The Christian’s Strength (1)

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man…Ephesians 3.14-16

Be strong!
One of the most frequent exhortations in all of Scripture is the exhortation to “be strong.” So often does this charge appear in Scripture, that there can be no mistaking God’s intention: He wants His people to be strong.

The command to be strong runs like a thread through the Old and New Testaments. God commanded the people of Israel to be strong in doing His commandments (Dt. 11.8). Moses commanded Joshua to be strong in leading the people of Israel into the land of promise (Dt. 31.23). The exhortation to be strong was imposed as a charge on Solomon (1 Kgs. 2.2), Asa (2 Chron. 15.7), Amaziah (2 Chron. 25.8), all the anxious-hearted of Judah (Is. 35.4), Daniel (Dn. 10.19), Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest (Hag. 2.4), the returning remnant of Israel (Zech. 8.9), the churches at Corinth and Ephesus (1 Cor. 16.13; Eph. 6.10), the young pastor Timothy (2 Tim. 2.1), and, in one form or another, many others throughout Scripture.

Being strong is an expectation God holds out for all those who are called to obey and serve Him. Undoubtedly with this in mind, Paul prayed that God would strengthen the believers in Ephesus, and we can be sure that God intends the same for believers in every age. Being strong is thus a commandment we need to take seriously.

God command us to be strong. But what does that mean?

What kind of strength?
In our day of muscle, money, moxie, and military might, being strong can mean different things. We rightly suspect that God, in exhorting His people to be strong, does not intend that they should simply latch onto some idea of strength that appeals to them, and then go for it. While often, being strong will require physical or material power or ability, the kind of strength God has in mind goes far beyond these.

Paul is clear: we are to be strong with power and according to the riches of God’s glory. The kind of strength the believer is to seek is that which redounds to the glory of God and operates by His power. It is strength that glorifies God through the exercise of spiritual power. The end we seek in being strong is that God might be glorified, and the way we pursue that end is through spiritual power, the power of God’s Spirit working within and through us.

We are strong as the Lord intends when, by the inward working of His Spirit, we glorify Him in our lives. Glory and power are thus the hallmarks of the kind of strength God commands of us.

We need to examine these ideas more closely.

The glory of God
Let’s begin with glory. Like some other terms in the Christian vocabulary, glory is one with which all believers are familiar. But understanding what glory is, and how we relate to it is another matter.

The glory of God is but the presence of God, made manifest in ways that weigh heavily upon us. The word glory comes from a Hebrew root that means, “to be heavy.” In the Scriptures, God is always present, but His glory is not always manifest. Whenever the glory of God is revealed, people are conscious of it and react with fear and trembling, rejoicing and praise, obedience and service. God is glorified in His people by the power they realize from being in the presence of His glory.

We must know the glory of God before He will give us the power to show His glory to the world. The power we require to be strengthened with God’s might must be in line with the glory of God. It must be power which comes from God, and enables us both to experience God’s glory and to express it in ways that reveal His presence. The glory of God is manifest and expressed on His terms and according to His methods and means. Unless God reveals His glory to us, we can have no awareness of or benefit from it. Knowing the glory of God is thus requires that we consult His revelation, beginning in His Word. The Scriptures reveal the glory of God (2 Cor. 3.12-18). As we read, meditate, and study the Scriptures, looking for the revelation of Jesus Christ on every page (Jn. 5.39), God’s Spirit will lead us into the glory of God, so that we see and know Him present with us, instructing, convicting, and shaping us into the image of Jesus Christ.

Further, the revelation of God’s glory in Scripture is complemented by the glory of God in the creation all around us (Ps. 19.1-4), the light of God in creation which we see and understanding in the light of God in Scripture (Ps. 36.9). Just as we may enter the glory of God in His Word, so we may enter it in His world, discerning and experiencing His presence in the things He has made (Prov. 25.2).

Thus, if we are to fulfill this crucial exhortation to be strong, we must turn to the glory of God in His Word and the glory of God in the creation, to discover there what God intends in laying this awesome charge upon us. For unless the strength we seek is “according to the riches of His glory,” we can be sure that the strength we wield will be feeble, faint, and fading at best.

For reflection
1.  Describe a time when you especially sensed the glory of God as you were reading His Word. What did you experience? How did this affect you?

2.  Describe a time when you sensed the glory of God in creation. What did you experience? How did this affect you? Do you think it’s possible to recognize the glory of God in creation apart from experiencing the glory of God in Scripture? Explain.

3.  Meditate on 1 Corinthians 10.31. What would you expect this to look like in your life?

Next steps – Transformation: Begin keeping a journal or notebook recording specific times you have entered the glory of God, whether in His Word or in creation. Write down what you were doing, what you experienced, how you sensed the presence of God more than normally. Review each of these experiences with the Lord in prayer.

The glory of God is always at hand, if we know how to discern, enter, and express it. Our booklet, Christians on the Front Lines of the Culture Wars, can help you learn to recognize the glory of God, and to glorify Him in even the most everyday details of your life. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.