As we conclude this week talking about Our Riches in Christ, and all the treasures that are ours in Him, we are looking at power today. We have been given the empowerment to do several things as a Christian.
Sometimes I am asked what is the difference between living the Christian life under the power of the Holy Spirt, under the power of God, verses self-discipline? The answer to that is that all those self-disciplines can accomplish many things, but there are certain things it cannot accomplish. The Lord calls on us to do things, discipline ourselves, obey and so forth, but without His enablement, we are incapable of doing the things that matter spiritually.
I am going to discuss three things concerning the power the Lord gives us:
1. The Power of Evangelism. Acts 1:8 says, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” The twelve apostles, and those that ministered with them, could not really go out and do anything of significance, spiritually speaking, they could not bring people to Christ without the enablement and power of the Holy Spirit. So, they were instructed to wait until that power came. When that power came, the Lord did wonderful things to the ministries of these apostles and others.
2. The Power of Salvation. You cannot save yourself and without the power of the gospel you are hopelessly lost. Two very important passages on this are in Romans and 1 Corinthians. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul said that he was not ashamed of the gospel. He said he would not pull back from explaining and giving out the gospel. It is the only power available for salvation. So, he is far from ashamed of it because of its power. In 1 Corinthians 1:18, something very similar is said, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” . . .
