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That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:19b-21)

In the first half of verse 19 we hear Paul\\u2019s prayer that we may know in our heart the power of God for us who believe. \\xa0It has been my increasing sense over these past number of years, probably ever since 2015 or so, that we as Christians in the West have little sense of this power of God. \\xa0

Whether in the legalism of progressive justice seeking or the legalism of conservative ethical codes\\u2014both political and church discourse has been shaped by an implicit belief that if any Christian good is going to get done around here\\u2014we have to do it ourselves, that is, in the strength of our own power. \\xa0These \\u201cstrong positions\\u201d of \\u201cstrong stances\\u201d betray our belief in a very small, impotent God. \\xa0A God that is functionally dead. \\xa0\\u201cIt\\u2019s all up to us now\\u201d is what we actually believe: we believe we\\u2019re on our own. \\xa0

From the spiritual angle, I think this smallness of our God and our functional belief in his powerlessness is, more than anything, what has driven the polarization in church and society. \\xa0We think that we have to save the church. \\xa0That we have to fight the secularists. \\xa0We have to save our society. \\xa0We have to set things right and make justice happen in this world. \\xa0We, we, we. \\xa0Through the power of law, the power of our money, the power of our influence, the power of our votes\\u2014through any power that is, that we can get our hands on\\u2014we ourselves have sought to be the god that we no longer believe in. \\xa0

Aside from lip service, very rarely in these divisive conversations have we bent the knee of our hearts to a power greater than our own. \\xa0Very rarely have we laid down our powerful, coercive armaments in trust that God\\u2019s power will vindicate and save us\\u2014if not now than in the world to come. \\xa0Very rarely have we held out hope that his power will see us through to a glorious inheritance despite what our eyes can see around us. \\xa0

When we lose sight of a big, sovereign God\\u2014a powerful God\\u2014we lose everything. \\xa0If we no longer believe that God is powerful to act in our lives, world, and church anymore, then we functionally deny the very power that \\u201che exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand.\\u201d \\xa0Said differently: a belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ demands belief in a God who powerfully works in our world still today. \\xa0The power is the same, Paul says. \\xa0The power of God for us who believe is the same as the power that vindicated Jesus in Resurrection. \\xa0

Let me revise that stark and hopeless sentiment that I offered at the beginning though. \\xa0Over the past number of months, I think the tide has begun to turn. \\xa0As we all become exhausted from the trouble of our world, slowly I begin to see Christians in our congregation, city, and elsewhere remember and rest again in the power of the big, sovereign God that has always saved and held them. \\xa0

And as we recognize that power once again, so we begin to feel our hope and calling renewed. \\xa0God is on the move! \\xa0Just like in those days of power when, through his mighty strength he raised Christ from the dead. \\xa0My prayer is the same as Paul\\u2019s: that God will once again open the eyes of our hearts to perceive and rest in his mighty power, hope, and calling for us who believe.
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Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

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