Henry Ford dreamed of making the automobile available to the average working family. He wanted it to be more than a rich man’s toy. To accomplish this, he employed the strategy of mass production. He implemented assembly-line construction to bring down the cost of manufacturing and keep selling prices reasonable. His strategy revolutionized car manufacturing.

We all use strategies to reach various goals, whether we are seeking a promotion at work, striving for an “A” in a particular class, or purchasing a house. Some of the strategies that we develop work. Some fail.

The Bible is a strategy book. It presents various plans which people can use to face life. It shows us what works and what does not work.

The Bible presents strategies various people have tried in dealing with family, marriage, work, and friendship. Primarily, it presents strategies that have to do with building a relationship with God, obeying God, and serving God.

One principle of strategy that remains consistent in the Scriptures is this: God’s people trust His power, not their own, to accomplish His work.

HIS POWER ILLUSTRATED

The Old Testament provides us with facts to bolster our faith (Romans 15:4). This is especially true when we begin to study the marvelous ability of God. The pages of the Old Testament catalogue case after case where God’s ability abundantly exceeded the needs of His people. Look at some cases, and let them speak about the exceeding abundant ability of God.

The Crossing of the Red Sea and the Jordan

The Israelites crossing the Red Sea and the Jordan River are two events that radical critics have tried to discredit for centuries. But they stand as historically true. In Exodus 14:21, 22, 29, we read that Israel was trapped. She saw no possible escape.

As several have observed, the nation was “between the devil and the deep blue sea.” Pharoah and his army were on the horizon. The vast Red Sea spanned before them. What could they do? The situation was hopeless. Many Israelites voted to give up, return to slavery, and cast themselves upon the mercy of Pharaoh. Some wanted Moses’ head on a platter, blaming him for the predicament they faced. Then, beyond anything Israel could have asked for or thought, God made the Red Sea part and stand like a wall. Israel walked through the crystal hallway to safety.

But pay close attention to Exodus 14:22. Had I been in the Israelite camp, I would have gladly waded knee-deep mud to escape the Egyptians. Mud would have been better than their wrath. But notice, God even dried the mud on the sea’s floor! Israel did not ask for the mud to be dried; she did not even consider it. But God’s ability provided it! This puts new light on Ephesians 3:20.

A similar situation occurred as Israel arrived to ford the Jordan River (Joshua 3) to enter into Canaan. After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, they had come to claim the promise made to Abraham years before. But the river was flooded, and only a fool would venture to cross the angry surges. What could they do?

The promised land was within sight, but they were without resources (or so they assumed). As the morning dawned, the call went out for Israel to form her marching stations. Imagine the perplexity of those people. Where were they going? Then an unthinkable command went forth to the priests carrying the ark: They were to take the ark and lead Israel into the raging flood!

As they did, the unbelievable happened: “And when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water…the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, . . .” (Joshua 3:15, 16). The exceeding, abundant ability of God was evident! Verse 17 says, “The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan…Again God dried even the muddy bottom!

Possessing Jericho. After Israel had recovered from the Jordan crossing, she was confronted with another “impossibility.” Anyone entering Canaan had to pass by Jericho. Because of this, the city was a mighty fortress. Any invading army would lose spirit in thinking about capturing the walled city. As Joshua thought about the invasion, perhaps he would have settled for a hole in the wall through which some men could steal and open the gate for the rest. That was only a dream, for God offered Joshua’s troops something greater than a hole in the wall. He told Joshua that the entire wall, would fall down!

In fact, God told Joshua that Jericho was already his possession (Joshua 6:2). The battle plan was incredible. The wall would fall after they had marched around the city for seven days and blown the trumpets (Joshua 6:4, 5). Israel followed the plan exactly, and the walls fell just as God had promised!

God’s plan was beyond Israel’s expectation. It was according to His exceeding abundant ability.

The Mt. Carmel Confrontation. Much later in Old Testament history, the great prophet Elijah is now God’s spokesman. The scene takes us to the great confrontation between God and Baal. The sacrifices had been prepared by Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Baal’s prophets put on a show that day that emphasiz ed the utter impot ence of  idolatry (I Kings 18:26ff.). Their failure was evident.

With water dripping off the sacrifice and a moat around the repaired altar, Elijah seemed doomed to failure too. Have you ever wondered why Elijah made his part of the contest so difficult? He did not have to; he could have stuck to his original contract.

I like to think it was because of his faith in God’s ability. He knew that if God could start a fire with dry wood, He could start a fire with wet wood. And he was right! God’s ability was magnified that day as He burned wet wood, the ox, the stones of the altar, the water, and even the dirt (I Kings 18:38). When we focus on God’s exceeding abundant ability, great things happen!

We could have never fashioned such a wonderful offer of eternal life. We could have never conceived the blessings of full forgiveness. Only Almighty God could extend the hope of forgive- ness and reconciliation to struggling man.

HIS POWER APPLIED

The greatest encouragement is gained by remembering the confidence of all who trusted God’s ability. A woman once gave a prophet a little cake; it was the very last food she had in a time of famine. In return, though, she received ample food until the famine passed (I Kings 17:8-16). A widow put in two mites as an offering to God and won immortal fame (Luke 21:1-4). Emulate these saints who placed confidence in God’s ability as you nurture a similar trust in your life.

Do you believe anything is too hard for God? His ability extends to all a promise of hope and strength (Psalms 81:10). He is able to supply the answers for all our needs.

God has not changed. He still desires for His people to put their trust in His power.

That is precisely the lesson of our text. It addresses the basic strategy of operation for a church. Will we carry on the Lord’s work by our own power, or will we operate by the power of God?

Paul wrote, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all (1:18–23).

Beginning with verse 18, Paul prayed that the ekklesia (church) in Ephesus would come to perceive three invisible realities: (1) the unique hope which  was  theirs,  (2)  the  inheritance  of  God which they had been given, and (3) the power of God by which they should operate.

Paul used several words for “power” to ephasize that in Christ we encounter the highest possible  power.  God  desires  for  every  local church to operate by His incomparably great power.

Local churches can utilize programs. We can use modern methods to instruct, organize, and deal with life’s situations.

We can help people to learn how to be better parents, how to enrich their marriages, how to have better self-esteem, how to study the Bible, how to teach, and how to do many of the activities that we associate with the programs and services of local congregations.

We can do all this and still miss out on the most basic strategy of all for God’s people—to operate by the power of God. He tries to help us to see this need in the words of our text.

GOD BUILDS OUR TRUST IN HIS POWER

Paul prayed for the ekklesia in Ephesus to know God’s power, to participate in it, and to operate by it.

The apostle mentioned three outstanding demonstrations of God’s power that encourage us to do whatever it takes to benefit from that power:

The resurrection of Christ from the dead (1:20). The cross presents us with the greatest display of God’s love; Christ’s resurrection provides us with the ultimate display of His power. The words of a song remind us of this display of divine power:

Not a word was heard at the tomb that day, Just the shuffling soldiers’ feet as they guarded the grave.

One day, two days, three days passed,  Could it be that Jesus had breathed His last?

Could it be that His Father had forsaken Him, Turned his back on His son, despising our sin, All hell seemed to whisper, “Just forget Him, He’s dead.” Then the Father looked down on His Son and said,  “Arise, My love! Arise, My love! The grave no longer has a hold on You. No more death’s sting, no more suffering. Arise, arise, My love.”

Jesus did arise. Imagine the power that penetrated the tomb and exploded in an outburst of eternal life. Only God has that kind of power. How foolish we would be to think that we could get along without it!

The exaltation of Christ. God demonstrated His power not only in the resurrection, but again in the exaltation of Jesus. He “seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come” (1:20, 21).

He is Lord. He does have the name above all names. No conceivable power— angelic, demonic, or human—can compare to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. His power calls us to get serious about trusting in it. When His people walk in His power, it honors the One who sits on the throne.

The supremacy of Jesus on behalf of the church. Verse 22 says, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church.”

God’s power has made Jesus the sovereign Lord of both the material realm and the spiritual realm. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).

He is Lord over all. God has not only made Jesus Lord of Lords, but He has made Him “head over all things to the church.” In other words, God the Father has given the Lord of all glory to the church!  Jesus  rules  for  the  benefit  of  the church. He sits on the throne to see that the church becomes all that God desires it to be. Here is another reason for congregations to move in the direction of greater trust in God’s power— because the Lord Jesus Himself has been given to the church.

God builds our trust in His power through the resurrection, the exaltation, and the supremacy of Jesus.

GOD INVITES OUR PARTICIPATION IN HIS POWER One of the basic strategies coming out of the Bible is this: God desires that His people trust in His power, not their own. Applied to local churches, God wants us to operate by His power and invites our participation in His power.

A local church needs to be a visible expression of His power, a visible expression of His presence, and a visible expression of the Lord Jesus. A congregation should offer people a place where they can encounter and experience the kingdom of God.

Notice what Paul said concerning the church in 1:22, 23: Christ is the “head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.” These verses include two truths about the church.

1. 1. We are “His body.” A vital union exists between Jesus and the local church. Think of the human body. It has many parts—hands, ears, feet, lungs, arms, arteries, etc. Each part is important. When each part functions, the body is healthy. As the head, heart, arms, and internal organs function, life is

That is Jesus’ plan for the church. Do not miss this truth: A church operates by God’s power when it functions as a body instead of an organization. Notice the contrast between the church as a body and the church as an organization, as shown in the chart below.

A great difference exists between the church as an or ganization and the church as the body of Christ. Many failures and problems that plague local churches today result from the fact that we are functioning more like organizations than bodies.

2. 2. We are “the fulness of Him who fills all in ” In other words, Jesus fills His church. As the body of Christ functions, it becomes the full expression of Jesus Christ. When that happens, as it did in the first century, the world takes notice. All of a sudden, the church stands out. People find in the church what they find nowhere else in this world—the Living Lord, ex- pressed powerfully through people.

It is said that the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself. Notice how 4:7–16 sheds light on what our strategy as a church should be—the strategy to operate by the power of God: But to each one of us grace [God’s power] was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” . . . And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangel- ists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Let us apply these truths in three direct ways to local churches:

(1) To please and honor God, a congregation must operate by His power. God has always insisted that His people operate by His power, not their own.

(2) To operate by His power, a church must function as a body. This calls for emphasizing gatherings where Christians practice the “one-another” commands.

(3) To function as a body, a church must give its highest priority to body life. The ekklesia is God’s new social order— a whole new way of life. It is body life, which operates by God’s power through Jesus.

CONCLUSION. After studying these illustrations, we are impressed with the marvelous power of our great God. May we join with the three Hebrew children who faced the blazing furnace with the confident boast, “Our God is able!” (Daniel 3:17; cf. Job 9:4-7, 10).

In Itasca, Texas, just before World War II, a school fire took the lives of more than two hundred children. After the war, the town rebuilt the school and installed what they said was “the finest sprinkler system in the world.”

The whole town was reassured by this precaution. They conducted tours of the facility and showed people the advanced sprinkler technology. As the town grew, it became necessary to add a new wing to the school. When they did, they made a shocking discovery. Seven years had passed since the school’s opening and the installation of the sprinkler system. When the builders added the wing, they discovered that the sprinkler system had never been connected.

That can happen with a congregation. While God offers incredible power to local churches, some are not  connected. They are doing their best to maintain what they have and not lose ground, but they are not functioning as bodies. They are not working together God’s way or operating by God’s power.

What can you do if you are in a congregation like that? Pray, and then pray some more that God will lead the congregation to function more like a body. Go to the leaders of the congregation and let them know that you want to see the church become more like a body. Let them know that you are ready to be a part of it. Then keep praying, and watch what God does.

THE CHURCH AS A BODY                                               THE CHURCH AS AN ORGANIZATION

Gatherings are informal and personal.                                Gatherings are formal and impersonal.

Leaders equip people for service.                                        Leaders direct programs rather than guiding souls.

Members minister to one another.                                       Members simply sign up for programs.

The goal is growth in grace and knowledge of God.         The goal is growth in numbers only.

Daily interaction naturally occurs.                                      Attendance at appointed times is the main expectation.

All members learn to minister to others.                            An overworked minority keep programs going.

Members are a visible expression of Jesus.                        Mere tasks and assignments are completed.

All members are in close fellowship.                                  Many fail to connect and eventually drift away.

1Eddie Carswell, “Arise, My Love,” Glory: Hallal Music, The Singer’s Worship Series (West Monroe, La.: Howard Publishing Co., 1992), 15. Used with permission. © 1987 Mike Clark Music and Lowry Music Co., Inc.