Incomparably
Read Ephesians 1:15-23.
I'm captured by this word "incomparably" this morning. I've always had the impression that Paul wasn't that easy to impress. Paul was one of those people who had "been there, done that." When I've had the chance to walk in some of the cities where Paul walked, including in Ephesus, I have this notion that he didn't act like we did. I probably spent most of the time walking around Ephesus with my mouth open, gawking at the beauty of the city. Even in ruins, it's a beautiful city, and in the eye of my imagination I try to see what Paul experienced when he first came here. The same thing in Corinth and other places he visited. Paul, though, had been exposed to some of the best learning, the best culture, the best of everything—he was a Roman citizen, after all, and a highly educated Hebrew scholar! I can't imagine he was that easy to impress. For him, Ephesus wasn't simply a gorgeous city; it was a mission field.
But when it comes to talking about God's power, he is so overwhelmed he uses not one but two adjectives. As if God having power isn't enough. The word for power is dunamis, which is the root for our word "dynamite." It's explosive power! But that's not enough for what Paul has experienced of God. He has power, but it's more than that.
So he says God's power is great. The word there is megethos—we use a variation of that word whenever we describe something as "mega." (When we were in seminary, the store we shopped at was "MegaMarket" and it was big enough to have everything we needed! It was MEGA—great!) But when Paul is describing the power God has, "great" is also not enough, so he adds the word "incomparably."
In English, that means it can't really be compared to anything else, but the original Greek word Paul uses has the idea of surpassing, exceeding. It has the sense of someone throwing a ball further than needed, surpassing the goal. Or of a runner who finishes the marathon and keeps going. It means "passing the original mark." I'm in cardiac rehab currently, and they have me doing a variety of exercises. Most of them I could keep doing for longer than I have to, but there is one that I hate: the bicycle. I wear out on that faster than anything else and when my time is up, I quit. I don't keep going. I have no desire to exceed my goal there because when the time is up, I have no power left. But God's power keeps going. He doesn't run out. He exceeds everything we expect and want and any sort of power we might think we have. His power is not just dynamic. It's not just great. It is incomparably great. In fact, the example Paul uses for God's power (raising Jesus from the dead) was no big deal for him. There's much more where that came from!
God is incomparable. If you need some power for your day today, lean on him, ask him for some. He's got more than enough. Thanks be to our powerful God!
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| Ephesus main street, 2014 |
But when it comes to talking about God's power, he is so overwhelmed he uses not one but two adjectives. As if God having power isn't enough. The word for power is dunamis, which is the root for our word "dynamite." It's explosive power! But that's not enough for what Paul has experienced of God. He has power, but it's more than that.
So he says God's power is great. The word there is megethos—we use a variation of that word whenever we describe something as "mega." (When we were in seminary, the store we shopped at was "MegaMarket" and it was big enough to have everything we needed! It was MEGA—great!) But when Paul is describing the power God has, "great" is also not enough, so he adds the word "incomparably."
In English, that means it can't really be compared to anything else, but the original Greek word Paul uses has the idea of surpassing, exceeding. It has the sense of someone throwing a ball further than needed, surpassing the goal. Or of a runner who finishes the marathon and keeps going. It means "passing the original mark." I'm in cardiac rehab currently, and they have me doing a variety of exercises. Most of them I could keep doing for longer than I have to, but there is one that I hate: the bicycle. I wear out on that faster than anything else and when my time is up, I quit. I don't keep going. I have no desire to exceed my goal there because when the time is up, I have no power left. But God's power keeps going. He doesn't run out. He exceeds everything we expect and want and any sort of power we might think we have. His power is not just dynamic. It's not just great. It is incomparably great. In fact, the example Paul uses for God's power (raising Jesus from the dead) was no big deal for him. There's much more where that came from!
God is incomparable. If you need some power for your day today, lean on him, ask him for some. He's got more than enough. Thanks be to our powerful God!
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