God’s Energy

A workman who is energetic will gather together his materials, shape them, place them, fit them together, and in a surprisingly short time a building is complete. Because he lives in the modern age his work is the more effective because he draws upon the modern source of energy for his tools, electricity. Instead of hammering he drives in a screw, instead of chipping away to create a cavity, he drills a hole in seconds, instead of a laborious handsaw his circular saw slices through the timber as if it were butter. The energy of the man combined with the energy supply at his disposal makes for effective work.

Our word 'energy' derives from the Greek words en ergon, meaning 'at work'. The Greeks combined the two in the noun energeia, the verb energein and the adjective energos (energes). These are used in the Scriptures, but scholars have noted their use in earlier times to describe different things. Think of a medicine that works; of surgery that gets to the cause of a problem. Think of a battering ram that beats down city gates; of a magistrate who is active in performing his duties; of land which is productive; of a mill in working order. In the Septuagint, it speaks of a day which is not the Sabbath but a working day. Think of a person who does not just think good thoughts but puts them into action. 'Energeia is not a man's potential action, it is his actual action. It is the demonstration of inner character in deeds. It is goodness plus efficiency.... focussed, purposeful, meaningful, effective, energetic action' (Barclay).

So the apostle Paul comes to speak of God's energeia.

The supreme example he gives of God's energy is in the resurrection of Christ, "the working of his great might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead..." (Ephesians 1.19,20). His exercise of power did not stop at Jesus becoming alive rather than dead (though this in itself is startling enough). He made him "sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name which is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; and he has put all things under his feet and has made him head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all" (vv.20-23).

God's astonishing power is also at work in the Christian believer, if he or she can but realise it. It is "the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe" (v.9). It is energy bringing about the effective call of all who believe. They are brought into their inheritance, into the company of 'saints', who were chosen as part of a plan before divine energy created the world. This energy is working in each individual.

In Christ we have come to full life. Our baptism is a picture of a death and a resurrection, a death to the old life - 'buried with him in baptism' - and then being 'raised with him' to the new life. But it is more than just a picture, it involves faith in God's energy. His effective action which was shown in Christ's resurrection is now active in our new lives. We are 'made alive' together with Christ Jesus: infringements of God's law are all forgiven, legal requirements are set aside because of the Cross (Colossians 2.10-14)).

Beyond this, our hopes for a future life also depend on God's energy. As citizens of heaven resident on earth we are waiting, still, for our Saviour. We expect him to change our present bodies to become like his body, which is glorious. How? By His energy which gives him control over everything.

Paul experienced this energy as he preached and taught. He had been made a minister, startlingly, on the Damascus road, but also continually by God's grace working in his life before and after that event. In this he was conscious of the energy, the effective working of His power. Paul understood this as being part of God's whole scheme of things. It was his task to tell all races of the limitless riches to be found in Christ. He had to help men realise that the Creator's previously hidden purpose was to establish a community, the church, which would be evidence of his eternal intentions (Ephesians 3.7ff). For each individual this should involve the strength of the Spirit in one's inner being; Christ 'dwelling' in their hearts because they believed in him; with love as their foundation and the source of their ability to grow; and having an awareness of God and Christ which goes beyond anything one can be told or mentally understand. This came about through His power energising them.

This was the divine strategy in which Paul was playing his part (Colossians 1.24-29). His work was not just proclamation, it was personal pastoral care for each convert - with warnings, wise teaching and advice, so that each one might become 'mature in Christ'. "For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me."

In Paul's lifetime the community began to grow, with congregations scattered over all the world. They looked to their leaders, who like Paul might be imprisoned. Each group was made up of individuals who might not necessarily get on well with one another. So Paul wrote to the churches at Ephesus and the surrounding area, urging them to live in a way that was appropriate to God's calling effective within them. They should restrain their personal urges, drives and ambitions, but be eager, on the other hand, to 'maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace'. Within this unity God's gifts were given to individuals, and the use of the gifts was for the benefit and service of all. The result must be growth. The picture Paul gives is Christ as the head of a body, each individual as a part of it, all linked together, growing together... with purposeful effective energy (Ephesians 4.16).

It is the same in our day, nearly two thousand years on. As believers, are we expected to be energetic? Should we take as our model the workman who gets things done? Some might find this hard, for not everyone is physically fit or mentally agile. It might be better to take as our model the power tool in the workman's hand. The tool uses the energy which is given to it, supplied by battery or cable, and it responds to control. So it must be God's energy which we look for, which is not the same thing as our own physical or mental energies. If we are naturally energetic people, we can be thankful, and use our energies as God guides us. Yet if our own energy is small, we might be like a tool which perhaps is used only once, but does what it was designed for, responsive to an energy and control beyond itself. It has been said that 'the glory of the Christian life is that it is the life which is clothed with the energeia, the energy, the effective power of God himself'.