The Kratos Power of God

Scripture:

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Observation:

In Ephesians 6:10, the apostle Paul gives us some very important insight into the kind of power God has made available to every believer - including you! This is really important for you to understand because it describes the kind of power that God wants to operate through you.

First, let me remind you that Ephesians 6:10 is a verse about the supernatural power God has made available for our fight with unseen, demonic powers that come to war against the soul. The word "strong" used at the first of this verse is taken from the word endunamao, which describes a power whose purpose is to infuse a believer with an excessive dose of inward strength. This particular type of endunamao power is so strong that it can withstand any attack and successfully oppose any kind of force.

A historical study of this word proves its supernatural nature. It was used by early writers from the Greek classical periods to denote special individuals, like Hercules, who had been handpicked by the gods and supernaturally invested with superhuman strength in order to accomplish a superhuman task. Now Paul uses this word endunamao to tell us that God has made this kind of supernatural strength available to believers in Jesus Christ!

Application:

For today's application, as I did yesterday, I want to share something I read this morning from Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems from the Greek

Let's see what else Paul tells us about this power. In Ephesians 6:10, he says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." Especially notice the words "power" and "might." Yesterday we looked at "might" today let's look at the word "power".

The word "power" is taken from the Greek word kratos, and it describes what I have come to call demonstrated power. In other words, kratos power is not a power that one merely adheres to and believes in intellectually. Rather, this kratos power is a power that is demonstrative, eruptive, and tangible. It almost always comes with some type of external, outward manifestation that one can actually see with his or her eyes. This means that kratos power is not a hypothetical power; this is real power!

Ephesians 1:19,20 declares that when God raised Jesus from the dead, He used this very same kratos power to do the job! It says, "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power [kratos], which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead."

The KJV is a bit reversed from the original Greek. The Greek says, "according to the power of his might." Why is this difference so important? Because the phrase "the power of his might" is the same identical phrase used in Ephesians 6:10 to denote the power that is working behind the scenes to energize us! This power that God used when He raised Jesus from the dead is the same, exact, identical power that is now at work in us. That means we have resurrection power working in our lives!

Kratos power is so overwhelming that the Roman soldiers who guarded Jesus' tomb on that resurrection morning fainted and crumbled to the ground beneath the full load of this divine force. And the soldiers continued to lie prostrate on the ground, paralyzed and unable to move, until the resurrection was complete.

This kratos power was indomitable, overpowering, and irresistible on that day long ago. Flooding the grave where Jesus' dead body lay, this conquering power permeated every dead cell and fiber of His body with divine life until it was impossible for death to hold Him any longer!

God's kratos power was so overwhelming that, had we been present at the resurrection, we would have felt the ground trembling as this electrifying force entered the tomb where Jesus' body lay. The power that raised Jesus from the dead was an eruptive power, a demonstrated power, an outwardly visible power. It was the strongest kind of power known to God or man.

And now Paul uses this very word to describe the power that is available for our use! With this empowering Presence of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, we can expect the very same power that raised Jesus from the dead to operate in us! Remember, this is a demonstrated or outwardly manifested kind of power, so when this power begins to operate in us, it immediately seeks an avenue of release so it can demonstrate itself.

So turn up your level of expectation! Start anticipating that this mighty power of God will begin to flow through you!

Prayer:

"Lord, I thank You for making such power available to me. Now I see that I have no excuse to ever complain that I am weak, for You have placed at my disposal the very power of the resurrection itself. Teach me how to tap into that power so it can be released in my life. I know that this power is the answer for many people's needs and that You want it to flow through me. Holy Spirit, as my Great Teacher, please teach me how to open my heart wide so the river of Your divine goodness can flow through me. I pray this in Jesus' name!"

Blessings!

Pastor Rusty