Recently, I was thinking about how we might not be on the same page as God when it comes to the relationship that we are pursuing with Him. Maybe this is one of the reasons why God seems absent at times. So I started to list what came to mind as the key elements of a relationship with God. In no particular order I came up with faith, self denial, righteousness, fruit of the Spirit, love, hope, freedom and power. You could probably come up with more.
It occurred to me that the power element is the most attractive to the world, but also the most confusing for me, and I believe for the church in general. There are groups of Christians who would have power at the top of their list. And there are groups of Christians who would not have power on the list at all.
How should we experience that power? Why do we not experience that power more often? We want more of that power, but does God want us to have more? Is this an area where we are not on the same page as God? That was true for Paul with his thorn in the flesh. Should we be looking to God for the power to be more effective in our work, especially when that work is for His kingdom? Isn’t that the application of Eph 3:20 to our work? Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
What did Jesus have to say about power as a part of our relationship with God? Jesus’ had a ministry of power with His miracles and stated in John 14:12-14 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” In Acts 1 He tells the disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The disciples do continue to operate in miraculous power as recorded in Acts. These are the passages that those who would have power at the top of their list will camp out on.
But Jesus also addressed power in several passages that should cause us to question the value of power as a marker of relationship with God. In Luke 10, the 72 who are sent out to minister return understandably enthusiastic about the power that they were operating with. Yet Jesus says to them, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In Mathew 24:24 false Christs will be operating in supernatural power, performing great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. And there is the puzzling passage in Mathew 7:21-23 where Jesus tells people who claim to have cast out demons and performed many mighty works in his name, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ It is shocking that those who certainly appear to be operating with supernatural power from God would be told by Jesus, “I never knew you.” We would view these people as having a strong relationship with God to be able to do what they do. But Jesus declares no relationship at all. How do we understand this?
The desire for power, much more than any of the other elements of a relationship with God that I listed, can very easily be an expression of our flesh. Virtually all pagan religions are seeking to gain the power of their god or gods for their lives. That is the heart of their relationship with the divine however they understand it. The theology of work application of Eph 3:20 might celebrate the potential effectiveness when our work is done to serve God. But everyone in the world of work is seeking to be powerfully effective in their endeavors. When is our pursuit of power for the glory of God actually more of an expression of our fleshly desire for power?
Running out of space so look for more next week.
I would love to connect with you about these posts if they have stirred any thoughts or questions. Take a minute, shoot me an email at bo@leavenedlives.org, and let’s see where that takes us.