The Power of More
John 1: 10-13
(10) He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. (11) He came unto his own, and own received him not. (12) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name; (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
We as God’s people know we have power, and the power is in us through the Holy Ghost. The oft quoted scripture from Acts 1:8 tells us, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The knowledge of this power was not foreign once the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Day of Pentecost, as even Simon the Sorcerer sought it, “Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.” Peter told Simon his money was no good in the gain of God’s Spirit and power. He would have to give up what he was to gain the cause of Jesus Christ, repent, of his wickedness, and get his heart right with God.
It is easy to acknowledge the power of God, as what we witness and see each and every day reminds us of the omnipotence of God. Creation alone, the placement of every element man can identify, the perfect placement of each of those elements, and the working together of all these in the working of this world testifies of the power of God. The scripture reminds us “all things were made by him and for him”, and are the gift of God to us as we live.
For the believer, the source of God’s power has never been doubted. How this power is manifest in our lives, however, does give us cause of wonderment, at the very least. How much power can a believer have in God? Does the scripture reference and statement of Jesus “greater works than these shall he do” (excerpt from John 14:12) really mean we can do greater works even than Jesus just by believing on him?
The answer is simply this. Why not? If we believe God has more for us, why wouldn’t he make this kind of declaration to us, who believe on his name and the power of his name. The God of ‘more’ really will give us the kind of power to accomplish what he has promised. The promises of God are ‘yea’ and ‘amen’, and everything in between, and everything on each side of ‘yea’ and ‘amen’!
The key to ‘more’ for the believer in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost is to not limit God. We limit God in many ways by our unbelief. This unbelief throttles the power of God. Even Jesus did not to do the works he would have desired because of unbelief (Matthew 13:48). We cannot have the ‘more’ of God and have unbelief in our lives. The limiting of God’s power does not mean God has less power, or less ‘more’ for us. Note in the Matthew 13:58 text, Jesus did not do the works because of unbelief in the city. His power was not diminished, in other words he ‘chose’ not to do the works because the unbelief of the people would mean his works would not have the capability of changing their unbelief into belief. God will not override the will of mankind, but yet mankind must not limit the power of God to impact their lives with all the benefits of this one who died for us, that we might have his Spirit and power.
In Romans 13:1, Paul states, “Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” In the Letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6:10), Paul again declares, “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” We can have the mighty power of God. All through the scripture, reference after reference lets us believers know the power of God is there for us and in us, so we can accomplish the works of the Holy Ghost through his power.
A final thought is we the power of God realize the power of God by what we see God do and how he moves. This is evidence of the power of God, and the witness of the power. So, in our minds, power is only present when we see the evidence of what it has done. However, power, simply defined, is ‘ability’. The Holy Ghost grants us the ability of the power of God. Our God given ability is to do the will of God. It is this ‘more’ he is calling his people into greater depths of his Spirit and power. We know him! We believed on his name! We received him! He gave us power to become the sons of God! Child born of God, get ‘more’ of his unlimited power in your life, you have the ability through the Spirit!