2. The source of the strength
Eph 3:16 that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
The source of our strength is the riches of his glory and the Holy Spirit
So, clearly in this verse, we read that for Paul, his source of strength was not his education or his Jewish background or his bodily strength or what he ate; However, physical exercise and a balanced diet can help immensely, no, his source was the Father and the Holy Spirit. He mentions that he prayed for strength “according to the riches of his glory,” a phrase we also got in Ephesians 1, when he prayed for illumination from the Spirit. Hence, strength and illumination (or Christian enlightenment) come from the Holy Spirit, according to the riches of his glory. Again, the glory of God refers to his “weightiness”. It refers to the “full sum of his attributes” and “all that is in God” is his glory, and when Paul prayed, he didn’t say, according to his glory, but “according to the riches of his glory”. When we think of God, we should not have low views of God. We should not think of God in menial terms. God is glorious, he is infinitely glorious, and his glory is majestic and rich. Believers share in his glory, life, and divine nature. And God’s power is part of his glory. It is an essential element of his glory. Christ upholds all things by the word of his power (Heb 1:3). God is the omnipotent one. He is all-powerful. God is the Creator, who gives life and takes away life. This is his glory. No one can match his glory.
So, Paul prays and so should we, that God would, from his infinite resources, strengthen us with power in our inner beings, in our souls, by the Holy Spirit. We need his power constantly—power from on high. Amid discouragements, amid life’s hard knocks and the pressures and challenges of life, and amid the battle against the flesh, the world and the devil, we pray for strength.
Again I say we don’t get our strength from watching football, watching movies or playing tennis, or whatever form of entertainment that exists. Entertainment has its place, and we can relax sometimes, but that is not where our strength lies. Samson’s strength lay in the fact that he was a Nazarene and that his hair was long. Our strength lies in the word of God, in the Spirit of God, in Christ, among his people, among the praises of his people. Where shall my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121).
Yes, we need food and water and nutritious food every day, and that gives us strength, and exercise gives us energy. But that is not what Paul is praying for; he is praying for more portions of the Spirit, for the mission ahead, for the battle ahead. For the road ahead, to bear the cross of Christ, to follow Jesus on the road to Calvary.
Friend, where do you find power for your soul?
Where do you find spiritual strength?
In money? In prestige?
In the arm of the flesh?
Or is your hope in God?
As Psalm 33 says: God delights not in the arm of the flesh and in many horses (or in nuclear capabilities or big armies, or in heavy artillery); God delights in those who fear Him and in those who hope in his mercy.
Jesus said he would baptise us with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
To cope in this world, thrive, and manage life, you and I need strength from the Spirit. Our inner man needs to be rejuvenated and revived over and over and over again. Is this your experience, believer? Or are you swept away by the things of the world? What gives you power? Where does your strength come from?
INTERETHNICMISSIONS 