By Sidharth Mohandas
Many Christians today are not experiencing the miraculous power that is available in the Kingdom of God. For many, the victory on the Cross has been reduced to mere language (1 Corinthians 4:20, II Timothy 3:5, ESV). In the upcoming articles, we will deal with two aspects of Kingdom reign: Kingdom power and Kingdom authority.
When Jesus sent out disciples to minister, He gave them power and authority over demons and diseases (Luke 9:1). Let’s take a closer look at these two words.
Power, in NT Greek , is the word “dunamis”, which specifically refers to “miraculous power“. While in classical Greek, this word conveys the meaning of achieving in the area of physical, political or military power. In our day-to-day language, we use the word “power” in different ways. We use it to refer to our victory over sin or temptation. Which is true. However, we must realize that whenever the Scripture talks about power, it primarily relates to the demonstration of the miraculous works of God, rather than moral power or excellence. Let me show you some references:
And God wrought special miracles (Gk: dunamis) by the hands of Paul (Acts 19:11).
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power (Gk: dunamis): who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him (Acts 10:38).
Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles (Gk: dunamis) and signs which were done (Acts 8:13).
And Stephen, full of faith and power (Gk: dunamis), did great wonders and miracles among the people (Acts 6:8).
By the power (Gk: dunamis) of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ (Romans 15:19, NIV).
(Other references: Matthew 13:58, Matthew 11:21, Mark 5:30, Mark 6:5, Luke 4:36, Luke 5:17, Luke 6:19, Luke 19:37, Hebrews 2:4, Galatians 3:5.)
In Matthew 12:28, we see Jesus demonstrate the reality of two conflicting kingdoms. He says “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you”. In other words, when the reign of God comes, it overpowers and destroys the manifestations and the effects brought as a result of the reign of darkness (1 John 3:8b). Take courage, my friend, things haven’t changed over time. The Lord offers us the same power through His Holy Spirit today as He did 2000 years ago. It is through the Spirit that the King’s nature is made manifest in our world: Christ, the Power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). Therefore, by Him demons are expelled, and the sick healed (Matthew 10:1, Luke 9:1-2, Luke 10:1,9,17, Mark 16:15-18)
Interestingly, when Jesus sent the seventy-two disciples out to minister, the first thing He instructed them to do when they entered a house was not to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, but to heal the sick (Luke 10:8-9).
Let’s examine our message and our lifestyle. Are we just full of words or do we bring people into an experience with God?
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
Amazing! Bulls eye again!
One thing I learnt the hard way is the fact that we christian fail to operate in power is because we have so much junk in our lives- High resistance to power. BE CONDUCTIVE. Throw out the garbage in your life. Don’t look at me, you know exactly what I mean.
Sid,
This is a challenging and humbling article. It presents a valid question. Are we satisfied with our witty and persuasive words? …are we allowing our hands to reach toward the sick? Are we trusting His power and authority to expel demonic forces? Are we content with our eloquent rhetoric? And does that satisfaction keep us from stretching our faith to demonstrate His Kingdom Power more? Looking forward to the next article. May weh walk in His power! Thank you!
Excellent article. I never noticed how in this instance before, that Jesus commanded his disciples first to heal the sick and then to preach the gospel. One thing is for certain, healing is like a ‘dinner bell’ for salvation–ring it and people will come and listen to you use words to speak of this kingdom you just manifested when you splattered their grandmother’s goiter against the wall in Jesus’ name.
Good word.
Excellent article.
There is coming a time where the Lord desires to pour out His power upon willing vessels, and His glory will be know throughout all the earth.
This helped open the eyes of my heart. Thank you, Sid.
Like JESUS said, by their fruits you shall know them, every Child of God must carry the fire of God in their lives. Of what benefit is a bible scholar without the fire of God to the lost sinner? it would just be words and no action. A true child of God should possess the power and authority of the Holy Ghost .
God bless you for this post
God bless IMRAH
That was an excellent point about healing coming before preaching, at least for the unreached. Faith still does come by hearing, so I think some more exposition on that would be helpful.
I can’t help but wonder if we’ve become too focused on doctrinal minutia and have neglected the more difficult radical obedience. The first Christians obviously did not have a NT, and probably barely had a complete OT. Yet they did pretty good walking by faith.
http://onfollowingchrist.blogspot.com
Hi Paul,
My focus in this article is the believer who is ministering and the signs that will follow him. Many times, it is through the faith of the one ministering that people get healed, and other times it is through the faith of one who is being ministered to. But in both cases, faith comes by hearing the Word of God.
Sid
Excellent article Sidharth, you did it again! What a spectacle it is to have the holy spirits power moving through us and giving us power (dunamis). Thanks for being such a good friend.