"God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this:that power belongeth unto God" (Psalm 62:11), There can be no doubt that the great need of the Church today is for the manifestation of divine power. While there is much light and gospel truth, there is comparatively little spiritual power. It should be the desire of every child of God to know "what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe" (Eph. 1:19).
We may have certain ideas as to what divine power is without those thoughts necessarily being according to divine truth. We may even be mistaken in our thinking as to how this power is obtained. Perhaps it may be well to consider first of all what it is not, that we may have proper thoughts concerning its true manifestation.
1. It is not excitement. Some seem to think that without great emotion or excitement there can be no great power. But spiritual power may be quite apart from any great manifestation of these elements. It may be seen in a calm yet irresistible influence, as when the Lord stilled the storm at sea and brought His disciples peace of heart amid the ensuing great calm (Mark 4:39).
2. It is not self-energy. The Lord’s words to His own were, "Apart from me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). While His words primarily referred to fruit-bearing, the principle also applies to our Christian activities. The consequence will be similar also:"Herein is My Father glorified" (verse 8). Many associate divine power with so much self-effort. Thus great effort is regarded as a sure sign of great power. However, this is not to say that we should be slothful, but rather vigilant.
3. It is not self-sufficiency. The apostle wrote, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" (2 Cor. 3:5). Our salvation by grace alone has not made us self-sufficient. Belief that we are strong and able to overcome our difficulties ourselves would produce confidence in self rather than confidence in God. We can see this characteristic of self-confidence in Peter in his readiness to affirm that he would go with the Lord to prison and to death (Luke 22:33,34). He was yet to learn His weakness when he denied his Lord.
When we turn to consider what divine power is, we recognize at once that it is not something of our own, but the power of God; this will keep us humble before Him.
It is the power of Christ’s resurrection (Phil. 3:10). Paul knew the reality of this fact, for he had personally seen the risen Lord. "And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time" (1 Cor. 15:8). He desired to know more of this power in his life. There was divine power seen in the death of Christ, whereby a full deliverance has been secured for us. But the Lord also lives after the power of an endless life. "And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:19,20). He is ever "Christ the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:24).
It is the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). To be filled with the Spirit is to be endued with power. To walk in the Spirit is to live in the power of God. To possess the Holy Spirit is a great privilege, but to be possessed by Him is quite another matter. It is one thing for the Spirit to be resident and quite another to be president. If He truly possesses us, we shall live in the holy atmosphere of divine power.
The ministry of the apostle Paul is full of indications of the power of God at work through Him. He speaks of "striving according to His working which worketh in me mightily" (Col. 1:29). And he reminds the Philippian believers of the fact that "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13), while the very frailty of the human instrument magnifies "the excellency of the power [as being] of God and not of men" (2 Cor. 4:7). When the Christian lives by this divine power he will be marked by strong faith (1 Cor. 2:5) for his faith will stand in that power. He will abound in hope (Rom. 15:13) by the Holy Spirit. And "the greatest of these," love, will characterize him, for it is a product of the Spirit’s work in the life (Gal. 5:22). All power and really effective service will be found to spring from entire submission to the will of God (Rom. 12:1). From the yielded personality will come the opening of the path of that will which is good, acceptable, and perfect.