Inner Strength Promised and Godliness Defined

Following is an excerpt from yesterday's Tabletalk devotion based on Ephesians 3:16-17. God always knows when to provide the encouragement I need!

...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. —Ephesians 3:16-17a

The term riches suggests inexhaustible resources—our God has a well of gifts and treasures that never runs dry; He can give us lavishly without holding back, never having to worry that that the storehouse of His power will be emptied. Indeed, we can be ever-confident that God will grant any request we have to be strengthened in our inner-being. The Holy Spirit will grant power and strength to our hears and minds, enabling us to endure any trial, encouraging us when we are down (Acts 1:8).

Specifically, Paul asks God to grant strength "so that Christ may dwell in [our] hearts through faith" (Eph. 3:17). This request seems perplexing at first because Jesus already dwells in believers' hearts, but the apostle is not referring to the initial indwelling of Christ by His Spirit at conversion. Instead, he asks that believers might become people in whom the perfect Savior feels fully at home. Essentially he prays for advancement in our sanctification—our growth in personal holiness—that we might bring Him no shame as we profess Him as Lord and live before a watching world. We never reach a point in this life where such a prayer becomes unnecessary. John Calvin writes: "Believers have never advanced so far as not to need further growth. The highest perfection of the godly in this life is an earnest desire to make progress."

PRAISE THE LORD!