Saturated from the Inside Out

"I became a servant of this Gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power" (Eph. 3:7).

The word translated here as “servant” could be translated as minister.

In the New Testament, the word translated here as “servant” usually refers to the Lord inspiring His servants to carry out His plan for His people – i.e. as His "minister" (like a deacon serving Him in a local church). In Paul's eyes, this call is for every believer!

He is talking about here that God made you unique and special, and when you messed up, he made a way to forgive you. The gift of God's grace is the way God gave us to be forgiven!

So we all are to be ministers of the good news in sharing God's grace with others.

This is possible because we have the power of the Holy Spirit. The same power Paul had, we each have today. Let’s be clear here. The power we are talking about is not something that we can generate on our own. It’s God’s power within us that makes this possible. By the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we claim His power and are empowered to be God’s love in this world.

What kind of things has God done with his power?

He created all things. He made you. He made me. He helped blind people to see, people who couldn’t walk, to get up and jump around. He even got some people up from the dead. He fed hungry people. He protected people. He healed people. He helped people whom everyone else saw as ordinary people to do some pretty amazing things. And guess what? He’s got plans for each of us!

This power empowers us to love, to forgive, and to bless others. Others should visibly see the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He places the power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. The act of this is empowering. “Empower” is an exciting word. It means to put power in. So the Holy Spirit puts the love of God in our hearts and minds to be saturated in his love. So we are: saturated from the inside out.

To be saturated means to be filled. Think about a sponge when it fills with water.

Sponges absorb a lot of moisture. Eventually, the sponge will start to leak with the water it has soaked up. Imagine that we are the sponge, and the Holy Spirit is the water. When we accepted Christ into our hearts, the holy spirit started pouring God's love into our hearts. Eventually, this love begins to be in every part of our lives, like the water in every aspect of the sponge to be filled and to leak. Therefore, we are the sponge being filled with God’s power, in turn, His love. To be saturated in God’s love and power means we will be spilling His love to others as we serve, love, give, and bless others. We are empowered through the Holy Spirit.

I want you to think about your coworkers, friends, or family.

Truth time!!

Do you think they see God in you? When was the last time you had a conversation with someone about God’s love and power?

Prayer:

Lord, may we be saturated in your love from the inside out. May we be filled so full with your Love and power that it flows out to those around us. May our friends, family, and co-workers experience your love and power through our presence! Lord gives us the confidence to be your love and speak your power to others in our lives. Amen!