The idea of the power of
God has been brought to my mind several times for quite a few months now. It seems that there are some Christians that
do not believe Christians have any power, nor should they. They don't want to believe this for several
reasons. Perhaps they are afraid of it,
and do not understand it. They think
that they can get along fine without anything out of the ordinary happening to
them. Also, they may think that if they
go around saying they have power, they think that they will become proud, and
this goes against Christian character. What they fail to understand is that the
power of God is not given as a personal power for personal reasons, but that it
actually allows the Holy Spirit to do great things through us. This is Christianity 101. Whatever fruit that is produced in our lives
needs to have come from the Holy Spirit in order for it to be legitimate and
advance the Kingdom of God in some way.
In other words, everything that happens to us as Christians should
really be the evidence of the outworking of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and
not a show of our flesh, or our own good works!
It is only God who deserves glory, honor and praise! There should be nothing there that we take
personal credit for.
People who fail to embrace
this power of God seem to be content to just go to church, maybe tithe, read
the Bible, pray and hope that God hears them, and that's about it. It is an orthodox religion that claims to
follow the Bible to the letter. They may
be involved in a Bible study, do some good works, maybe witness, and also try
not to say or do anything (like swear, lie, cheat, and so on) that wouldn't be
appropriate. Their Christian life is
largely unruffled, there is very little or no persecution (and they will often
avoid conflict at all costs), and usually they are nice, smiling Christians who
wouldn't hurt a fly. So what is wrong
with this picture?
For one thing, this is a
comfortable religion, and one that appeals to the flesh. If we carefully read Scripture, will we find
anything to support taking such a casual stance when it comes to the things of
God? And does this sound like the kind
of Christian experience that involves risk-taking, namely, taking up our cross
daily and following Jesus? From my own
experience, I have found that the way of the cross is a very hard way, marked
with difficulties, perils, persecutions, and attacks from all sides. If I read Scripture correctly, this should be
the normal experience for every Christian!
When we become Bible-believing Christians, it is much more than just
getting saved from eternal separation from God; it is an all-out commitment to
the One who freely gave His life for us. Anything less than that, then do we
really know the God of the Bible, or the Bible itself as well as we think we
do? And are we really sold out for
Christ, no matter the personal cost?
So in this blog, I'd like
to talk about the importance of the power of God, and why it is so necessary to
not only understand it, but know how to use it in order to walk in victory in
our daily lives. From what I have been
able to find in Scripture so far, generally, the power of God is necessary for
these three things: 1) salvation, 2) to
live the victorious Christian life (over the flesh, the world, and the devil),
3) for service. Although, I am already thinking that this
could and may work into writing a book about it since there is so much to say,
I will try to summarize it as best as I can in this blog.
To begin, we cannot even
be saved without the power of the Holy Spirit:
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name:
I know that the NIV has, for some reason, removed the
word "power" and exchanged it with "right." But this is not
consistent with other texts that amply mention the word "power" in
the context of receiving salvation. Read
the next few verses to see what I mean.
1Th 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word
only, but also in power, and in the
Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among
you for your sake.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek.
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them
that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:1Co 2:5 That your faith should
not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power
of God.
1Co 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but
in power.
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen
vessels, that the excellency of the power
may be of God, and not of us.
Our salvation is solely a
supernatural work of God:
Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in
trespasses and sins;Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:Eph 2:3 Among whom
also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the
children of wrath, even as others.Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for
his great love wherewith he loved us,Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)Eph 2:6 And
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus:Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding
riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.Eph 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God:Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.Eph 2:10 For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.
Power is also given us to
be victorious in our Christian life. It
is not enough just to have a head knowledge of the Scriptures. We are to "know" the power of God
in our daily lives. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for not knowing the Scriptures
NEITHER did they know the power of God:
Mar 12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye
not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
Luk 4:32 And they were astonished at his doctrine:
for his word was with power.
We are given power to rise
above the demands of our own sinful and fleshly nature. The Bible doesn't talk
about our own "will-power," but Christ's "resurrecting"
power in us that gives us the ultimate victory:
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.Rom 8:12
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the
flesh.Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye
through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.Rom 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.Rom 8:15
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
In verse 15 above, and
also in this next verse, we are given power to overcome fear:
2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of
fear; but of power, and of love, and
of a sound mind.
The next time you are
afraid by an unwelcome uneasiness, try quoting the above verse. Memorize it and use it in your arsenal of
Scriptures against the enemy "spirit of fear."
We are given power to
overcome the world:
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith.1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth
that Jesus is the Son of God?
Read all of I John to
understand our place in the world as children of God. Ours is an overcoming faith, only brought
about by the Spirit and the power of God.
We are given power over
Satan and all of his demons:
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means
hurt you.
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of
antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is
it in the world.1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome
them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God,Eph 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which he
purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:Eph 3:12 In whom we have boldness and
access with confidence by the faith of him.
Finally, we are given
power for service in the Kingdom.
Mat 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve
disciples, he gave them power
against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness
and all manner of disease.
Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and
commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city
of the Samaritans enter ye not:Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel.Mat 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven
is at hand.Mat 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast
out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Now we need to read one
final passage of Scripture to end the blog.
2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days
perilous times shall come.2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy,2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,2Ti 3:4 Traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;2Ti 3:5
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
We can see that the
general attitude of people in the last days will be to turn against the God of
the Bible. We may have read this over
many times and thought to ourselves, this must only apply to the unsaved, for
they wouldn't know any better. But it
doesn't say that exactly, does it? No.
This is what can happen to any of us if we turn away from the Scriptures and
the God of the Bible, so in verse 5, we are warned to turn away from people who
do this: Having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof. So we
must be very careful to NOT DENY THE
POWER of God or His Holy Scriptures.
I realize there is much
more to say on this very important topic, and I have already eliminated quite a
bit, but it's enough for today before it turns into a book! May God Bless You today for reading this
blog.
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