Today we continue our series “God is faithful!” The Lord led me to 2 Corinthians 4. In this passage, we are looking at what it looks like to believe God is faithful. Because of God’s faithfulness towards us, we can withstand and overcome anything!
(2 Corinthians 4:1, 7-13, 16-18 TPT)
1 Now, it’s because of God’s mercy that we have been entrusted with the privilege of this new covenant ministry. And we will not quit or faint with weariness.
7 We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that this immeasurable power will be seen as God’s, not ours.
8 Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option.
9 We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out.
10 We continually share in the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the resurrection life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity.
11 We consider living to mean that we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity.
12 So, then, death is at work in us but it releases life in you.
13 We have the same Spirit of faith that is described in the Scriptures when it says, “First I believed, then I spoke in faith.” So we also first believe then speak in faith.
16 So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day.
17 We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison,
18 because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.
Let’s look at one more passage before we get started.
(Ephesians 3:16-20 TPT)
16 And I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power.
17 Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.
18–19 Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!
20 Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. The more revelation of God you receive, the more power you will walk in.
We have been looking at 2 Corinthians 4:16 for a while. The text says, “So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day.” As I meditate on this verse, the question becomes, what does this renewal look like? How are we renewed continually? I believe the answer is found in our understanding of God’s love. Let’s see how Paul put it in his letter to the church in Ephesus. Paul said, “I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power” (Ephesians 3:16 TPT).
— Paul prayed for God to “unveil” the unlimited riches of His glory. When you unveil something, you are revealing what is already there. Something is there, but it is concealed from you. When God pulls back the veil, He reveals to you what was previously concealed from you. This revealing (or revelation) comes from the Holy Spirit.
— Paul explains how the more we receive insight, wisdom, revelation, knowledge, and understanding concerning God’s love, the more we will be renewed, and we will walk in divine power.
— The revelation of God’s love (once you are convinced God loves you and there is nothing you can do to make Him stop), positions you to receive what Paul calls “favor,” and Paul says that this divine favor will flow, “until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power.”
— The more you understand the love of God, the greater the revelation you have of God’s love, and the more convinced you get that God’s love towards you will never fail, the more you will be renewed, on the inside, every single day. Not only that, but the revelation of God’s love towards you will empower you to walk in His grace. Once you do, there is nothing you can do because, at that point, you are not the one doing it. It is the Father, who lives in you, who will be giving you the words and performing the work (see John 14:10). But none of this happens until you know God loves you.
— Real power does not come from you trying to convince God to do anything for you. Real power comes from God convincing you that He loves you, that He made plans for you before the world began, and that He will accomplish those plans through you if you would simply yield to Him and get your flesh out of the way. The convincing I am talking about does not happen in your head. It does not come from a book. This happens in your heart. It happens as God reveals Himself to you as you walk with Him, and you learn to get intimate with His Spirit.
— The Holy Spirit is the key to this type of revelation, and He is the key to your life. Your outer man may be perishing (in a gradual state of degradation), but you have an inner man that can be renewed every single day through the Holy Spirit Himself who lives in you.
2. Resting in God’s love is the key to living an amazing life.
Paul said, “Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life” (Ephesians 3:17 TPT). Let’s take a closer look at this verse.
— For Christ to be “released deep inside of you,” Paul says that you must constantly use your faith. In Paul’s letter to the believers in Galatia, Paul taught us that “faith works by love” (Galatians 5:6). Therefore, if you don’t live by faith, you won’t receive the fulness of Christ in you, and if you don’t get a revelation of God’s love, you will never live by faith because faith works by love. It all boils down to God’s love. You must get a revelation of God’s love to the point where you are so convinced that He loves you, that you will do, by faith, whatever He leads you to do, even when you have no sense-realm evidence to support it.
— Paul says, “the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.” When you get a revelation of God’s love towards you, and you learn to REST IN IT, the love of God will be the source of your strength and the root of your life.
I will deal with this verse further tomorrow. I feel led to stop here for today. I have given you enough. I will close with this statement:
We have been learning how to withstand and overcome anything. Paul is teaching us in Ephesians that the key to walking in God’s divine might and explosive power is getting to the point where we are convinced He loves us! Once we are fully persuaded that God loves us, there is nothing we can’t do!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of LEVELING UP for me. I LEVEL UP by getting a revelation of Your love for me. The Holy Spirit pulls back the veil for me. As He does, I get a revelation of Your love that changes the way I see You, the way I see myself, and the way I see others. Your love changes everything. Your love releases Jesus IN me. Your love unleashes divine might and explosive power through me. I am fully persuaded that You love me, and I find my resting place in Your love. This is how I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
