With knowledge comes power, as the saying goes. In this case, adding to the knowledge of Christ, the hope of our calling in Him and the riches of our inheritance (as we saw in the previous two verses), Paul here speaks of knowing God’s power. Again, this is not just awareness of the fact that God is almighty. Certainly we believe God was powerful enough to create the vast universe and His power is reflected in the so-called “powers of nature,” like huge ocean surf, volcanic eruptions and the like.

But the knowledge here is about God’s “power toward us who believe.” This means a personal, intimate, experiential knowledge that comes through salvation. Paul’s prayer is that God’s power might be seen increasingly in the lives of his readers. This is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. In his letter to the Romans, the apostle ratified this idea when he wrote that Jesus “was declared [to be] the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness” (Rom 1:4). So to the Ephesians he writes of that kind of power being our experience. And he emphasizes it by referring to it as “working,” “strength” and “might.” All the power of God is at our disposal, we simply need to grow in our understanding of it.

Lest some think this is a watering down of the idea of power, we need to consider what this means. First we were spiritually dead (in our trespasses and sin) but God has made us alive in Christ. We were lost but now are saved. We had rebellious hearts against God but He has turned our hearts to Him. We were condemned under the law but now we are forgiven under grace. We were slaves to sin but now we have victory through Christ. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil 3:15). All these speak to God’s power.

God’s power has accomplished everything that God has purposed to do. We saw in the first part of this chapter all that God has done for us in Christ. To take fallen human beings and make us into children of God requires nothing short of a miracle of the highest order. This same power is at work “toward us who believe.” In other words, it is not just the power to raise us up to new life, but also the power to help us live the new life. That is the power we need to know. That is the power we need to understand—the power of God to help us walk as adopted children of God.