“I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:19,20
The Bible speaks a great deal about power, primarily as it relates to the power of God. This power is not only associated with the authority of God but is the very essence of strength and force. In the spiritual realm, when we see the Lord Jesus conquering the “powers of darkness,” we see a superior strength, and forceful capacity, which overcomes and drives back the powers of the enemy. In warfare, though strategy, weapons, and discipline are necessary components to win a battle, without power from one source or another, it is virtually impossible. We need immediately to draw a line here concerning the nature of power, and the different sources of that power. One of the most concise statements in Scripture which gives us a clear understanding concerning the difference in the power coming from men, and that coming directly from God, is found in Zechariah 4:6. Zechariah writes: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit,” saith the Lord of hosts.'” Now, why does the Lord make this distinction between that which is of Him, and that of man? It is for at least two reasons. The first is that only by the power of God that the will of God will be accomplished. The flesh, by virtue of its nature, can never accomplish that which the Holy Spirit can do. This is born out in the New Testament many times. We see this in Jesus’ dealings with the woman at the well in Samaria, with Nicodemus, with the healing of the paralytic, and then at Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out upon the disciples. In all of these cases, as well as in numerous examples in the Old Testament, there was a clear distinction between the very limited “power” of men, and the all-sufficient, overwhelming power of God.
In John’s gospel, he speaks of the power of God being received to be born again. (Jn. 1:12) To the disciples, after the resurrection, but before Pentecost, the command of God was that they were to wait in Jerusalem until they had received “power,” and this, by the Spirit. Paul writes that the Gospel is the “…power of God unto salvation.” (Rom. 1:16) To the Ephesian believers, he would write in one of his prayers for them, “…That He (the Father) would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.’ (3:16) To the Colossian believers he would write on the subject of their walk with Christ, that they would be, “…strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” (1:11)
The power of God, and its revelation, go hand in hand. If there would be the experience of God’s power in the life on an individual, he needs a vision, or God’s perspective of that power. This is very clear seen again in another of Paul’s prayers for the Ephesian believers. He prays they would know by the Spirit, “…the exceeding greatness of His (God’s) power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.” (1:19) If there would be the appropriation of this power of God, by the Spirit, given by God and received by the believer, then there must be a clear understanding and grasp of God’s promise and provision. Perhaps nowhere is this so clearly declared than in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (2:4,5)
The Lord Jesus Christ is our power. He gives His power to the one who truly trusts Him.
Dear Father, Empower us to live by Thy Spirit’s power today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.