The Empowered Life of a Christian- Ephesians 3:14-20 Devotion

What does it look like to be empowered by what Christ did for us?

What can Christ's love do in our lives?

Because of God's great plan, we are apart of a family ordained by God. Being apart of this family brings empowering traits that only come from God. Ephesians 3:14-20 gives us that picture. I am going to show you this using the New Living Translation.

^"14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,^{[e] 15} the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.^{[f] 16} I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ¹⁹ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

²⁰ Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."

The first thing we notice when we read this scripture that Paul is giving thanks to God in prayer for being our Creator. We are united as a family because we are His creation. Everything here on earth and in heaven is His. We are His. So we are able to do alot as His creation.

Paul goes on in the following verses stating a progression of who we are being apart of His family.

1) We are empowered with inner strength through His Spirit.

This strength is only found in Him and His resources. What are those resources? They are from the same power that rose Christ from the dead and seated Him in heaven on the right side of God (Ephesians 1:19-20). These resources are far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else (Ephesians 1:21). And they are given to us.

What are some God given resources you have experienced in your life? Think about those times when you felt so strengthen by those resources and remember them the next time, you feel weak.

2) Because we are given this inner strength, Christ will make Himself home in your heart as we trust Him.

When we draw near depending on God for His strength, we let go of things and allow Christ to have full control of our hearts and lives. This only comes from trusting in Him by remembering those times when you felt that power. There will be less fighting God and more of Christ in our lives. Imagine Christ coming in your life on a more intimate level, you enjoying Him and depending on Him more than just survival but because He is your life.

What are some things that you are preventing you from truly allowing Christ to rest completely in your heart? Maybe its fear or anger or doing things in your own strength. Pray this verse to Him.

3) Because we trusted and allowed Christ to make Himself completely at home in our hearts, roots within us will grow in God's love and keep us strong.

Before in verse 16, we are empowered with God's unlimited resources and are strengthen by the Spirit. But now because we recognized those resources and allowed Christ to stay ultimately in control of our lives where we are now trusting Him, roots in His love for us are being established. There is a stable foundation, a strong fixed faith that we have. But it is only through us trusting in His love that these roots grow and hold onto firmly.

Do you have strong unwavering roots in His love for you? Does His love change your life? Or is it all just knowledge? Ask God to show you His love to transform your life.   

Come back next Tuesday to get the other half.