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The first verse of the Scripture declares God’s creation of the earth, a manifestation of God’s great power. Many times, studying or reading the Scriptures, we tend to focus on our responsibility and position in the world; however, the Scripture gives an abundance of information about God, and we need to understand God and His character if we desire to fully grasp our responsibility toward Him.

The authors of the New Testament realized God’s power, as a sample of their work should sufficiently show (some of these references are quotations, but the author of the book apparently thought that they were important enough to include in his book):

Matthew: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:9)

Mark: “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13:26)

Luke: “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38)

John: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” (John 17:2) “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (I John 1:4) “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11) “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” (Revelation 15:8)

Paul: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:1-7) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16) “For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.” (Romans 9:17) “And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.” (I Corinthians 6:14) “For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God.” (II Corinthians 13:4) “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 the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” (Ephesians 1:16-23)

The author of Hebrews: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:1-4)

James: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.” (James 2:1)

Peter: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5) “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (II Peter 1:16)

Jude: “To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 25)

As we can see, the power of God is very important. Unless we realize God’s power, we will not be able to trust Him, and our praise will not be what God desires it to be. When we begin to realize His power, then we will be able to see how little we actually know about God. Job said, “Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?” (Job 26:14) God’s power is so great that it is probably impossible for us to understand it fully until we are with Him.

He uses His power according to His holiness, another one of His attributes that we find in the Scripture. “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3) Although God has all power, and can do anything He desires, yet He Himself has constrained His doings. In Titus 1:2, for example, Paul says that God cannot lie. This is not because He does not have the power to lie; rather, He has decided that He will not lie. Since we are people, and do not have all power, sometimes we make resolutions, yet break them later. But God has all power, and He has complete control of Himself as well as everything else. When He decides that He will not do something, He will not accidentally do it.

We find God’s power demonstrated in His longsuffering. “What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,  Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:22-24) We often find people who have what seems to be great authority and power, and use it to crush opposition; this is how we, as people, expect those in power to act. However, the reason that these people have to quickly put down their enemies is because they do not have unlimited power, and, if they want to keep their power, they must keep their enemies from taking it. God does not need to bring immediate punishment for sin, because no one can threaten His power. No one can take it from Him, so He can give sinners an opportunity to repent before bringing them to judgment.

The same truth is exemplified in Christ’s trial before Pilate. Had Jesus been unsure of His power, He might have tried to coax Pilate into releasing Him. However, He knew that His power was not limited. Even death could not destroy Him, so He could face Pilate with no fear and confront him with the truth.

Creation, a great demonstration of God’s power, is referred to throughout the Bible. “Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.” (Psalm 148:5) This provides us a foundation to build upon as we continue our study of the Bible.

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:12-18)