God has already “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3), yet those blessings require spiritual perception to be appreciated and applied. Paul then adds, “and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:19a). God’s “power” is dynamis, which denotes the “potential for functioning in some way, power, might, strength, force, capability.”[1] This refers to real, effective ability or power to act, especially God’s active strength working to accomplish His purposes in and through people.
Paul continues, “These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:19b–20). This is resurrection power, the same power that conquered death and exalted Christ, now directed toward the believer and made operative within him (Eph. 3:16; Phil. 2:13; 3:10). According to Hoehner, “God’s energetic power which resurrected and exalted Christ in the past…is the same power available to believers in the present (cf. Phil. 3:10). What an amazing source of spiritual vitality, power, and strength for living the Christian life!”[2]
This power belongs to the believer as part of his position in Christ. It is not earned, developed, or achieved. It is received at salvation as part of the total package of spiritual blessings. The phrase “toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:19) shows that this power is directed to the believer with the intent of being experienced. It is both provision and potential, realized through faith (2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 10:38; 11:6). Faith is the means by which the believer draws upon what God has already supplied. Thus, divine power is present and available, grounded in union with Christ and activated through a believing response.
The mechanics of applying this power are straightforward. The believer takes in the word of God until the inner man is enlightened and stabilized (Eph. 1:18; Col. 3:16; Rom. 12:2; 1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:18). He then believes what God has said and relies on it in real time. As he remains in fellowship and under divine control, being “filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18), the Spirit strengthens “with power…in the inner man” (Eph. 3:16), resulting in a Spirit-directed life as he “walk[s] by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16). The believer does not generate the power. He accepts God’s word as true and depends on His provision, allowing the Spirit to make that truth effective in his life.
In practical terms, this means rejecting fear and human viewpoint and replacing them with divine truth. Many know Scripture, yet live in anxiety because truth never governs their thinking. By contrast, the believer who walks by faith seeks not merely relief from pressure, but wisdom and strength to do God’s will. What God does not remove, He uses to develop character, humility, and faith (2 Cor. 12:9–10; Jam. 1:2–4). Rather than complain like Israel (Ex. 17:3; Heb. 3:7–4:2), the believer responds like Abraham, growing strong in faith and giving glory to God (Rom. 4:20–21). In financial pressure, relational conflict, or personal stress, he trusts God’s provision (Phil. 4:19), seeks His kingdom (Matt. 6:33), rests in His sovereign purpose (Rom. 8:28), walks by faith (2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 10:38), prays with thanksgiving (1 Th. 5:16–18), thinks according to divine viewpoint (Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:2), and learns contentment (1 Tim. 6:8), knowing that God is at work in him for His glory and the good of others (Phil. 2:13; 1 Cor. 10:31).
The result is practical and observable. As the believer applies the riches of Christ’s power, he gains victory over sin, endurance under pressure, and consistency in obedience. Paul commands, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:3), and explains the source, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Growth in godliness follows, because “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). God’s power (θείας δυνάμεως, theias dynameōs) is the source of the Christian life, granted as a completed act with ongoing results (perfect tense of δωρέομαι, dōreomai). According to Wiersbe:
When you are born into the family of God by faith in Christ, you are born complete. God gives you everything you will ever need “for life and godliness.” Nothing has to be added! “And ye are complete in Him” (Col. 2:10)…Just as a normal baby is born with all the “equipment” he needs for life and only needs to grow, so the Christian has all that is needed and only needs to grow.[3]
At the moment of faith in Christ, the believer receives the full provision of divine power as part of his riches in Christ (Eph. 1:3), lacking nothing essential for the Christian life (Col. 2:10). This power is not developed over time but granted in full, and it becomes effective in experience as the believer understands the word of God, believes it, walks by faith in the power of the Spirit, and responds in obedience. In this way, God’s power moves from provision to practice, producing stability in the mind, endurance under pressure, and consistent spiritual growth, all to the glory of God.
Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.
If this article has enriched your understanding and walk with Christ, and you feel led to support my ministry, your generosity is greatly appreciated. Your gifts enable me to continue sharing the gospel of grace and providing in-depth biblical teachings. Thank you for partnering with me in this mission.
Related Articles:
- The Free Gift of God is Eternal Life
- Salvation if Free, Discipleship is Costly
- The Gospel Explained
- The Manifold Grace of God
- A Look at Grace
- God’s Imputed Righteousness
- Not of Works
[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 262.
[2] Harold W. Hoehner, et al, “Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 621.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 437.
Living by faith is both a science and an art due to the interplay between objective truths and subjective experiences that characterize the faith journey. Faith is grounded in the objective truths of Scripture. Just as science relies on established laws and principles, living by faith involves understanding and applying biblical truths. This includes doctrines such as God’s character (i.e., He is righteous, merciful, loving, gracious, etc.), claiming His promises (i.e., He provides, never leaves, etc.), and the walk of faith that obeys God’s directives as they relate to life (i.e., marriage, education, finances, etc.). Just as scientific methods yield consistent results when applied correctly, living by faith produces reliable outcomes in the believer’s life. When principles of faith are properly and consistently applied—such as trust in God during trials or the practice of Bible study and prayer—believers can expect to experience spiritual growth, peace, and guidance. The art of living by faith involves the personal, subjective experience of our walk with God. Each believer’s journey is unique, with individual responses to challenges they face. How God dealt with Abraham was different than Jeremiah, who was different than Paul or John. Faith requires creativity in how one applies biblical truths to everyday life. And though each passage of Scripture has only one meaning, the applications can be many.
At the moment of salvation, apart from the basics of the gospel, the believer’s mind is generally saturated with worldly thinking that needs to be expunged and replaced with divine viewpoint thinking via God’s Word. This renovation of the mind happens as we prioritize the intake and application of God’s Word to every aspect of life (i.e., education, marriage, finances, work, etc.). This means obeying the directive, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2). In this way, we are “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph 5:10), and to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). The walk of faith is what God expects of us, as He says, “My righteous one shall live by faith” (Heb 10:38), which we know pleases Him (Heb 11:6). As growing Christians who want to walk with the Lord, we need “the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph 3:10) rather than “the wisdom of this world” (1 Cor 3:19).
When we face difficulties in life, the first area to be affected is our thinking. Having a focused mind that is properly calibrated to God’s Word is crucial for living successfully as a Christian. When Jeremiah faced the crisis of Jerusalem’s destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., he experienced psychological and emotional disequilibrium, saying, “My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness. My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the LORD” (Lam 3:17-18). Here, Jeremiah was close to total despair. Huey states, Jeremiah “reached the lowest ebb of despair in verse 18 with the declaration that all his hope in the Lord had been destroyed…The sufferings were so deeply impressed in the heart of the victim that he found himself constantly thinking about them. His memory left him depressed and despondent.”