Exceedingly Abundantly
There are not too many sentences that require two adverbs to express the message of the author. However, Ephesians 3:20 is one sentence in which that is true. The Holy Spirit led Paul to write, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think...."
I suppose he could have stopped at "Him who is able." God is able to do anything, except the wrong thing. The Holy Spirit could not stop there, though. He had to add the two adverbs to complete the true meaning. God is able to do "abundantly" above all we ask or think. He pours out His blessings in such massive quantities that we can only say that He does it abundantly. Wait! That is not enough yet. He is able to do "exceedingly" abundantly. God's abundance of blessings exceeds all we would ask or think. Isn't that an amazing reality about God's ability?
Now notice what it doesn't say. This sentence does not say that we can't think up more than we have received, or that we have not said things that exceed what we have experienced. Of course, we can always dream bigger and ask for more. This is not the meaning of this verse. It means that God is able to give us so much more than we ever ask for or say. He does that when we are living for Him and praying for His will to be done. His will for us is beyond anything we would ask or say ourselves. because He knows what we need better than we do. That is the bottom line for this verse.
I pray that you have experienced Ephesians 3:20 in your life. Stop and look back at all of the things you asked for or talked about. Then, think about what actually happened. If your life was truly blessed by God because of your love and commitment to Jesus Christ, you will see that the abundance of His blessings exceeds anything you conceived. I know that is true in my life, not because I have been so good, but because God is good! His amazing love endures forever.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ephesians 4-6 and Philippians 1.
I suppose he could have stopped at "Him who is able." God is able to do anything, except the wrong thing. The Holy Spirit could not stop there, though. He had to add the two adverbs to complete the true meaning. God is able to do "abundantly" above all we ask or think. He pours out His blessings in such massive quantities that we can only say that He does it abundantly. Wait! That is not enough yet. He is able to do "exceedingly" abundantly. God's abundance of blessings exceeds all we would ask or think. Isn't that an amazing reality about God's ability?
Now notice what it doesn't say. This sentence does not say that we can't think up more than we have received, or that we have not said things that exceed what we have experienced. Of course, we can always dream bigger and ask for more. This is not the meaning of this verse. It means that God is able to give us so much more than we ever ask for or say. He does that when we are living for Him and praying for His will to be done. His will for us is beyond anything we would ask or say ourselves. because He knows what we need better than we do. That is the bottom line for this verse.
I pray that you have experienced Ephesians 3:20 in your life. Stop and look back at all of the things you asked for or talked about. Then, think about what actually happened. If your life was truly blessed by God because of your love and commitment to Jesus Christ, you will see that the abundance of His blessings exceeds anything you conceived. I know that is true in my life, not because I have been so good, but because God is good! His amazing love endures forever.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ephesians 4-6 and Philippians 1.