Ephesians 3:16
:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man:
Our verse today is is the first of the request Paul makes for the believers in this prayer from verse 16-21. He's request is for them to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man but the part that I want us to look in to is the section that is in the commas ", According to the riches of his glory," A easy mistake to make here is to tread the verse as He is going to grant us the riches of his glory so we can be strengthened in the inner man. That is why it is important that we read our Bible carefully and also have full assurance in the copy that we hold(KJV). He didn't pray that God would grant them the riches of His glory but rather that God would grant them according to the riches of his glory. There's a big difference, we currently may hold in our hands all the riches of God's glory but he grants us the strength that we need according to the riches of His glory. I think of it like this, My son Ezra doesn't have in his penny bank all the money that I have it would be foolish to hand a large amount of money over to a ten year old but because he is my son and lives with me and I love him there is not anything he is going to do with out. He does chores around the house and I give a little here and there but that little that he has is not for his survival but to teach him stewardship and work ethic. He will pull up at the dinner table and eat freely, he will turn on the lights without thinking about the cost, he will draw a tub full of water and never consider the cost of it. I don't grant him my riches but rather according to my riches. Now, us as the children of God sometimes we look into our little penny banks and because we don't see all the riches of God we fret. When the bank account becomes low, when our hearts are overwhelmed, when it seems as if we have nothing at all, let alone the riches of Glory. The problem with this kind of thinking is that we are looking into the blessings God has given us as sustainment and not stewardship. God gives you little things to teach you how to be a steward, to teach you how to pray, how to study and if we are faithful in those little things then as we mature we can be trusted with larger sums. These blessings are besides the promise that God would care for his children, If you are weak and heavy laden you don't have to think twice about bringing your burden to Him, at no cost to you He takes that burden, without even thinking or considering we can go to him with our needs and be absolutely sure they will be met. He may not grant you all the riches of His grace but he will grant you according to the riches of his grace.
How He administers is "according to the riches of His Grace." What he ask to be given was strength in the inner man by the Spirit. The inner man needs strength and nothing brings strength like the Spirit of God. Nothing brings comfort, like the comforter, nothing brings boldness like the Spirit of God, nothing brings contentment like His Spirit. All the things that the inner man requires is given when the Spirit of God breathes on us and makes His presence known. When the inner man is strengthen the cares of our outward experience disappear. I'm convinced that there is not any thing that we can not go through so long as He goes with us through it. Stephen died under a pile of stones while he asked for forgiveness of the ones who were killing him. Paul wrote this very epistle from a Jail cell and you would think that this book was written on the mountain top of experience and I'll have to say that it was. Not the mountain top of his outward experience but on the mountaintop of his inward experience. It was Paul that told us the words of Christ to him concerning the thorn in his flesh:
2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
If we have strength in the inner man, if we have fellowship with him then the outward fades away and we have a deeper well to draw from than outward experience. Often a good trial forces us to stop drawing from the shallow wells of outward experience and to tap into the water of life, into the river of water that flows within us as believers. Some believers have done their very best to make sure that their outward experience is very comfortable and they neglect the inner man in the process. These have been some of the most miserable Christians I have ever met, having more in worldly measure than most and yet completely unsatisfied. On the other hand it has been some of the poorest Christians that i have met that seemed unhindered by their lack of worldly treasure, they had joy, peace and contentment that was not determined by outward circumstances or well being but they had learned to draw from the well that never goes dry, to live often in his presence and the inner man was strengthened causing them to drift from the cares of the fleshly life. What Paul was praying for wasn't for riches of this world but the riches of glory. This is the thing we stand in need of, strength in the inner man by His Spirit.
According to the riches of His Grace!!