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and what the surpassing greatness of his power is toward us believers. It is according to the working of the strength of his might (Ephesians 1:19)

And what the surpassing greatness of his power is toward us believers. God had raised Jesus from the dead, giving these ones the ransom needed for their salvation. This is the third thing that Paul was especially eager for the Ephesian Christians should know. He wanted them to be fully aware of the power of God, which meant that they were now the true religion that possessed that power as well. The Ephesians now knew of the power of God in their salvation, and they had seen firsthand the power of the gospel, and they looked forward to anything else that lay ahead that they might experience. The power of God was now going to be acted out toward the people through the Son; Jesus had to his followers, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matt. 28:18) They felt this power as they were converted from paganism or Judaism to Christ and Christianity. They would continue to feel this power, unless they rejected Jesus Christ (Matt. 24:13; Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-31), as it helped them maintain their righteous standing before God. The believers are those Christians who believe in Jesus Christ, in the sense of having faith into Jesus, putting faith in, trusting in Jesus, and having absolute confidence in him.

It is according to the working of the strength of his might. The meaning is this: God’s power in his believers is in keeping with the power that was used to resurrect Jesus Christ. This same power that was used to resurrect Christ, that is, raising the dead, is the same power used in the conversion process on receptive hearts. Those having faith in Christ Jesus receive this power as they are raised from sin and death. Paul illustrates this in chapter 2 of Ephesians, “And you being dead in the trespasses^[1] and your sins, in which you formerly walked^[2] according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience. Among whom also we all formerly lived in the desires of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” – Ephesians 2:1-3.

The power that God has used in their regeneration. Regeneration is the Holy Spirit working in the sinful person, creating a new life, a new nature, resulting in the person repenting and accepting Christ. By taking in this knowledge of God’s Word, the person will be altering their way of thinking, which will affect their emotions and behavior and their lives now and for eternity. This Word will influence their minds, making corrections in the way they think. If they are to have the Holy Spirit impacting their lives, they must ‘renew their mind’ (Rom. 12:2), “which is being renewed in knowledge” (Col. 3:10) of God and his will and purposes. (Matt 7:21-23; See Pro 2:1-6) All of this boils down to each individual Christian digging into the Scriptures meditatively, so he can ‘discover the knowledge of God, receiving wisdom; from God’s mouth, as well as knowledge and understanding.’ (Pro. 2:5-6) As he acquires the mind that is inundated with the Word of God, he must also “be doers of the Word.” – John 3:3; 6-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; James 1:22-25.

[1] Trespass: (παράπτωμα paraptōma) This is a sin that can come in the way of some desire (lusting), some thinking (entertaining a wrongdoing) or some action (carrying out one’s desires or thoughts that he or she has been entertaining) that is beyond or overstepping God’s righteous standards, as set out in the Scriptures. It is falling or making a false step as opposed to standing or walking upright in harmony with the righteous requirements of God. – Matt. 6:14; Mark 11:25; Rom. 4:25; 5:15-20; 11:11; 2 Cor. 5:19; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 1:7; 2:1, 5; Col 2:13.

[2] Walk: (הָלַךְ halak) in integrity (Heb. tōm) a state of blamelessness being free of guilt. (Prov. 2:7) In the Bible, the expression “to walk” is figurative and illustrative and can mean to follow a certain course of action, as “Noah walked with God.” (Gen. 6:9; 5:22) Those who walk with God follow the life course outlined by God’s Word and will find his favor, that is, be pleasing to him. Pursuing such a life course makes you different from most unbelievers. The Greek New Testament uses the same illustrative expression, contrasting two different courses of action sought by one before and after becoming a servant of God. (Eph. 2:2, 10; 4:17; 5:2) Similarly, “running” is also used to symbolize a course of action. (1 Pet. 4:4) God tells us that the prophets in Judah “ran” though he did not send them, yet they took the prophetic course, prophesied falsely. (Jer. 23:21) Paul gives us a visual picture of the Christian course in terms of “running.” He compares it to a race that a person must run while also obeying the rules of the race if they are to win the prize. – 1 Cor. 9:24; Gal. 2:2; 5:7.