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GREATNESS
A touch that Defines Our True Nature
"That ye may know...what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his might power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead."
Ephesians 1:19-20
The word "greatness" is the Greek word MEGATHOS. It has to do with something that is esteemed highly for its excellence. It also carries the meaning of something stately or splendid; something that is full of virtue and power. One definition describes it as magnificent. In other words, it goes beyond the limit, beyond ordinary to where it now constitutes extraordinary; something that is so exceptional that it holds transcending qualities.
That is who we are! It is what was released from heaven in order to bring you and me into the kingdom of God. We are a product of this greatness. It may appear difficult for our natural minds to comprehend, but it is true. The work of redemption was not only great, but we have the greatness of that work now living in us. When we begin to understand the magnitude of this, then something extraordinary will begin to occur in our lives. The way we see ourselves will significantly change, and our view of God's purposes for our lives will rise to a whole new level.
The first thing we have to grasp is that we are made by the hands of him of whom the Bible calls "Wonderful" (Judges 13:18; Isaiah 9:6). Since the law of seed-time and harvest still applies, the very fact that we have been "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God," tells me we are made of the same substance that he is made of (1 Peter 1:23). If he is Wonderful, then surely we are a product of something just as wonderful, which means the seed from which we were born again contains all of his Wonderfulness!
God has destined for each of us to reach places we have never been...places that are so "wonderful" they are beyond any typical experience.
This is something that many within the church world have been reluctant to embrace. They shrink back not wanting to accept the fact that we have been made to share in God's greatness. They want to remind us we are destitute and unworthy creatures who are very needy, to say the least. They can't seem to realize the magnitude of what has taken place in us, in the new birth. If anything, they want to relegate all the blessedness of redemption to when we get to heaven.
While there are awesome and "wonderful" things still waiting for us to share in heaven, there are many "wonderful" truths that are ours now to enjoy, in this life. Paul said: "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's" (1 Corinthians 3:22, 23). This is not a truth that is yet to come. It is a fact we must realize as part of our spiritual birthright! But then, how do you take a person with a 3rd grader's mentality and try to explain to them mathematical logarithms or differential equations? It is a language they know nothing of! That's why much of the deeper side of redemption appears unreachable for some. They will never be able to grasp the significance of what has occurred in them because they still want to judge everything after the flesh.
I'm not trying to slight any one because of their ignorance, but let's face it, we really are more than what we have become, and unless we behold the greatness of God's handiwork in us, we will never arrive at what we were made to be!
God has destined for each of us to reach places we have never been...places that are so "wonderful" they are beyond any typical experience. These are place that do exist...extraordinary places designed for extraordinary people! And it can only come when we begin to believe that God's greatness has touched a part of us that can only be defined as splendid, exceptional, and magnificent. Truly we must awake to the fact that we were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)!
PRAYER
Father, today I accept the fact that your greatness has made me who I am. Help me realize the significance of what lies within me. I pray that the stately side of my spiritual life will bring me into deeper and more extraordinary experiences in you. I pray for greater revelation. I ask you to help me see what I need to see and know what I need to know, to where I can take my rightful place in Christ. In your name, I pray. Amen.
CONFESSION
I am wonderfully made in Christ. My very nature is wonderful. I choose to see the wonderful side of my redemption. I will walk in all that I am, and I will be all I was meant to be!
DEFINING MOMENTS...
When Paul stated, "we are more than conquerors through him that loved us" or that "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me," he was describing the wonderful side of our possession as the sons of God. It may be difficult at times to see beyond our natural inabilities to embrace the supernatural abilities of God in us, but we must! We are to be partakers of the divine nature! That's our destiny, and it begins here and now not just when we get to heaven!
In His Grace,
Pastor David
Faith Harvest Church
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