Monday, January 16, 2017

Exceeding Greatness


Ephesians 1:17-19 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.”

One commentary on this Bible passage states that there are a number of scriptural superlatives that convey something of the tremendous magnitude of our great salvation. These are marked by the adjective “exceeding,” which in the Greek implies essentially boundless, surpassing dimensions of the attributes it describes. First of all, as this passage of scripture implies, His power available to us is one of exceeding greatness. Its magnitude is measured by the power required to bring Christ back again from death and Hades.

Consider also the measure of His grace, “that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” – Ephesians 2:7. His grace has saved us when we were dead in sins, but this is only a small token. In the ages to come, we will experience His grace as one of exceeding riches. Then there is the wonderful peace of God. “The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:7. In this verse, the word “passes” is the same word. Paul is saying that God’s peace is one exceeding understanding.


Finally, consider His glory. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” – 2 Corinthians 4:17. The future eternal glory is one of exceeding weight, or abundance. Thus, the infinite blessings and resources of our salvation in Christ are described as providing the power of surpassing greatness, the grace of surpassing richness, the peace which surpasses all understanding, and the eternal glory of surpassing abundance! All of this is freely available “to us who believe.” 

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