Thursday, November 2

Power of God

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
With the rapid advances in technology, humans have reached a point where they can produce some awesome displays of power. Atomic bombs, space travel, the internet, and medical advances are just some of the impressive achievements that have been accomplished. However, these human works of power are not even worth comparing to the awesome power of God. In chapters 38-41 of Job, God explains to Job in very graphic language what real power looks like. The Apostle Paul confronted the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens Greece and explained to them the characteristics of almighty God (Acts 17:16-34). Earlier, when Paul was known as Saul, he was traveling to Damascus to persecute Christians when he experienced, up close and personal, the power of God….. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me (Acts 9:3-4)?” In today’s culture, it seems that man has attempted to discard or minimize some of God’s basic characteristics such as his attribute of power. His attributes of love, mercy, and forgiveness are given such attention that other attributes are ignored or even denied so that the human perception of his love, mercy, and forgiveness are protected. Sovereignty, providence, and power must be replaced so that bad things, such as evil and natural disasters, are thought to be beyond his control. This thinking is called open theism, which holds that God does not foresee events and is powerless to prevent them from happening. Thus, God’s power, sovereignty, and providence are denied to preserve the false human perception of God’s love, etc. When properly interpreted, The Holy Bible allows for all of God’s attributes to complement each other and include his wonderful majestic power.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is well said. It is common for us to emphasize some attributes over others. Keeping them in balance is hard, but so very necessary. Thanks.

Dan said...

If we do not recognize the power that God has then our fear of God becomes diminished and we end up with a society, like ours, that says that abortion, homosexuality etc. is okay.

mark pierson said...

"When properly interpreted, The Holy Bible allows for all of God’s attributes to complement each other and include his wonderful majestic power."

EXCELLENT!!!

jazzycat said...

Thanks,
Steve, Dan, and Mark. To think of the awesome power of God is an inspiring thought.