Strengthened by the Holy Spirit

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man (Eph. 3:16 KJV)

The Spirit’s desire is for you to be strengthened with might in your inner man( the spirit man). I will briefly look at three key phrases from this verse “strengthened with might,” “by His Spirit” and “in the inner man.”

Spiritual strength is one of the significant operations of God’s power in us. The other is authority. Many of you are certainly familiar with authority because that is what we often refer to when we talk of power. It is the operation of power to control or rule, manifesting in situations such as casting out demons or healing. The other is crucial, though not so well recognized. It is strength. Spiritual strength is the ability to be or do what God has commended. For example, you do not need authority to live above sin. Rather, you need spiritual strength to live a holy life. Similarly, the Lord has commanded us to be anxious for nothing. However, having the strength to be anxious for nothing is often lacking(the oil). Spiritual strength infuses divine ability in you to do what God has commanded in the Word. You will immediately recognize why this aspect of power is also essential.

God strengthens us by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit strengthens our spirit, the inner man so that we can both live for God or carry out the ministry He has commanded us. We cannot live the Christian life or do ministry by our own strength. I pray that the Lord will indeed strengthen you by His Spirit to be able to live a holy, joyful, anxiety-free, prosperous, loving and fruit-bearing Christian life!!

MEDITATE

Did you understand the difference between authority and strength as discussed above? Please re-read if you have not yet fully grasped it.

APPLY THE WORD

It is one thing to have spiritual authority to cast out demons, heal the sick or perform miracles. It is another to be able to live a holy and godly life, with integrity, love and abundant fruit of the Spirit. This is part of the reason why you can find a minister operating in the gifts of the Spirit but lacks the fruit of the Spirit in their character, a scenario the Lord does not cherish. You have to endeavor to build spiritual strength and authority. The Holy Spirit uses two basic activities to build strength, and also authority in us. That is feeding on the WORD and PRAYER, especially speaking in tongues. If you are spiritually weak, I have just told you what to do!