BEYOND MEASURE
Paul
once used the Greek word hyperballo
to give an extravagant description of the strength of Christ at work in the
church, and he linked it with another forceful word – megathos = vast power. The
phrase occurs only once in the NT, and it presents the strongest possible
description of what we possess in Christ – “How far beyond all measure is the almighty
power of Christ at work in us who believe!” (Ep 1:19)
Our
problem, of course, is this: at first sight such descriptions seem far removed
from reality, out of touch with the facts of the everyday life of most
Christian people! But the apostle is affirming the sure victory of the church
in its conflict with the world, with its philosophy of might makes right, its
admiration of riches, its adulation of power, strength, achievement, material
success.
Against
this power the church brings its philosophy of humility, love, gentleness,
self-denial, sacrifice on behalf of others. On the face of it, the contest is
absurdly unequal! How can the church, with its softly loving weapons, hope to
defeat the world, with its ruthless force?
But
we serve the King of kings, whose ultimate and absolute victory is assured in
heaven and on earth (cp. Da 7:9,10,13,14; etc). and we belong to a kingdom
whose ruling principle is love. Indeed, this is the highest
expression of the “immeasurably
great” power of Christ in us
- once we lived by the rule of hate, now we are governed by love
- once we were controlled by the principle of greed, but now we are more eager to give than to receive
- once we were driven by the need for revenge, but now we are quick to forgive
- once we lived only for ourselves, now our focus is upon the welfare of others!
This
change from what we were
to what we are
in Christ is one that nothing but the power of God himself could have
accomplished.
Unhappily,
Christians have often forgotten these things, and have resorted instead to
worldly weapons; they have tried to turn the “immeasurable
power of Christ” into a thing of muscle and money, of influence and
tyranny, of command and control.
But
as Jesus said, “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword”
So
we are challenged to remain true to our calling in Christ, to believe in the
invincibility of divine love, to find there our greatest realisation of the limitless power
of Christ at work in us.