Strengthened with Might

Eph 3:16

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

KJV

There are a great many strengths to be had during our time here on earth, yet the Apostle Paul recognized that none are more pressing to pray for than “to be strengthened with by his Spirit in the inner man.” For spiritual strength is none other than God’s own Holy Spirit finding union with and abiding within our very own spirit (the inner man). And the results of such a union are clear enough even throughout biblical history. For though Old Testament personages like Gideon, David, Elijah, Sampson and a host of others were not able to experience the finished work of Christ, and thus able to have God’s own Spirit permanently abiding within them, as many interpreters would argue, God would intermittently endow such men with His Spirit for the accomplishment of great and mighty tasks. And when one considers their accomplishments, all of which done in the face of opposition and adversity, then it becomes all the more necessary for contemporary believers in God through Jesus Christ to labor in prayer for the same abiding spiritual strength when we face the challenges of our lives:

[(For) if thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.] Proverbs 24:10

Brian Johnson, Ph.D.