The Lord’s Promise of Power (1) — The Falsehood of a Religion Barren of Power
God promised to send us the Spirit of power because he does not want us to practice a religion without power. One way that we can understand or even define a religion without ‘power’ would be a religion without God. This is because if a religion involves God — the triune and almighty God — then it cannot be a religion without power. God himself is the power-factor of our religion. God is the reason and the origin of power in our religion. A true religion cannot be without power because religion by its very nature is a transcendental reality and involves the action of a supernatural being. The supernatural element of religion accounts also for the power element of religion. Religion can be described as a transaction of power between the supernatural and the natural, between divinity and humanity; such that religion would be unwarranted if it lacks the element of ‘power’. Whereas it is true that ‘power’ is not the only pillar on which religion is based, it is true that any religion without power is a false religion. The need for ‘power’ is the underpinning of the appeal for religion or the practice of religion. The appropriation of power, from ‘the powerful’ to ‘the powerless’, by ‘the powerless’ from ‘the powerful’, is central to religion. This ‘power’ must be supernatural and transcendental. What good would religion serve, if, beyond offering an illumined worldview, it offers no hope of supernatural ‘help’ to necessitous humanity or no truly practical aid to the human condition?
What we see in Sacred Scripture is that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is the God of power. In the chronicles of the Old Testament, whenever, God intervened in human affairs, he did so with the manifestation of power. Sometimes it is the physical manifestation of prodigies, other times, it is a more subtle manifestation of superhuman abilities, such as the knowledge of the future or of hidden realities. But always, God showed himself, not just as the dispenser of power, but as the source of power. The God of Israel made his power available for the needs of his people. In the Old Testament, God’s power was available to Israel, to help them deal with and overcome situations that defied human capacity. Some Scripture verses clearly tell us what God thinks about himself in relation to ‘power’. “I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the Lord, do all these things” (Is 45:7). “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that darkness may spread over the land of Egypt — a palpable darkness.” So, Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days” (Ex 10:21–22). There are many such instances, in which God intervene with supernatural power for the people who worship him. In the relationship between God and Israel, religion was more or less a transaction of power.
The New Testament gives a picture of Jesus Christ as a person of power. The Gospel which Jesus preached was a Gospel of power. The religion which Jesus founded is a religion of power. Everything about the Lord Jesus, from his conception and incarnation to his resurrection and ascension, was a constant demonstration of God’s power. Even the manner in which he taught the people and the very words he spoke, were all full of power. “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” (Mt 7:28–29; Mk 1:22) But it was not his words and commands alone that gave forth power, his mere presence was enough to exude superior power capable of overriding or rectifying anomalous situations. “Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue: “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God” (Mk 1:23–24; Mt 8:29) Speaking of Jesus, Scripture confirms that he was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power; and for this reason, “went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:38) The reasons for Jesus’ exploits are clear: 1) He was anointed with the Spirit and power; 2) God was with him. Religion is a relationship of power. The aspect of power cannot be rightfully removed from the practice of religion.
Below is a testimony of who Jesus was, but which also shows us the centrality of intervening supernatural power in religion in general and particularly, in Jesus’ relationship with his people. “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Jesus did not just teach a new religion; he did not just offer a new view of reality; he also made power available, to deal with the concrete needs on ground: such as the power to heal diseases and to cast out demons. This genre of ‘power’ comes along with the new gospel of Jesus Christ; we therefore, cannot accept the gospel of Jesus and decide to forgo or explain away the power that accompanies this gospel. We cannot be right if we have accepted the gospel but have left aside the demonstration of its power in all and every aspect of it, and of life — social, economic, biological, etc.
We cannot also say that the demonstration of the charisms and the powers that belong to and proceed from the proclamation of the gospel, are exclusive to the Lord Jesus. We know that this is not so, because Jesus, not only assigned his ministry to his disciples, he also allotted to them a share in his charisms and his powers. “Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases. And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Lk 9:1–2; Mt 10:1; Mk 3:13–15) Almost always, Jesus lays side by side, the proclamation of the gospel and the demonstration of its power. The natural impact or concomitant aftermath of effective evangelization is the activation of the ‘healing’ power of the gospel, for the remediation of the fragilities of human destitution — since Jesus saves both soul and body. We should stop being afraid or ashamed of talking about the demonstration of the power of salvation, which the Holy Spirit dared to grant us. It is not always prudence, sometimes, it becomes a privation, a denial of a great good.
After sending out the twelve, Jesus also sent out the seventy-two; though there is no record of express authority granted to them, this is the report they brought as they returned: “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” (Lk 10:17) Which means that they too had a share in the demonstration of Jesus’ power. Unlike how human proclivity would lead man to do, Jesus di not intend to reserve to himself alone the power of the Gospel. On the contrary, he made it available to everyone who would surrender to the religion of his Gospel. Indeed, Jesus confirms that all who believe have a share in the power of the Gospel, when he said: “These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.” (Mk 16:17–18) Jesus has already expressly conceded to us a share in his saving power — the power of his Gospel and his religion. If then, our experience of the religion of Jesus Christ is barren of the demonstration of this power, it would be because we have failed to appropriate it or have made ourselves unworthy of it. If our practice of religion does not include the experience of a superior power, intervening to save and to remedy, to help and to rectify, then there is an obvious lack and an urgent need to recover the ‘power element’ that necessitates religion in the first place.
The demonstration of the power of God, which follows the preaching of the gospel and faith in Jesus Christ, did not end with Jesus, nor was it exclusive to him. It continued in the ministry of the apostles and their successors. “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mk 16:19–20) There is a ‘sign’ that accompanies the preaching of the gospel. This ‘sign’ comes from the ‘power ‘of the religion of the Gospel. This power is real and should not be explained away, as many are wont to do; this power is also available through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the minister of this power. Jesus did not allow his followers to go out to do anything in his name and in the name of his religion, without first having an encounter with the Holy Spirit — the minister of the power of God.
The Holy Spirit is the minister of God’s power because he is the one who clothes the faithful in Christ with the power — the power for every godly endeavour. Jesus told his disciples “Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But remain in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Lk 24:49) Jesus does not want the practice of a religion without power. Jesus never wants his followers to go out into the world without the gift of power, who is a person — the Holy Spirit. “And while they were gathered together, He commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift the Father promised, which you have heard me discuss” (Acts 1:4). Jesus taught his disciples and revealed to them all the things he learnt from his Father (Jn 15:15); yet he did not consider them ready for witnessing until they receive the Spirit of power, the gift of power. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). In order to become true witnesses of the gospel and the Christ, the apostles needed power; in order to receive power, they needed the Holy Spirit. The apostles did not go out until they received power; the apostles did not hand over to us a religion wretched of power; the religion of the Christ and the apostles is a religion of power and of the Spirit. The Christian religion is a religion of the power of the Holy Spirit!
Michael Richmond Duru
24th May 2022
https://michaelrichmondduru.medium.com/subscribe
