What Is Power? David also wrote in a psalm about power. He says that he believes power belongs to God and not to himself.

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1 What Is Power? According to the Bible, power is a concept that pertains to God. In this study of what the Bible has to say about power, there will be a phrase descriptive of an aspect of power, a scripture verse quoted, and an explanation of the concept presented. THE LORD HAS POWER Recorded in the book of Chronicles is a story of King David. When contributions to the temple came in, he blessed the Lord before the people. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and Yours it is to be exalted as Head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hands are power and might; in Your hands it is to make great and to give strength to all. I Chronicles 29:11,12 These scripture verses say that the heavens and earth is the Lord s and show the Lord s greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty. The Lord has the kingdom and is the exalted head. Riches and honor come from the Lord and He reigns. Power and might are in His hands to make great and give strength to people. The picture of the power that the Lord has is a complete kingly reign. David does not say this is his powerful picture of his reign but the Lord s. POWER BELONGS TO GOD David also wrote in a psalm about power. He says that he believes power belongs to God and not to himself. God has spoken once, twice have I hear this: that power belongs to God. Psalm 62:11 David uses the fact that he knows that power belongs to God because of God s word to him. God said so twice. He then did not try to take credit for himself. David had a humble view of himself. POWER OF THE TONGUE David s son became king after his death. King Solomon asked for wisdom from God and God gave it to him abundantly. In is wisdom, King Solomon wrote the following proverb. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. Proverbs 18:21 When God created the world he spoke words to create it. This proverb says how important the words of the tongue are. Life and death are in the power of the spoken word. Saying things right or wrong brings Page 1 of 5

2 about spiritual life or spiritual death. Moral power is guided by what a person says to other people and to him or herself. GOD GIVES POWER The Old Testament prophet Isaiah praises God saying that it is God who gives power to the helpless. God is interested in helping the poor and needy, and brings the powerful people down. He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. Isaiah 40:29 Helpless people Isaiah says are the faint and weary and people who have no might. God gives them power and strength to get going again. OWN POWER AS GOD If power is viewed as the god believed in, a person is loaded with guilt and pass on like a wind. Then they sweep by like a wind and pass on, and they load themselves with guilt, [as do all men] whose own power is their god. Habakkuk 1:11 A person who does not give God the credit for the power he or she has but believes the power is his or her own sins against God and suffers guilt. They sweep on by like the wind not stopping to acknowledge people. The basis of moral power is following God s laws. The first and principal law is to acknowledge God as having supreme importance in a person s life. The power given to a person is God s power when he or she tries to follow God s laws. ALL POWER BELONGS TO JESUS Jesus after his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, reported to his disciples that God had given Him all power in heaven and earth. Jesus approached and breaking the silence said to them, All Authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matthew 28:18 Because Jesus conquered death, He had power over people to forgive their sins which had to end in death. This is the power and authority given to Jesus. CROSS IS THE POWER OF GOD Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth talks about the gospel being absurd to people who do not know about God. They think the idea is foolishness that one man died for the sins of all the people in the world. Page 2 of 5

3 For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God. I Corinthians 1:18 To the people who believe in Christ and His death on the cross as the atonement for all sin, the resurrection is the manifestation of the power of God. It is God s power to design and carry out the solution to the fact that sin must end in death without causing the people of the world to die. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die instead taking on the sin of the people of the world. Jesus could do this because He is the Son of God. GREATNESS OF POWER This greatness of power to conquer sin found in God s plan to send His Son Jesus Christ to earth is now contained in humans. However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves. II Corinthians 4:7 People are frail human vessels that contain the gospel to show this greatness of power is from God and not from the people. Power belongs to God but is not god. This cross is the manifestation of God s power and is the gospel message. This is great power working in people. POWER IS FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE The power of the gospel is for those who believe that Christ died for their sins. And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power is and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, Ephesians 1:19 God s strength as seen in the power of the gospel is for the believer to know. God wants believers to understand the immeasurable and unlimited surpassing greatness of His power. He will put people in situations that are beyond their power so that the people can know and understand the working of His mighty strength. SPIRIT OF POWER God puts the spirit of power in his people. It is not the people s power but God s power. It keeps the believer calm, well balanced, disciplined and having self-control. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. II Timothy 1:7 Page 3 of 5

4 This scripture verse says the opposite of power is timid also called cowardice and fawning fear. The spirit of power is the spirit of love and makes a person bold. The believer is able to endure pressure, remaining calm and having a well-balanced mind. Discipline and self-control come easy with the spirit of power from God in the believer. POWER IN THE WORD Scripture is a source of power for the believer. The Bible is the Word of God and is an effective and valuable tool in developing moral power. For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 The believer reads the Bible and finds in its pages an alive and power filled message. Scripture is a sharp two edged sword that penetrates the soul and the spirit, discerning the deepest thoughts and purposes of the heart. It can analyze and sift through a person s decisions, improving and clarifying their definitions of right and wrong and thoughts of the nature of God and how He wants a person to act toward other people. KNOWLEDGE STRENGTHENS POWER A person strengthens God s powerful spirit in him or her by increasing in knowledge of God and His ways. A wise man is strong and is better than a strong man, and a man of knowledge increases and strengthens his power; For by wise counsel you can wage your war, and in an abundance of counselors there is victory and safety. Proverbs 24:5,6 Strength comes from wise thought and not necessarily physical strength. The way to increase power is by gaining knowledge of God ways. Wise counsel helps a person gain moral control over his or her problems and listening to counsel gives victory and is safe. Moral power is increased by increasing knowledge of right and wrong and thinking problems through to make increasingly better decisions. SUMMARY OF WHAT IS POWER Twelve aspects of power as given in the Bible were studied. Moral power was found to come from a relationship to God. The Bible recorded David as describing power as a part of the Lord s kingly reign. God has said that power belongs to God. Spiritual life and spiritual death are in the power of the tongue. God raises up faint and weary people and gives them power. Page 4 of 5

5 If power is held as a god then a person becomes full of guilt. All power of rule is given to Jesus. The cross is the manifestation of the power of God. The gospel is held in people who are frail and human to show the power of God. To know and understand the power of God is for those who believe. The spirit of power in a person is of love, a well balanced mind, discipline, and self-control. The Word of God is full of power, active and effective discerning the deep thoughts and purposes of the heart. A person who seeks knowledge increases and strengthens his power which comes from the increase of the knowledge of God s ways. Page 5 of 5