Power of God

Good morning Zebras,

I learned something this week that I wanted to share with you.

God has me focused on learning about the Holy Spirit and the power that comes from His presence in our life, so yesterday when I was reading A.W. Tozer’s book The Counselor: Straight Talk About the Holy Spirit, I was quite interested in the following text:

Jesus had said, ”Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:29b.)  A definition of the word “power” means ability to do.  You know, because it is the Greek word from which our English word “dynamite” comes, some of the brethren try to make out that the Holy Spirit is dynamite, forgetting that they have the thing upside down.  Dynamite was named after that Greek word, and the Holy Spirit and the power of God were not named after dynamite. Dynamite was discovered less than 200 years ago, but this Greek word from which we get our word “power” goes back to the time of Christ.  It means ability to do-that’s all, just “ability to do.”

Then he gave this example:  “One man picks up a violin and gets nothing out of it but squeaks and raucous sounds.  That man doesn’t have the ability to do.  Another man picks up the violin and he is soon playing beautiful, rich melodies…It is the man with the ability to do who wins. It means the dynamic ability to be able to do what you are given to do.”  

And I really liked that.  I don’t know about you but I’ve heard numerous pastors make reference to dynamite when talking about the Holy Spirit.  It always gave me the impression we should be running around blowing up or something.

So this morning I looked up the original Greek word to see if Tozer was correct and here’s what I found in the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible listed under “Power”
Power: Ability to do things, by virtue of strength, skill, resources, or authorization. What the Bible says about power may be subsumed under four headings: (1) the unlimited power of God; (2) the limited power God gives to his creatures; (3) the power of God seen in Jesus Christ; (4) the power of God (by the Holy Spirit) in the lives of his people.

I couldn’t stop there so I went on to see what it said about the Power of God in our Lives and this is what it said:

The Power of God in the Lives of His People.

…When we turn to the NT we read of the gospel itself as “the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith” (Rom 1:16)... In that life as children of God power is received from the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:8), inner strength to live in his service (Eph 3:16), power to be his witnesses (Lk 24:49; Acts 1:8), power to endure suffering (2 Tm 1:8), power that enables for ministry (Eph 3:7), power in the face of weakness (2 Cor 12:9), power through prayer (Jas 5:16), and power to be kept from evil (1 Pt 1:5). Those who do great things in the service of Christ do not do them in their own strength (Acts 3:12); he sent out his disciples confident only in the assurance that all things are under his authority and that they would have the power of his unfailing presence with them (Mt 28:18–20).

And I decided all of that was way better that running around “blowing-up.”

God has given us amazing strength-to endure, to overcome, to resist, and to live lives free from evil.  And that is the kind of power I want to have.

Love,

Jill