Power
We have this interesting concept from the Greek of the Bible, and we quote from Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Strongs – 1849 is used for the word “Power” here, and this word covers widely all roles and functions of a powerful Monarch or King. But here is also alluded the concept of “Power” which is often used in the Greek, when strength and superhuman is more prominent, and they often use the Greek word “Dunamis,” (Ancient Greek: δύναμις) is a Greek philosophical concept meaning “power”, “potential” or “ability”, and we still use this concept in English understanding as “Dynamite.”
The “Power” unleashed is best seen when it is actually “Unleashed,” right before your eyes. Say a huge bolder has fallen down upon the major road in a storm and is unmovable, permanently blocking all traffic, but that is until you insert a stick or two of dynamite, boom, and what rock, it has disappeared in a moment, all that is left is to just sweep away the crumbs, and traffic can flow once more. Top Fuel Dragsters, are running more than 11,000 Horsepower, and a fair few thousand horsepower is lost just driving the Supercharger, which crams copious quantities of air into the engine every second. Now that is earth shaking, ear deafening, raw power. Your twin engine Boeing 737, or Airbus A320 passenger jet has in excess of 100,000 Horsepower, so that is why you sink deeply into your seat on takeoff.
Now Jesus in our opening verse, clearly states what he holds, and that is “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” We have ample eye witnesses accounts of Jesus; Raising the dead, feeding thousands from a small boy’s lunch, walking on water, calming a vicious storm, healing disgusting diseases, forgiving my sin, and cleansing my soul, re-instating me as a “Child of God,” and that is forgiving and restorative power. John 1:3 “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” And that is serious eye watering power, to speak into existence this world, and all that in it is, the moon stars and so much more, even let there be light, and that zips along at 186,000 miles a second, and Jesus spoke that light into existence, and that is real serious Power.
Jesus is so powerful, so now what was that minute wee problem that you were struggling with, bring it to Jesus, he has more than enough “Power”[Dunamis], to attend to it for you, explode it into a myriad of pieces, but he loves you so deeply, that he went to Calvary to give you a shot at real life, and he is just waiting for you to give him the permission he needs to attend to it for you, Boom, and it will be gone in a micro-second.
But then we meet people like these, as quoted in 2 Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” These people have all the externals, all the right words, all the right speech, but are actually void of “Dunamis.” Empty cans making lots of noise, but containing no observable power. Jesus spoke of the “Church Pastors” of his day in these terms, Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men’s] bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Matthew 5:20 “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Here again we have lots of “Showiness and Display,” but no Power, no evidence of an intimate relationship, much like Planet Earth, before Jesus stepped up creating the little details. Genesis 1:2 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Jesus steps up to “without form, and void,” and “Power” makes an abundant and fruitful beautiful world appear in micro-seconds. We can so often loses sight of Eternal things and once more degenerate into being “without form, and void,” well that is until Jesus is invited into our Soul, and this Happens. Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
Colossians 1:27 “To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” This tells us that if we really do have Jesus Christ indwelling, then we have “All Power,” and copious quantities of “Dunamis,” which is why pagans were so scared to go into the “Early Church,” because of the very common occurrences of mighty power, mighty acts, and mighty miracles were a regular, daily and common occurrence. What Jesus performed, the Disciples also performed, Luke 7:22 “Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.”
John 14:12-15 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it]. If ye love me, keep my commandments.” So now, just why are mighty miracles not a common occurrence, maybe we are “Powerless,” we are right out of “Dunamis.” 2 Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” This situation appears to admonish us that we are empty of the Holy Spirit, Powerless, no more “Dunamis,” or have we swapped our powerful Creator God, for a puny fake? James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Let us each resolve to be daily “Spirit Filled,” active Obedient Christians, loaded with copious quantities of “Power” [Dunamis.]
