I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isaiah 44:6
The Bible is a record of how God reveals His power in the earth and uses it as an example for us to understand the magnitude of what He is capable of.
Where
wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast
understanding. Job 38:4
Because
that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto
them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without
excuse: Romans 1:19-20
Here are the various
ways God reveals His power:
® NATURE:
God has
revealed Himself in nature. The plants and animals, valleys and mountains,
waters and deserts, and even the skies above are all visible signs of His
creative power:
Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in the firmament of His power. Psalms 150:1
Which by His strength setteth fast the mountains;
being girded with power; Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of
their waves . . . Psalms 65:6-7
God
is in the wind, sea, and mountains:
He caused an east wind to blow in the Heaven; and by
His power He brought in the south wind. Psalms 78:26
. . . the Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in
the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebuketh the sea, and
maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers . . . The mountains quake at Him,
and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence . . . Nahum 1:3-5
God
controls all the elements of nature:
When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of
waters in the heavens, and He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of
the earth; He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of
His treasures. Jeremiah 10:13
Job chapters 38-40 provide a detailed record of how God is revealed in the world of nature. God has revealed His power so clearly in nature that men have no excuse for not believing in Him:
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of
the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:20
® GOD’S WRITTEN WORD:
From beginning
to end, God's written Word reveals His power. It opens with His power to
create. It closes with His power to destroy, judge, and recreate. Between
Genesis and Revelation, God's Word records His power constantly at work in the
world and in the lives of men and women.
Not only do the
accounts recorded in God's Word reflect His power, but the words in which they
are told are powerful:
For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
® JUDGMENT:
Acts of
judgment by God reveal His power. His power was first demonstrated in judgment
when He judged Adam and Eve after their sin (Genesis 3).
It was revealed
at a greater level when God destroyed the entire world with a flood in the days
of Noah (Genesis 6-9).
The Bible is a
continual record of the power of God revealed through judgment of sin. He sent
judgment upon His people when they sinned. He also sent judgment upon evil
nations. You can read about this in the book of Judges and the books written by
the prophets.
Each time God sent
judgment, He clearly indicated its purpose was that people would come to know
His power.
And
thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying,
Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold,
hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus
saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will
smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river,
and they shall be turned to blood. Exodus 7:17
® REDEMPTION:
Throughout
history, God revealed His power in miraculous acts of redemption.
Although God judged
Adam and Eve, He provided a way of salvation for them:
And I
will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed;
it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis
3:15
Although He destroyed
the wicked earth with a flood, He provided an ark of safety:
And,
behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all
flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that
is in the earth shall die. But with thee
will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy
sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. Genesis 6:17-18
God redeemed
Israel from bondage in Egypt through His power:
And because He
loved thy fathers, therefore He chose their seed after them, and brought thee
out in His sight with His mighty power out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 4:37
God raised up judges,
kings, and prophets whom He used to redeem His people out of the hand of the
enemy. Nehemiah said of Israel:
Now these are thy servants and thy people whom thou
hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. Nehemiah 1:10
Each time God
redeemed His people, He had a purpose. That purpose was to reveal His power:
Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that
He might make His mighty power to be known. Psalms 106:8
® JESUS CHRIST:
God's great
plan of redemption was revealed in Jesus Christ through whom all men could be
redeemed from sin once and for all.
God's power was
revealed through the prophecies about the birth of Jesus and in His miraculous
birth. It was evident in the life, teaching, and ministry of the Lord as well
as in His death and resurrection.
The greatest
revelation of God's power was in Jesus Christ:
And I heard a
loud voice saying in Heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the
Kingdom of our God, and THE POWER OF HIS CHRIST: for the accuser of our
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Revelation 12:10
® THE HOLY SPIRIT:
Jesus promised
His followers:
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. Acts 1:8
Acts 2 is the record of the
coming of the Holy Ghost, sent from God as Jesus had promised. Through the Holy
Ghost God continues to reveal His power.
® SUPERNATURAL SIGNS:
God also reveals His
power in other supernatural ways. "Supernatural" means beyond the
power of the natural world. It is something that cannot be done by the power of
man.
God's power has been
revealed through miraculous healings, deliverances from demon powers, the dead
being restored to life . . . even through fire falling from Heaven.
Hear
me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and
that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and
the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the
trench. And when all the people saw it,
they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he
is the God. 1 Kings 18:37-39
The entire Bible is a
record of supernatural signs of God revealing His power. God's power is still
revealed through such signs today.
® BELIEVERS:
Jesus said such
powerful signs would be done by God through believers:
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my
name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover. Mark 16:17-18
From the beginning of His written Word, God worked on this earth through men and women. Man has a capacity for power unlike any other created being. God's judgment came through evil men and women. Redemption came through godly judges, prophets, kings, and finally through Jesus Christ.
When Jesus came to
earth to manifest God's power He was born of a woman in human form. The
greatest redemption of all times, redemption from sin, came through one made in
the form of man.
After Jesus returned
to Heaven, God continued to demonstrate His power on earth through men and
women. The book of Acts is the record of the power of God at work through
believers.
And they went forth, and preached every where, the
Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following . . . Mark 16:20
God's power was
demonstrated through the power of the Gospel that changes lives of men and
women. It was demonstrated in miracles of healing and deliverance. His power
was shown in spite of suffering and persecution.
Whenever God raises up a man or ministry it is for the purpose of showing His power. God said to Moses:
And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. Exodus 9:16
God continues to
reveal His power today through believers who are part of the true Church. He
demonstrates His power through special leaders He sets in the Church and
through spiritual gifts given to believers.
So, why does God
reveal His power on earth? Why does He show miraculous signs to mankind? There
are many purposes for God's power at work in the world.
But the many purposes
of God's power can be summed up in one major purpose. This purpose, from the
beginning of time, was to redeem sinful mankind through Jesus Christ. The
purpose of the revelation of God’s power is to draw all men to Himself through
Jesus:
Having made
known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He
hath PURPOSED in Himself; That in the dispensation of the fulness of times, He
might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven,
and which are on earth; even in Him. Ephesians
1:9-10
According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3:11
Biblical Studies
02/24/22
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