At a recent Man Camp held by our church, I was invited to speak on the first evening, in the topic of, “God is Able”. Focusing on the opening verse of Ephesians 3:20, which reads:
“Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think…” — Ephesians 3:20
For this message, I departed from my usual approach of expository preaching on a single passage. Instead, I presented 16 slides filled solely with scripture. I chose to do this to address and challenge the skepticism I’ve observed is more prevalent among men. I wanted the men to move beyond a theoretical understanding of God’s power, to a deeper, experiential knowledge of God’s immense power and His willingness to work on our behalf.
So I provided the following 16 scriptures that shows how God, truly is able to work on our behalf, and how.
- God is able to save you completely… (Hebrews 7:25)
- “Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.” — Hebrews 7:25
- God is able to give you grace, and everything you need (2 Corinthians 9:8)
- “And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.” — 2 Corinthians 9:8
- God is able to keep you (Jude 1:24)
- “Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy,” — Jude 1:24
- God is able to make you stand (Romans 14:4)
- “Who are you to judge another’s household servant? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand.” — Romans 14:4
- God is able to build you up (Acts 20:32)
- “And now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.” — Acts 20:32
- God is able to strengthen you (Romans 16:25)
- “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for long ages” — Romans 16:25
- God is able to to comfort you (2 Corinthians 1:4)
- “He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” — 2 Corinthians 1:4
- God is able to deliver you (Daniel 3:17)
- “If the God we serve exists, then he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king.” — Daniel 3:17
- God is able to give and provide you for financially (2 Chronicles 25:9)
- “Then Amaziah said to the man of God, ‘What should I do about the hundred talents I gave to the Israelite division?’ The man of God replied, ‘The Lord is able to give you much more than this.'” — 2 Chronicles 25:9
- God is able to guard you, and what he has given you (2 Timothy 1:12)
- “That is why I suffer these things, but I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.” — 2 Timothy 1:12
- God is able to provide a way for your temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13)
- “No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.” — 1 Corinthians 10:13
- God is able to help those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:18)
- “For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.” — Hebrews 2:18
- God is able to keep his promises (Romans 4:21)
- “because he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to do.” — Romans 4:21
- He’s able to subdue all things (Philippians 3:21)
- “He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.” — Philippians 3:21
These scriptures highlight the word “able” in relation to God working on our behalf. And the Bible affirms that God is not only able to do all that we ask but also goes above and beyond our requests and even our thoughts—those things we cannot even utter. Truly, God is able!
Moreover, there’s another remarkable aspect of God’s ability:
- God is able to perform miracles (Matthew 9:27-29)
- “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When he entered the house, the blind men approached him, and Jesus asked them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They replied, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘Let it be done for you according to your faith.’”
This passage not only demonstrates God’s ability to perform miracles but also underscores a crucial point. Notice how Jesus inquires if the blind men believe in His ability to heal them, ‘Do you believe that I am able?’ It’s one thing to know theoretically that God can act on our behalf, but it’s another to truly believe He can. The belief of the blind men was a conduit for their miracle, ‘Let it be done for you according to your faith.’
It’s important to note that the men are healed “according to” their faith, not “by the power of” their belief. It is Christ’s power—the power of God—that heals them. Their faith is significant because it is placed in Jesus and nothing else. Because He is the focus and object of their faith, their healing comes through Him. God invites us to have faith, confidence, and trust in Him, acknowledging His capabilities.
What then is the necessary response to a God that is able? Trust and surrender. Often, our inability to surrender can be rooted in desires for control, security, comfort, pleasure, self-reliance, or pride. These idols limit our capacity to believe in God’s power and instead lead us to rely on our own strength and abilities.
Thus, we must consider what God is asking us to surrender in our lives. By relinquishing these areas to Him, we can truly believe in God’s ability rather than our own.