Spiritual Power

Displays of spiritual power are found throughout the Bible. Today, people search for spiritual power in many ways and from various sources. Christians seek power in prayer and spiritual warfare. In the salvation era, power must be understood in light of Jesus' bodily resurrection. We must not substitute the historical form of spiritual power for its continuing substance.

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Jesus promised that His disciples would be clothed with power (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8). We should desire spiritual power, but we must understand it biblically.

Promise

Power in the New Testament is the result of a promise. God the Father made a promise to the Son, who pours out power on believers through the Holy Spirit. God has always longed to be with His people, but the problem of sin gets in the way. Jesus cared for our sin problem once for all on the cross. Now God can be with and in His people forever through the Spirit. Acts 1:4-5 uses the metaphor of baptism to describe how every individual who trusts Jesus as Lord is filled and overtaken by the Spirit.

Orientation

True spiritual power is oriented toward a deeper, growing understanding of Jesus Christ as Lord. He is given this twofold title in Acts 2:36, Romans 14:9, Revelation 11:15, and the introduction to most epistles. He perfectly fulfills all the prophecies of the Messiah's first coming, and He will fulfill all the promises of the Second Coming and beyond. Any power that does not point to growing knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is counterfeit.

Witness

Christ-oriented spiritual power produces a unique kind of witness, the testimony of a person whose character is being transformed. In Luke 24:30-43, a number of disciples were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Jesus. He transformed their trouble and doubt into joy and amazement. The Lord does not want eyewitnesses who are mere spectators, but witnesses who are personally involved. As we tell others about the Savior, we must be submitted to the message we proclaim. Otherwise, our witness is inauthentic. You cannot witness to power you have never experienced.

Ends the Agony of Death

Spiritual power as displayed in the resurrection of Jesus puts an end to the agony of death in a person's life. Peter preaches this in Acts 2:24. This is the substance of the power of the resurrection: we are delivered from the penalty of death and assured an eternal home in Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

Repentance

Repentance is required to have true spiritual power. This is the heart of Peter's appeal in Acts 2:38-41. Repentance includes turning your decisions over to the lordship of Christ. He deals with our guilt, forgives our sin, and delivers us from perverseness. The Holy Spirit indwells our hearts, illumines our minds to Scripture, assures us, gifts us, and intercedes for us. The same power that saves is what sanctifies.

Application Points

• Do you desire spiritual power? How do you seek it? Are you pursuing a deeper, growing understanding of Jesus Christ as Lord?

• Are you being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit through Christ? Can others around you see that reality in your life? You cannot witness to power you have never experienced.

• If you have been born again, Christ has begun to put an end to the power of death in your life. This life on earth is no longer all you get, so there is no hurry to accumulate or accomplish. You don't have to force your opinion on anyone in a sinful manner.

Tools for Further Study

Cross References to Explore

• Exodus 19:16-25 – God's power displayed on Mt. Sinai.
• Genesis 3:8, Exodus 6:7, Leviticus 26:11-13, 15:31, Jeremiah 30:22, Ezekiel 36:28, 37:12, Joel 2:27 – God's desire to be with His people.
• Colossians 1:27 – "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

A Hymn to Encourage: "There Is Power in the Blood"

Would you be free from the burden of sin?
There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood;
Would you o’er evil a victory win?
There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.

There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r
In the precious blood of the Lamb.

Would you be free from your passion and pride?
There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood;
Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide;
There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.

Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow?
There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood;
Sin-stains are lost in its life-giving flow;
There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.

Would you do service for Jesus your King?
There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood;
Would you live daily His praises to sing?
There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.