Kingdom Power

I’ve been studying a book by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones that addresses the topic of the Bible called The Kingdom of God. The book is based from sermons he preached while pastoring at Westminster Chapel in London. One of the chapters deals with a fascinating subject which comes a verse which makes a specific statement of the Kingdom, power.

1 Corinthians 4:20
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

Power. It certainly it is one of the things that many men in the world seek. To have power in the world is to exert control over people. But as disciples of Jesus that shouldn’t be our goal. The mission of the church and its people is not to force people to do things, but it is to influence change by shining the light of Christ. When the Kingdom of God came to the earth through the incarnation of Jesus, clearly Jesus, while being fully man, was also fully God and carried with Him the same power He has had throughout eternity. While there is some argument amongst theologians over how this all worked, I think the Bible is clear that Jesus, while on this earth as a man, usually operated through the power of the Holy Spirit. This explains why He was baptized as we read in Matthew 3:16-17 which states that “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.” After His death and ascension Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within each and every believer and it is through the Holy Spirit in which we receive the power to do everything God calls us to do. Jesus modeled that for us.

I remember a man who attended church with me several years back who was constantly asking the question, “Where is the power in this church? Where are the miracles?” He seemed to expect that God should be performing great acts of power through miracles daily. I guess he wanted to see everybody healed, people raised from the dead, and water turned into wine. The truth is we have seen miracles in our church. But they weren’t spectacles that made the news. They were things like healings and recoveries from sicknesses and accidents that defied doctor’s expectations and of which they couldn’t explain.

Sometimes people think God is a magic genie who must do our bidding. That’s just not true. If that is why you became a Christian, then you need to examine yourself to see if you truly are in the faith. My friend? He disappeared from the scene and last time I spoke with him he had drifted from the church.

But this does not mean God has not given us power. He has. The Apostle Paul made this statement in Philippians 3:10-11, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

This begs the question, what is the power of His resurrection?

I think that the answer to this question at it base level is simply this. It is the power of new birth and new life. You see before we knew, Jesus we are dead.

Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.

Now the good news.

Ephesians 2:4-5
 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.

This is the power of the Gospel. But does God stop there? No, He does not, having resurrected us from the dead life we lived in our sinful state, He calls us to be holy. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says that “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” And through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do just that.

The greatest witness we can give to the world is the new life we live in Christ. When people around us see the changes in our life they will take notice. While Christians are not under the law, the new freedom in Christ is not freedom to sin. When we are born again the old has passed away, the new begins to move in. As we grow in Christ we have been empowered to change. That is the essence of the new birth. The words we speak will change. Personally, I was delivered immediately from cursing. Some are taken directly out of drug addictions. Others maybe are healed from a life of worry and depression. Each person’s salvation experience is different. But the truth is though that the power to overcome anything in our lives is available. Jesus said this Himself in Matthew 19:26, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Is there power in the Kingdom of God? You bet there is. Open your bible and read the stories of how God rescues and delivers people from all kinds of impossible situations. Believe them, they are true. The Bible is not a book of fables and myths; it is the very Word of God.

No, you cannot just speak things into existence. You probably aren’t going to raise the dead or heal the sick. That is God’s work, not ours. But you can be raised from the dead and have victory over sin. But first you must die to yourself and humble yourself before God asking Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:9-11
 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Power? Yep, if you are Christ’s you have power. Holy Spirit power. Jesus set us free from this sinful nature and then empowered us to become like Him through the indwelling spirit. That brothers and sisters is a miracle.