Shall we turn to Job 26:7-14
7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. 8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. 9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. 12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. 13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent. 14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?


Ephesians 1:18
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

I want to bring in a connection between what we saw last week and today for what we will be seeing. We saw about the wisdom of God and today we will be looking at the power of God. It is no doubt that wisdom and power don’t seem be like attributes that go together. You’ll rare find people who are wise and powerful at the same time. But with God it’s always together. In fact, there are so many references that speaks about God’s wisdom and God’s power in the same breath. We read some of the references last week. We saw of how God’s foolishness is wiser than man and the next thing that is written is God’s weakness stronger than man.

Then Paul tries to bring in the focus towards us and he says look among yourselves, look at your calling, look at who all are there among you. You’ll see there are not many wise and not many strong. Again, bringing these attributes together. And again, Paul would continue to say that has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and God has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the mighty. Again, bringing both of these attributes together. Ultimately, Paul would end the portion by saying, In Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God. And that how you see across the Bible.

There are so many more references; we read in Job for example: Job is saying, His wisdom is profound and the next thing His power is vast. And then Job would again say, To God belongs wisdom and power. He is mighty in strength and wisdom. Isaiah would say that God has great power, mighty strength and His understanding or His wisdom no one can fathom. Daniel would say the same thing, wisdom and power are His. You see these are two attributes that we might not find among us, among people that we live with. We need to ask why is it together with God? What does this signify that God is wise and powerful and both of it have been brought together the same time? Well, it’s simple to answer that question when we try to look at the counter factuals.


Power without Wisdom, Wisdom without Power
Imagine if God was all powerful but not wise. Imagine if God was all wise but not powerful. And then you have two useless situations. We live among people like this. If you just opened today’s newspaper and open up tomorrow’s newspaper, by opening up right in the middle of it you’ll end up in a section called Oped or Editorial. There’s just too much of wisdom in it. Too much of thought put into it. People who are working in Think tanks and NGOs write those articles. So much intelligence into it. And most of whatever they write it can make our lives better, but it remains in the paper. It’s never bought into implementation. Why?

People with wisdom they don’t have power to execute. They just hope that the people in power will read those articles and execute it. So much of all wisdom is powerless. It’s only on paper. When you look at people around us who we vote and who we elect and give them power. How they are not even literate most of their times. They don’t even have the wisdom. They are so foolish and yet we give them so much power. You see we too much of wisdom and too much of power and we have experienced of what wisdom is without power and what is power without wisdom. If it’s only wisdom then, it is just intelligence. Just too much of intellectuals blabbing a lot. And if we have too much of power and no wisdom then it is just good force, it doesn’t help.

But when we come to God, God says, that He has founded this earth with wisdom and established it with His power. And Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God. How these two attributes are inseparable makes God…God. And so, let’s look today about the power of God. Just His attribute of He being powerful. I understand that this is something that we might have learnt so much so very well from our childhood. We’ve been singing songs: Our God is so great and so strong and so powerful. It is not just about us. It is the most common attribute that anybody even outside Christianity knows about God.

Define God’s Power Let’s just begin by reading Ephesian 1:18-19. And before we read this passage I have a small exercise for you to do, a small challenge, a small thinking that you have to put in. Imagine that you have to describe God’s power and you can pull in as many as words, as many as statements as you want, as many as synonyms, adjectives to describe God’s power. How would you do it? You can describe God’s power has as creative as you are, you can put in as many words as many synonyms, but your end objective is to describe God’s power.

You could begin by saying he’s very powerful. Then, come on. He’s omnipotent Yes, unfathomable. Okay, that is what we have read you’re in one of the translations it says of His immeasurable power, even His power is beyond comprehension. Yes, and then any other way you can describe God’s our life giver. Yeah. Only potent, Okay, that. Okay, we’ll come to it. Yes. It seems you’re struggling. Is it ? Indescribable. Okay, just talk about the power, what are the objectives you could give for the word ‘Power’. What are the synonyms, you could put in. We could say strong. Okay, greatness of power, unfailing power.

Okay, it’s working out, but let’s see how Paul does it. I know I have spoken from this passage last year but most of us were not there. So, I’ll go through this two verses quickly once again, because Paul is struggling like we are to describe God’s power. And we might read this verse but in verse 19 Paul uses four different words to talk of power. He just said he doesn’t just say God is powerful and finishes off. You see we talk so much about power, but if we are given an exercise to describe God’s power we might struggle and you can see that struggle in this verse 19 because, he is not just saying, power and finish.


Greatness of God’s Power
He talks of God’s power in four different dimensions. And we might not even realise when we read this verse but let’s read it carefully, word by word, verse 19. What is the exceeding greatness of his power ? The first time he uses the word ‘Power’ over there is the word ‘Dunamis’. From that word, we get dynamo, or dynamite and is talking of how dynamite God’s power is. Then he continues to say to us word, who believe according to the working. The word ‘working’ in English, in Greek is another word for power over there, the word is energy. So, he’s talking of the energetic power or the operative power of God.

He first says God’s power is dynamite then he says it is working or energetic then working off his mighty, we are in English, it’s an objective but in Greek is one more word for power, he uses the word Kratos. No sorry he uses the word ‘Iskhoos’. Iskhoos is not an English word but in Greek it means forceful, the forcefulness of His power. And finally, again he uses the word power, mighty power, and that fourth word is ‘Kratos’ from where we get a lot of words like democracy or bureaucracy, it means rule or authoritative power. And that is Paul’s attempt to describe God’s power. In one word, one verse, he pumps in four words to say how powerful God is. He is dynamite, He’s energetic, He is forceful, and He is an authoritative ruler.

And then after giving these four examples, four words of power, four dimensions of power; he gives us one example where the power was witnessed. In verse twenty he says that was the power that raised Christ from the dead, and made him to sit in the right hand, in the heavenly places, far above all principalities and power. So we see it, the power of God might be a simple attribute. We might have heard it so many times, but God’s dimensions of power are so vast. That’s one thing we need to learn about God’s power.


God is the only source of power
The second thing is, God is the only source of power, as uncle had said only potentate. It’s not a word in the Bible but definitely, it gives us an express an impression that God is the only source of power. So, let’s read Psalm 62:11. Yes, the power belongs unto God. You see in judiciary, there is a term and concept that you will be familiar with, it is called the rule of law. Are you familiar with that term ? Rule of law, rule of law. So, rule of law means that the law rules.

On other words, when we say that India is a democracy, we say people rule, rule of demo or people, or but actually underlining all the powers that we see around us is the rule of law, which means there is one written word, that rules everybody. So, you might enjoy the right to vote. And the person you would get some power to rule over you. But that’s not how that works, even the right of you voting comes from the law or the highest book, the Constitution of our country, that book rules everybody.

That book gives you power to vote, and when you vote the person whom you have voted, he gets his power from the same book. The person who is a post man gets his power from the same book to discharge his responsibility. The Prime Minister needs a lot of power to discharge his responsibility; all that power comes from the constitution, that is the concept of rule of law where the law rules. Whatever is written in that book rules, that book gives power to everybody. So that is the source of power. But just to be clear that God doesn’t derive His power from anybody, not even from the Word of God.

There is a side-line topic that we could go in here that is this rule of law is not a human invention; it is found in our church. It is found in churches around, because the Bible rules. Bible, God’s word is called the authoritative word of God. In reformation times it was called sola scriptura where bible gives authority to everybody but, even God doesn’t derive His authority from the Bible. You see everybody derives their power from something or the other. Anything that we do even physical power is not inherent in us. Power to do just about anything is not inherent in us.

All power in us is bestowed, it is imparted to us and that’s how the whole system works, but if that power stops at one place, if that power originates from one place, if there is somebody who doesn’t need to get power from somebody, or is not ruled by a law over and about him; that is God. And that is what God would want to say once and twice and thrice that power belongs to God; that God is the source of that power. You see the rule of law works for all of us, we get our power from the law, but for God, He imparts the power to the law. Another thing that we need to see is that God is first of all, He is multi-dimensionally powerful. He is the source of power.


His Name is Powerful
The third thing we need to know is that His name is powerful. I mean, his name is power. His name is El Shaddai, and that word El Shaddai means Almighty, or in other language, it means omnipotent. These are two English words, derived from two different languages but they are the same word. El Shaddai means Almighty and that is His name. And that was the name revealed to Abraham, that was the name reveal to Job. Among all the books if I have not mistaken, Job is the book where that name appears the most because that was His first and foremost name that people knew; that is about the power of God because the power of God as an attribute is the first attribute that God introduces himself to people, whether he is a believer or not. Even Adam and Eve knew God through His power.

You look at the world around you know that God is powerful and, Paul would also say the same thing that the invisible things, the visible things that God has created reveal His eternal Godhead and power. And so, God’s introduction to anybody in this world is through this attribute. And one of the first names that God revealed to men especially Abraham was he is El Shaddai. What is important to notice is that why was that name revealed or in what context, it was revealed. You see, God had told Abraham that he is going to bless him with a son. Abraham grew impatient and begot a son Ishmael through Hagar. And after that sinful relationship that Abraham had for 13 years, God didn’t speak, there is no record that God spoke.

And God breaks that silence by saying Abraham, I’m El Shaddai, God breaks that silence or reprimands Abraham, for not trusting God enough, for not believing in God enough; that Abraham, I am God Almighty. And that brings us one more point that God’s power is always related to God’s possibility, Abraham doubted God’s possibility. And even after revealing Almighty His name, we read how the angels visited Abraham. An angel said that Sarah is going to conceive, and Sarah laughed. And what did the angels say said. They said, Is anything too hard for the Lord? See God’s power always revolves around what is possible for God to do.
This is one example then, then another example we see in Exodus when the people murmured for meat, and the Lord was telling Moses that he is going to get into fouls and he’s going to give meat for everybody. And Moses doubted the LORD, and Moses said how are you going to do that ? Are you going to pull in lot of fish from the sea ? Are you going to get a lot of beasts for so many thousands of people? And the Lord asked Moses do you think my hand is shortened, or do you think I’m not possible to do it ? We see one more example of GOD connecting His possibility of action to His power.

When we look at Jeremiah. Jeremiah once was asked by his uncle to buy a piece of land and Jeremiah didn’t want to buy it, but God told him you need to buy that land. And Jeremiah was not comfortable, even after making that purchase, he prays to God, God, you are telling that this land is going to be destroyed and you’ve just asked to buy the land and I bought it and Jeremiah is so disconsolate that God has to tell Jeremiah - Is anything too hard for the Lord? God has to tell Jeremiah that this captivity will come but God will bring back the people, and God will restore the people.

Again, we read one more example of God’s power in the same way when Mary was visited with an angel and the angel told Mary that you’re going to be conceiving. And Mary said how can a virgin conceive. And the Lord said, With God nothing is impossible. Ultimately we read one more example of a rich man coming to the Lord and the Lord telling that rich man, rich will scarcely enter heaven like a camel going through needle and the disciple sees then who will be saved? Who shall be saved? And God so beautifully puts that with man. It is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

So that brings us to the concept of God’s power cords possibility, boiling down to our salvation how impossible, was our salvation, but with God all things are possible. The very fact that we are saved is because God made it possible. You see one more thing that God says is powerful word, this is very powerful. This is said to be a two-edged sword that pierces the soul and the spirit and joints and marrow. Again, we read in Psalm 107 It says that he sent out his word and healed them and deliver them from their destruction. In Isaiah, God sees that My Word goes out, it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which our purpose, and shall succeed in the thing which I send.


Living and Powerful Word of God
That is how God’s word is described, God’s Word that accomplishes everything God’s Word that heals and restores and saves people from disruption, and we read of how our half of Paul would say of Timothy that you have known the Word of God as a child, and that word of God has made you wise unto salvation. We read of God’s word delivering people of God’s word being a light unto the path we see of God’s word giving us power against demons against principalities and powers, you know one of the most beautiful example was when the Sadducees came and they questioned the destruction of the Lord, and the Sadducees asked the Lord Jesus, they asked him.

How is seven brothers matting to one single person I mean you’re such a hypothetical situation. Seriously, how will seven brothers married to one person who always has her husband killed. But eventually all seven of them get married all seven of them die all seven of them are in heaven and the question is whose husband is this wife or whose husband will his wife have. And the Lord doesn’t answer the question the way they wanted it, they come with a lot of wisdom but it is absolute foolishness, the Lord says that you are, your error is what your error is that you do not know the Scriptures and the power of God, how God so beautifully said that this scripture had you known it, you would also know the power of God, that God is the core of living, and not the dead, that God restricts people.


Gospel is the Power of God
You see, there’s no doubt about how this word of God gives us, or how this word of God strengthens us and makes us wise unto salvation. Well, when we talk about the Word of God. We cannot miss out, as to how we read in Romans chapter one, that the Gospel is the power of God. How, Gospel is the power of God. One thing is that the way we understand that verse is that yes Gospel is the power of God because gospel saves, gospel converts, gospel transforms and all of that is the power of God, no doubt that Gospel is the power of God because it saves but you see salvation is not just the day you get pardoned or you forgiven, or you’re born again and the Gospel is the power of God, not just because you need to be saved, you need to be transformed, or you need to begin your journey, you need this power for your end of your journey.

To the end of your journey and gospel gives you that power. you see this power is not just for the day you get born again, you need to serve God with the power, and that’s how Peter says that you need to serve Him with the ability that God gives you the power that God gives you. Again, we read of how Peter would say that you are kept in this world you are kept until the eternal day by the power of God. And you see the power of God is what ultimately people in Heaven will praise God for in the marriage of the Lamb. People will say hallelujah, the Lord, the omnipotent reigns, that is the praise that people will give on the day when the church is joined with her groom.

And you see that makes complete sense that Gospel is the power of called is, it is power of God to save this power of God to serve God is part of God to sustain your life is part of God ultimately to be kept until the until the until the glorification all of that requires the power of God. And that makes sense to say the gospel, the good news that what God has done, is the power of God, unseemingly so we also need to know that cross is the power of God, that one of the most disdainful objects of history is the power of God. We need to read this was from 1 Corinthians 1:17. For Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the gospel not with wisdom of words, less the cross of Christ should be emptied of its power was 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.


Power of Christ
And that’s how God saves people, that’s amazing. God does not ask us to bring our bring our power into place, our abilities, our works, our actions, causes look at the cross, God the omnipotent Christ the omnipotent was on the cross, and He died to understand Christ. The cross is the power of God we need to look at the power of Christ. We need to look at Christ being powerful. We need to see him before his time began on this earth. How is he described in eternity pass as the one who was with the Father who was his express image and the splendour of His glory, upholding all things by the Word of His power, that is his description before time began as one who upholds all things by the Word of His power. What about his birth.

What happened at his birth? We see how it was impossible for a virgin to conceive. But God says it is possible with men with God, and it is again written in the same passage, Gabriel is explaining to Mary, that the, the, the most powerful one will overshadow you and this holy thing will be born of you that it was impossible for the virgin birth to come into place without God’s power in place, and then we don’t need to say much about God’s power. In all his life through how people came like Nicodemus came and said that the things you do, you cannot do unless God is with you, and how we read even recently on Sunday about the blind man how people would say that unless God is you unless he is from God, how can you do what he did. His miracles or his power, his name to drive away.

Demons his power was witnessed over, over, over the elements of nature his power was witnessed has his will, as his purpose, because the leper would come and say if you will let me be clean and the Lord would say I will, and he was clean. His power came out from His will His purposes decision. And then we see at the end how this power was gradually being declared or being magnified it was so small at the board, and then it is gradually being declared through His miracles, but the most was declared at the cross where He was hanging weak, where he was fragile where he was born, and you need to question. Was he powerful then what was the power of Christ the cross?

What was his power was he powerful How could he have surrendered himself how can someone immortal die eternal die how he is an omnipotent being not able to carry his own cross work, how can you explain that weakness? How can you explain how he is surrendering himself to people who can bash him and thrash him and he doesn’t do anything else? We see Lord Jesus Himself gives an explanation. He says Let’s read that was in John 10:17. Now, therefore, does my father allow me because I laid on my life that I might take it again. No man, takes it from me, but I lay down for myself. I have the power to lay down. I have the power to take it again.

You see we can all agree that destruction is the power of God. But God going Christ going through that suffering, that he is laying down that sacrifice, Christ as I have the power to do it. So, all what happened from Gethsemane to Golgotha was a witness of his power. So even when Pilate told challenge Christ that I have the power to release you what, what would Christ say to Pilate, you have no power against me, except it is given from above. You see this is how Peter also explained the power of Christ that it was impossible for Christ to be held by the power of death. That’s why he restricted, and even on the cross when people would say come down from the cross, come down, so that we might believe.

And that might look like a sign of weakness that he cannot come down he’s nailed to the cross and nails are holding him, he’s probably weak, but it’s written over here that I have the power to lay down, I am surrendering, his power was not witnessed by not coming down his power was witness by holding on the cross for us, that whole agony showed us God’s power. And then ultimately God’s power is just Dynamo his energy, Kratos, all of it was a place on the third day, raising of Christ to be placed on the right hand of God. That was the words of Christ to the prophecy that I am the Son of Man, and you will see me coming in the right hand of God.


How do we get this Power?
See that is the power of Christ, and then when you realise that this omnipotent God on the cross, became weak. This omnipotent on the cross, omnipotent God on the cross suffered for us. And this is the weakness, we need. And this is, this is controversial, this is contradictory to all what the world will teach us because the world will never teach you to be weak, but we need to be weak to enjoy His power. God’s power is communicable his wisdom is communicable His Holiness is communicable His love is communicable. We saw how to receive God’s wisdom, but the way we receive God’s power is through ourselves becoming weak. If we are not weak. We do not receive God’s power.

If we are strong in our own self we can if we think we can do it in our own merit, if we think we can, you can establish God’s work in our own flesh like Abraham did God will remind us that He is powerful, that He is Almighty that He is also by. You see, Paul had reasons to be proud. He had reasons to be proud, but Paul would say that God gave me a thorn in my flesh, that I should be weak. And then he says I’m going to glory in my weakness. I’m going to desire that weakness that the power of Christ might rest upon me. You see that power. In Second Corinthians it is called grace. And that shows how power of God, or the grace of God is not mere fear, it is not mere forgiveness. God giving most power is grace.

And then Paul would conclude this way towards the end of his life that I have laboured more than other disciples but not I, but the grace of God that works in me. You see this is how we are supposed to live our life, we are supposed to embrace our weakness we are supposed to know that we are weak, our life cannot be lived by the power of our flesh and who we are what we do, let’s read one passage. 1 Corinthians 2:1 This is Paul’s weakness was going through chapter two verse one, I brethren. When I came to you I came not with excellence your speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For a determined not knowing anything among you saved Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness in fear, much trembling, my speech and my preaching was not within tiding words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit of power. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

This was Paul’s success story. The reason why he could withstand all prosecutions why he could go through all what life threw at him was because he got the power of God, and he was weak, he gloried in his weakness to desire more, of course power. You see about this weakness of yours written that he was in fear and trembling in other portions is written his opponents would crucify him or less openings would more clemency is that his letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is of no speech is of no account, his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is of no account in Galatians he would again talk of his weakness you see, you know, it was because of my bodily ailment that I preach the gospel to you at first and though my condition was a trial to you.

You did not scorn or despise me. You see, Again, you would see off a thorn in his flesh this person was weak, he was not a powerful person, but He attributes his power to God. If we want to experience this power, we want to experience this in measurable power. It begins by saying, I am weak, that I have nothing to offer that my abilities, cannot be of any good to save myself to serve you, to sustain my faith, or eventually be glorified. It is God’s power at the end. Let’s conclude by reading a couple of verses from Second Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 13:3, You seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which is to you word is not weak. What is mighty in you. For though he was crucified through weakness that he lives by the power of God. For we also are weaken him, or we shall live with him, by the power of God again Paul talking of weakness, and the power that comes from God and this time he says Christ was weak, but he lives by the power of God, and we should be living by the power of God. Last week we saw the wisdom of God how it benefits, how it benefits just our body, the wisdom of man benefits only our body. The same is about the power of man. You see our imaginations and our fantasies have run, run wild, it has. We have invented for ourselves characters and the talks of super humans with great powers, and it is all about the body, we want more strength with our hands we want more strength, our legs we don’t fly. So, we want strength to fly. And we invent ourselves as super humans, again a power that only benefits our body, but God’s power is not so cause power is not for our body we might be very weak in our body. In fact, it is important to acknowledge our weakness to, to gain this power and God’s power is for our soul, for our spirit at our soul is saved to the end. May God’s name be Glorified.