The Power of God
“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.” (Romans
1:16)
The great power of God is
shown through His salvation of man. Before
revealing His power to save through the gospel, God had demonstrated His power
in an infinite number of ways. It was
first displayed in creation. The
heavens and the earth, light, vegetation, sun, moon, stars, and creatures of
the land, air and water were created in the first five days. On the sixth day, God’s power was exhibited
as He formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Psalm
33:6-9 describes creation and God’s power with these words, “By the word of
the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His
mouth. … Let all the inhabitants of the
world stand in awe of Him. For He
spoke, and it was done. He commanded,
and it stood fast.”
The power of God continued to
be demonstrated as He delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt, led them
across the Red Sea and through the wilderness, and helped them take possession
of His gift to them - the promised land of Canaan. God’s power was well known to Israel and the other nations of the
world by His rule and victories over His enemies (those who served other
gods). “…How awesome are Your
works! Through the greatness of Your
power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You” (Psalm 66:3). “He rules by His power forever…” (Psalm
66:7). “He has declared to His
people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations” (Psalm
111:6). “… He saved them for His
name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power known” (Psalm 106:8).
God saved Israel so His
mighty power would be known. God’s
power to save is shown in an even greater way today through Christ and His
gospel. This salvation is spiritual and
this gift is eternal life. In the Old
Testament, we find God’s power shown in physical, external ways visible to the
eyes of humans. In the gospel, we find
God’s power shown in spiritual, internal ways visible through the eyes of
faith. In the Old Testament, we find God’s
power shown by His authority and conquests.
In the gospel, we find God’s power shown through peace. This peace with God comes through the blood
of Christ, allowing man to be reconciled back to God (Colossians 1:20). This peace with God comes when we are
justified by faith in Christ (Rom 5:1).
Christ is our peace, having broken down the middle wall of separation
and preached peace to both Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2:14-17). We understand that God’s authority has not
at all diminished in the gospel, however His power through peace seems to
receive a greater emphasis. The relationship
between power and peace in the gospel is interesting to consider. It is a gospel of peace (Romans 10:15,
Ephesians 6:15) as well as the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).
The power of God works today
on the hearts, souls, and minds of men and women to convince and convert them
by the truth of the gospel. The apostle
Peter conveyed this truth in the following two passages. “… God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Again speaking of Jesus, he said, “nor is there salvation in
any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we
must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The
seed is planted, and faith is produced in the hearer. This faith in the heart leads to confession with the mouth (Romans
10:10, Acts 8:37). This faith in the
heart also leads to repentance, involving both a regret for past sins and a
commitment to reform our life by following Christ. According to Colossians 2:12, both our faith and the working
(power) of God is demonstrated in baptism.
“Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him
through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” How does God work in baptism? The Scriptures teach our sins are forgiven,
we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, put on Christ, and are saved in baptism
(Acts 2:38, Galatians 3:27, I Peter 3:21).
By His power, God has now “conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of
His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of
sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
God works through His power,
not only in the initial stages of bringing one to Christ, but also in our
living and growing as a Christian. Our
faith is not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (I Corinthians
2:5). After having been spiritually
born to a living hope and an incorruptible inheritance reserved in heaven for
us, we are then kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation (I Peter
1:3-5). May we continue to be
strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, according to the
power that works in us (Ephesians 3:16, 20).
Whether we look backward
thousands of years to the beginning of creation or forward thousands of years
into the future of eternity, we know that God’s eternal power and divine nature
are evident in every past, present, and future day. As we consider the many ways God’s power has been displayed, let
us especially appreciate His power on a personal level in our salvation and
spiritual walk. May we allow the power
of God to bring peace to us - peace with God, self, and others.
“Draw near to God and He
will draw near to you” (James
4:8).
“Now may the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by
the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
The Gospel Message
May 2006
by Kevin Ferguson