The Power of God

God's power is made evident by His creation. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." God created everything out of nothing simply by speaking His word. All things that are visible were created from that which is invisible. God breathed life into Adam and made him a living soul.

2 Corinthians 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

But God's power in the life of the Christian is made evident in His salvation. We don't have to look into the past to learn about God's power; He is working today in our lives and giving us evidence of it. The Bible speaks of God's power today as being greater and more miraculous than that of creation. His power today is the same power that He exerted when He raised Jesus from the dead, which, by the way, is described in the New Testament as being God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit doing. God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus laid down His life and took it back up again, and Jesus was raised in and by the Spirit. All three persons of the godhead worked together in the resurrection of Christ, and all three persons work together in our salvation as well.

Eph 1:19 ...and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1 Peter 1:5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 3:22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

So we see that it is the power of God that saved us; the very same power by which He raised Jesus from the dead is the power that sanctifies us and keeps us.

Phil 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Lest our faith should be in our own works or our own goodness, because we are not worthy and we know we are not worthy. We have a natural resistance to the idea that we are holy, but our faith is in God and not in ourselves. It is the power of God that makes us holy, which means that it is not humility that makes us doubt our holiness, but only lack of faith.

To have proper faith, we need to believe God's word; and when He says that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness, that the blood brings us close to God where we used to be far off, that the power of God, which He exerted when He raised Jesus from the dead is the very same power He raises us up into the heavenlies with Christ, He is speaking the truth. He is laying out a sacred contract with us, written in His own blood, and giving us great and precious promises in which it is impossible for Him to lie. Our salvation does not depend on us, but it depends on the power of God and on God's faithfulness to His own word.

When we believe God, just as with Abraham, it is counted to us as righteousness. Just as it is impossible to please God without faith and he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who dilligently seeks Him, we also remember that faith is not even our own but it too is the gift of God.

So if we have been given saving faith, that means God has chosen us. If God has chosen us, that means he predestined us.

Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Romans 8:30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Ephesians 1:5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Ephesians 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

So what do we have to fear? Can anything separate us from the love of God?

Romans 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Remember King David in Psalm 51 when He asked God to create a clean heart in him. This was a hint, a preview into the nature of salvation. David knew the power of God to make him holy even though he had sinned. David knew that his own sinful mind could not make itself holy, and so David asked God for the impossible. What could have inspired David to ask for such an outrageous thing? To create in him a clean heart? Yes, David knew that it is the power of God which makes us holy and that God can do the impossible and that God is willing to give us a new heart if we ask in faith. David was asking God to make him a new creation, which is exactly what the Bible promises us in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.