
“Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in you, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen”
– Ephesians 3:20-21
An old TV series that mystified many viewers for years still lives in syndication. One Step Beyond remains one of my favorite sci-fi series. The premise of this sci-fi drama was built on the unknown and the unexpected. While watching each episodic adventure, the viewer was to attempt to unravel the complex storyline and determine its conclusion prior to its completion. There were times when I thought I knew exactly what the end would be, but by the end I was often absolutely mistaken. Despite my best efforts to outsmart the writer, sitting through the entire story became more enjoyable than outwitting the story master.
Entering into the presence of God is much like taking one step beyond the surface into the secret place of God where God invites each of us in our time of need. Human credentials or social status do not provide the access code which unlocks the door. We must take that one step beyond our human limits into the outer limits of God’s amazing power. Through many years of ministry, I have discovered a place that only requires me to bring a willing heart and passionate desire to know God’s heart. There I can take God’s helping hand in my desperate times of need and choose to humbly bow before my Heavenly Father in submission to His will instead of my desires. I hear His voice and do His will for His good pleasure. I learn how to step over the threshold of my human condition and arrive at the ultimate place where I would never be if I had not taken my step beyond.
When I speak of taking one step beyond, I am referring to my faith in God. Entering into the presence of God is not a bizarre phenomenon, but is simply allowing God to be God in my life. Learning how to trust Him with my future and eternal destiny is ultimate faith and trust beyond my human effort. Paul sought to encourage believers to live out their ultimate faith when he wrote, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. [I pray] that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power though His spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:14-16).
Paul knew the importance of our inner man and understood this is where Satan does his best work. He not only torpedoes our bodies with the fiery darts of destruction, but he seeks to exterminate our faith. The goal of every believer is ultimate faith in God, which is one step beyond the grasp of the Evil One. It is where the Messiah dwells in our hearts through our faith in Him. When we remain “rooted and firmly established” in Him, we celebrate abiding in His presence and experience ultimate faith which goes beyond human expression. Our one step beyond literally surpasses all our knowledge and fills us with the fulness of God so we are able to announce, “Now to Him who is able to above and beyond all that we ask or think – according to the power that works in you – to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
“He foresaw my every fall, my every sin, my every backsliding; yet, nevertheless, fixed His heart upon me.” “There is only one safeguard against error, and that is to be established in the faith; and for that, there has to be prayerful and diligent study, and a receiving with meekness the engrafted Word of God.
Arthur W. Pink, The Attributes of God
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