the Power of God

...for the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power (1 Cor. 4:20).

...but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me...to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8)

But know this:  in the last days, perilous times will come: men will be lovers of themselves...having a form of religion but denying its power (2 Tim.3:1-5).

 



Books such as God Calling and Jesus Calling remind us on a daily basis of the "power" of God to save us -- not only the power to save our "souls," but the power to maintain our peace, our joy, our love in the face of difficulties and struggles.  When people compartmentalize religion into some sort of box like 'going to church on Sunday,' or 'following the rules,' they have what Paul calls "a form of religion, but denying its power."

 

Judaism is a very powerful religion, but for many people (some of whom I have met), it has become not "power," but "culture," a way of life, a social milieu.  For those Jews who embrace their faith, however, every "mitzvah" or good deed brings the power of God into their daily lives.  The same is true of Christianity: many are called, but few are chosen.  I wonder how many Catholics and Protestants know the power of their faith, the power of their God.

 

The Greek word for "power" in the New Testament is dunamis, the root of our English word dynamite.  All religion, when embraced, is supposed to bring the dynamite of God into our lives.  And that dynamite 'blows up' our "human nature," or the natural man, transforming it into a person of God:  and to all who received Him, He gave the power to become children of God (Jn. 1).  The New Testament is full of descriptions of "the empty way of life handed down to us by our fathers," as St. Peter puts it.  The Epistle of Paul to Timothy quoted above says this:

 

But know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of religion but denying its power.  And from such people, turn away!....but evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (2 Tim. 3).

 

Another wonderful description of the 'natural man' can be found in Galatians 5:22, contrasted there with the work of the Holy Spirit in us, producing the fruits of the children of God:  love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, long-suffering, generosity, etc. 

 

There are two ways of life: that of the natural man (what we might call human nature) and that of the spirit man, given to us by the power of God--the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in our mortal bodies, hearts, minds and souls:

 

...knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [Jesus], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him....for the death that He died, He died to sin once and for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  In the same way, reckon yourselves as indeed dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6).

 

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally-minded is death, but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.  So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. but you are not in the flesh if the Spirit of God dwells in you (Romans 8).

 

The power of God is the Spirit of God at work in our moral lives, transforming us from the natural man, the one who cannot please God, into another Christ, the Beloved Child in whom He is well -pleased.  All that is required of us is that we submit ourselves to the power of God given to us through the Holy Spirit.  He will do everything else:  He that began a good work in you will carry it through to the end.