July 16, 2019 -- I Corinthians 4:20 - - Power

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

I Corinthians 4:20 English Standard Version

That single, simple sentence jumped out at me this morning as I was reading the Bible! We all know the expression: “He’s all talk but no action”. The believer who is part of the Kingdom of God is one who experiences the power of God and lives in the power of God. Talk and action are bound together by the power of God. Let me explain.

The power of God for us

We cannot save ourselves. We cannot pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and somehow present ourselves to God as acceptable. He is holy. He is a consuming fire. Nothing impure can come into His presence. That is why the power of Jesus’ work on our behalf is so awe-inspiring. While we were yet sinners, Jesus took the punishment God was going to pour out on us because of our on-going state of sinfulness and He took it on Himself. Then Jesus’ holy living—the fact that all through His life from the very start to the very last moment as He was cursed on the cross and dying, He lived without sinning in word, or action, or thought—has been credited to us.

The power of Jesus, the Kingdom of God, is given to believers in Jesus Christ. Our sins are wiped clean. Our past, present and all future misdeeds, sins we commit as well as the sin of knowing the good we should do and not doing it—all these sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. And God our Father sees us as His beloved children, pure and holy because He sees us as those who have received the credit belonging to Jesus.

The power of God in us.

Knowing the power of God for us almost makes me freeze, like a deer in the headlights. Anything I do will be wrong—I want to do right and end up making a mess of things. It seems tempting to freeze and not do anything good or bad so that I won’t commit any further sin until Jesus returns. But that would make my faith all talk and no action. As if God had the power to save us from our sin but had no power to preserve us and let us live in His blessings. Here is some of the glorious truth of the Gospel that brings comfort and hope. God’s power is in us as well.

God has given believers the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Power. The very Spirit of God lives in us. He is, as the letter to the Ephesians declare it, the Spirit is both the deposit guaranteeing our new life in Jesus and the Spirit is the Giver of knowledge of the Bible so that we learn to live more fully for Jesus (Ephesians 1:14 17).

The Spirit of God and the Word of God give us the power to not only talk about the will of and work of God, but the power to do the things of God so that we bring to God pleasure! Don’t take my word on this, check out Philippians 2:13.

God has given us the powerful gift of forgiveness. The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that as often as we ask for forgiveness, God is faithful and for the honour and glory of His Son, forgives us our sins. The fact we need forgiveness points to the wondrous work and the mighty blessing Jesus is for us who believe. Jesus’ work is miraculous and powerful, our sins prove His inestimable worth as these sins have been emptied of the power of hell by the Almighty Power of Jesus which is power to save from hell and keep for heaven those who believe in Him.

More than this—Jesus gives us the power to delight in His blessings. The old proverb: “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” doesn’t apply to Christians. We are not saved and then stare backwards longingly at the sins of non-Christians and sigh and say: “I gave up so much to follow Jesus.” No way! The former way of life led directly to hell. The former way of life was blindness to all that is beautiful, all that is true, all that is excellent and noble. Jesus Christ gives us the power to rejoice in knowing God. It is the power of Jesus to give us joy in following Him, no matter the cost.

All-powerful Saviour Jesus, we confess this day, that we feel weak. The great things which this short text hold out to us today can seem so far away, so unlikely to apply to me—maybe it is for others, but it is really for me? Thank You, Father in heaven that Your Kingdom is not just a bunch of empty words, but that Your Word is power. Thank You Jesus that Your resurrection power lives in us. Thank You Spirit of God that You guarantee the great and awesome things of God to those who believe. Increase our faith. Increase our capacity for joyful believing and faithful obedience so that people see us and know the Kingdom of God is not all talk but it is the power of Jesus. Amen.