The Wondrous Power of God

The Wondrous Power of God

Do you ever ask yourself, “Where can I get the strength to go on?” Or do you ask yourself how you can handle your fear, anxiety, worry, sinful behaviors, or getting your life pointed in the right direction?

Paul wrote, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1:18-21).

Observe how Paul piles up words as synonyms for “power.” In 1 Timothy 6:15, Paul identifies Jesus as the “only Sovereign.” the NKJV and KJV use the word “potentate.” The word refers to someone who has ultimate authority in their respective sphere. Jesus has ultimate authority (Matt. 28:18) because He has ultimate power!

God’s power is reflected in the Hebrew name for Him El Shaddai. It is first used in Genesis 17:1 and is used 48 times in the OT, most densely in Job (31 times). It associates God with power or strength. When El Shaddai was translated into the Greek (Septuagint), it was translated as pantokrator or “all-powerful.” From the LXX, it was translated into the Latin Vulgate as omnipotens which gives us the English word “omnipotent.”

God is “all powerful.” He can do anything consistent with His nature; He cannot lie, for example (Titus 1:2). Because God is “truth,” with truth being defined as “what corresponds to reality,” then God cannot do what is untrue. For example, He cannot force someone to freely choose. God works through persuasion, not through coercion.

In Job 37:23, Elihu states a truth about God: “The Almighty—we cannot find Him;
He is exalted in power and He will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness.” In Psalm 115:3, the psalmist sings: “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” The prophet Jeremiah writes: “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” (32:17).

There are at least 87 miracles recorded in the OT which God performed. This portrayal of God exists in the NT, with Him and Jesus both being called “God Almighty:” 2 Corinthians 6:18; Revelation 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 15; 21:22. Three dozen specific miracles are attributed to Jesus. He is shown to have power over nature (John 2:1-11), over diseases (John 4:43-54), over demons (Mark 1:21-27), and over death (Luke 7:11-17).

The atheists’ strongest argument against the existence of God relates to the problem of evil. They assume that if God was good, then He would defeat evil. Since evil is not defeated, then God does not exist (or at least a good God does not exist).

But the NT teaches that God will, one day, defeat evil and the exorcisms specifically show that Jesus has the power to do just that. Note Luke 11:20-22. Paul gives us words of encouragement in Ephesians 3:20-21 relative to the omnipotence of God: “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

Stand in awe of God’s power; He will use that power on your behalf.