Will you please turn to the letter to the Ephesians? Ephesians chapter 1. We will read from verses 15 through 23.
Wherefore I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is in you, and the love which ye have toward all the saints,
cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him;
having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of His might
which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and made Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come:
and He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
Let us underline verse 19:
And what the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe.
They therefore, when they were come together, asked Him, saying, Lord, dost Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?
And He said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within His own authority.
But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And when He had said these things, as they were looking, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, how we do praise and thank Thee that we may gather together unto Thy name. We know that Thou art here with us, and we do pray that Thou wilt remove any veil that may be upon our minds and our hearts. Lord, that we may see Thee, that we may hear Thee. Lord, speak; Thy servants are hearing. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
We do thank the Lord for gathering us together here at this time. We believe that the Lord has gathered us for a purpose, and we do look to the Lord that that purpose may be realized for the praise of His glory.
I believe everybody knows that the theme of this conference is spiritual power. It is said that the seventies were the “me decade,” the eighties were the decade of money power, and the nineties are the decade of power, period.
Not only does the whole world seem to be talking about power; among God’s people, power is upon the lips of many of God’s children. We need power.
Thank God that the church today is conscious of her lack of power. Where is the power that we have seen demonstrated in the Book of Acts, in the history of the early church, during those thirty-odd years after the Lord’s ascension?
We find that the power of the gospel prevailed over the known world. In those years, the gospel had been preached from Jerusalem, throughout all Judaea and Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth. At that time, the uttermost part of the earth was Rome.
We notice such spiritual power in the church in those early days. Even in the second and third centuries, when the church went through great persecutions, the Roman Empire exerted its force to wipe out the church. But we notice that, even in those days, there was such power to suffer, to endure, to be faithful, and to overcome.
We see the power among those martyrs. The glory of the Lord was upon them. That power was so powerful that it was not the Roman Empire that conquered the church; it was the Roman Empire itself that was conquered.
Now we come toward the end of this age, and it is only right for us to think of power. Where is the power of the gospel? Where is the power of the Word of God? Where is the power that we see in the Book of Acts and in church history? We need power to conclude this age.
I believe the longing, the thirst, for power is so great among God’s people that they become indiscriminate. As long as there is power, no matter what kind of power it is, we want it. We grasp at it.
Because of this, we find much confusion, much destruction, many counterfeits, and many sects in this whole area of power.
We forget that in this universe there is more than one kind of power. In other words, aside from God’s power, there are many other powers existing in this world. Unless we are able to discern, to differentiate, and to know what kind of power it is, we are in danger of being deceived.
And we will bring much disgrace to the Lord instead of furthering the kingdom of God. So, brothers and sisters, it is upon our heart that it is time for us to consider together before the Lord, with humility and openness of heart, and to seek the Lord about this whole matter of spiritual power.
For our consideration, we will consider three different kinds of power that we are faced with.
All three powers are very real. Do not think that there is only God’s power in this universe. There is soul power everywhere, and, of course, there is evil power in this world.
It is very difficult for us to distinguish these powers merely by their outward performance. If you look at outward performance, you can almost not see the difference between soul power, God’s power, and satanic power.
The reason why God’s people are so deceived is because they only look at performance. Performance will not tell us the difference. It is only when we look at the origin, the source, and also the consequence—the effects—that we are able to distinguish these three kinds of power.
First, human power originates from the soul of the fallen man. It is soul power; it is psychic power.
The psalmist David, in Psalm 139:14, said:
I will give thanks unto Thee;
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
Wonderful are Thy works;
And that my soul knoweth right well.
Brothers and sisters, we human beings are fearfully and wonderfully made—not only wonderful, but beautiful. Even with the advance of science today, with the surge of knowledge today, we still cannot figure out the power that is in man: in his body, in his soul, and in his spirit.
Who can know the power of the body? Now, that is the least part. Think of our brain—the power of our brain. The modern computer cannot be compared with the brain that God has made, wonderfully but fearfully.
What can the mind think of? It is fearful when you think about it. As a matter of fact, we are told that only a little bit of man’s brain power is used. Much of our brain power has not yet been utilized.
Think of our bodies. How can our bodies adjust to our environment—to the heat and the cold? Our bodies can adjust to them. There is such resilient power in our bodies to rejuvenate. The power of our physical body is wonderful and fearful.
Think of our soul. God created man: He took the red earth and formed it into the shape of a man. That became our body—of the same elements as the red earth, coming out of the earth and returning to the earth.
God breathed into the nostrils of that earthen form, and the Bible says that man became a living soul. We human beings have a soul. We have emotions, we have intellect, and we have volition, or will. Who can measure the power of our soul?
You remember Adam, the first one created. God gave him dominion over the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, and the fishes of the sea. He had control over all these living creatures.
Think of Adam: he had never been to college, and yet, when God led all these animals before him—all these beasts and creeping things—he looked at them and named them one by one. A natural zoologist! Soul power is tremendous.
God put him in a garden. I believe it must have been a huge garden, and God said, “Guard it. Watch it.” There was no wall around the garden; the garden was open, probably with one gate only. Adam became the great keeper, and it was easy to keep the garden from the intrusion of the enemy.
It was almost a public park—well, at that time it was a private park, belonging to Adam and Eve. And God said, “Guard it.” One person, with the help of his wife, was able to be the ruler over the whole garden. What power there was!
Because of the fall of man, that power is latent in human beings. It is the will of God that this soul power should be kept under restraint.
Today there is latent power in the soul. Modern science, psychology, and parapsychology are just beginning to probe into that latent power of the soul.
I am not going to talk about that latent power. It is interesting, fascinating, but dangerous. God’s will is that, after man’s fall, soul power should be kept under control. It should not be released.
If there is anyone who knows how to release a little bit of that latent power, he is able to do so much. He is able to rule and to control. If you read history, you will find many dictators who knew how to release some of their latent power to influence, to control, and to rule.
But again I say, this latent power is under restraint. First, it is kept in this fallen body. Our body is a natural restraint to that latent power. If you know how to deliver yourself from your body, or even from the consciousness of your body, you are able to release the latent power of the soul.
Think of our spirit. Before man’s fall, our spirit had tremendous power. Of all the creatures in this world, man has the ability to know God, to communicate with God, and to receive God into his being—to be united with God in life. All this is in the spirit of man.
But unfortunately, because of man’s sin, that spirit is dead to God. It is cut off from communication with its proper environment, which is God. Man has lost that power. Thank God it is regained in Christ Jesus.
Just think of the soul power of man. The enemy of God is trying to entice people to release their soul power. Unfortunately today, we find modern man trying hard to release that soul power—a power which, for our good, God says should be under restraint and not released.
Then there is another power: divine power. God is the supreme power over all powers. He is the origin of real spiritual power.
You remember David. In 1 Chronicles 29:11, he said:
Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory.
In Psalm 62:11:
God hath spoken once;
Twice have I heard this,
That power belongeth unto God.
God is the source of power—divine power, spiritual power. Our God is omnipotent. He is the Almighty God. There is nothing He cannot do. You cannot limit Him in any way. It is by His power that He created all things. He created you and me by His power.
His power is pure, spiritual, heavenly, divine, selfless, and everlasting.
If you contrast soul power with spiritual power, you will find that the difference is between heaven and earth. God’s power is heavenly; human power is earthly. God’s power is selfless; human power is self-centered.
If you look at the outward performance, human power, or soul power, is often a substitute for God’s divine power. We substitute it, and yet we do not know it.
How many of God’s people today live by their soul power instead of God’s power? How much work of God is done by soul power instead of spiritual power?
Spiritual power gives us the ability to do God’s will. Do not think that soul power gives you the ability to do God’s will. It is just the opposite. Soul power gives you the ability to do your own will.
Spiritual power gives us the ability to do God’s work. Do not think that soul power can do God’s work. Many people are trying to do it, but remember: concerning the work they have done, the Lord will say, “I never knew you.”
Soul power corrupts God’s work. It confuses God’s Word. It destroys God’s work. Spiritual power leads us to God; soul power leads us to ourselves. Spiritual power builds spiritual character, that we may be like Christ. Soul power builds up ourselves.
Again, there is a third power in this world. It originates from Satan. Satan means adversary, the enemy of God.
He was created as a brilliant, beautiful, gifted archangel—Lucifer. I wonder whether he was the first-created angel. He was the anointed cherub, guarding the throne of God. He was given great beauty, gifts, and power.
But unfortunately, he thought of himself instead of his Creator. I wonder whether, in the beginning, he was the one whom God had appointed to lead the angelic forces to worship and praise God.
Gradually, pride entered into his heart. He wanted that glory. He wanted that worship. He wanted to be equal with God. A created being wanted to be equal with his Creator.
He turned himself into Satan, the adversary of God. Yes, he was cast out of the presence of God, but he led one-third of the angels into rebellion. He set up his own kingdom of darkness.
Very powerful, very gifted. But our Lord Jesus said in John 8:44:
He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.
Do not for a moment think there is not an evil power in this world. Some people try not to believe in Satan. Now, of course, we do not believe that Satan has horns and a tail, that he is ugly. The Bible says he is beautiful.
Nevertheless, he and his followers, and many of his demons, are in this world. Evil power is something to be recognized and reckoned with.
Because many people do not believe in devilish power, in evil power, I believe it is the evil one who makes them believe there is no evil power, so that he can control them.
You remember in the time of Moses. Moses was sent by God to Pharaoh to deliver God’s message: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” Of course, Pharaoh would not let them go. So Moses performed miracles, wonders, and signs.
But when Moses was performing these wonders and miracles in the court of Pharaoh, there were magicians and scribes, and they did the same thing. Moses threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. The magicians threw down their staffs, and they all became serpents. But Moses’ serpent swallowed up all their serpents.
Moses raised up his staff over the Nile—over the Red Sea, I mean—and it turned to blood. The people could not drink the water. The magicians did the same thing.
Moses called the frogs to overwhelm the whole land of Egypt, into the palace of Pharaoh. The magicians did the same thing. They brought the frogs there.
If you read 2 Timothy, Paul even gave the names of two of the magicians: Jannes and Jambres. They withstood Moses with miracles and with wonders—evil power.
But, of course, evil power is limited, unlike God’s power, which is unlimited. When Moses struck the dust and it turned into gnats, getting on people’s bodies and even on the magicians’ bodies, they tried their magic, but it did not work. Finally, they acknowledged, “This is the finger of God.”
So, brothers and sisters, remember: there is evil power in this world. It is counterfeit. If you look at outward performance, it may appear to be the same thing—no difference. But the source is different, and the result is different.
In the New Testament, we are told that our warfare is not against flesh and blood. Brothers and sisters, do not think that your enemies are flesh and blood. Outwardly, yes, it may be your neighbor, your friend, your enemy, or even members of your own family.
It may seem as if they are warring against you and you are striving against them. But, you know, it is all a deception. You are fighting the wrong enemy.
Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Brothers and sisters, evil power is very real, but it is a counterfeit. It tries to confuse spiritual power. Evil power is also spirit power, but for our consideration I want to narrow the word spiritual: not merely spirit power, but real spiritual power.
Real spiritual power is of God. It is beneficial to us; it is beautiful. Evil power, satanic power, devilish power, demonic power—these powers destroy people. They lead people away from God into perdition and destruction.
So now, brothers and sisters, we have before us at least three different powers. What is the Word of God concerning these three different powers?
So far as human power, or soul power, is concerned, because of the fallen condition of man, it is the will of God that we should not live by, work by, or use that latent power of the soul. We should be afraid of that power.
Now I wonder, brothers and sisters, whether you see what that power is. I am afraid most Christians do not know the difference between spirit and soul.
As a matter of fact, in the world they do not see the spirit at all, because it is dead. I remember when I was a boy, we had a lady missionary living with us. We called her Grandma. She led my father to the Lord. She was from Virginia.
She came to China and was the principal of an English school. My grandfather sent my father to that school to study English so that he could help my grandfather with his business. But while my father was in that school, this lady led him to the Lord.
When she retired, instead of coming back to this country, she stayed with us. Whenever she was frustrated, she would say, “My soul and body!” Now, where is the spirit?
In our minds, it was just soul and body: outside is the body, inside is the soul—nothing else. To an unbeliever, that is partly true. I say partly true because, in an unbeliever, the spirit is dead to God but very much alive to evil power.
If you come from China, you understand that. You can still communicate with the evil spiritual world, but there is no communication with God.
Even in Christian theology today, the mainline fundamental Christian theology in this country believes that we are made of two parts, not three parts. They believe the spirit is part of the soul.
In this world, psychology began to probe into the soul. Psychology is a science of the soul. But when they probe into the soul, they discover something deeper than the soul. They call it parapsychology. They think it is still part of the soul. What a confusion!
People do not know the difference between the spirit and the soul. Because they do not know the difference between spirit and soul, they cannot distinguish spirit power from soul power.
Many Christians are living their Christian life by their soul power. They use their strong determination to be good Christians. They make vows and promises year after year: “Next year, I will not do this; I will do that.” The following year, they have to make the same promise.
Many Christians today love the Lord, but if you probe the source, it is self-love, not agape. They love because, in the way they think, God should be loved. Why? Because that is the way they love themselves.
Many people stir up their emotions, thinking that this is the way to worship God. But God is Spirit. You cannot touch Him with the soul.
Many think that they may serve God by thinking out many brilliant ideas about how God should be served. Do you think you are wiser than God? Does God need you to be His counselor, to think of some creative ideas for Him because He is not able to think of these things?
Brothers and sisters, we do not know ourselves. We are using our soul power all the time in spiritual things. May I humbly say that most of our Christian life is lived by our soul power.
Sometimes we regret that our will is not iron enough. We regret that we are not as brilliant. Much—indeed, most—of our service to God is done in soul power.
Great will be the day when you begin to fear yourself.
Our brother mentioned last night about Martin Luther. We think of Martin Luther as a person who was so courageous and so brave. He could face the emperor, the pope, the cardinals, and the nobles. Yet he said, “I am afraid of the enemy within me.” He was speaking of himself.
The theologian of the Reformation, Philip Melanchthon, a brilliant person, said, “This old Adam in me is too much for young Melanchthon. I am not his equal.”
Brothers and sisters, I wonder whether you have come to this point. If you have never realized your soul power and the damage it can do to your spiritual life and to God’s work, you have not yet found the secret of spiritual power.
It is only when we come to the end of ourselves, only when we give up our soul power and become powerless, that the power of God is manifested.
So, brothers and sisters, we need to ask the Lord to open our eyes to see that whatever power comes from our natural being, from the fallen man, from the old Adam, from the soul, all these need to be delivered to the cross. That is the way of God.
The latent power of the soul today naturally is under the restraint of the body. You know why people want to practice all these Oriental meditations and things like that? You know why, in the last days, as we find in Scripture, people are forbidden to eat meat and to marry?
These become the teachings of Satan. Why is it? It is because they are trying to get rid of the control of the body. If you are able to control your body, put it underneath you, and get out of your body, then that latent power of the soul is released.
I have a friend whose soul can go out and see visions. I know people who can prophesy; they can see things thousands of miles away.
I will use a little illustration. I remember once a principal of a high school told me—she is a believer and loves the Lord—that when she was a student, during examination time they were very tense because they did not know what the questions would be.
She said, “This is what I did: they used hypnosis.” When she was under hypnotic power, she was able to go into the teacher’s room and see all the questions there.
When the soul is lifted out of the body, the latent power is released. People under hypnosis can chew iron. Why? Because they are out of their consciousness. Consciousness is a natural protection.
Well, I should not get into this. But anyway, what I am trying to say is that some dictators are vegetarians because they want to release their latent power. In the English-speaking world, you can be a success if you are able to release your latent power; you can control people.
But this is against God’s law. Because man has fallen, God says that soul power has to be under restraint. God uses our body to restrain our soul power. You are more powerful when you are subconscious than when you are conscious.
Furthermore, we who are the Lord’s, He wants our spirit to control our soul. So, dear brothers and sisters, never try to turn to the way of soul power. It is dangerous.
James 3:15 says:
This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Soul and devil are allies. Whatever is of the world, whatever is of the fallen nature of man, is allied to the devil. If you probe into your soul power, eventually you will fall into devilish power. You are treading on thin ice—very dangerous.
So, dear brothers and sisters, concerning soul power, what is the will of God? The will of God is that we need to recognize it and be afraid of it—afraid of your soul power more than afraid of sin.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, Satan tempted Him and tried to bring out His soul power. Our Lord’s soul power was pure because He had not fallen. He is not fallen; He never fell. He is sinless. Even His humanity was sinless and perfect. Therefore, His soul was pure, and His soul power was powerful and pure.
Even if He used His soul power, it would not have been sin. But if we use our soul power, it is sinful. Satan tried to tempt Him to use His soul power: “Turn this stone into bread. You are hungry. Do it for Yourself. You can do it.”
The Lord said:
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Throughout His life, He denied His soul power. He said, “I can do nothing of Myself.” Is that true? In one sense, He could do many things. He could do more things than Adam could. Yet He said, “I can do nothing out of Myself,” because He had delivered Himself to the cross.
Throughout His life, He simply allowed the power of God to go through His being and be manifested, and the work was done.
Remember Paul in 2 Corinthians 1. He said:
We had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead.
Oh, brothers and sisters, if you want to experience spiritual power, you have to deny your soul power. There is no other way.
So far as soul power is concerned, it needs to go to the cross. So far as evil power is concerned, it needs to be rejected.
If you read the Old Testament, for instance Deuteronomy 18, you will find all these devilish powers described as abominations in the sight of God.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, He cast out demons. He would have nothing to do with evil power. When the demons cried out, “Thou art the Holy One of God,” He said, “Be silent.” In casting out demons, He demonstrated the power of God.
You remember one day Paul was in Philippi. There was a slave girl with a spirit of Python, and she made her masters wealthy because she could prophesy. She followed Paul every day, saying, “These are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim unto you the way of salvation.”
It was as if evil power were helping God in the preaching of the gospel. And it still does this today. What was Paul’s attitude? He was distressed; he was angry. He turned around and said, “I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” He had nothing to do with it.
Brothers and sisters, with evil power we need to take a stand—stand, resist, and withstand. That is our attitude.
Soul power is a substitute. Evil power is a counterfeit. One needs to be denied; the other needs to be rejected. That is the will of God.
So, brothers and sisters, we are left with real spiritual power. Soul power, go. Satanic power, go behind. All we need to seek is the power of God.
Do you know that divine power is our inheritance? It is our birthright.
What is power? What is the difference between power and authority? Power is ability to act—strength. Authority is freedom to act, the right to act.
Years ago, we shared here concerning spiritual authority. We said that spiritual authority originates in God. God is the only authority in this universe. All authorities come from God; they are set up by God.
Sometimes He may delegate authority to people, but those who are given authority never become authorities. Brothers and sisters, you should still remember that.
Authority is in God. God is the authority. Authority is in God and nowhere else. He may delegate authority to certain people, but the authority that a person has is God in him or in her—not he or she.
Now remember this. Sometimes people are given authority, and their minds begin to turn. They think, “Now we are authorities.” That is the fall of authority.
Nothing corrupts people more than authority, because you think you are now an authority and can give commands and orders and do things as you wish. No, you are only a representative of God’s authority. Unless you put yourself under the authority of God, you have no authority whatsoever.
The same thing is true with power. God is power. Power resides in God. Whatever power you may receive is God Himself in you. It is not you.
You are only an agent, a vessel, a channel. You are not the power. All power belongs to God.
You are not able to save a single person, whether he is a gentleman, as our brother said, or the most wicked person in the world. You are not able to save either one.
You may think it is easier to save a wicked person than a gentleman. Humanly speaking, yes; spiritually speaking, no. You are not able to save anyone. It is the power of God in you that saves—not you.
Do not think now that you are a soul winner. We have no power whatsoever except in Christ. Remember this. We will talk about that later, but not today.
Because we are fifteen minutes late, I will use that fifteen minutes.
Now, if you read the Scriptures, you will find that this whole matter of power—I mean spiritual power, divine power—can be viewed in this order.
First, power originates from God. He is the origin of power. Therefore, any power that does not originate from God, any power that does not come from God—beware. It is a counterfeit, a substitute.
If you touch power and you do not touch God, something is questionable—very questionable. God is the Almighty God. We have already mentioned that all power belongs to God.
That eliminates all other powers. It proves that any power that is outside of God is a substitute, a pretension, a deception, a counterfeit, and a falsehood. We shall never have anything to do with any power outside of God.
God the Father is the source of all power. God the Son shares the power with His Father. In creation, if you read the Scriptures, you will find that all things were created in the Son, by the Son, and for the Son—Colossians 1.
When God created, Christ was the Engineer; He was the Architect, and He was there.
In the incarnation, He emptied Himself of His omnipotence. He laid aside His almightiness. He became a little baby, needing to be taken care of. He grew up as a man. He became weary, hungry, thirsty, and suffered.
He had soul power—pure soul power—but, as we have already said, He denied all His soul power and simply let God’s power go through Him.
He was born by the power of the Highest overshadowing the womb of Mary. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power in His work. It was by the eternal Spirit that He offered Himself spotless to God on the cross to accomplish the work of salvation.
After He was raised from the dead, God highly exalted Him. All power in heaven and on earth was given to Him.
First Corinthians 1:24 says:
Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
God the Holy Spirit is power. The Holy Spirit is the power of God. You shall receive the promise from the Father, and you shall be clothed with power from on high.
Brothers and sisters, there is no power outside of God. It is not in the world. It is not in the enemy, Satan. It is not in your natural being. These are counterfeits. They corrupt, they destroy, and they oppose God.
There is only one power: God. So remember this: we have to trace all power to God. If it does not come out of God, reject it. Deny it.
Second, God exercises His power in creation, in preservation, and in government.
By His power, He created the universe. Romans 1 tells us that by the things He has made—these physical, visible, created things—we know the eternal power and divinity of God.
We know the eternal power of God and His divine character through created things. He holds creation together by His power.
Today we find the whole universe—the stars, the suns, the moon, the earth—all rotating in their orbits. They are held together by the power of God. God rules over all things.
Psalm 66:7 says that God rules over all things by His power forever. Yes, Satan today is a usurper on this earth. He is called the god of this world, the ruler and prince of this world. But he is a usurper. Over and above him is God. Thank God for that.
Third, God demonstrates His power in history—past, present, and future. God demonstrates His power in history.
Just to illustrate: God divided the Red Sea and let the children of Israel pass through on dry ground. Power!
Today, God’s power is manifested everywhere. The greatest miracle that we see today is the raising of a spiritually dead person into spiritual life. That is the greatest miracle occurring all the time today.
In the future, look at the Book of Revelation and the Book of Daniel, and see how the power of God will be manifested in the last days to bring all things back to God and judgment to the world.
Fourth, God manifests His power even in the things that He created—the animate as well as the inanimate things.
Think of the power of the hurricane. People say that man can overcome heaven. All right—let the wind blow one hundred and fifty miles an hour. What can you do?
There is not only power in the wind; there is power in fire. When fire is burning hundreds of thousands of acres, what can you do about it?
Even in inanimate things, God manifests power. Of course, in animate things as well. Think of a tiger, a lion—powerful. Where is your Samson? Oh, Daniel, you have lost power over the lion, you know.
Actually, God gave us power over lions: “Come. Sit down.” You try that today—it will work! You have lost that power.
Fifth, God gave power to man. When God created man, He said, “Have dominion over the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, and the fishes of the sea.” God gave power to man.
There is such power in the soul of man; we have already mentioned it. But unfortunately, because of fallen man, God says that it is for man’s good that this power be kept under restraint.
Do not think that releasing that latent power, to be as Adam was before the fall, is a blessing. No, it is a curse. Even with the little power that is still available and released, what a curse has been brought into this world.
Do not admire that power. God knows better. Let it be under restraint; do not let it be released. Deliver it to the cross. Deny it. Be afraid of it. Do not cultivate it.
But thank God: what was lost in the fallen man is recovered in the second Man. You know how the Lord Jesus came into this world: He is the second Man.
The first man, Adam, sinned, and all sinned in Adam. The second Man, Christ, came, and in Him all are made alive.
How did He restore power? He restored the power God had given to man by laying it down.
He laid down all His soul power. All the power that God had given to man, to Adam, He had as Man. But He said, “I can do nothing by Myself.”
Because He laid down that power, God gave Him back that power. All power in heaven and on earth was given back to Him.
Brothers and sisters, now in Christ, power is recovered. But remember, on the same principle, we have to lay down ourselves in order to allow God’s power to come through us.
It is no longer merely soul power. It is spiritual power—the power of God—that goes through our soul and is manifested.
So the secret of spiritual power is powerlessness. If you still think you are powerful, God’s power is imprisoned.
But when you come to a place of powerlessness, to the end of your own strength, then the power of God begins to be manifested in and through you.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we sense the incompetency of sharing on the supremacy of Thy power. We ask Thee, Lord, by Thy Spirit, that Thou wilt not only reveal it to us, but bring it to us.
We pray that we may be delivered from all these counterfeits and deceptions. Lord, we want to touch Thy power. We want to be like the church in Philadelphia, of whom Thou sayest, “Thou hast a little power.”
Oh, but what power that is, and what glory it brings to Thee. Lord, we want that for Thy own sake. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.