Attributes of God - Power
Why study about God's Power?
- God wants His power to be known
- 2 Cor 4:7 God's power surpasses all other power
- Surpassing - "Far beyond" in 2 Cor 4:17
- Judges 7:2 Gideon's army reduced to show God's power
- It resurrects us (our benefit)
- I Cor 6:14 God will raise us by His power
- Keeps us from Idolatry
- Deut 8:17-20 Not by your power but MINE (remember)
- Danger of punishment
- Isaiah 10:12,13 Arrogant king punished (v 13 "by my strength")
- Remember Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall"
Power Defined - Two Key words in NT
- Dunamis
- Inherent power or ability to accomplish a thing
- Ex. Matthew 28:28 All power & authority in heaven and earth is given to me
- God has inherent ability to do anything He pleases
- Exousia
- Authority (sometimes translated "power")
- Matthew 21:23 - by what authority are you doing these things?
- Our power/authority is derived from what God give to us.
- Nothing is impossible
- Job 42:2 "“I know that you can do all things,and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
- Genesis 18:12-15 "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"
- Jeremiah 32:17 Nothing is too hard for you (evidenced in creation)
- Luke 1:37 literally each individual utterance of God can be done
- Matthew 19:26 With God all things are possible (form of dunamis)
- Job 38 (cf Job 9:5-11) Over Nature
- 4 laid foundations of earth
- 8 shut seas in boundaries
- 12 commands each day to begin
- 35 controls lightening
- 39-41 feeds lions and ravens
- Matthew 14:25 Christ walked on Water
- Notice the boat was "taking a beating" because of the waves
- Consider His Awesome Power over physics
- Contrast Psalm 115:4-8 Idols are mute, deaf, and dumb
- Restrains Evil
- Genesis 20:6 - God restrains us from being as fully evil as we could
- Romans 1:24 - God gave them up...Means he was restraining or does restrain
- Psalm 81:12 - God gave Israel over to their stubborn hearts
- Hebrews 1:3 & Col 1:3 All things are sustained or held together by Him
- Psalm 66:9 keeps us alive
- Ephesians 3:20 Ability (dunamis) to do more than we ask or imagine
- v. 16 Power (dunamis) of God for salvation (deliverance, preservation, safety)
- But, God is all-powerful inherently
- Why does He need the Gospel?
- v 17 "For" (causative) in it the righteousness of God is revealed
- God's justice does not allow Him to ignore or overlook sin
- cf. Romans 3:25,26 God is just in reconciling with sinners because of Gospel
- Christ's atonement for sin enables God to reconcile with His people
- Without denying His wrath, justice, etc.
- God's power (ability) is limited only by His nature
How does this affect us?
- Strengthens our faith
- Wisdom is the ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action
- Power is ability to carry the actions of these judgments
- Strengthens our understanding of "Whom shall we fear?"
- Psalm 27:1, 23:4, Heb 13:6, Matthew 10:28
- Helps our prayer life
- Lord's Prayer - Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever
- We begin to see that the "mighty works" are from God's hand
- Psalm 111:6 - Israel received the promise land by the power of God
- It shows us God's kingdom in which we live
- I Cor 4:19-20 Kingdom consists of power not talk
- Shows us how we produce good works
- Eph 2:10 - God created good works for us to walk in (power of God enables this)
- Without understanding God's power, we become defeated and fail to walk rightly, but as we grasp the power of God, we learn to lean on Him and the power living within in us
- Eph 3:20 "power (dunamis) at work within us"
- We understand our role
- Psalm 8:5-8 We are "given" dominion
- Matthew 28:18-20 Christ was "given" authority and passes it to us
- Enhances our worship
- Review lyrics of "O Worship the King"
Conclusion
- God is the source of power (omnipotent)
- His ability only limited by His nature (cannot overlook sin forever due to His justice)
- Do not fear
- Easier said than done
- We definitely have a reason to "not fear"
- God has power (dunamis, inherent ability) to control all things
- More than we ask or imagine
- Seek Him, Phil 4 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
- Worship Him for His almighty power
- Look for evidence of His power in your life
- Rejoice when you see it in everyday activities
- Finally, do not fret
- When God's power isn't seen, it is not missing due to lack of faith, prayer, or anything on our part.
- We can definitely miss it or not see it, but...
- God's wisdom and power cannot be thwarted by us
- Satan and man already tried this (see Eph 3:10-11)
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